Impulse

Chapter Fifty-One

Louis finds himself grinning before he can contain it, looking down at his hands on his lap. Hisfather doesn't know so much about his life, let alone the fact that those who he was once petrified ofare now his boyfriends. He loves dearly the monsters in men who used to scare him. 

"I am good." Louis nods in confirmation, hugging his knees and balancing the pudding cup on one.

 "Been busy then?" Mark successfully eats all his salad, moving on to his omelette.

 "Yeah." Louis gives up and reaches for the plastic spoon, peeling the foil off the pudding cup. "Justfinished my exams."

 "I would have guessed. How was your dissertation?" Mark asks. "You're always scared ofspeaking."

 "It was fun." Louis spoons some of the pudding into his mouth.

 "Pretty sure I aced it too."Mark hums in acknowledgment. "What else?" 

Louis stops chewing. "What do you mean?"

 "It's been eight months, son. Something remotely interesting must have happened in that time."

Louis gulps, sweating at his hairline again. He flicks his fringe out of his eyes. "I don't know."

 "Would you like a criteria?" Mark raises his eye, mocking the boy. 

Rolling his eyes, Louis tries not to pout. "You're mean, Dad."

 "I am Dad. Being unreasonable and inquisitive is my duty." Mark sips from his tall glass of orangejuice, feeling it quench his thirst but needing more food to fill the hunger aches with soothingcalmness.

 He does pout. "Well now you'll never know."

* * * * *

When Louis was walking back to the awaiting Range Rover parked off at the hospital's frontentrance, his shoulders felt so much lighter now that the weight has been lifted off them. He cantake a deep breath and feel it reach his lungs. 

His knuckles can crack altogether rather than one leftstubborn and elastic.He hops down the stairs and onto the sidewalk, his hands buried deep in his pockets as he made hisway towards his ride home. After promising to visit tomorrow when Mark is getting dischargedfrom the hospital, he got a deal made that he'd pop by Mark's office. 

Louis' father had been storing information about companies and organisations that could use aqualified psychologists. He knew many wealthy and successful people who owed him favours andalready after just coming out of a coma he's eager to return to work. 

Standing beside the Rover with his back leaned against it with his fingers occupied by his phone, isHarry. From afar he looks like a disinterested teenager but Louis can stand miles away and stillknow that those black skinny jeans and half-done sunshine yellow button-up is belonging to aman of far more worth. 

This very man has his identical brother seated on the driver's side seat with the door open. Edwardwas beside Harry in that way, his legs propped up on the lip of the Rover's step to get up or off thevehicle. Louis was closer to them when both pairs of eyes looked up in synchronisation. 

"Petal." Edward was the first to hop down and stride across the tarred ground to his lover. He hadaviators on for the sun was glaring today, but pushed them onto his head when he bent over to kissLouis' suspiciously sweet lips. 

"Hi." Louis tilted his head back to savour the kiss, smiling into it. 

"How is your father?" Harry pushes off the Range Rover and comes to join them, sharing in one ofLouis' tender kisses.