Royally Flushed

Fading

"It's kind of sad, but I can't remember the last thing we said to each other.  You know most people would have that memory ingrained in their minds forever, but I can't seem to call the memory to my mind.  I'm sure it was something mundane like me saying goodbye to her in the morning when I went to school, but I don't remember the last time we said 'I love you'."

She wrapped me up in a hug that I desperately needed in that moment, silent tears making the short trek down my face and onto her beautiful green top. 

"It will fade, right?  This horrible pain I feel every time I think about her?"

Mar pulled away from me, her face a mess of mascara. 

"I hope so, sweetie.  I feel it too, but we have each other to lean on when it hits hard like this, okay?"

I nodded, wiping my eyes and smiling a bit through the pain. 

"Oh gosh, now I've made you a mess for school.  Here, let me do your makeup, we can deal with mine later," she told me, and for a moment I could pretend that it was just me and my mom, her doing my makeup for a regular day at school. 

But then I realized that thinking Mar could take her place was wrong, so I just let my aunt do my makeup in beautiful perfection, foundation and concealer hiding any imperfections and blush making me appear more colorful and vibrant. 

When it was time for school, I felt like I looked almost like a different version of Malia, a more polished version ready to face the world. 

We hugged and I left for the town car sitting out front, half wishing Gordon was the driver and Louis was in the front but remembered he wouldn't be at school that day since his agenda was full of meetings and press conferences pertaining to the recent bombing.  

A royal's life was always complicated, and I wondered if he had room in his life for someone like me...

*******

~Louis~

He absolutely dreaded the meetings where he had to sit outside like a petulant child who was awaiting punishment for an immature deed. 

"You don't have the clearance level needed for this one, why don't you sit outside and I'll brief you once its over on a need-to-know basis," his father had told him, walking into the meeting behind his grandparents, the King and Queen. 

He couldn't stop his mind from wandering to Malia, and how she was doing at school.  He wished he could've deepened their last kiss, allowed his mouth to explore hers and his hands to do the same to her fragile body, but he knew more than one person was watching their exchange goodbye, and he didn't want her to get into anymore trouble because of him. 

He glared at Henry who sat across from him, and should have been thanking his lucky starts that his other guard, Daniel, was on a different shift that day, because Louis would have loved nothing more than to wring his neck with his own bare hands. 

After hearing the truth of what had happened between him and Malia, Louis went home and looked him up, trying to learn everything he could about him. 

And then he searched her step father, the worthless, evil excuse for a human that had escaped from prison for abusing his own step daughter, the same girl that had been in his life since she was a baby.  Louis couldn't understand what would make him do such terrible things to her, one of the most compassionate and beautiful souls he'd ever met. 

She was the complete opposite to Louis, a boy attempting to turn into a man with no guidance but flocks of paparazzi and screaming women that made him choose the wrong path on more than one occasion. 

Malia was good and light, and Louis was filled with a darkness that he didn't understand or know how to control. 

He had to be careful with her, to not let her see just how broken he really was on the inside from the ghosts of his past. 

A high pitched ringing sounded off from someone's phone nearby and he almost shouted at the owner of the cellphone to knock it off, until he realized that it was his own phone in his back pocket ringing relentlessly. 

He didn't remember setting such a strange ringtone. 

His eyebrows furrowed when he glanced at the number, realizing with a start that it wasn't already programmed in.  That wasn't supposed to happen, especially with a line as secure as his own. 

Gordon had made sure that the only people with access to it were immediate family and anyone deemed extremely important, which obviously included Malia. 

Gordon always had his other phone with the other number that he would give to less important people and once random girls started calling the line they threw it away and got a new one, which usually happened about once a week. 

The number calling him at that moment, however, was an unknown number with an unknown area code. 

He gulped slightly before answering, "Who is this?  How do you have this number?"

"Louis?" It was Malia.  Her voice sounded terrified, and thick with tears. 

"Malia, what's wrong?  What's going on?"

He was up to his feet in an instant, his free hand shoved in his hair in anxiety. 

"I need you to come to the school, or send Gordon or something.  I need hel-"

Her voice cut off as the phone call ended, and obviously he hit the redial but the line was disconnected. 

"Gordon!"

He was at his side in a moment. 

"Take this phone and trace that number and see who it belongs to.  While you're doing that, we need to get to the school.  I think Malia's in danger."

********

Author's Note:

And so the plot thickens again!!!

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Until next time my lovely readers, 

Kristen :)