Your Addictive Heart || l.s

The Girl You Knew

TW: Domestic Abuse, Home-life abuse

Louis was sad to see the night go. He wanted more time with Harry. Knowing he might not make it for any part of his game had been tearing him to shreds inside. He wished they had had more time together tonight but he knew they'd be celebrating together tomorrow night.

Harry went home with Olivia and Niall like they had planned so they could get ready together.

Liam and Zayn agreed to take Anna and Diana home but after insisting she needed to wait for Jordan to pick her up, Diana sat stubbornly on the median in the school parking lot.

"I'll take care of it," Louis promised his friends he'd get her home in one piece. He'd snuck his drunk sister back into their house so many times by now he was a pro. He assured them he could handle the situation.

Harry gave him one more kiss on the cheek before getting in the car with Niall and driving off. Zayn and Liam stayed a moment longer to verify that Louis knew what he was getting himself into.

"I'll be good, lads. Get some rest. I need you at your best tomorrow." He scolded them like a mother would.

They gave him a few pats on the back before getting back to the car that Anna was already passed out in.

Soon enough, it was just Louis and the tipsy girl. Louis took a deep sigh before sitting down next to her.

"You don't have to stay here, Louis." Her words were coherent but he could tell by the bouncing of her eyes she wasn't in a position to make smart choices for herself.

"I don't have to do anything. But I don't want you to go home with that guy. It's bad enough my sisters hanging around him." Louis rubbed his hands together to create some heat. How was she not freezing out here?

"He's my stepbrother, Louis." She turned to hide her face.

"He scares you. I can tell. You turn into Casper the Ghost every time he walks into a room." Louis studied the girl and how she handled the confrontation. She still wouldn't turn her face towards him and he was pretty sure she was using her sleeves to wipe at her eyes. "Is he hurting you?"

"God, just stop!" She turned her tear-stained face to him. "Stop asking questions, stop trying to be a good guy, just stop." She put her hands in her hair and her head between her knees. She was distraught.

"I know I'm not perfect or whatever and I've given you plenty of reasons not to like me or trust me but you mean something to my friends and if something were to happen to you they'd be really hurt so if he's putting his hands on you or something just tell me and I'll take care of it!" Louis wasn't gentle but he was honest when he promised to take care of that piece of scum.

"It's not him." Tears were streaming down her face as she made her confession to Louis. "It's his dad. He took advantage of the fact that my mom and I had nothing when he married her. He's short-tempered but more than that he's- he's just cruel. He looks for ways to tear us down and leave us feeling...so helpless." She choked on her breath.

"And Jordan knows. He helps him. He's like his little mole. And he has things on my mom. Things that could help us finally get out and he's been holding it over my head for months. I have no choice. There's nothing I can do." She was breathing sporadically now. She looked at Louis like she was hoping he could somehow make it all disappear. Louis felt just as helpless.

"I'll kill him. I'll deal with both of them. Yeah, I'll-I'll figure it out. We'll tell the police and-"

"No! You have to promise me you won't say a word to anyone. This isn't like the movies where they swoop in and come to our rescue, okay? We've been burned before. I can do a lot of things but I just- I can't lose my mom. Please." She grabbed his hands and pleaded for their lives.

In Louis' head, it was so simple. They deserved to be locked up. But he could see the fear in her eyes and he thought about how he'd feel if he were in her position. "Okay. We'll think of something else."

"No. Just promise me when this is all over you get our friends to remember the real Diana. Not the girl who ruined everything for them. Especially, Harry." She looked as if she was staring past Louis now and he wasn't sure what it all meant.

"What are you talking about?" Louis tried to snap her out of it.

She swallowed a lump in her throat slowly. She looked numb now. There was no light in her eyes. "Jordan isn't going to let our musical see the light of day. He never was."

"You don't have to worry about that. You guys are going to do great tomorrow. He can hurl tomatoes and swear up a storm but you're still going to get that standing ovation. He's too late." He assured her.

"Louis." She blinked her eyes slowly. "You can't be here when he gets here. It'll just make things worse."

"I can't just leave you here." He shook his head.

"It's okay. I'll tell everyone you did the right thing." She chuckled weakly.

Louis took a deep and shaky breath. He didn't want to make things worse for her but he didn't want to let her go home to that family again. It wasn't right.

He felt tears pricking at his own eyes for her.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll remember this, you know?" She leaned in and put her face against his arm for a moment. "...your kindness. I won't ever forget it."

He squeezed her hand back. He bit his lip and took one more sharp breath before standing up. He got in his car and, against his better judgment, left her in his rearview mirror.

***
You know what they say, no good deed...

If you're not crying yet, congratulations! You've passed round one of the saddest triple update I've written. Check back with me in a chapter or two.

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