More Than You Know [l.s.] ✓

Chapter 18

The ride to Doncaster seemed to take him less time than usual. He was speeding slightly, Louis will admit, but once he decided on this impromptu trip back home, he was desperate to get there and see his mum. He had immediately called his boss and took a personal day, then headed home for a quick shower before hitting the road.

Pulling up in the driveway and seeing his childhood home, the bricks worn with age and toys scattered in the front yard instantly made him feel much more at peace. He knew coming home was a good decision.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you," his mother, Jay, starts in as she joins him at the kitchen table he's sitting at, cup of tea in her hands. "But what's wrong?"

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong. Can I not come visit my mum without something being wrong?" He plays dumb, taking a sip of his own tea.

"I've known you for 26 years, Loulou. I know when something is bothering my baby," she says, leveling him with that stern yet loving look that only mothers seem to pull off.

Shrugging, he sits his mug down and rubs his palms against his jean clad thighs. He's always been forthcoming with his mother, maybe even too much but she's always been another friend he could count on. He's always valued her advice, so he's used to being transparent about his life, sharing nearly everything with her.

Too bad he decides to share what's really on his mind the second she takes a sip of her tea.

"I'm dating a prostitute."

Jay chokes and ends up spitting her tea back into her mug. "You're what?!"

"Actually, let me rephrase that. I'm falling in love with a prostitute. You see my dilemma now? It's like I'm living in Pretty Woman and Harry is Julia Roberts and I'm Richard Gere. Only I'm not rich but Harry is, so I guess Harry is Julia and Richard.  I'm not sure who I am.  Maybe I'm Barney. He's a fancy hotel manager and I'm an apartment doorman. Close enough, right?" He huffs and crosses his arms on the table, burying his face in them.

His mother sighs, his rant not phasing her. Louis took drama in high school, so she's no stranger to the theatrics that often come out of Louis when he's in distress. She reaches out to grab his wrist. "Oh, Louis, this isn't the end of the world, darling."

"How can we ever get serious with each other? Are we supposed to get married one day, and I send my husband off to work to fuck other people?"

"Language," she scolds him.

"Sorry, mum. But do you see what I mean?"

"Did you not consider any of this before?"

Lifting his head up, Louis tells her, "I did consider it, yeah. Maybe I just didn't expect I'd care this much. But Harry is amazing, mum. I see now that there's no way I couldn't develop feelings for him. Not only is he gorgeous, but he's so sweet and smart. He says the most random cute shit all the time. I've never met anybody like him. I want to keep him, but I don't know if he's something tangible I can keep or if he's going to end up slipping through my fingers."

"Sounds like he's something special. Even like this, I can see the this look in your eyes while talking about him," Jay says. She squeezes his wrist once more, giving him a sympathetic look before grabbing her mug. "I think first and foremost, love comes before anything else. If you care about him that much and he feels the same for you, then things will work out."

"I hope you're right." Louis brings a hand up to the back of his neck, kneading his fingers into the tight muscles. "He was a little upset before I came here. He said I was acting weird. He's scared I'm going to hurt him, mum. What if it all does become too much and I can't handle it? Then I end up hurting him anyway."