If Walls Could Talk

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Minutes. Seconds, even. That's how long it felt it had been when Louis heard the alarm from his phone ringing through his head. The repetitive bells bounced off his walls, echoing around his room and drumming into his ears, causing him to stir restlessly until he strained his eyes open.

Rolling his body over, Louis looked at the shelves next to his bed and squinted his eyes, trying to see what time his digital clock said. The numbers continued to be a blur, and Louis forced himself closer until he could make them out. Five-thirty in the morning.

Louis groaned. He didn't want to go to school. Considering he got next to no sleep, he didn't even know if he could complete the walk to school, let alone make it through the entire day. Letting out a sigh and rolling onto his back, Louis looked up at the ceiling, letting his phone continue its endless singing. He always found himself staring at the ceiling.

He didn't know why; there wasn't anything spectacular about it. It was just a plain white ceiling. There wasn't a fan or even a light attached to it. If Louis wanted light, he had to use the lamp in the corner of his room. But still, for some reason, Louis stared at the ceiling, sometimes for hours at a time. In a way, it helped him think. He couldn't even count the endless nights he lay staring at it, with countless thoughts and memories running through his mind. If he had the choice, Louis would much rather stay in his bed and stare at the boring ceiling all day than go to school.

Even though it was his last year of school, Louis hated that it was still only the beginning of the year. He had a long way to go before he was free from that black hole. School was always like a personal prison for Louis, and while he loved to learn, he felt it got worse each year. Ever since Kara moved away, Louis had found it hard to make new friends, or, at least, acquaintances. Mainly, because he had gone to the same school as all his classmates since his first year. No one liked him then; why would that change?

The only chance he got to make a new friend was when Sam moved to town and started at the same school. It wasn't long after Kara had left, and Sam had seen Louis getting tormented at lunch. Of course, Louis was his natural self, repelling the other kids with ease, smoothly spilling sarcasm and sass. Though, Sam being Sam, he had feared that they would start getting physical with Louis, so he jumped in to save the day. Not that he needed to, of course. Louis had always been taller and had more muscle than anyone who bullied him and could easily handle them, but he preferred to use his wits. Ever since that day with Sam, Louis had a new friend, and while it made things more bearable, Louis still hated his school with a great passion.

Looking at his phone, Louis watched the screen dim and then light back up as the bells rang continuously. He lay there wondering if he could not go to school and how mad his aunt would be if she found out. Or if she even cared. She would most likely be at work by now, so it would only be a call from the school tipping her off. God only knows how she could function after a night like the one she just had, but she somehow always managed to. He barely ever saw her awake. If he was home, she was either at work or passed out. It wasn't his ideal living situation, but it was the only one he had.

Pulling his thoughts away from his aunt, he went back to thinking about taking the day off. But he knew he'd have to go in tomorrow, even if he didn't go today. He couldn't just stop going altogether, as much as he wanted to. Another sigh escaped him; if he didn't want to go to university and do something with his life, he would've dropped out by now and gotten a full-time job at the café he currently worked. But he wanted to do something with his life, and Kara and Sam would kill him if he stopped going to school.

Louis' phone continued to buzz, and he knew that if he just left it long enough, the battery would go flat. Mainly due to the fact that he hadn't bothered to put it on charge the night before. Maybe by then he'd be late for school and use that as an excuse to himself not to go.