Lies {L.S.}

17

After the cop was done questioning me, I left the room and walked in the hallway, looking both ways. I chewed on my lip and moved my sore shoulder, wincing.

"Louis," Harding said. I looked at him then dropped my gaze to the floor. "He's getting arrested. He won't come near you again."

"He will," I responded quietly. "You know he will."

Harding shook his head. "He's not, Louis."

"Can I go home now?" I asked, deciding to drop the topic all together. I knew in the morning when I woke up, Tobi would be there. He would find a way.

"If Niall or Harry stays with you, then yes. I don't want you staying anywhere alone." Harding looked me over and sighed when I made no move to speak. "Louis, this is only going to get easier for you now. If I'm going to be honest, I have no idea who's custody you're going to be placed in, if they don't emancipate you. But I'm always here. I'll talk to the rest of the family about bringing you next time we get together if you want."

"They hate me," I whispered. I shook my head at the thought of all my family members staring at me, only to turn their noses after a few seconds. None of them would speak to me and I'd end up ruining everything. None of them would be able to stand me.

"No, Tobi convinced you that they hated you. No one hates you, Louis. We're glad at least you survived the car wreck. We were mad at Tobi for keeping you from being with everyone like your parents wanted."

I shrugged, picking at the sleeves of my shirt. I wanted to curl into a ball and sleep, maybe cry. I was anxious, tired, scared, and I wanted all of it to go away. "If I call Niall, I can go home?"

"Yes," my older cousin answered. "I'm trusting you, okay?"

I nodded and he patted my back. I walked to the front doors of the school and left, slowly making my way to the house. I paused outside the door, my hand hovering over the knob. I slowly opened the door and the mess in the entry way made it impossible to walk through without stepping on something. The further into the house I got, the more I realized that Tobi totally trashed the whole house. I just stared for a few seconds as tears gathered in my eyes before walking to the closet we kept all the cleaning supplies in. I grabbed the broom and slowly walked back to the front doors, sweeping piles of broken objects together. Most of it was so small I couldn't tell any of it apart. I couldn't tell what used to be picture frames and what used to be knick knacks.

I wouldn't let myself stop cleaning. If he came back and it was still trashed he would be absolutely pissed. He was going to be mad at me enough as it was. If I cleaned, maybe it wouldn't be as bad. Maybe he wouldn't even notice.

Once I finished sweeping, I went to my room and found my phone. I plugged it in and tapped my fingers on my thighs for a few minutes while it charged before turning it on.

Once it was on, I dialled Harry's number and put the phone on speaker before setting it down.

"Hey, Louis," he answered softly. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," I responded quietly. "Can... can you come over?" I rubbed my sleeve covered hands over my face and took a deep breath, waiting on his response. "I'm sorry about earlier. I was scared and -"

"Of course I'm gonna come over. I'll be right there."

"Actually," I added before he hung up. "This might sound stupid but..." I trailed off, not sure if I wanted to ask it.

"Ask, Louis," Harry encouraged.

"Will you just stay on the phone with me while you head over? I know he's not going to, but I'm scared he's going to pop up and I'm not okay and-"