Hazza: Wish me luck BooBear... I just heard the front door close. Ready to tape...
Boobear: I believe in you. Good luck. ❤️❤️
Harry quickly hid his phone in the spot he had tested before. The door was unlocked, and he was ready for what was going to come. Sure he felt like puking, but he was ready for it to happen, so he could get it over with. If he could get enough video proof then maybe he could tell on Derek and put him in jail forever. He doesn't want to tell anyone until he's absolutely sure that Derek will be shut away to never get out. Sure enough, the door swung open, and Harry sat up on his bed. "You're failing math. How could you be failing a class?" Harry bit his lip, he didn't think Derek would ever find out about that.
"I-I think I might be dyslexic... the numbers jump around... please don't be mad..." Harry pleaded, before getting whacked across the face, Derek not holding back on his hit at all. Harry started to cry, because he knew this would permanently be recorded. Not only on the phone, but in his mind. This is something that he can't forget. Derek threw him onto his stomach, and smacked him again, this time on his back. Physical abuse was nothing new to Harry, but usually Derek preferred to stay around his bottom, which Harry hated with all of his heart, but it healed. This doesn't seem like it'll heal too quickly. Derek picked up a thin cane (he must have brought it in with him), and tore Harry's shirt off. His bottoms came off, and Harry just covered his head.
Derek whacked Harry time and time again, leaving small welts with every stroke of the cane. All the way down his hands and arms, through his neck and back, down his legs and feet, absolutely destroying the back of his body. "Flip over boy." Derek commanded. Harry trembled, praying desperately that he wouldn't do the same to his front. He slowly turned himself so he was facing up, making sure he was within the view of the camera. He hated to do it, and this was certainly not the first time he wanted his boyfriend to see him nude, which is why he would keep the videos, but likely not do much with them.
Derek pushed Harry's hands away from his face, and gave him several strokes with the cane, working his way down his body. Harry was left writhing, trying to get away from the painful welting, to no avail. "If I find out you're making your parents look bad again, you're through. I don't care about this whole 'dyslexia' thing you claim to have, but you'd better get over it quickly. Oh, and that boy that you keep going out with? I don't like him. And you're going to start getting punished for seeing him, if you can keep handling it. You're such a pussy though, I can't see it happening."
Harry cried harder and shook much more. Derek threw the cane down, and left the room. Harry knew it was over then, and crawled across the floor. Blood poured out of his knuckles, he saw it happen as he reached up to grab the phone. He made the camera front-facing, and tried to choke down some tears. "I-it's th-the 24th of-f February... D-Derek Fox h-has just done wh-what you saw..." Harry shows his arms, bleeding hands, and whatever he was able to show. "I-I hope this will be some of enough to put him away. He's th-threatened to kill me an-and my m-mummy..." Harry ended the video, and saw three texts from Louis.
Boobear: You're so brave facing this, so so brave love.
Boobear: I hope you still want to go to the zoo tomorrow, when you told me about it I just know your sweet green eyes lit up, and I want you to have more of that my prince.
Boobear: if you want I can come pick you and your mum up... ya know, I bet your mum would like my mum, we could have a total night...
Harry made a weak smile, and sniffled, wiping his nose. He hid his phone away, and called out for his mum quietly. Anne walked in, and immediately dropped to the ground next to her son. "What happened baby?" She asked, sliding him into her comforting lap. He cuddled into her side, and pulled out his phone. He unlocked it, and showed her the texts from Louis. She read them quietly, shushing Harry all the while. She handed him the phone back, and nodded. "Tell me what you want to wear, and tell me what you want to have with you. Let him know the address but be very clear that he isn't to knock. Just have him text you. And we can get ready, and we can go. Everything will be okay, yeah?" Harry nodded sadly, and started to reply to Louis.
Hazza: yeah, please pick me up, me and mum. Don't freak out, I tripped and fell down some stairs earlier.
Boobear: there's an option to track your phone, I can do that to pick u up? And oh?
Hazza: I'm just a clumsy person Lou, I struggle with being a person. I thought we established that on the first date when I tried to sip my cocoa and MISSED.
Boobear: checkmate.
Hazza: S T O P oh my gosh
Boobear: 😊😊😊
Hazza: yeah go ahead track my phone, and please remember. Don't freak out.
Hazza: oh yeah! And don't knock. Step is already asleep. Don't want to wake him.
Boobear: of course... I'm on my way.
Louis hopped into his car, and started tracking Harry's phone. The process took a couple minutes, which was beneficial for Harry. He and his mum needed time to pack up a little, which eventually got accomplished. Anne was able to slip the unscented lotion into Harry's bag, and carry it and him to the front porch (once he had gotten dressed of course). Anne came with her bag and sat on the porch with Harry, kissing his cheek gently. "Oh, I fell down a flight of stairs in case anyone asks." Anne nodded sadly, and smiled gently when Louis pulled up. He leapt out of the car, and immediately ran towards Harry. "I told you not to freak out, running is freaking out love bug. I'm okay, really. We packed lotion."
Louis nodded slowly, and bit his lip. "This isn't me freaking out, but... I want mum to help you out with these injuries. Falling down the stairs is a serious injury, and I promise that I won't see anything I won't even be in the room if you want, but I really want mum to take a look at you." Louis picked up the bags for the two, packing them into his car, all while making his little speech. Harry looked to his mum, unsure of how to respond. Sure, it'd be great if he got patched up, but what if she suspected something and tried to investigate like Louis did? Louis knowing about spankings was already too much, and if his mum found something to investigate, he wouldn't have enough proof to put Derek into prison for the rest of his life.
"Okay." Harry complied, painfully making his way to the car. He crawled into the front, while his mum went gladly into the back. Sitting in the front seat was a cup of cocoa, with "Harry" written on the lid. The boy for whom the cocoa was for smiled as much as he could, and picked up the cup.
"See, cause the last time that you were all sad n stuff, when you had cocoa it cheered you up. I mean, you like cocoa, don't you?" Harry nodded, taking a sip out of the giant cup. He had never had a strong affinity for the hot drink before, before Louis that is. Now it's bar none his favorite beverage, hot or cold. "And I um... I mean, I want to be with you in the exam room. If you're okay with it?" Harry, melted a little by the cocoa gift, nodded silently. He shot a look back to his mum, and shrugged. She mouthed back to him 'stairs', and Harry was confident on his plan then. He fell down a flight of stairs. Somehow.
When pulling up to Louis' house, Anne's jaw dropped. Louis led Anne and Harry inside, where they were welcomed by Jay. Louis showed Harry's facial marks, and she immediately ushered everyone to the exam room. Harry had to take off his shirt and pants, it was necessary. He fought against it, and whined loudly, until Louis promised to just hold his hand and be blindfolded the whole time. Legitimately. Harry always pictured future lovers, and how this moment would happen, this was none of the scenarios however. So Louis had to be blindfolded.
"Oh sweetie... how did this happen?" Jay asked, running a gentle hand over Harry's batteries chest. Harry nodded towards his mum nervously, and cleared his throat.
"I fell down a flight of stairs." He lord smoothly, running a hand over a deep mark, trying to make his cover story a lot more believable. Jay hummed, and nodded.
"Oh? Because hon, these look like physical marks made by a cane. Bamboo in my experience." Harry's eyes flit back to his mum, and squeezed Louis' hand tighter.
"That's impossible, that couldn't have happened. And it doesn't make sense cause I fell down stairs, and I didn't have these before I did!" Harry protested, voice higher but more persistent.
"I'm not arguing that you fell down a flight of stairs honey, but I'm saying love, that these marks couldn't have been made by stairs. I need you to tell me the truth and I need it now." Harry shook his head rapidly and backed away from jay, tears gathering in his eyes.
"Bamboo stairs! They were stairs of bamboo. At a local traveling museum. Just left town." Anne blurred out, making eye contact with jay. Mrs. Tomlinson eyed both Harry and Anne, and noticing how frightened Harry looked, backed off.
"Okay. Bamboo stairs. I'm gonna clean the deeper, bloody wounds out, the rest we can just get some lotion laced with Neosporin onto. How's that sound? Huh? Pretty brave letting me look at the marks..." Jay offered, putting out the necessary equipment. Harry nodded and went back to where he was told to sit. He hid his face in Louis' shoulder, and patiently allowed Jay to clean out each and every wound. Cleaning the wounds out was not even close to how painful it was getting them, but it still hurt. Harry winced sharply at a thick cut across his chest. "I want to bandage this. Think you can stand having your chest bandaged for the night? I know it's uncomfortable and all..." Harry nodded quietly, snuggling further into Louis' shoulder. He always wanted someone to cuddle with, and Louis seemed okay with it for the moment.
As Johanna moved around Harry, taping gauze into place and wrapping diligently, Anne cleared her throat. "Harry doesn't really go to the doctor normally. We can't really afford it at the moment... is he looking alright otherwise? If you don't mind?" Anne just wanted to look out for her son, it was really all she ever wanted. Jay taped off the end of the bandage, and helped Harry slide his shirt back on, followed by his joggers.
"His new job comes along with healthcare benefits, that is, if he doesn't mind coming to me for checkups?" Harry shook his head, looking up shyly at his boyfriend's mum. She smiled and tucked a curl away. "Good. Now I noticed you've been very warm, so I'm going to guess a little fever, so I can get you some Tylenol, yeah? Also, you seem to be very tired, so for the next week or so I want you to keep track of your sleeping, okay Harry? I think those two things are very important. Other than that, I want you to try to be a little more careful, we don't want you breaking any bones or falling down any more flights of stairs now do we?" Harry shook his head, smiling softly at her acceptance of his excuse.
"Can I open my eyes yet?" Louis asked, earning a small giggle from Harry.
"Yeah, go ahead. Can I go to bed sometime soon? M really tired..." Harry said, shrugging at his mum. Sure, getting beaten with a cane takes a lot out of you, but Jay was right. Harry had been tired a lot lately, and it was making Anne worry. Maybe he was working too hard at his job, or school, or both, and it certainly didn't help to come home to getting hit at night. Louis hopped off the table, and leaned over a bit in front of Harry. "What on earth are you doing sunshine?" Harry asked, rubbing at one of his eyes sleepily.
"My prince is tired. So I'm gonna take you to somewhere private you can get dressed, then back to my room... if that's okay? I- not necessarily to sleep in my bed- or anything else- I- there's a hidden bed in my room and I- just- I really like you- I just wanna keep an eye on- no wait- I-" Harry cut Louis off, crawling onto his back, and snuggling into his shoulder. He rested his head on Louis' back, nuzzling his cheek against his sunshine. "I just want you to be safe..." Louis muttered, holding on tightly to Harry. Harry hummed gently, effectively shushing the beet-red Louis. He traipsed Harry up to his room, and set him down on the bed. "Just wait, I'll go get your bag for you. It's the green one, yeah?" Harry nodded and smiled.
"A lot of things correspond to my eye color..." he said, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Louis smiled fondly, loving the way Harry looked when he was sleepy. He dashed downstairs to find the green duffle bag, and scooped it up, almost running back to the stairs. He turned around, grabbed Anne's bag as well, and brought it to the guest room next to his mum's. He sauntered back into his room, and set Harry's bag onto the bed, making it easy for him to access.
"Can I turn and set up your bed while you change? Don't want to pressure you, just feel as though it'd be more effective." Harry nodded in agreement, and started to dig through his bag for his pajamas. Louis turned to the massive cabinet on the adjacent wall, and flung it open. Louis would never lie, he loved being flamboyant, dramatic, and flaring up a scene. He pulled the gold-colored rope (again, the dramaticism was just too unavoidable), and down glided the bed from the wall. Granted, at this point it was just a mattress, but Louis wanted to set it up cozy for Harry. "Do you like simple like hotel sheets, or do you want fluffy and plush?" As fate would have it, in strode the fluffy cat that Harry had fallen for in his first day of work.
Harry scooped Winnie up, and walked over to Louis, now fully clad in pjs. "Can you make it fluffy like Winnie pretty please?" He asked, cuddling her to his chest. Louis giggled, and gave both heads a ruffle.
"Of course. You can take a seat on my bed, I'll go get all sorts of sheets. It's still a little cold, so I'll set you up an electric blanket too, deal?" This had to be a dream. Really, Harry couldn't honestly believe anything that was happening was truly happening. Just two hours ago his body was being thrashed by a wooden cane, and he was in so much pain he couldn't hardly comprehend it. Harry's eyes glossed over, and he snuggled closer to the sweetest cat he'd ever met. "Are you okay sweetie?" Louis stumbled back in, arms full of green sheets, green blankets, a green duvet, and a green electric blanket. He promptly dropped everything on the floor, and made his way over to Harry.
"I just feel so lucky right now... I don't think it's any surprise that we aren't very well off, so I don't have much for a bed." That was a lie. There were more blankets in the house, he was just restricted from having them. "I get to sleep in my boyfriend's room tonight. My sweet, sunshine of a boyfriend who's so respectful that he won't look at me until I'm ready for him to see me. A-and I know that we've only been dating for a month and a half or so, and I know this is kinda a big step, but it just all feels so right. So good. And I swear to God I've never drank so much cocoa in my life." Louis giggled, and kissed Harry gently on the cheek. He caressed his face for a moment, and allowed it to stay silent for just a second.
"Good. More cocoa to come then." Louis promised, picking up the fitted sheet from the ground. Harry watched as Louis diligently made the bed, going from corner to corner assembling it. Fitted sheet, top sheet, thin blanket, electric blanket, and duvet. "You like pillows?" Louis asked, causing Harry to laugh loudly. He nodded and sighed as Louis scrambled out of the room. He plopped back down on the bed, and waited for Louis to return. But... what was that? Was that... wheels? Why did Harry hear wheels? The door pushed open to see a massive pile of pillows in a cart being pushed by Louis, who was dwarved by comparison. Harry started laughing harder as Louis covered each pillow in a green pillow case, and tossed them on the bed haphazardly.
Harry was laughing so hard that he started crying, squeaking out from a lack of breath. Winnie darted off, not loving the noise, but he just couldn't help himself. Louis was so loving, but in such a dorky way that it just made Harry laugh. A knock came to the door as Louis threw something like the 12th pillow onto the bed. Louis called out for whomever to come in, and Jay walked into the room, followed by Anne. "Well. What's the use in having the pillows if we can't use them? Don't worry Anne, there are still plenty for you, I promise. Anything else green you want to steal Louis?" Louis pushed away the empty cart, and smirked.
"I believe I set up Harry well. Harry, are you pleased?" Louis asked. Now feeling awfully goofy, Harry strode over to the bed, and pretended to inspect it all around. He picked up a pillow, and rotated it 90 degrees, before flopping onto the giant bed. He laughed a little, and nodded.
"I love it." He confirmed, snuggling himself under the covers. Louis nodded, and made his way over to his own bed.
"Can you turn off the light? But leave the door open, we could use some kitty visitors in here tonight. I know you've met Winnie, but we actually have five cats." Harry tried to sit up from under the pile of pillows, eyes shining with excitement. "We have Winnie, then her brother, Winston. There's a sweet Siamese named Hannah, she can be kinda pushy though. Then we have Jim and Pam, little love birds, Jim is this little brown cat, and Pam is this lovely Maine coon. They make it work. Couple may come in during the night, didn't want them to scare you."
If the term 'wiggled gleefully like the best thing that could've happened just did, and the wiggly joy cannot be contained' was ever appropriate, now would be that time. Harry's entire face lit up, and he squealed in delight. "Harry loves cats- we always wanted one but it's never been the right time. You've just blown a gasket in his brain." Anne said, trying to explain her 16-year old son's childlike joy.
"Then I will gladly be a cat parent for the rest of my life if it makes him this happy." Louis announced, causing Jay to roll her eyes.
"Romeo over here.." she mumbled, shutting the light off in the room.
As Harry drifted off to sleep, gradually the bed got fuller and fuller. First Hannah leaped on, curling up by Harry's feet. Then Pam sprawled out on the bed, not necessarily by Harry, but still cozy in the bed. Jim joined shortly after, curling up next to Pam, flicking his tail lightly on Harry's leg. Next joined Winston, taking a pillow for himself, and curling into a small ball. Lastly, Winnie returned, crawling under the warm covers, and cuddling into Harry's side.
All of Harry's mind was a fuzzy mess, and all he wanted to do was live in this moment forever.