Chapter 9

“Do you have to go back to school?” my sister droned as I dragged my bag across the floor. I smiled and looked at her. I pulled her into a hug and she yelped, my arm pulling her long brown hair when I squeezed her.

“When will you be back?” my mom asked, coming out from the kitchen where she’d clearly been crying.

“I don’t know, but I promise it won’t be six months before I come back again alright?” I smiled, hugging her tightly. She was sniffling and I squeezed her tighter. She pulled back and I saw concern in her eyes.

“Everything okay with your, er, guardian?” she whispered and I closed my eyes, nodding.

“It’s not the best situation, but he’s trying,” I replied as she kissed my forehead.

“Alright, be safe love. Text me when you back at school! I love you!” she called as I walked out to my car. I waved, loading my bag in the car and then hopping in the front seat. Four days had seemed to fly by and all I’d done was laze around the house and hang out with my family. I wasn’t ready to go back to my s**t apartment, but I knew I didn’t have any other choice. I waved one last time before I headed out on the road. I thought about Louis and wondered if he was still going to be in a funk when I got back. Something was definitely up and if he was still in a pissy mood, I wasn’t going to leave him alone until I figured out what the hell was going on. I stopped at a gas station for a minute and I pulled out my phone. I tried to call Louis and tell him I was coming home a few hours earlier than I’d expected, but he didn’t pick up. I frowned; he was my guardian after all...shouldn’t he answer my call?

“Uh, hey Lou, I’m almost back. Thought I’d let you know. Alright, see ya soon.”

I hung up and pulled the nozzle out of my car and got back in. I was about fifteen minutes away and I hoped Louis was there and not out doing nonsense he knew he shouldn’t be doing. I wouldn’t put it past him though; Louis wasn’t exactly normal and I couldn’t ever expect anything from him. I pulled into the driveway a few minutes later and grabbed my bag out of the back and opened the door. I dropped my bag and my jaw dropped. Louis was naked and having sex with some girl on my couch. In the split second I was in that house, Louis’s eyes met mine before he collapsed onto the girl. I fell against the door and stumbled out onto the porch. I went to slam the door and caught Louis throwing some sweatpants on.

“Noelle!” he screamed, but I ran back to my car and started it. Louis slammed himself against my car moments later and I saw the girl, long black hair, now wrapped up in a dark red robe standing in the doorway.

“Open this f*****g car,” he was panting and he looked more pissed than I’d ever seen him. I quickly shook my head, my hand gripping the gear-shift. Louis’s jaw clenched and he looked like he might smash my window.

“Noelle!” he bellowed, and suddenly the entire door on my car peeled off like a piece of paper ripping. I sat in shock, shrinking into my seat as he towered over me.

“Jessie, make some tea, alright?” Louis spoke huskily, grasping my wrists and pulling me out of the car. I squirmed, trying to get out of his arms, but there was absolutely no use in fighting him. He had strength uncomparable to humans and struggling just hurt me more. He sat me down on the chair and he just stared at me. He sighed, his head dropping and he shook it. He ran his fingers through his hair and grabbed the cup of tea from Jessie. She looked incredibly jealous as she walked away and went into the bathroom.

“I’m sorry, Noelle. I’ve just been stressed, okay? I needed a break,” he explained, kneeling down as I held the cup with shaking hands.

“So you just f**k some random girl? In MY house?” I squeaked, rage starting to flow through my veins. He grasped my wrists, pinning me to the chair and he stared into my eyes.

“She’s not a random girl. She’s one of my friends,” he spoke, realizing how degrading and awkward it sounded as soon as it came out of his mouth. He shook his head and squeezed my wrists.

“We used to be an item,” he clarified and I closed my eyes.

“I don’t care! You don’t just do that s**t!” I screamed, twisting my wrists and he held me tightly.

“Noelle, please calm down, please. Just listen to me!” he cried, his hands moving from my wrists to my face. He held my face in his hands and I blinked quickly, staring at his gentle eyes. His hands were warm; warmer than anybody else’s hands I’d ever felt, but it calmed me down.

“Jessica,” Louis called and she walked out wearing an all black dress and she was glaring at me.

“So this is your little prize,” she hissed and Louis stood up and got about two inches from her face.

“She is my responsibility and I am her Guardian. You will not disrespect her,” he spoke defiantly. Jessie snorted and rolled her eyes.

“F**k. You,” she whispered, slapping him across the face before she evaporated in front of my face. He sighed and shook his head.

“She’s always had quite the temper,” he replied, smirking, but I wasn’t forgiving him. I stood up and Louis watched me.

“I need some space right now,” I spoke, calmly, taking my bag and going into my bedroom. I locked the door and flopped onto my bed. I felt tears stinging down my face and I wiped them away angrily. Why was I even crying in the first place? Was I seriously jealous that Louis had interest in another girl? There was absolutely no way that Louis and I could ever be in a relationship, so I didn’t know why I was suddenly so hurt. I felt my cheeks heating up at the thought of me having feelings for Louis. It started a while ago, but I hadn’t really thought of it until I saw him lusting for that girl. I covered my face and screamed into my hands. I wiped my face and looked up at my cracked ceiling. I deciphered tiny patterns in the cracks and I sighed in relief.

“Noelle?” Louis spoke softly, knocking gently on my door. I didn’t reply, but he opened the door anyway. He shuffled into the room and looked at me. I peeled my eyes away from him and looked back at the ceiling.

“I can’t apologize enough. What can I do to make you forgive me?” he pleaded and I snorted.

“Nothing,” I replied blandly. He plopped onto the bed next to me and looked up at the ceiling. I felt my heart speeding up and he took a deep breath.

“There’s a little star formed from those cracks,” Louis said, pointing up and I looked at him. He looked at me and I smiled very slightly.

“I was looking for shapes and patterns just a minute ago,” I whispered and he nodded, rolling his eyes.

“Obviously, there’s nothing else you could be doing while looking up at this s**t ceiling,” he replied. I saw a red mark behind Louis’s ear and I turned his head to look at it better.

“Hey!” he exclaimed and I saw a small black ‘N’ tattooed behind his ear. He pushed my hand off him and rubbed behind his ear.

“Did you just get that?” I asked and he nodded, looking back at the ceiling.

“What does it mean?” I continued and he smiled slightly, shaking his head. He took a deep breath and without looking at me replied,

“Noelle.”

Author's Note

Idk about this chapter, but I've been like DYING to have a romance between Noelle and Louis, but what do you all think of it?

Also! I started a new story! It's romance and WAYYY different than this, but if anyone could just go see the first chapter and tell me what you think I'd be forever grateful! I'm not going to probably be uploading that story as much, but I wanted to put it on here and get some feedback before I continue working on it!

Reviews

[theHobbit]

Ooh boy, okay, well in this chapter we definitely see a darker and angrier side of Louis so it was frightening when he ripped off the car door. But also we can see a lot of character development in Noelle and Louis and their comfort levels around each other. I really liked this chapter and I'm so excited to read the next one!!!