C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N:
“Lou?” Zinnia pokes her head through his door, Daisy and Phoebe hanging off her waist.
Louis looks up at her, and he suddenly remembers how much he's missed her. It hits him all at once, like he ran into a wall. With him spending all his time with Harry, there hasn't been much for Zinnia. In these situations, Louis' always wanted her.
“Yeah?” Louis questions.
“The twins wanted to know if you and Harry wanted to come play Crazy Eights with us,” Zinnia says.
Louis looks down at Harry, passed out in the crook of his elbow. He hasn't been much company in a while, and Louis is starting to get lonely.
“Sure,” he agrees. Louis uses his thumb to brush Harry's hair away from is forehead and smiles as Harry makes a snuffling sound and burys his face in Louis' thigh.
Zinnia seems to catch on. “Go downstairs,” she orders the twins. “Louis and I will be down in a second.”
Once they're alone, Zinnia comes over and sits on the bed next to Louis. He continues to stroke over Harry's face, starting at his temple and then down to his cheek.
“How much do you love him?” Zinnia asks.
“A lot,” Louis replies, sliding his other hand down Harry's chest to curl it over his waist and stroke his hip.
“You know that you have something special, right?” she inquires.
He nods. “I know.”
Zinnia smiles softly and says, “Louis, you look at him like he's your whole world and he looks at you like you're the only one keeping him breathing.”
“Sometimes I feel like he's the only one keeping me here,” Louis confesses.
“I heard you yesterday,” she tells him.
His eyebrows furrow. “What?”
“I heard you doing whatever you and Harry were doing yesterday,” Zinnia elaborates. “I heard you moaning and then I heard Harry crying. What did you do to him?”
“Zinn, you don't understand,” Louis attempts, but Zinnia cuts him off.
“Are you forcing him into doing things?” she asks. “I know you love him, but, Louis, that doesn't mean you can have your way with him.”
“Fuck you,” Louis spits. “You know damn well that I'd never do that to him. We didn't do anything, just dry humping, and I stopped when Harry freaked out and told me to.”
“I'm sorry,” Zinnia sighs. “You're right, you'd never do something so cruel. I'm just stressed and tired and worn out over the Lottie situation. Forgive me?”
“Yeah,” he agrees, “you're forgiven.”
“So, dry humping?” Zinnia raises her eyebrows.
Louis pushes her shoulder. “Shut up. Let's go play cards.”
“Maybe I can show you my prom dress after,” she wiggles her eyebrows.
“Oh, you got your prom dress?” Louis asks. He slides Harry's body off his and rests his head on his pillow, drawing the blankets up to his chin. Louis places a gentle kiss on Harry's forehead, murming “I love you” in his ear.
“Yup,” Zinnia answers. “It's pink.”
“Shh,” Louis silences her. “I want it to be a surprise.”
“Want what to be a surprise?” comes Harry's groggy voice.
Louis and Zinnia spin around and Louis says, “Hey, baby. Nice nap?”
Zinnia raises her eyebrows at him and Harry blushes.
“I'll be downstairs,” she whispers to Louis. “If you and Harry aren't down in three minutes, I'm coming up to get you with one of Fizz's water guns.”
“Okay, I get it,” Louis rolls his eyes and goes over to Harry as Zinnia heads for the stairs. “Sorry, forgot that I'd embarass you. Come play cards with Zinnia, my sisters, and me?”
“Nah, I'm tired,” Harry declines. “Do you mind if I sleep here?”
Louis rolls his eyes. “What makes you think I'd say no? I should head downstairs, Zinnia said she'd come up with a water gun if I was down in three minutes.”
“Kiss me first,” Harry requests.
Louis laughs, but he's glowing on the inside. Harry's never like this and he loves it. He leans forward and presses his lips to Harry's, a short peck that only lasts a few seconds. When Louis pulls away, Harry falls back against the pillows and melts into the sheets.
“Love you,” Louis tells him sweetly. “Get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up.”
“I love you, too,” Harry reciprocates, then shuts his eyes and rolls over to bury his face in the pillows.
Just as Louis is heading up the door, Zinnia comes rushing up the stairs with a water gun. He ducks as she holds it out to fire it.
“Hey, hey,” he holds his hands out in surrender. “I was just getting Harry tucked in, so keep the water in the gun.”
Zinnia snorts and sets it down by the stairs, then reaches out to take Louis' wrist and drag him down them. They've barely started a game when Harry screams from upstairs.
Louis bolts out of his seat and takes the steps two at a time, bursting into his room with panic. He expects Harry to be hurt, but when he sees Harry sprawled out on the floor with his diary in his hand and the mattress hanging off the bed, he knows he's been caught and that Harry's angry. It's written all over his face.
“Why the hell do you have my diary?” Harry demands.
“Why were you looking through my stuff?” Louis tries to deflect the attention away from him, but Harry's not having it. Louis knew he wouldn't.
“I fell out of bed and your mattress shifted,” Harry answers the question anyway. “My diary fell out. So, would you care to explain why you have it?”
“I—I...” Louis is at a loss for words. There isn't any explanation that can make this better.
“That's what I thought,” Harry mutters. He stands up off the floor and goes to leave, put Louis grabs his wrist and pulls him back.
“Harry, please,” he begs. “It fell out of your bag. I shouldn't have taken it and I don't know why I did. I should have given it back right then and there. I'm so sorry.”
Harry closes his eyes shut. Louis knows he's losing this and he doesn't want to.
“I'm done,” Harry whispers. “You took my diary, you read it. Tell me, what entry did you make it to?”
“Two,” Louis replies. “Just two.”
“That's still more than enough,” Harry snaps. “You shouldn't have read any of it. This was private, only for me to see. I can't trust you. I don't know you. Just... I'm done. Now get out of my way so I can leave.”
Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Louis moves out of the way so Harry can leave. He feels defeated. He can't make Harry stay, even though he desperately wants to. He feels so utterly weak as the front door slams and Zinnia calls his name.
A/N: Uh, hi? If you're ready to kill me, remember that I'm typically a happy ending kind of girl. Yeah, just hang onto that. If you're hoping for the road trip in this book, it won't be happening, but it will be in the third. This chapter is dedicated to UWannaFrickleFrackle for having one of the best bios/usernames I've ever seen in my life.