[A/N]: :) Hello. I hope you enjoyed my little cliff hanger there. Let's get on with the story shall we? Hmm... I actually gonna post this before the light of day leaves me. Usually I post stuff at night cause I'm like part opossum or some shite like that. Bark bark motherfuckers.
[Louis' P.O.V]
It felt as if my heart had literally been ripped from my chest and smashed upon the ground like it was a simple glass plate. Victor had taken my Kitten, left me wondering what was happening to him while I was in a locked room, and then I'd heard Victor's gun go off. From then on, things seemed to be moving in slow motion. I froze in my actions of banging and tugging on the door, letting my hands fall limply to my sides.
I heard Dr. Shell murmur, "Holy shit..."
Zayn was the only one who was still moving, and he finished dragging the wooden chair over, gently pushing me out of the way, "Move, Louis!"
"My..." I croaked out. "My Harry?"
"Don't assume the worst!" Zayn demanded, raising the wooden tray above his head and bringing it down hard on the door handle. It gave a loud snap and the door handle fell onto the ground. Zayn grabbed at the leftover piece of door handle and yanked, huffing when the door wouldn't swing open.
I could feel my knees growing weak as silence filled the building and Zayn continued to pull at the door. My legs gave out and I slumped weakly onto the ground, my hands sliding to fist into my hair, but still all I could utter was, "M-my Harry... my Kitten..."
My brain was instantly replaying the short amount of time I'd spent with him; How he'd nearly hated me when I first found him, the first time he'd heard music, when we'd accidentally kissed for the first time. I thought about how eager he'd been to 'learn about' sex because Niall had told him it'd make me feel good. Apart from the boy's firsts, I thought about all times he'd cuddled against me while we watched Aristocats and how he thought I was the greatest person ever when I put 'colors on his hurt spots'. I remembered when I'd been upset over money issues and the boy instantly blamed himself, although it was far from his fault, and did everything he could to make me smile again. The boy had never wanted anything more than to please me. He'd wanted me always happy and safe, and if I was hurt he'd be even more upset about it than I was. He honestly loved me even though before he'd met me he probably had no idea what love was, and I myself had never felt a greater love for anyone than the love I felt for Harry. And to think that a love so bright could be snuffed out so easily was tearing me apart.
A strangled sob escaped my throat, and I pressed my face to my hands, feeling another sob racking my body. I heard Zayn bring the tray back down on the door again and he yelled out, "No Louis! Don't give up on him! He's going to be fine, I know he is!"
"Let me try," I heard Dr. Shell mumble, probably resuming Zayn's position at trying to get the door open.
"Harry!" Zayn bellowed. "Harry can you hear me? Say something!"
I silenced my sobs momentarily and lifted my head in hopes that I'd hear the Kitten boy's voice, but only the sound of Dr. Shell hitting the broken door handle met my ears. I wrapped my arms tightly around my torso to try and stop the pain from ripping through me, and I hunched over as I allowed the tears to flow free once more. My mind instantly ran over what I could have done differently to stop the boy from sacrificing himself, what I could have done the moment he'd given up and told me he loved me. And then it hit me. I hadn't said it back.
"Oh God," I wheezed, my head snapping up as my hands rose to tug at my hair in horror. "I d-didn't- I didn't tell him that I loved him! He told me he loved me and I told him no that he couldn't just give up! H-he can't be gone! He can't be gone thinking that I didn't love him!"
Large sobs began to escape me, and I immediately felt a hand on my back and Zayn's voice pleading, "Louis we don't know that Harry's dead!"
"D-don't say it!" I shrieked, clasping my hands over my ears. "Don't say that word!"
Any sort of word relating to loss used in the same sentence as my Kitten's name was too painful to bear. Zayn patted my shoulder, "Louis... Harry knows that you love him. See how I didn't say knew? I said know. Harry knows because he's still alright. He's alive... he has to be. He knows that you love him and he loves you, too. That's why he volunteered himself to go. He knows that it's him that Victor actually wants, and he didn't want you getting hurt. He's thought that Victor had hurt you before and he didn't like that at all. Remember? He refused to let go of you for a good three hours."
At his words I only sobbed harder, "I know he loves me! But he shouldn't because I- this is all my fault! My poor baby Kitten..."
"Got it!" Dr. Shell crowed victoriously, yanking the door open.
I instantly scrambled to my feet and pushed past him out into the hall. My legs shook so horribly I could barely walk, and I had to keep my hand on the wall for balance as I stumbled down the hall calling out in a raspy voice, "H-Harry! Baby Kitten, where are you?!"
I heard Zayn go the other way calling out, "Harry? Can you hear me?"
Tears blurred my vision and streamed from my eyes as I stumbled from room to room and flung open doors, only to find that they were empty. About halfway down the hall my legs completely gave out again, and I collapsed into a sobbing heap on the floor. Dr. Shell, who must have been following me, quietly said, "Come on, Louis. Keep looking. He's in this building, there's no doubt... I'm just worried that..."
"What?" I demanded with a sob, sitting up and narrowing my eyes at him. "Just worried that what? That if Harry is... if he... if I've lost my Kitten, then you won't be getting off easy. I'll make sure you lose everything you love in life."
"And I'd deserve just that," he nodded sadly. "I've been a dick. If Harold is hurt because of me... you can have anything that you want from me."
"I don't want your stupid money," I croaked out. "I want my b-baby Kitten to be okay!"
As Dr. Shell fell silent, and my words echoed through the lifeless halls, there came a whimpering response from a cracked door that I'd collapsed a few feet away from, "L-Louis?"
My head snapped up, and Dr. Shell's eyes widened. I pushed myself up off the floor and stumbled to my feet, practically falling towards the door to knock it the rest of the way open. On the floor of the dark room, a figure lay in a pool of a dark liquid, and I made a choked sound as I realized what it was. Blood. I flipped on the the light but clenched my eyes shut, terrified to identify the lifeless body on the floor.
Dr. Shell gasped from behind me, "Louis look!"
I allowed my eyes to fly open and look at the gruesome sight on the floor. Victor. Victor was the bleeding body on the cement floor, the silver pistol laying beside him. But, he'd said that he only had one bullet left... which meant that...
"L-Louis?" the voice I loved squeaked from around the corner of the door.
My head snapped to the side as I looked down next to the door frame by my feet. Harry was curled up and trembling there, his curls matted in spots with sticky red liquid that also covered parts of his torso and half of his face.
"Baby Kitten!" I shrieked, flinging myself onto the ground next to him as my grief was mixed with sheer terror. I ripped my shirt off of my body to use as a bandage and frantically sobbed out, "Where are you hurt at?"
"N-no hurt spots," he whispered, his hands shakily reaching out for me as if he wanted me to hold him.
I shook my head in confusion, tears still streaming from my eyes, "You're- you're bleeding you-"
"N-not Harry's," he shook his head and shuddered, turning to point at Victor. "V-Victor-"
But before he could finish I was tossing my shirt aside, grabbing desperately at him, and pulling him into my arms and onto my lap as I sobbed into his curls, "Oh baby Kitten I thought I'd lost you! I thought you'd been killed! I was afraid he'd shot you!"
"N-not killed..." Harry whispered to me, pulling away so he could sit up straighter and lead my head to his chest. "See? H-heartbeat... L-Louis b-baby Kitten is n-not killed."
I sobbed into his chest and nodded, "I love you, Kitten, okay? I love you so, so much."
Like he'd done a few times before, Harry was comforting me. He hugged me just as tightly as I was hugging him, allowed me to sob into his shirt as he stroked at my shirtless back and hair clumsily, "H-Harry loves his Louis..."
Dr. Shell, who had disappeared, suddenly reappeared with Zayn, who crowed out happily, "Harry! You're alright! I still have my fellow cat brother! But... you're covered in blood?"
Harry didn't respond to him, simply continued stroking my hair, "D-do not c-cry... please? H-Harry is okay... why a-are you sad?"
"He's not necessarily sad anymore," I heard Zayn assure him over my shuddering sobs of relief. "He's more... glad that you're not hurt... at least I don't think you're hurt. Why are you covered in blood? You didn't answer!"
"Not Harry's," the younger boy responded, kissing the top of my head. "It i-is Victor's..."
"So... Harold," Dr. Shell said slowly. "Did Victor-"
"V-Victor pointed t-the g-gun at Harry b-but then Victor p-put it against his o-own h-head and there w-was a loud sound and th-then Harry had b-blood all over h-him a-and Victor f-fell..." Harry whispered.
"Killed himself..." Zayn murmured in disbelief.
"I think he wasted all his money trying to get those scientist friends of his to come look at Harry... but when they wouldn't, he realized he'd lost all the money. So he gave up..." Dr. Shell said thoughtfully.
I pulled my tear stained face away from Harry's chest, kissing the boy a tad fiercely before I looked up at Dr. Shell, "You aren't going to keep us here, are you?"
"No," Dr. Shell sighed. "I've caused you all enough trouble as it is... I'm really sorry."
"I-it is okay," Harry told him quietly, and I pulled the boy close again and pressed my face into the clean side of his hair. He smelled a bit like the couch we had in the cement room since he hadn't showered, but he still smelled like Harry. A smell that I would have missed.
"Harry Edward Styles," Dr. Shell shook his head in amazement. "For someone who was raised by me... I'm extremely proud that you are who you are... you're smart, caring, and forgiving. And I, am only one of those three."
"Hmm," Zayn snorted. "I wouldn't say you have any of those qualities..."
Dr. Shell glared at Zayn, but continued talking to Harry, "I'm glad you met Louis and got away from me. You deserve a good life."
"H-Harry is glad he m-met Louis too," he replied, tilting his head to gaze up at me. He stretched his neck to press a clumsy kiss to my lips.
"Louis?" Zayn said slowly. "Where's your shirt?"
I took in a steady breath and hugged Harry close, "I took it off... because I thought Harry was bleeding. But he's safe... my baby Kitten is safe...."
Harry nodded, "L-Louis' baby Kitten."
"Let's get you two home," Zayn chuckled. "I bet Liam and Niall will be pretty happy to see you."
"Your keys are in your vehicle still in the parking lot," Dr. Shell informed him. "I have to call some of my guys now and see how many escaped and how many were killed... I know that Cheryl escaped this place the first time Victor took her gun. As to where Victor got the loaded gun..."
"I wish you the er... best of luck?" Zayn said slowly. "Thanks for... not being a dick anymore."
Dr. Shell rolled his eyes, "I'll attempt to keep the bad side of me out of your life. I would, however, like to check on the progress of my hybrids every now and then."
"Your hybrids?" I raised a skeptic eyebrow.
Dr. Shell huffed, "Fine. Niall and your Kitten."
"Just don't try any funny stuff," I warned, tugging Harry closer. "Or I'll end you."
"Let's head out!" Zayn said impatiently. "I'm ready to get out of this hell hole."
"Wait," I muttered, glaring at the dead body of Victor. "What do we do with..."
"I know a guy," Dr. Shell waved his hands. "I can take care of this."
"We'll pretend like this is legal," Zayn murmured, reaching down to take Harry from me so I could get up.
However, I didn't want Harry taken from me, and I hugged him tighter, "No wait! I... I can get up with him."
"Louis," Zayn rolled his eyes. "You're still shaking like a leaf. You're barely going to be able to walk much less carry Harry. You can hold his hand or something and then sit in the back with him while I drive us back to your flat."
I scowled, but allowed Zayn to remove Harry from my arms. Quickly climbing to my feet, Harry reached for my outstretched hand. I scooped my shirt off the floor and turned back to Harry, gently reaching out to dab some of Victor's blood off of Harry, "You alright, Kitten?"
Harry nodded, "Harry was s-scared at first even t-though Victor was a m-mean man. But n-now he has h-his L-Louis. L-Louis is alright?"
"Only because you are," I cradled his now clean face in my hands and scooted closer to Zayn so I could kiss the younger lad in his arms.
"This makes me uncomfortable... save it for the car," Zayn mumbled.
I ended the kiss with one last peck to Harry's nose, and then pulled back to look around, "Where'd Lucca go?"
"Who knows," Zayn sighed, shaking his head. "Let's head to the car."
I seized Harry's hand, "We need his coat from the room."
Zayn grumbled to himself but carried Harry, with me close beside him holding the boy's hand, back to the room we'd been locked in so we could retrieve Harry's coat. He then led me, since I had no idea where I was going, down several maze like halls and out the front door of the large building we'd been in, into the night. It appeared we'd been in a large warehouse. The winter air was cold on my bare chest, but luckily my car wasn't parked too far off. Zayn unlocked it, I opened the door, and he slid Harry into the backseat. I quickly followed behind the younger boy, and he grinned largely at me before he snuggled into my side. I buckled us both up while Zayn climbed into the drivers side and started the car, glancing at the clock and picking up his phone.
"Two o'clock in the morning," he said in disbelief. "Our napping has us all thrown off. I also have ninety four missed calls... and two voice mails."
"Ninety four," I shook my head in awe, cuddling Harry close.
"Most are from Liam but some are from Chris," Zayn chuckled. "I should probably call them and tell them we're okay."
"Put it on speaker," I responded.
Zayn handed me the phone, "You do it."
I hit the callback button and then the speaker phone button before placing Zayn's phone on the center console and leaning forward. Harry leaned with me, resting his head on my shoulder. I still had my grip on his hand, and didn't plan on letting go anytime soon. The phone rang once before Liam bellowed over the phone.
"Zayn!" he yelled. "We have been trying to call you for nearly an entire day now!"
"Sorry..." I chuckled. "We got stuck in a bit of a sticky situation."
"Louis?!" Niall's voice gasped out hopefully. "You're okay! Is Harry there? Obviously Harry's there, you wouldn't be laughing if he wasn't!"
"What do you mean you had a stick situation?" Liam asked. "Zayn's there too, right?"
"Yeah, I'm driving," Zayn told him.
"Liam and I had a sticky situation too!" Niall declared. "Twice, actually. Once on your couch, and then again in your shower."
"You guys!" I bellowed.
"Yeah, Zayn, don't uh..." Niall's words were muffled by laughter. "Don't listen to one of your voice mails. I attacked Liam while he was trying to call you. Pretty sure it caught everything that happened after that..."
"Gross," Zayn groaned.
Harry was being strangely silent, so I turned my head and looked at the younger boy. He'd fallen asleep against my arm, and I automatically whispered, "Hey... quiet down my Kitten is asleep. Listen, we're on our way back, so we'll see you guys soon, yeah?"
"Wait!" a voice called suddenly, sounding as if the person had just waken up. "Who is that?"
"Chris?" Zayn asked, picking up the phone and switching it off of speaker. "Hey! Yeah, I'm fine. We all are... we had a bit of a scare with Harry, but we're all safe. We made it out... er... we were in a warehouse. Yeah, I'll have to tell the story in person and after I get some sleep "
I leaned backwards again, lifting my arm so that Harry's head would slide to my shirtless chest. I wrapped my arm around the younger boy to hold him close, turning my body so that I could snuggle the sleeping boy. He made a contented sound in his sleep, and I smiled. The boy was laying perfectly for me to gently press a kiss to each of his kitten ears, and he squirmed slightly, but nuzzled his face against me. The adorable boy in my arms had worked his way into my heart, and if I were ever to lose the kitten boy, he'd take my heart with him. All of it was his now, and I was perfectly fine with that. When we returned home, I planned on giving the sleepy boy a bath, a glass of milk and some pizza, and then we'd curl up in our bed together.
In the front, Zayn chatted happily with Chris, and I rested my head on top of Harry's. His hair felt a tad stiff in some places, and I didn't care to think about why that was, because all I wanted was to hold the younger boy close. As we drove I found myself growing sleepy, but I wanted to watch Harry sleep instead. For an agonizing amount of time, I had thought that I wasn't ever going to feel my Kitten's warmth cuddled sleepily against me again. And now that I'd felt what it was like to think I'd lost him, I was dead set on keeping it from happening again.
I nuzzled my face against his head and whispered quietly into his velvety ear, "I love you baby Kitten..."
He stirred slightly, a small grin appearing on his sleeping face and he mumbled, "Lo-Louis..."
I pulled him closer so that he was practically cradled to me in the closest way the seat belts would allow, and I held him like that for the rest of the ride back to the flat.
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