Chapter 6

Excerpt:" Louis seized his chest..... He began coughing terribly, his heart felt like it was about come pounding out of his chest, packed with all the strength, and vigor of the bowls of hell..."

Chapter 6

Louis felt something warm. His body ached all over, he felt stiff. He wondered for a second if he hadn’t become a mummy. He lifted his head, where was he? What time was it? Louis hadn’t a clue. 

He hadn’t moved an inch that entire night. His legs were kneeling against the kitchen counter. His arms crossed across the counter. He woke up slightly disoriented. His torso felt like it was weighted with heavy led. 

“ How in H*ll, how’d I get out here?” He rubbed his forehead. The sunshine was pouring through the window. It wasn’t a caress, Louis would have rather thought it was firing slaps at him.

Louis squinted his eyes, turning his head at the window. He couldn’t bare to move any other part of his body, he was so stiff. Louis noticed a piece of paper lying on the counter. Strangely, it appeared it had gotten wet. Louis tried to move his hand, it cracked and cricked. His arm was reluctant to move. Slowly, however Louis got it to cooperate. He snatched the letter before his arm collapsed onto the counter. Louis held back a cringe.

Louis slowly brought up his left arm, he involuntarily rubbed his chin. He knew why the letter was wet. His face was crusted with dried saliva. Had he really slept their all night?

Louis stole a glance at the clock. 9:46? His whole body jerked in surprise. He didn’t hardly recall reading the letter, let alone falling asleep.

He staggered to get up. Slowly, yet surely Louis rose himself. Standing up, he knelt his elbows on the counter, he began rereading his brother’s letter when it all came flooding back to him. The thought of his brother racked huge waves inside of his head. Louis breathed slowly, it was labored. Louis let his hand go, and the letter floated majestically down to the counter.

Louis seized his chest. He couldn’t catch enough breath.

He was cursing under his breath. He began coughing terribly, his heart felt like it was about come pounding out of his chest, packed with all the strength, and vigor of the bowls of hell. 

Louis staggered, one hand to chest, to the bathroom. His face was flushed of all it’s color. He was grasping onto side boards, counters, anything to carry him through. The bathroom seemed miles away. Louis breathed slowly as he could, his breathing was becoming raspy.

“ D*mm, f**k,” Louis carried on.

Louis fell to knees when he finally reached the bathroom. The room was dark, he didn’t have the hope of reaching for the light. He grasped onto the sink, and pulled himself up. He unlatched the mirror over the sink, that hid a medicine cabinet behind it. His hand tore for a single bottle. He opened it desperately, felt around for the nozzle on the sink and cupped his hand full of water as he turned it on. He popped two pills in his mouth and flushed them down with water.

The pain still ripped at his chest. His only hope was to sit and wait it out. Hunger was beginning to terror at his gut, yet all he could do was breathe, just breathe.

All the while Louis sat the world carried on. Just outside of his house the sun was enlightening a warm fall day. Some leaves loosely swung on the trees’ branches. Dancing their vibrant yellow, and red colors. The air was cool, the freshest tasting, the scent was invigorating. Not a single cloud loomed in the sky. 

A few hours after his incident Louis found himself sitting in a sturdy branch some six feet of the ground. Swinging his left foot freely, Louis found a little inspiration in the mild afternoon. Yet, more painful than his chest had been, it’s ‘scars’ hurt worse. And the  memory of how he had inanely allowed himself to forgot, hurt worse on the inside, farther than any physical pain. He’d rather than have cursed the sun that day, yet what would it have done for him? 

Louis had a pad and a pencil, he was scribbling a few notes down as the ideas slowly crept his way. Most, he felt, were being carried away by the wind. Louis periodically would check his phone, not a single text all day. He figured if they wouldn’t bother he certainly wouldn’t he wasn’t in no mood for them today. 

He saw a little interest curiously looking down into his neighbor’s yards. Nothing too interesting. A man raking leaves, a woman in her curlers getting the days newspaper. A couple of young kids screaming and running and playing in circles.

Louis began to fall into a day dream when he heard an old creaky door open, and bounded out four little dogs. 

Louis chuckled, he remembered Delinda’s mutt-ly crew. His entire countenance uplifted as he watched the four little pups patrol around the perimeter of the fence. The white one was busying itself nipping the ears of the black terrier. And the tiny black minpin was occupying itself by following the chubby chihuahua. Louis laughed out loud, the poor chihuahua, it seemed, only wanted to do it’s business but that little rat of a minpin wouldn’t let it. 

Louis’s excitement quickly ended he watched as Mrs. Kraus call her dogs back in. As the last one reluctantly followed. Louis sighed despondently, he was thrown back into his lonely reality.

Some time passed. Louis remained up in the tree. Mostly glancing between his note book, and the ground below. 

Then Louis heard something, this sound struck him, as the outdoors made many noises yet none had attracted Louis’s attention more than this one, and he didn’t no why  neither for it was only a car door. 

A little red station wagon had pulled into Mrs. Kraus’s driveway. Louis hadn’t lived here to long, so he couldn’t discern if it belonged or not. He watched curiously as a person climbed out of it. It was a young woman. She waved goodbye to the driver.

Louis moved up in the tree limb, who was this young person? He wondered. As the young woman closed the car door, Louis watched as she walked to the gate. 

Something struck Louis. Just looking at this girl, sent these vibes to him. Something he had never felt from another girl, heck, not even another human being. Louis carefully got on his knees, careful that he might not fall off. Louis found himself crawling on his knees closer to the edge of the branch just so he could get a better look at her. 

His chest began to flutter. he seized his breast, not another spell. Just as Louis seized his chest, his balance let go. His senses snapped, with the speed of wind Louis miraculously caught himself. However left hanging upside down, with his legs wrapped around the branch. 

That caught the girls attention, her eyes darted over to him wide as they could open. She didn’t say a word though.

Neither of them took their eyes off of each other. She didn’t even turn her head to see if she had latched the gate properly. When she had gotten into the gate, She slowly, and unsurely walked over to the fence where Louis was.

Her head was tilted of curiosity, her eyebrows wrinkled both in curiosity, and indifference. Louis could only look into her eyes. The bluest of the most serenest ocean. Louis felt his stomach lurch. His brain was completely muddled. 

“ Hey,” the girl said a little intimidated. “ Are you ok, need help?”

Louis was smiling, hanging upside down, his black hair a stiff mess. He began to laugh. “ Yeah, yeah Im fine just tripped.” Louis tried unsuccessfully to swing himself back upright, with no luck, he took the branch into his hand and let his feet go. He jumped.

The girl winced, as she saw Louis tumble to the ground, and land with a loud ‘thud!’ directly on his back. 

Louis wasn’t hurt, but he was curious, he wanted to see what this girl would do, so he laid perfectly still as he could. He wanted it to be an impressionable moment. 

The girl was shaken, so much she hadn’t thought twice when she hopped over her grandmother’s fence to the side of the fallen youth. 

Louis laid entirely still, he heard the girl approach.

She knelt down beside him. Louis did not see it, but she was trembling in his behalf. She was afraid that this man would probably need an ambulance, but perhaps he was just a little shaken?

“ Hey” she said in a half whisper. “ oh! are you alright?” 

Louis still remained motionless. He heard the girl get up, and begin to walk away.

Louis bolted upright as quickly as he could, and even faster he hopped to his feet. 

The girl started. She quickly darted around, her eyes were narrowed. Oddly, she must have felt a little comfortable around Louis when she mustered:

“ A perfect stranger! I thought you were really hurt!”

Louis felt bad, he saw what he did really offended her. 

She began walking away, Louis called out to her. “ Wait a sec! Im sorry, I-I really am..”

It took her a moment, but she stopped, and turned her head around. He was met by her piercing blue eyes, as they darted. He watched as they scoured him from head to foot. At that brief moment Louis would have followed her. Ever trailing behind those blue eyes, and the long locks of brown hair. Forever following the mystifying, and gravitating vibes pouring out to him from this unknown girl. 

Still looking her in the eyes, Louis stepped forward. He felt something crunch under his feet. His reaction was slow, the girl had turned around heading back as quickly as her feet could carry her back to the fence. When Louis did finally look, he saw that it was a Cd case. He picked it up, and noticed immediately that it was one of his own. It was a copy of his bands first demo Cd, he was completely bewildered. 

Louis turned it over carefully in his hand, he saw that only a little bit of the front of the case was cracked, the Cd was intact. Louis was so perplexed as to how it got there he almost completely forgot about the girl. 

The girl just so happened to turn around. She froze, and frantically patted her pockets as soon as she realized her new favorite Cd was missing. Then she saw that the young man had it. 

“ My Cd..” She said meekly, her voice quickly tapering off. 

“ Oh, you dropped this?” Louis asked her. 

Expressionless, not even looking him in the eyes. She nodded her head.

Louis smiled congenially, but he couldn’t catch her eyes again. He held the Cd out, while walking over to her. 

However, Louis’s smile recaptured her eyes. His teeth were perfectly straight, and of the most dazzling whiteness. She noticed for the first time, how handsome he was. His eyes, they were so small and squint, and the darkest shade of brown, they almost appeared black. She noticed though, not so much the color, but how sparkly and full of vigor they seemed. 

She was so entranced, she almost hadn’t noticed when he handed her Cd back to her.

“ Have you listened to it?” he asked.

The girl caught herself. This couldn’t be a band member of Louis and the Leo’s, could it be Louis himself? She asked herself, why hadn’t she paid attention earlier?

“ Um..” She began shyly. “ Are y-you perhaps..” She watched a smile begin to stretch across his face, and saw a glimmer off of his lip ring. 

She continued; “ You couldn’t be Louis, are you?”

Louis’s impassive face didn’t change. He shifted his eyes into her, and slowly a smile crept on his face, his eyes sparkled mischievously.

“ Yeah.” He said, matter-of-fact, tossing back his black mane. “ Yours truly the one and only Louis M-.!” He bowed slightly.

He made the girl giggle! Louis couldn’t believe it, that wasn’t much of a display. It made Louis chuckle, just a tad, too.

“ My name’s Camilla.” Said Camilla cheerfully.

Louis had his hand rested on his hips. “ Camilla? That’s a nice name.”

“ Thanks” She said with a tight lipped smile. 

Louis noticed Camilla fumbling with her Cd:

“ Hey, Cam, I could sign the Cd for you, if you’d like.” He offered.

Camilla’s eyebrows raised high, she smiled, “ oh yes, please! I’d like that.”

She was about to hand him the Cd, when the both of them remembered it was cracked. Both their faces fell with a mild disappointment.

Louis flipped a piece of his fallen hair, “ Hey, I’ll bring you a new one. I’ll get everyone to sign it. So you really liked it?”

He caught Camilla off guard. “ Yes I did, it reminded me--” She hesitated. “ Yeah, I really did-do, do.”

Louis chuckled. “ You were about to say, what’d it remind ya of?”

Camilla blushed very slightly, she was becoming to shy to look Louis in the eyes. “ Oh, nothing, no one. Well it reminded me off some other bands I really like, it kinda struck me.”

Camilla was afraid, but Louis wasn’t at all judgmental, in fact, he seemed rather amused. “ Which ones?”

Camilla named a couple off. 

“ Hah, if only we could get that famous.” He responded.

Camilla prayed she hadn’t offended him; “ I think you could. I think you guys really could.”

“ Thanks, Cam.”

Camilla knew she had spent too much time, she should be getting back to her grandma’s. It wasn’t a wonder the dogs weren’t barking their heads off.

“ I should be going.” She said.

Louis gazed into her pretty blue eyes, they sparkled with something indescribable. Something that left him breathless, and left him standing in awe. At her words, Louis felt something in him fall. A dreariness overcame him, yet he understood she had to leave.

“ I’ll see ya around, Cam.” He said brightly.

She smiled, “ Yeah, it was nice meeting you too, Louis.”

As she began to walk away. Louis returned to the tree, and climbed up the branch where he had fallen. From there he watched Camilla clumsily hop the fence. He smiled at her.

He was anticipating, he wished she would say goodbye to her, just once more.

She looked back at him, and smiled, and waved.

Louis felt a shockwave of excitement hit him. Something like he’d never felt before.

At that moment. Louis noticed the sun was beginning to peak through the clouds. It’s rays glimmering off a few stray puddles on the neighbors’ driveways.

Author's Note

Sorry about the stars. I'm rather sensitive to using certain words, but I didn't want to hold back my characters' words and personalities from the story.