Broken

Chapter Thirty-Four: Louis

"Louis... When are we going up? I don't want bug bites."

I helped steady her as we climbed the ladder and into the house. It was really simple. There were two separate rooms. The first room by the entrance was where my parents and I would just talk and play like the living room of the house. The other room, divided by a conveniently large piece of wood, was where we would eat lunch. I came here earlier that morning and dropped off a picnic basket for our brunch.

"Louis this is amazing. I never had a treehouse. I've actually never been in one and I feel so overdressed for this."

"I think you're dressed just fine."

"Of course you do."

I smirked. "I have brunch in the dining room area." Since I grew up I had to rebuild part of the house to accommodate my height. Katrina was able to walk around semi-comfortably (she kept looking down on the floor like she was afraid to fall) and I just had to bend my neck a little bit.

"What are we having?"

"I stole some leftovers from work. We have pancakes, apple turnovers, two burgers that I made, and soda."

"Sounds delicious."

I got out the food and placed it on the built in wooden table. I double checked to make sure I had everything. "Oh! I almost forgot. Close your eyes."

"Are you going to murder me?"

"No."

"Just checking. No one would hear me from all the way out here."

"I'm offended," I said, smirking.

"Sorry."

"Just close your eyes!" I took her hands and placed them over her eyes. They were so soft...

I went into the basket and pulled it out. "Open."

She gasped yet again. "A rose! Those are my favorites!"

Good job, Louis!

"Really? I didn't know." I placed the red rose in her hair and combed it through with my fingers. I couldn't help myself as I tucked away a stray strand behind her ears. A small smile had found its way permanently on both of our faces.

"Louis?"

"Yes."

"Tell me about your parents." She cut into a pancake and shoved it in her mouth.

"Well, my mom's name was Mary and my dad's name was Joseph. They were the best parents and the happiest people in the world. My dad was my hero. He did everything he could to protect us and be there for us and my mom was an angel. She would cook and clean and help me with school and make sure I was safe. I couldn't have asked for better parents. What about your dad?"

"He died in an armed robbery incident. My mother was walking with him while she was pregnant with me and my twin brother. This guy comes up to them with a gun and my dad automatically gave him all of his cash. But the guy was a complete douche and shot him and then he pushed my mother and she lost my brother."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault." She shot back. Suddenly she smiled. "That was one of the first things we said to each other."

I smiled even wider. "You remember that corny stuff?"

She shrugged. "I'm a hopeless romantic."

"Did I meet your expectations?"

She pretended to think. "No."

I frowned. "Oh. I'm sorry we can go back if--"

She leaned over the table and place a kiss on my cheek. Except it was more than kiss. It felt like she was giving all of her happiness from this date to me. My face immediately got hot and flustered. I wanted her to kiss my lips, not my cheek, but this was still a good sign.