Here it is guys, part 7 is finally done. I am really sorry that it took so long for me to update but things have been pretty messy lately, I´ve had alot to do at work and then I was at the hospital and my cat died yesterday so yeah, it´s been hard. This chapter is really shitty and short, I´m sorry about that but hopefully some of you might like it. Thanks for being so patient with me, love you all. xxx
P.S I also changed my writing style a little bit, in case some of you gets confused. Tell me your thoughts on it yeah?
When Harry wakes up it´s because of something vibrating on his chest, he opens his eyes only to have a pair of big blue eyes staring back at him. The hybrid´s eyes is slightly watery and the bags under his eyes is a sign that he hadn´t gotten very much sleep; Harry has a feeling he looks even worse.
“Hey.” He breathes out as he strokes Louis’ cheek with his thumb and the purring increases.
“You okay?” He asks quietly even though he already knows the answer, Louis shakes his head as he presses his face against Harry´s neck.
“I know love, I know, I feel the same way.” He sighs as he runs a hand over the hybrid´s back.
After laying there for a few minutes Harry figures it is time to face the music, he carefully nudges Louis so that he can sit up and he stares at Harry with pleading eyes.
“We have to get up Louis, they will be here soon and we need to eat breakfast before that.” The hybrid shakes his head furiously at Harry´s words and he sighs as he runs a hand through his tangled curls.
“I don´t want to either Louis but we have to, you get dressed and I´ll go and start on breakfast okay?” Harry gets up from the bed despite the protests coming from the hybrid, Harry kisses his forehead and then he leaves the room quickly before he can change his mind.
He decides to make Louis his favourite, seeing as it is their last breakfast together. As Harry is flipping a pancake he hears small footsteps approaching him and when he looks towards the door Louis appears, now dressed in black sweatpants and one of Harry´s jumpers.
“Hi love, take a seat, breakfast is almost done.” He murmurs and Louis does as he´s told.
They eat breakfast in complete silence, something they never did before and Harry could see how Louis sneaked glances at both him and the clock once in a while.
When they are done he drags Louis over to the sofa, the dishes completely forgotten in the kitchen and the hybrid happily snuggles up to him. Harry wraps his arms around Louis small form and he sighs as he rests his chin on top of Louis’ head, careful not to squish his small kitten ears.
Suddenly Harry feels wetness against his chest and he realises that the kitten boy is crying, he looks down at him startled and Louis blinks up at him with tears running down his flushed face. Harry shushes him as he wipes away the tears and the hybrid´s bottom lip wobbles as new tears start to well up in his bright blue eyes.
“Don´t cry sweetheart, it breaks my heart seeing you like this.” He croaks and Louis sniffles as he looks down.
“H-arry.” The hybrid´s voice is low and raspy from all the crying, Harry sighs as he presses Louis’ head against his chest and slowly rocks them back and forth.
“Shh, it´s gonna be okay Lou. You´ll see, we´re gonna be okay.” He doesn´t believe his own words but he hopes that it will at least give the hybrid some comfort. Harry is just about to continue talking when the doorbell rings and the hybrid freezes in his lap, he stares up at Harry with panic shining in his teary eyes and Harry swallows thickly.
“Lou…” He breathes out but before he can get another word out Louis has scrambled up from his lap and disappeared down the hallway. Harry sighs heavily as he runs a hand through his hair in distress, he gets up from the sofa and even though he really doesn´t want to he goes to open the door.
Harry doesn´t recognize the two men but it doesn´t matter, he would have hated then just as much.
“We´re here for the hybrid.” One of them grunts out and Harry nods slowly as he swallows back the tears.
“I´ll… I´ll go and get him.” He manages to croak out and then he turns around, leaving the two men standing in the doorway. He goes straight to his bedroom because he knows that´s where Louis will be. He kneels by the bed and when he looks underneath it he is met with crying blue eyes and muffled sobs.
“Oh kitten…” His stomach turns at the sight and he slowly reaches out towards the distraught hybrid.
“Come on Lou, get out of there.” He coaches softly and the hybrid sniffles quietly as he cautiously makes his way towards Harry. When he has come out from under the bed Harry immediately cradles him in his arms and Louis snuggles up against him as his warm tears stains Harry´s shirt. Harry rubs his back as he tries to hold back his own tears but fails miserably.
“Shh, it´s okay Lou, you´re gonna be okay I promise. I´m… I´m sure your new owner will love you and treat you just as good as I have.” He mumbles but Louis shakes his head and clings even more to him.
“H-arry.” His voice cracks but it´s determined either way. Harry looks at him sadly, he desperately wants to comfort the smaller boy but he knows their time together is running short.
“Louis… we need to get up, it´s time to go.” He mumbles and Louis wails as his claws dig into Harry´s chest. Despite the hybrid’s protests Harry gets up from the floor, Louis still in his arms and then he leaves the room. When they enters the living room the two men are leaning against the doorframe, both looking incredibly impatient.
“Finally, we were starting to think the hybrid had run away or something.” One of them grunts out. Harry just glares at them as he walks up to the door, with a writhing and whining Louis still in his grip. He carefully grabs Louis’ head in a desperate attempt to calm him down.
“Louis… Lou look at me, come on sweetheart.” Louis finally looks up at him, tears running down his face and Harry breathes in shakily.
“Louis, you have to go with them. I know you don´t want to but it´s for the best Lou, you never really belonged here with me.” He mumbles as tears starts to well up in his eyes as well. Apparently the men start to get impatient because Louis never gets the chance to respond. Within seconds they have grabbed Louis and pulled him away from Harry´s arms, Harry gasps as he automatically reaches out towards him and Louis shrieks as he toss and turns in the men´s hold.
“H-arry!” He screams as he scratches at the men but they don´t even flinch, probably used to the treatment they were receiving.
“Louis.” He breathes out and he can see the pain in the panicking hybrid´s eyes, just like the first time he had stared into those blue orbs. The door flings open and just like that Louis is gone, Harry can still hear the hybrid´s cries in the distance but Harry is rooted to the spot. Too numb to do anything but stare straight ahead, bottom lip bitten raw and heart acing in his chest.
The hybrid is gone, his Louis is gone.
Days pass and Harry is still numb, everything is completely empty without Louis. Harry goes to work every day as usual but it´s not the same anymore, it´s not as fun as it used to be and all he can think about is Louis. No one at work seems to notice that something is wrong, at least no one voices it and for that Harry is glad. He doesn´t need comfort, he needs Louis but Louis is gone. Harry avoids Simon at every cost as well, he doesn´t think he will be able to see him without punching him in the face and he doesn´t think Simon or the company will appreciate that very much.
He goes to the store as usual, does his paperwork and watches TV. He drinks tea before he goes to bed and does the laundry on Friday nights like he always does. He continues with his life and everything is as it should be, except it´s not. Harry tries not to think about it, he keeps himself busy at all times. He can´t let himself remember, wonder, if he did he would go crazy and that obviously can´t happen.
It´s a Thursday night when Harry finally breaks. Everything had gone as usual that day, he had gone to work and now he was doing some paperwork in the living room. He had a cup of tea on the table and when he reached out to take it, eyes still on some papers he manages to knock the cup over and it falls to the floor with a crash. Tea splashes all over the places and Harry curses as the hot liquid spatter on his bare feet.
Harry stares at the mess for a few seconds and then he sighs heavily, he gets up from the sofa and walks away still cursing colourfully. Once he´s mopped the tea up he kneels by the sofa to pick up the broken cup, it´s when he reaches out towards one of the smaller shards that he spots the bunny. The big glassy eyes seem to mock him and the fur is now grey with dust, Harry swallows thickly as he stares at the plush animal.
Tears immediately springs to his eyes and he drops the piece of porcelain that he held in his hand. He quickly gets up from his crouching position and stumbles towards the door, he grabs a coat and slips on some shoes, not even bothering to lock the door. When he finally reaches his destination he doesn´t even knock on the door, he just rushes inside his breathing laboured.
Nick comes stumbling from the living room with only a pair of sweatpants and an incredibly colourful jumper on, Nick stares at him completely baffled, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. He stumbles back a few steps as Harry barrels into him but he manages to stay on his feet, he stares down at the crying man in astonishment.
Harry never cries and if he does he does it where no one will see or hear him. Harry is wailing words into Nick´s jumper that he absolutely cannot understand.
“Hey! Haz? What´s the matter? Come on mate, talk to me.” He speaks loud enough for Harry to hear and he stares up at Nick with red rimmed eyes. He sniffles and tries to catch his breath for a few minutes as Nick rubs his back, patiently waiting for an explanation. Eventually it comes, with a loud voice and shaking hands.
“He´s gone! He´s actually fucking gone Nick, and I-I miss him. I miss him so much and I can´t fucking function!” His voice is hoarse and Nick furrows his eyebrows at his little rant.
“Are you talking about Louis? Haz… it´s been over a month, don´t you think it´s time to forget him and move on? This isn´t healthy Harry, there´s nothing you can do mate I´m sorry.” He mumbles but he quickly regrets his words when Harry glares at him, green eyes dark with anger.
“Forget him? Nick I can´t just forget him, it´s not that easy!” He exclaims as he grips his curls in frustration.
“Harry… you barely knew the kid, he couldn´t even talk. It´s not like you can miss the great conversations you two used to have because there weren´t any!” Nick doesn´t want to sound like a complete dick but he also knows that Harry needs to hear the truth.
“Shut up! You have no idea what you´re talking about, I knew him better than anyone else! I miss our conversations like fuck, we had great conversations and I had no problem at all with understanding him.” Harry takes a break panting heavily and Nick stares at him, he has never seen Harry so worked up about something before.
“So what if he couldn´t talk, he learnt my name Nick! He fucking said my name, pleading and I just… let them take him.” Harry´s voice is quiet and his shoulders sags in defeat, Nick looks at him sadly not knowing what to say.
“Haz…”
“Don´t bother Nick, I know what you´re thinking. I can´t just give up on him though, I love him. I love him Nick and I can´t believe I didn´t realize that before.” He moans and Nick sighs heavily, putting a hand on Harry´s shoulder.
“Mate if you love him as much as he loves you… then you have to get him back.” Nick´s voice is firm and Harry looks up in surprise, not believing his ears.
“W-what? Nick…”
“Just hear me out okay? I know you can´t just go there and grab him, that would be suicidal and you would probably lose your job as well.”
“I don´t care about my job anymore Nick, you know that. I just want Louis back, that´s all I´m asking for.” He mumbles, not looking Nick in the eyes.
“I know Haz, I just… I don´t know how you´re going to get him back, all I know is that you have to, in some way. Just try to be patient, alright mate? You´ll figure out something eventually, you always do.” Harry gives him a small smile and Nick smiles back, patting him on the shoulder. It a slight relief, seeing Harry smile again but Nick is still worried. The smile doesn´t reach Harry´s eyes and that is usually not a good sign.
Months pass and Harry is still very much miserable. He only goes to work when he needs to turn in some papers, he can´t stand seeing all the hybrids. The only hybrid he wants to see is gone and Harry might never see him again. He tries very hard not to go crazy and with the help of Nick he almost succeeds, almost.
It is when six whole months have passed without Louis and most of Harry´s sanity that something unexpected happens. Harry gets a phone call ridiculously early in the morning and when he answers it it´s Simon´s voice that tells him to come down to his office as soon as he possibly can.
When Harry arrives at Simon´s office he has no idea what to expect and he might be just a little bit afraid.
“Have a seat Harry.” Simon says and Harry swallows as he does what he´s told.
“So Harry, do you have any idea why you´re here?” He asks and Harry frowns, not liking Simon´s tone.
“No, not really sir.” Simon smiles.
“Well let´s not beat around the bush eh? You know that we always check up on the creatures we sell, to make sure they´re being treated after our requirements?” He asks and Harry looks up at him, eyes full of questions.
“Uh… yes sir, I am aware.”
“Good, good… you remember that cat hybrid you took care of right?” Harry´s eyes widen at the mention of Louis and he leans forward in his seat, desperately trying to keep his cool.
“Y-yeah, I remember him.” He manages to stutter out and Simon looks pleased.
“Well I want you to check up on him.” There´s a strange ringing in his ears and Harry stares at Simon, not knowing what to say. He´s too shocked to even form a simple sentence, he is going to see Louis again. He finally croaks out a “really?” and Simon chuckles.
“Yes, really. It has been six months now and that´s usually how long we wait before we check up on them. I´ll give you the address to the place, it will probably take an hour or so by car.” Simon continues to talk but Harry has stopped listening long ago. He´s going to see Louis, after six fucking months he will get to see his kitten again.
What if Louis has forgotten all about him though? What if his new owner treats him better and Louis likes him more than Harry? What if Louis has moved on, what would Harry do then? Thoughts like that were running through his head as he drove to the place where Louis now lived. He didn´t know what to expect but he had a bad feeling about the whole thing especially when he saw the house.
When he pulled up into the driveway he was met with a gigantic mansion, made out of dark grey bricks and a black roof. The garden looked incredibly creepy with statues all over the lawn and a large fountain in the middle, not a single flower or plant in sight. The gravel crunched under his feet as Harry made his way over to the huge wooden door and he swallowed hard as he straightened his blazer, he needed to keep calm in order for this to work out the way he wanted it to.
As he reaches out to ring the doorbell the door suddenly opens and Harry takes a step back in surprise, a man clad in a suit stands before him looking incredibly suspicious.
“Mr Styles I presume?” The man has an odd accent and Harry raises an eyebrow, why did everything seem so out of place?
“Yes, that´s me.” He clears his throat and the man nods as he opens the door wider.
“We have been expecting you, please come in Mr Styles.” Harry nods as he steps inside the mansion, the man closing the door behind him. The hall is big with a blood red carpet covering the floor, the stone walls covered in weird paintings that gave Harry the creeps, how could someone live in a place like this?
“This way Mr Styles, Master is waiting for you in his office.” Harry follows the bald man through several corridors and he can´t help but to wonder if someone had even gotten lost in the maze they called house.
They finally stop in front of a brown door and the butler nods for him to go inside. He takes a deep breath, preparing himself for the meeting and then he steps inside. He is pleasantly surprised when the office actually looks like an office, there was no strange paintings or other creepy things, just regular things like bookshelves and a gigantic desk stacked with papers.
“Ah Mr Styles, I have been waiting for you!” A deep voice exclaimed and Harry jumps in surprise as he turns on the spot, now facing the window. By the window stands a fairly tall man, probably several years older than Harry by the looks of it. He has short black hair, slicked back with hair gel and the grey suit he has on looks like it had cost more than Harry´s car. The man’s small dark brown eyes watch him with interest and Harry holds back a shudder, instantly disliking the man.
“Uh yes, that´s me. It´s nice to meet you Mr…”
“Hale, but you can call me Thomas.” The man, Thomas grins at him and Harry tries his best to smile back.
“So, Simon called me and said it was time for the check-up. Do you want to see it now or do you have any questions first?” There´s a slight edge to the man´s voice now and Harry raise his eyebrows.
“Uh I have some standard questions I have to ask first, it won´t take long.” He ads when Thomas frowns. He nods thoughtfully and Harry swallows as he looks around awkwardly.
“Well go on then.” He coaches and once again Harry jumps a little.
“Right, well uh… do you have any other creatures apart from this one?”
“No, I´ve had a few in the past but as for now I´ve only got this one.” Harry nods as he shifts under Thomas’ hard gaze.
“Okay, what do you work with and does it require you being away a lot?” Thomas barks out a laugh at the question and Harry frowns, disliking the man more and more.
“I own a few businesses here and there, but I work from here. Sometimes I have to travel to the companies but not very often so no, I´m home a lot.”
“Sounds like a good job, do you live here by yourself and are there a lot of people coming and going?” Thomas’ eyes flicker around the room at the question and Harry does not feel good about that, not at all.
“I live here plus the workers who are 20 people in total. As for the coming and going thing… because of my work there is indeed a lot of people here during the days but I assure you that they are just as classy and mannered as me.” Harry fights the urge to roll his eyes, classy, yeah right.
“Okay, well thank you for your honesty Mr Hale. That is all I´ve got to ask you for now.” He nods a smile on his thin lips and Harry bites his lip, waiting for him to give him the okay to see his kitten.
“Well of course, I am nothing but an honest man Mr Styles. Shall we go and check on it then, I´m sure you´re a busy man.” Harry nods eagerly and Thomas opens the door, stepping out of the room with Harry close behind.
When they have walked through yet another maze of corridors Thomas leads him down a giant staircase made out of stone, leading to an almost basement like room. Chills run down his spine and Harry quickens his pace, not wanting to get lost. Thomas stops in front of a big, thick wooden door with a big lock on and Harry frowns. He takes out a set of keys and unlocks the door with the biggest one, Thomas monitions for him to step inside and Harry quickly does, the room makes him think of a dungeon.
Everything in the room is made out of cold stone; the only light in the room comes from the now open door. There´s no furniture and there´s nothing on the walls, not even a single window. When Harry looks down he gets both shocked and unbelievably angry.
There on the floor is Louis, his kitten, chained to the wall by a chain which is attached to a collar around his neck. The small blanket he´s sitting on is worn and dirty and he´s only wearing his boxers, nothing else in the cold room. There´s new bruises on the hybrid´s skin and he has dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, his nails are worn down and bloody probably from scratching on the floor and walls.
Harry wants to turn around and kill the man who´s currently smirking behind him, he doesn´t though. That is not something he wants Louis to see. When he has recovered slightly from the shock he manages to croak out a “oh god” and Louis’ head immediately shots up at the sound of Harry´s voice, his eyes are wide and searching. When their eyes meet Harry´s breath hitches and Louis’ bottom lip starts to wobble, his whole face scrunching up with emotion.
“H-arry?” His voice is small and hoarse, questioning and Harry swallows.
“Lou.” He whispers and Louis lets out a whine. He stands up on his knees and lunges towards Harry, choking himself on the collar as he desperately tries to get to him. Harry quickly runs up to him, before he can hurt himself further and he cradles the small hybrid in his arms. Louis buries his head in Harry´s neck, whining lowly and Harry´s heart aches. Harry carefully massages Louis’ bruised neck and the hybrid starts crying, small sobs shaking his now even lither body.
He has no idea how long he tries to calm down the crying hybrid but eventually he manages, Louis is still crying slightly but the shaking has stopped. Harry then looks up to see Thomas standing by the door, staring at them with wide eyes a look of distaste on his face. Harry clears his throat, desperately trying to figure out what to say and the first thing that comes out shocks not only Thomas but himself as well.
“How much?”
“Excuse me?” Thomas looks incredibly confused and even Louis has stopped crying to look up at Harry, looking equally confused.
“How much do you want for him?” He asks again more slowly and Thomas eyebrows disappear into his hairline.
“I… Mr Styles I´m sorry but he´s not for sale.” He says awkwardly and Harry sighs, getting more and more impatient and frustrated.
“I don´t care, name a price and I´ll give it to you.” His voice is dead serious and Thomas frowns, he seems to be contemplating it for a few seconds and then he smiles.
“Alright Mr Styles, give me 20 million and he´s all yours.” Harry doesn´t even blink.
“Deal.” Thomas stares at him in surprise for a moment but then he nods, grinning like a mad man.
Once Harry has written the man a check which he studies closely for five minutes he demands Thomas to unchain Louis, which he does as he grumbles under his breath. As soon as Louis is free he runs up to Harry, he´s limping badly so Harry meets him halfway and picks him up. He almost wants to cry at how light he is but he doesn´t mention it, not wanting to anger the man more than necessary.
He walks out of the mansion without a single word to the man or the butler, he just cradles Louis close and walks out the door. Louis is oddly quiet on the way to the car and Harry frowns, getting more and more worried about him for each second that goes by. When they reach the car Harry sits him down in the passenger seat and Louis flinches visibly, Harry narrows his eyes as he quickly closes the door and gets in beside him.
“Louis… what´s wrong?” He asks carefully, Louis lowers his eyes in shame and that´s when Harry spots something incredibly wrong. The hybrid´s boxers are caked with dried blood, the most of it on the back. Harry gasps in outrage and Louis whimpers as he curls up on the seat, trying to make himself as small as possible. Harry breathes in shakily, not wanting to freak out in front of Louis and when he´s sure he´s collected enough he reaches out towards the shaking hybrid.
Louis flinches slightly at first but after some reassuring words he carefully crawls up into Harry´s lap. He hugs the hybrid close as he strokes his ears, realizing just how much he´s missed the little cat boy. Louis looks up at him with teary eyes, looking incredibly vulnerable and Harry hushes him as he kisses his hair.
“Louis… you have no idea how much I´ve missed you. I never stopped thinking about you, I never forgot. I will never, ever let you go again and I´m so sorry that I did at all. You will never have to go back to a place like that okay? I won´t let anyone treat you like that, I´ll treat you like a prince from now on okay?” He murmurs and Louis hiccups, giggling slightly. Harry smiles at him as he gently puts him back into his own seat.
“Try to sleep love, it will take a while getting home.” He kisses Louis’ temple and he immediately relaxes, closing his eyes and only minutes later he´s asleep.
As Harry drives them home he´s still boiling with anger but he knows his rage will have to wait, the last thing he wants is to scare Louis. When he pulls up into the driveway he gently shakes Louis awake who blinks up at with sleepy eyes and Harry resists the urge to coo at him. He refuses to let Louis walk so he carries him inside and walks straight to the bathroom, setting him down on the toilet.
“You wanna take a shower?” Harry asks quietly and Louis sniffles as he nods slightly.
“Okay, do you want me to leave?” Louis grabs his sleeve in his little fist, shaking his head furiously making Harry frown.
“You want my help?” The hybrid nods and Harry breaths in shakily as he runs a hand through his curls, not knowing what to expect.
The shower goes well; Louis is really shy at first but relaxes as soon as Harry starts washing his hair. Harry curses every time he discovers a new bruise or wound but he tries not to scare Louis too much. It is when Harry starts washing off Louis’ bum that he loses it, the water turns a nasty shade of red immediately and Harry can feel his stomach turning at the sight.
Harry quickly turns the water off and sprints to the toilet where he throws up everything he has eaten that day, he dry heaves for a few minutes and then he finally flushes and leans back against the toilet. He hears a small whine and then Louis is crawling out of the tub and towards Harry on the floor where he curls up and Harry wraps his arms around him.
Louis wipes away the tears on Harry´s cheeks and Harry gives him a wobbly smile.
“I´m sorry you had to see that Lou, I just… I can´t stand the thought of you being hurt like that. I´m okay now though so don´t worry, I think I just needed to get that out of my system.” The hybrid nods slowly as he rubs his nose against Harry´s cheek and Harry can´t help but to smile, he doesn´t even care that he is soaked now because of the dripping hybrid in his lap.
“What do you say about getting up from here and I´ll go and find you something to get dressed in?” He asks with raised eyebrows and Louis nods, smiling brightly at him. Harry helps him stand up and then carries him to the bedroom where he sits him down on the bed. When he has found the Louis some clothes to wear he puts them on the bed, smiling at the blushing hybrid.
“Here you go, you get dressed while I go and brush my teeth. Then we can cuddle up on the sofa with some milk and tea that sound good?” He nods eagerly and Harry smiles as he ruffles his hair before walking back into the bathroom.
Later that night when Harry is preparing Louis warm milk, now in dryer clothes he catches himself humming. He shakes his head in disbelief, not believing how sad he really was without Louis. When he walks into the living room, two steaming mugs in his hands he can´t do anything other than coo at the sight before him. Louis is curled up on the sofa, wearing a way too big jumper and too long sweatpants which both belong to Harry. His little nose is buried in the fur of his white bunny and one of his kitten ears are twitching, Harry smiles as he sets the mugs down on the table and Louis cracks an eye open.
“Hey bub, your milk is ready.” Louis immediately brightens and he throws himself at the mug, drinking it down quickly.
“Slow down kitten, you´re gonna get the hiccups.” He scolds and the hybrid pouts but curls up against Harry anyway.
They sit in silence for a while until Louis starts squirming and shifts so that he can rest his head against Harry´s neck. Harry smiled fondly as he starts stroking the hybrid´s soft hair, seconds later Louis is purring. He feels Louis breathing slowing down and then his voice breaks the silence.
“Love H-arry.” His voice is just a soft murmur but Harry freezes nonetheless, staring down at the hybrid who is now chewing on his bottom lip. He looks incredibly worried and scared and Harry really wants to comfort him but he needs some time to process the whole thing, his brain is still in shock. It feels like it has gone several hours when Harry finally speaks up.
“Love you too Lou, so much.” And that is that, nothing more nothing less. Louis licks him on the cheek and then he starts purring again, as if nothing had happened. Something had changed though, something felt different but Harry couldn´t figure out what it was.
All he knew was that he was happy once again, content. He had gotten Louis back, his kitten was back and neither of them could have been any happier.