An officer arrived moments later, but Louis refused to speak. He refused to give them any names and he wouldn't look up from my curls when I finally stepped in to tell the officer where those people were. When I couldn't remember the exact address of the restaurant top home, Liam stepped in and began giving the details. Lou's fingers clung gingerly to the fabric of my jacket and for the majority of the time that the officer tried to talk to him he kept his face buried in my neck.
"One last set of questions, young man," the officer tried again. "I just need you to tell me a few things about you. What's your full name? Your birthday? Your hometown? The name of the one sister you should know the name of?"
Louis leaned away from my neck and lifted his head, stress was etched into every bit of his face, "Louis William Tomlinson. December 24, 1991. I was born in Doncaster before we moved to Holmes Chapel... My sister..." His eyes drifted frantically from Jay to me. Charlotte had only been a few months old when he was taken...
"Mum!" a higher pitched voice reached our ears as a blonde came trapsing down the steps. Niall was following close behind her, trying to drag her back up the steps. "Mum, I'm hungry! He ate all of our crisps!" she shouted in an exasperated manner.
"Lottie..." Louis murmered out almost inaudibly.
Her blue eyes drifted to Louis, and stared for a moment, "You must be Louis..."
The officer nodded his head after realizing that Louis had answered all of his questions and dismissed himself. He shared a few words with Liam that I couldn't hear before he exitted the home.
"Yeah... I am..." Lou's grip tightened on my jacket before he released me and pushed himself to his feet.
Lottie shifted about nervously where she stood on the last of the steps, "So you're the brother I've heard so much about?" A small grin played at her lips, it reminded me so much of Lou's.
Niall had released her after Liam directed him to go back up to Zayn and the other girls.
"Y...Yeah..." he nodded his head swiftly. I could see that his hands were trembling a bit but he was trying to desperately hide it.
There was a small moment of hesitation before Lottie's shoes padded lightly across the floor. Her thin arms wrapped gingerly around Louis and she rested her head against his chest, "Stop being so fidgity and come play with us!"
A look of surprise crossed his face before a warm smile tugged at the edges of his lips, "O...Okay."
She released him and grabbed ahold of his hand before beginning to pull him up the steps.
His trembling hand gripped onto mine just before he could be out of my reach.
I looked at him with a bit of confusion before getting up and letting him pull me along.
As I fell into step with him he leaned over just a little. "Hold my hand..." he whispered out softly with a little grin.
It made me... happy that he wanted me to stay with him. It made me feel needed that he wanted me there with him for all of these new things... Was I selfish in thinking that? I was all that the new Lou knew that was from his childhood. He knew his mum but not recently... I was what he had and he wanted me to stay with him.
The oldest of his four sisters lead us up the stair case and into Liam's media room. Niall was sprawled on his stomach with the twins on his back holding him down and Fizzy was trying her best to get ahold of Zayn's hair while he tried to get the twins off of Niall. It was a cute sight really. Niall was powerless and Zayn's weakness was being desperately attacked. They were at the merciless hands of a few little girls.
Their big eyes moved over to Louis and I once we reached the room's entrance.
"Louis, this is Felicite or Fizz, and the twins Daisy and Pheobe..." Lottie pointed out with a grin on her lips.
Louis lifted his free hand and waved a little earning him a smiled from the little twins. They released Niall and latched onto the legs of their new captive. Little giggles escaped them as he tried to get used to the sudden touching.
"A bit awkward..." Daisy giggled.
"Yeah..." Pheobe smiled back.
Lou mocked shock, "Awkward! I'm nothing of the sort, silly girls..."
They giggled more as he lifted his feet and therefore lifted the little girls that clung onto him desperately.
His hand slipped from my grasp as he continued to play with them.
I leaned on the doorway and slipped my now heatless hands back into my jacket pockets as I watched him. Things were going easily for him and it put me at ease. Louis was right... I no longer needed to be brave. Things were okay again. Our lives were finally being put back together again.
------------Louis' Point of View------------
It had been a few weeks since my life... Well, since I got my life back and I was working desperately to put every piece back in place. Mum and the girls had gone back to Holmes Chapel some time yesterday and I had made it my goal to learn everything about them from their birthday's to their favorite colors and their tickle spots.
Life was looking up and I was going to make sure that it stayed that way. Harry told me that my... Oliver's parents were arrested the evening after I met my mum again, but I didn't want to know. They were just misguided... Holding onto someone that was already gone. That thought brings me to my list of things I wanted to do before moving on anymore than I already had.
I had decided over the time of being with the girls and mum that I wanted my hair to be the way it used to be. My contacts were discarded and I only wore my glasses because I actually needed them. Then, there was one other thing that I wanted to do today...
"Harry?" I voiced as we walked toward the hair salon.
His green eyes lifted to me. He had been staring contently at the sidewalk as his hand rested in mine. "Hm?" he hummed.
"This may sound silly but there's something that I... I really want to do..." I ran my thumb gingerly over the top of his hand and over his knuckles in soft circles.
He straightened his posture a bit, "Sure."
"I want to do something that I don't think they ever did..." I let my stare fall to the concrete that passed beneath my shoes. "I want to visit Oliver..." I finished softly.
Harry was silent for awhile.
I continued after a moment, "I know it sounds stupid but... I just... I want to pay my respects... If you think about it, his parents probably never even visited the grave. I know for sure that they didn't while I was there... Is it stu..."
"No, Lou, lets go. I'd be happy to go with you..." he interrupted me.
I looked up at him and met those beautiful eyes that haunted my dreams for years and then his smile. It was so warm and supportive. He was so different from the little boy that I used to know. Harry was always the quiet little giggly one that would go along with whatever troublesome whim I would come up with. He was always the one that needed protecting, but he had grown up into this boy at my side walking hand in hand with me. I felt a smile tug at my lips as I nodded and we entered the salon.
Harry snapped a picture of my hair just before the nice lady began painting it with a honey colored dye, "It'll look great Lou-Lou."
My cheeks warmed a bit when he cooed out the name that had for so many years been a bad reminder of what I couldn't remember... Now it was a reminder of what I have and what I refuse to lose... My life... My Harry. "Shut it..." I murmered as the dye began to set.
"Lou-Lou, open your eyes," Harry cooed over and over.
I refused though. I wouldn't look until this event was finished.
A good while later the lady or Harry, I wasn't really sure, lead me to a sink and the dye was rinsed from my hair.
"You can look now Boo..." Harry hummed near my ear as I was sat back into my original chair.
I inhaled deeply before cracking my eyes open just a little. I exhaled slowly when I caught sight of it. It wasn't bad, it was just differen't and something that I would have to get used to all over again.
The nice hair dresser lady blow dried out my new locks before releasing me.
Harry pulled my hand and dragged me out of the salon.
"I... I have to pay Harry!" I shouted at him and tried to pull him to a stop.
He merely grinned at me. Bastard paid while I had my eyes shut. "Don't worry Lou-Lou, now... Are you ready to go... you know?" he asked with a hesitant smile.
I nodded my head. I had looked over the hospital documents when Harry took me back to get a few of my clothes and thus found the address for his gravesite. Part of my heart ached for the boy. His parents had been so grief stricken that they completely ignored the real him and instead became infatuated with me. We passed a small gift shop as we walked toward the cemetery.
I tightened my grip on Harry's hand and pulled him inside. His head just barely missed the side of the door. "Lou? What are you doing?" he enquired as I dragged him to a row of stuffed animals.
"I want to bring him something..." I glanced between the different animals as my mind drifted between the toys that were in his room. A small brown bear caught my attention. It had a blue ribbon tied delicately around its neck. There was only one toy that those people wouldn't let me touch and that was a bear much like this one. I picked it up and carried it to the till. I tossed a few more notes onto the counter than necessary before leaving with Oliver's bear against my heart and Harry's hand in mine.
Harry never once complained about the speed that I was dragging him at, he merely just did his best to keep up.
Once the cemetery began coming into view, my steps slowed and Harry fell in beside me. His slender fingers ran over mine in assurance. We stepped tentatively between graves and carefully around their headstones. I stopped short in front of a small flat surfaced grave stone. It was simple grey stone with 'Oliver David Gregs' engraved in its surface. 'September 15, 1998' was engraved in a smaller text just beneath his name. The grass covering the surrounding ground was browning and there wasn't even the slightest sign that flowers had ever been placed there.
I shifted hesitantly from one foot to the other. "Hey kid," I began. How silly could I have sounded? "Oliver, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that they haven't come by to see you... Must be lonely, huh?"
Harry stayed silent while I spoke with his eyes tracing the lines of the boy's name.
"I just want you to know that they love you very much and that they miss you... I don't think they'll be able to come by for awhile so I want to make you a promise..." I continued as my voice began to soften as the familiar tears began to brim my eyes. "I promise you that I will come by here on the fifteenth of every September to see you until they can again..."
A chilling breeze shifted Harry's curls and fluffed my feathered bangs ever so lightly.
"I brought you a present too..." I leaned just enough to place the small bear beside his head stone. "I named him Lou-Lou as a reminder of my promise, but you know, you can call him whatever you want if you're even listening to me," I chuckled a bit to myself and I barely caught sight of Harry grinning. "For now, I've got to say goodbye... But, I will be back in September... I hope you can rest peacefully Olly..." I turned and wiped my eyes on my sleeve.
"Every September, Lou?" Harry repeated me.
I nodded briefly before pinching his cheek and pulling him along with me. "Looks like I'll be looking for a place around here... I wonder who with?" I cooed with a small teasing grin in his direction.
A Note From Kaity: So, holy shit. You guys are awesome hehehe <3 I love you guys. It makes me laugh when you guys freak out when I talk to you... You guys do realize that I'm just an eighteen year old girl sitting behind a computer, right? I'm no one special xD
The pic on the side is what I imagine Olly to look like if he were a bit older than seven. He's such a cutie!
CHECK OUT THEN, ONE DAY It's only two chapters in and it's my new Larry ;)
COMMENTS what's your favorite flavor of crisp? (my life apparently revolves around them now lol)
VOTES <3
Dedicated to 1DFanboy because he first answered my question correctly (Who sang "Stop crying your heart out..." during boot camp and the answer was either Harry or Liam) and because his stories are awesome. Go check out his new stories called Chasing Pavements!
AUTHOR'S NOTE AS OF 2017: On January 1st, 2018, IF YOU SEE THIS BOY will no longer be available for purchase on Amazon. If you would like a copy, please purchase before that date. Thank you for reading!