"I am afraid Mr. Corden has slipped into permanent coma since the majority of the injuries were focused on his reticular activating system. We don't exactly know when he will wake up; he may wake up tomorrow or years later, we can't certainly say." The doctor informs Louis, Liam and Niall after spending twelve hours in the O.T. with James. After the strident crash, Niall drove himself, Louis and an injured James to the hospital since louis was too shocked to even form sentences. Liam arrived moments later in case of any legal matters while Zayn volunteered to stay back with Harry. Louis is grateful Zayn proposed the idea as he wasn't quite pleased with the knowledge of leaving Harry alone under the surveillance of his gang members.
While Liam is handling all the investigative queries, Niall and Louis recall the incident in a more aware state of mind. The odd hour, the head wounds that couldn't have been caused by just the crash and the ruby silk scarf sprayed with an enchanting scent of Tahitian vanilla along with a hint of rosa centafolis- Clive Christen no. 1 Imperial Majesty, an exquisite perfume and definitely heavy on the wallet. He knows the scent like an old mate, the plush perfume reeking of power and wealth, and the all too familiar ruby scarf fitting together to form the perfect evidence. The person who plotted the act wanted to be found, to be held responsible for the deed and Louis knows exactly who.
"I'll be back," Louis stands up with a firm mind and grabs Niall's car keys. The Irishman nods in acknowledgement, vaguely knowing who is behind the exploit. Louis exits the private waiting area and steals a quick glance of a resting James before he speeds Niall's car out of the underground parking, leaving a trail of vanishing smoke and tire scratches.
They may not talk all the time but James was- is one of Louis' oldest acquaintance and a dear one. He taught Louis, Liam and Zayn etiquettes of the underworld; things they should and should not do in order make an impact and hold power. He is like a godfather to the trio, a person they can turn to when the entire world seems to be at war with them.
*
Louis doesn't stop the unforgiving speed until his eyes catch the sight of a handsomely large gate, ancient mythological sculptures guarding its glory. He waits for a moment until the heavy gates breaks apart and reveals the long well-groomed driveway, lined with identical white cedar pines. He slows down, steady car working its way through the monstrous driveway until he reaches the bronze painted entrance leading him into the prodigal domicile.
Inside the large structure, Louis stands surrounded by tall boring beige walls holding a legion of garish work of art in numerous shades of red, somehow adding up in a very aesthetically pleasing sense. Louis eyes the tightly uniformed workforce and silently orders them to call the owner with cold darkened blues. A smart-looking lady scrambles away, hurried legs mounting the grandiose staircase and disappearing into the luxury of the floor above.
Moments later the hall rings with the soft pads of gracious footsteps descending the flight of stairs. Expensive satin robe trailing behind her as a content Stephanie Ramirez stands in front of Louis in her ever elegant poise; posture straight and dark eyes blank as a fresh piece of paper."I've been expecting you for a while, my love." She says in her poisonously perfect utterance, cherry lips forming a sly smirk as she greets her old lover with a kiss on his clenched cheek.
"Why Corden?" Louis asks straightaway, not wanting to play one of Stephanie's sick games. Her beauty is like a fantasy, hiding her serpentine mentally underneath. As much as her intelligence intrigues Louis, it scares him to no end too. "Danny," she replies without any display of emotions, cold eyes staring straight and lips resting in a straight line. "But you said he had it coming, that it didn't bother you. I did not take you for a fucking liar, Ramirez." Louis spits viciously while Stephanie remains unfazed.
"I'm not. I told you Danny's death didn't bother me but it was Stephanie Ramirez's brother being slaughtered that bothered me. Its nothing against Corden personally, Louis, but I have an image to maintain. I couldn't let people think they can do anything they want to the people close to me and I'll just sit back and let them," her voice remains gravely cold, posture unmoving and dead eyes locked with Louis.
Louis chuckles dryly at her words, the dark sound echoes through the silent walls. "You are in no position to talk about people hurting someone close to you, not after you killed your own fucking parent!" Louis speaks, accusation and mockery dripping from his low tone. Stephanie just continues to eye him, nothing but a proud smirk appearing on her lips. "I did that and look where it led me to. People respect me, they fear me. You fear me!" Stephanie says while Louis scoffs.
"I do not fear you," he says but his eyes betray him. He knows Stephanie can read him like an open book, so she does, body moving closer to Louis, manicured dainty fingers brushing against his chest and she leans in, sinful lips against Louis' ear sending a frigid wave rushing down his spine. "You secret is safe with me, darling, no need to lie." She whispers and moves away, sadistic eyes lighting up when Louis stumbles backwards. He questions if she is an angel or the devil himself, but one thing he's known for years is that she is anything but human.
"I'm leaving," Louis informs, not wanting to stay a minute longer and be a pawn in her twisted game. He would have buried the person who hurt James by now but Stephanie Ramirez doesn't fall under everyone. She's like the king in a game of chess, whoever has her on their side until the last minute, tastes victory. "Don't worry, sweetheart, he won't die. Haven't hit him as hard, just enough to send out a message." She says, wrapping her slender arms around him before she bids him farewell with another kiss on the cheek.
*
"Do I need to pick you up?" Louis asks Niall on call while driving back from Stephanie's with a foiled mind. "Nah mate, Liam gave me a ride. Just come home, curly is shitting bricks without you here." Niall informs and hangs up before Louis can respond. Between all the chaos and drama, Louis almost forgot the fact that Harry saw a man crash right in front of him which only added to his paranoia. The lad wasn't in a proper mental space to begin with and the uncalled accident might have triggered him further.
Louis decides to buy some chocolates on his way back and ends up getting Harry a stuffed toy too. He parks his car a bit further from the French house since the area has been covered with police tapes for investigation, even though they'll never find a thing. He walks up to the door, nodding to his men lurking on the street when he recognises them. Upon entering the house, he is greeted by a bone crushing hug from the lanky boy, long legs wrapping around Louis' waist as the latter stumbles to hold them still.
With quite a bit of struggle Louis finally places the chocolates and the teddy bear on the coffee table before properly holding the man child clung to him with both hands. "Someone missed me," Louis says and buries his face in Harry's long milky neck, the latter mirroring the action. "I was so scared that you wouldn't come back to me." Harry whispers and holds Louis tighter. Louis moves them on the large bean bag and gently rocks Harry, pressing soft kisses on his head and temples. "I'll always come back to you, pet. I might be late but I'll come back," Louis says and finally feels Harry loosen his grip and look at Louis with big greens before he presses a longing kiss on his lips.
"Sorry," Harry says after they break the kiss, plump rosey lips shining with saliva. "Why, my love?" Louis asks and removes stray curly from his face, none of them attempting to change their awkward angle. "I shouldn't have jumped on you," Harry replies shyly and hides his face in Louis' chest. "I liked it," Louis says and wraps his arms around Harry, pulling him closer until there is no space in between. "Me too," Harry reciprocates by tightening his legs around Louis. "And I'll throw you out of the house if you have sex here." Niall's voice startles the pair, making their heads turn to an awkwardly standing Niall holding a bowl of crisps beside Liam and Zayn who have a mirroring smirk plastered on their face. Fuckers.
"Bro, you are worse than Li and I." Zayn says and sits down on the recliner, Liam placing himself on his lap with an arm around Zayn's neck. Niall slaps Harry's bum when he makes no effort to move from Niall's usual spot and sits down on the love seat with a exhausted spread, almost covering the entire seat with his limbs. "Fuck off, Malik! No one can ever be worse than you two," Louis retaliates and shift to a more comfortable position, Harry still on top merrily. "Hey! We are cute." Liam speaks up in an offended whine and flips Louis off. "Sod off, Liam! All you do is suck him off." Louis says and receives a light punch from Harry which he reacts to with an overdramatic pained moan. "Well you sucked him off too!" Liam says and the room eerily falls silent, Niall choking on his crisps while Harry looks at Louis with disbelieving greens. Well shit.
"You what?" Harry asks after a minute and detangles himself from Louis as he plops down on Niall. "Care to explain, Tomlinson?" Niall questions wrapping a protective arm around Harry. From the corner of his eye Louis can figure out a silently giggling Liam. "It's nothing, Zayn and I.... we umm- we used to fool around years ago. It was nothing emotional, we helped each other physically but later found out we weren't compatible." Louis explains hastily while Liam continues to cackle without any regrets. "Details," is all Harry says with narrowed eyes, fingers clutching on Niall's bicep. Louis shouldn't laugh, he really shouldn't but the two in front reminds him of a mother lion with her cub that tries to roar but nothing but a sweet mewl comes out of its mouth.
"Basically we were both virgins trying to discover new things. We sucked each other off a couple of times but when we had sex for the first time, turns out none of us liked giving up control, bottoming in other words, so we called it off a month after it started." Zayn speaks up instead of Louis, showing the shorter some mercy. Zayn slaps Liam's bum when he chokes out laughing which elicits a louder laugh from Niall when he sinks in the details.
"You three don't have any threesome-ish business going on, right?" Harry asks seriously and Louis just wants to kiss the fuck out of him when he looks at him with big green eyes. "No, H, I can assure you that," Liam answers and replicates a gag while Louis flips him off and moves towards Harry. Niall takes the signal and shifts to his beloved bean bag and watches Harry curl into Louis with a fond smile. Harry whispers a soft "sorry" that Louis responds with a nose pinch, turning the skin into a blushing pink. Louis strokes his soft hair until his eyes give in to sleep and small snores leave his mouth. Louis lifts his eyes to scan the room and focuses them on Liam and Zayn quietly chatting up with Niall. Niall looks up when he feels Louis' gaze, blue eyes meeting blue and Niall gives him a genuine smile, an unspoken approval.
~~~
Thoughts?
Stephanie makes an appearance. 😼
Home boi James slipped into coma
Apple juice or orange juice?