Living Rough

[Living Rough] Chapter Two

No birds dancing in the sky, no sounds to be heard. Those who lived in homes have their lights turned on at five-thirty-pm and Louis knows; Louis knows by the way the angry grey clouds dance in the sky, the wind huffing and blowing them around, he knows by the way the trees have a constant rustling sound, the leafs and branches bashing together constantly all through fault of the wind. He knows there's a storm of some sort coming. It's the middle of March, there hasn't been a decent rainfall in a while and Louis has been quite happy about that, though sitting here under this tree now, he knows. He knows and he needs to do something about it.

Scrambling up to his feet, Louis took one quick look around the posh neighborhood, not a public area in sight. Everything so still, almost as if life was put on pause. No cafes, no shops, no nothing he can hide out in. Just big and expensive houses, looking down at him, laughing at him and mocking him. He felt small, so small he felt as though the wind was going to pick him up and blow him away any second now.

When the rain begins to fall, each drop sits on his skin like a puddle that will never leave, perfectly formed, perfectly cold. So cold it burns, stealing his body heat just a tiny bit at a time. He's become accustomed to the elements, to the wind and chill. There is a odd coziness in his suffering, as if life has and will always be this way.

As much as he felt like he couldn't move, felt like he just had to stand here and take it, he knew he had to go and find some sort of shelter. His feet began to move slowly in whatever direction they took him, not caring where he ended up, just needing something or somewhere to hide away into. As the raindrops got heavier, fell down more quickly, Louis feet got faster, until he stopped completely, out of breath and staring at what looked to be a garden shed. An unused one at that.

The grass was always a shade brighter in the rain. It was as if the gift of the skies wasn't water, but liquid magic, washing the world to show what was there all along, nature in her in humble brilliance. The buttercups became gold, the grass the shade of every dreamers meadow, roots quenched, soil renewed. It was beautiful, then ruining it all was the sight of rotting wood, dark and gloomy, the rain doing it absolutely no favors, making it look more miserable than it already does.

Louis doesn't even know how he got here, standing in some strangers large garden, looking up at their mansion like home. Made up of bare brick and white concrete, tall glass windows and large wooden doors, looking extremely expensive and proud. He knows that he shouldn't be here, he feels uneasy and he knows he needs to leave but the sound of thunder was beginning to fill his ears and he needed shelter more than he needed anything right now. A loud roar of thunder startled Louis, sending him shooting forwards for the door of the shed.

"Thank fuck." Louis breathed out when the door flew open with no issues, taking a step inside the shed, giving his skin a break from the rain drops, though creating a puddle underneath his feet as the rainwater dripped from his fingertips, from his clothes, eyelashes, from the tips of his hair. Louis took a quick look around and... Oh.

This shed wasn't as unused as it looked. Despite it looking so worn out and cold from the outside, the inside was the opposite. It held homely decorations, some that were a bit odd for a shed, paper all over a desk in the corner, neat handwriting written across the pages, a lamp lighting up the small area, causing a soft and comforting glow within the shed. A blanket draped over the chair and a half empty cup of coffee sitting just on the very end of the desk. Someone was just here, sat in that very chair and writing away. It took a moment to click, but as soon as it did it was too late.

"Got you!" Louis flinched to the sudden deep voice filling his ears, spinning around on his feet just in time to see the door slam shut, locking Louis inside.

"Hey! Hey, let me out! I'm sorry! Honest! I am!" Louis panicked as he banged on the door, frantically looking around for a way out, though there was only one small window, one that didn't even open by the looks of it.

"Quit it. I'm calling the police. Who do you think you are coming onto my property?" There it was again, that voice filling his ears and making his knees go weak.

As his words sunk in, Louis couldn't help but break down into a fit of tears, backing up until his back hit the wall, sliding down onto the rug that lay on the floor. What was he going to do now? Things just keep on getting better.

it's been a while!
so sorry about that. hope everyone is well and staying safe. hopefully you haven't forgotten about me or this story! :D

i'd love to hear what you think. please let me know!