Being Normal Sucks (Louis Tomlinson FanFiction)

Chapter 29~ A Friendly Gesture

My cries were the only thing that filled the room. I just couldn't get my breathing under control for the life of me, and I had that headache that came along with crying for too long. My mind was fuzzy, and I desperately wanted to go to sleep but I couldn't. The covers to my bed were drawn close to my face while I tried to hide my tear streaked face under the covers. The soft downy that had become familiar over the last few months was the only comfort for me at the moment. This was pretty pathetic of me, but this was how I was processing it for the moment. In all honesty, I hated how this type of bad news could make my mood do a three-sixty in a matter of seconds before making me into a complete wreck within the hour.

I had gotten the call from my mum at about nine o'clock. The news had been something that I had heard before, but sounded worse the second time around. My grandmother was dead. She had died in the other reality already, but I hadn't thought to check and see if she was still alive in this one. I wish I had; I would have been able to see her before this had happened. My mum had been a wreck, telling me the news between sniffles and sobs all the while forcing the words out. My grandmother had been driving to the super market in order to pick up a few last minute things when a car had hit her from the side and killed her instantly.

I kept telling myself that it could have been worse; she could have suffered through something long and painful, but she hadn't. It didn't provide much comfort, though. All I could think about was the fact that-for the second time in a row-I had failed to get to say goodbye to her. I wish that we had warnings for these types of things; I wish that bad things wouldn't just happen without us being informed of them beforehand. However, these particular wishes-the ones that I wanted so badly-weren't going to come true like my last one.

The door of the hotel room opened and I rushed to wipe the tears from my cheeks even though there was probably no way I could cover up my sporadic breathing. Desperately, the rough skin of my hands rubbed against my cheeks until I was convinced the tear tracks couldn't possibly still be there. The soft padding of Annalise's feet on the carpet joined the loud sound of my breathing though I tried to muffle it with a blanket. "Louis?" her concerned sounding voice flooded through my ears and I wished that I could sink further into the mattress. Just in case my attempts at wiping the tears away had been in vain, I nuzzled my head further into the bed.

"I'm sorry," I choked out, "I'll try to be quieter." Even though I had tried to assure her with those words, she was soon crouching next to my bed and pulling away my blankets. Her feminine hands danced across my cheeks, and one raked through my hair while she looked at me.

"Oh, Louis," she mumbled, her words were laced with sympathy when she looked at my tear stained features. Her actions surprised me after that, because she stood, pushed the blankets back even further, slid underneath them, and then lay beside me on the bed. Through my pitiful sniffles, I looked at her with raised eyebrows; was she going to stay there and just watch me? I didn't want her to see me like this; I didn't want her to see me in such a vulnerable state because I myself was a bit disgusted with how pitiful I must have seemed. So, I covered my face with my arm to try and hide from her wondering gaze.

Small hands wrapped around my bicep, and my arm lifted away from my face before it was draped across Annalise's shoulders. I was even more confused now. "You said you didn't want to cuddle with me," my voice broke about halfway through the words, and I cringed at how it sounded. It was so weak and frail that I hardly recognized it. Her hands folded against my chest, making my heart race a little. A few warm breaths passed through her lips and hit my collar bone before she was able to nestle her head into the spot my head left between my chin and chest.

"You weren't crying then," her voice was muffled when she spoke. There was a long silence that wasn't very silent at all due to my rapid breathing. I was trying to slow my tears and catch my breath, but that seemed more and more impossible by the second.