FRAGRANCE | Larry Stylinson

|Chapter Seven|

Don't forget to Vote and Comment!❤️

◇

His lungs burn, and he is having trouble in getting enough air in him, struggling to breathe in and out without forcing himself. He bends his back and places both of his hands on his knees, head down and sweat covering his entire body. He must be stinking by now. He wants to cry from exhaustion or stress, still unsure which of the two is the winner, but still, Louis does not allow himself to dwell for a long time on it, because for the first time ever in his life, Louis is late.

Too late.

If a couple of days back Harry had asked him to come even earlier than he already did, Louis is not only late for the new scheduled working hours; he would be late even if he would have started at ten, as he initially was supposed to. The hot summer weather isn't helping his case at all, and he is thirsty.

Dehydrated.

Noe was sick last night. Had a very low body temperature. Causing her to not find warmth, no matter how many blankets Louis threw on her. Fevers ran through her body all night long and the dry cough never stopped. A cold sweat covered her entire forehead, and Louis and Catherine just kept giving her the medicine she always took, bathed her and kept changing her clothes every two hours. Only in the early hours of the morning had she started becoming slightly better, and that had been the only time his mother had allowed herself to cry.

Forced from poverty, from not having the luxury of losing any work day, Catherine had left early and Louis was bound to stay with his sister longer. He made her soup, brushed her hair and massaged her limbs. He sang her lullabies, read to her his favorite book of poems and then fed her. When Noe had smiled back, that had been the moment he had breathed easily.

His mother would leave an hour earlier than usual, and with Louis leaving later for work, Noe wouldn't be left alone for a very long time.

Still. Louis was exhausted. He didn't even remember when was the last time that he had eaten. When he had splashed his face in cold water before getting to work, he winced when he saw the dark circles under his eyes. But it was okay, he could do it. If he held on a little longer, he could do it. Louis was strong and he could bear a lot of things, even when a lot was thrown at him. He just had to push himself, just a little bit more. For Noe, everything was worth it.

When we walks the path leading to the pack house, and stands in front of the door, Louis braces himself for what was to come. He finds himself too tired to even lift his hand and knock on the door. The last thing he wants to do right now is face Harry, and have to explain to him his tardiness, which he is sure Harry would call him a liar and a lazy omega.

In the end, he decides against knocking and just goes for it, entering the house with quiet steps. He looks around the spotless home, where if one would ask who lived there, they would definitely be surprised to learn that the habitants were alphas. There is no one in sight, and Louis prays to the Lord that maybe for once luck is on his side and nobody noticed that he is late.

As if.

Not two minutes pass when Troy walks out of the kitchen, flabbergasted, towards him, eyes wide and worried as he takes in Louis' appearance. At first, he walks slowly but then he sees that Louis is very tired and flushed from his neck to the top of his cheeks.

He stops right in front of him, and hesitates for a couple of seconds before he presses his cold hand on Louis' forehead.

Troy looks appalled at his appearance, but then he doesn't comment on it, just gives Louis a pity look before he speaks, "Oh my Lord, Louis, where have you been? We have been looking for you everywhere! Harry is livid, he has made so many phone calls by now. He didn't know your home phone number because it wasn't on your CV."