My eyes slowly half-opened, and the first sight I saw was the face of an angel. Louis’ beautiful face, surrounded by white sheets and sunlight, I was sure I was in heaven.
But then I remembered last night, and realized it was more like hell.
Louis knew now, there was no avoiding things. He said that we’d work it out in the morning, what could possibly fix a situation like this? I shuddered, thinking about last night. I tried to push those thoughts to the side, but sometimes you just can’t help it. Those things that were so terrible that you think it could have possibly just been some horrible nightmare.
But it wasn’t. It was reality. My reality.
Things were finally starting to go right for me, I met someone who just made me truly happy. I thought, for once, I deserved to be happy, right? I guess not, since life just always seemed to enjoy fucking me over.
I glanced at the clock, only 7am. I pushed my thoughts away yet again and found myself dozing off to sleep, still wrapped tightly in Louis’ strong, warm arms.
**
“Baby, wake up.” Louis’ beautiful voice whispered softly to me.
“Uuuuugh.” I groaned, grabbing his arm tightly, refusing to open my eyes.
There was a loud knock at the door.
My eyes shot open. “Who’s here?” I tried to get up, but Louis grabbed onto my wrist securely, keeping me from moving off of the bed.
He gave me a solemn stare.
“Louis, what’s going on?”
“Just wait a few minutes, Mal.” He spoke softly, his entire body tense.
I heard the sound of my father’s hungover voice speaking to someone at the door.
“Louis, let go of me.” I told him, trying to get his grip off of me, but I knew I was hopeless.
“Babe, shhh.” He spoke softly, staring into my eyes, but I knew he was trying to listen to what was happening downstairs.
The door suddenly burst open. A middle aged, slightly overweight, yet with friendly appearance man, a police officer, opened the door, raising his eyebrows at us. Louis immediately released his grip on me and got off of the bed.
“Are you Malory?” The police man asked.
“Y-yes.” I stuttered. “Why?”
He walked towards me and sat on the bed, putting his hand on my knee comfortingly. “We’re gonna take care of your dad, everything will be alright.”
“T-take care of him? What do you mean?”
“We’re going to keep him away from you, make sure you’re safe.”
“I am safe.” I retorted. “You can’t take me dad away from me.”
“We know what happened.” He said sympathetically. “It’s okay, dear.”
“Nothing happened!” I said.
He sighed. “We got a call from a man, saying there has been a lot of abuse going on in this household. It wasn’t the first concerned call, your neighbors have mentioned your father a few times, too.” He glanced up to Lou. “You’re Louis?”
“Erm, yeah.” Louis muttered, running his hands through his hair, avoiding eye contact with me.
Louis had called the police.
“Okay, well whoever called is wrong.” I said bluntly. “I’m fine, my dad’s fine, everything’s fine.”
“It’s okay to be in denial.” He said, nodding at me. “But you don’t have to be embarrassed or ashamed.”
The tears swelled up in my eyes. “Nothing to be ashamed about.” I said softy, but I knew it was a lie.
The police officer tapped his hand lightly on my knee. “It’s okay, dear. You don’t have to talk about it right away if you don’t feel comfortable doing it. We just have to take you back to the station, okay?”
I glanced out the window, to see two other officers aggressively pushing my father into the back seat of their police car. I didn’t feel sorry for my dad, not one bit. What he was about to go through would never be nearly what he put me through. He won’t know how much suffering he’s caused me until he goes to hell. I wasn’t trying to get out of this to save my dad, I was trying to save my relationship. I could never be with Louis if I lived with my mom.
“I’ll leave you here to get dressed, when you’re ready, just come downstairs and we’ll head out, okay?” The police man smiled politely.
I nodded and tried to fake a smile, but even I knew that it wasn’t believable.
He exited the room and closed the door, leaving me and Louis alone.
“W-why did you…” I trailed off, shaking my head and closing my eyes. I couldn’t cry, not now.
“Because,” He sighed. “I have to keep you safe.”
“I would have been fine, I’d deal with it.” I glanced up at him. I really would have dealt with anything my father did, so I could be with Louis. Honestly, he made anything worth it.
“I’m not letting you go through that, ever again. Remember? I promised.” He said seriously.
“Louis,” I wiped my eyes. “This is never going to work. Living here was the only way we made it work.”
“We’ll make it work, somehow.” He slightly frowned, giving me a soft kiss on the cheek. “You need to get dressed, then we’ll head out to the station.”
He got off of the bed, and I grabbed his wrist. “Don’t leave me.” I said, tears filling up in my eyes.
He smiled softly, it almost looked like out of sympathy. “I have to, I’ll be right downstairs, love.” He gave my hand a squeeze and then walked down the hall.
But I didn’t mean ‘don’t leave me’ right now.
I meant, after all of this.
After I moved in with my mom.
It’ll be hard, but don’t leave me, Lou.
I rolled out of bed, shocked by my reflection in the mirror, I looked horrifying.
My hair was a monster of its own, I was wearing an oversized t-shirt, and that’s all. The shirt Louis put on over me after what happened last night.
I shuddered, trying to push that memory as far away from me as possible. I was hurt, aching, broken, but most of all, I was just plain humiliated. Louis saw me, completely exposed to my biggest secret. He knew everything now. He’d never look at me the same way again.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he took off right now, and never spoke to me again. Who wants to deal with a freak show like me?
I stumbled to my closet, throwing something presentable on. I put on skinny jeans and a sweater, perfect for the chilly, fall day it was. I pulled on matching brown furry boots and combed my hair into a side braid and opened my door to the hallway.
“So how old are you?”
“20.”
“And what are you doing with a 16 year old girl?”
“We’re… just good friends.”
“Her family life might not be doing well right now, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t boundaries. Just remember, there are consequences for every action.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“And if I see anything else suspicious going on here, I will take a further look into things, Mr. Tomlinson. Actually, I already have. I know that you student teach at her school.”
“Y-yes.”
“And, I know that there are security cameras at that school. Security cameras that a police officer, like me, could easily get his hands on.”
“I-I understand.”
“In fact, I already have taken a look, and seen somethings. Illegal things, Mr. Tomlinson. You know the legal age is 18.”
“Yes, s-sir. I do.”
“You seem like a good kid, Louis. So I’ll let you off with a warning. But you know what’s legal and illegal, and being with Malory, that’s illegal. She’s a minor. I could have you put in jail right now. Get taken out of college and lose your job. You’d never become a teacher.”
Silence.
“It’s great that you’re being there for Malory while she’s going through this hard time. But that’s all you’re allowed to do; be there for her. Not be with her.”
“Th-thank you, s-sir.”
My hands were shaking. The officer knew. He knew everything.
I walked down the hallway and stepped down the stairs, seeing Louis and the officer sitting at the kitchen table. Louis tried to perk up and smile as I appeared, but I knew he was both in shock and absolutely terrified of what the officer had said.
“Come on Malory, you’ve got to get down to the station.” Louis tried to smile, but I knew him too well.
We hopped into Louis’ car and followed the police car down to the station. When we were driving, Louis remained pretty silent, eyes on the road, but I knew his mind was somewhere else.
“I’m scared, Louis.” I whispered quietly. His hand quickly found mine and held on tightly.
“Don’t be, they’re just asking you a few questions, that’s all.”
“I mean, I’m scared of the future. What’s going to happen?”
He took a deep breath. “You’re going to live with your mom, and..” He trailed off.
“And we’re not going to be allowed to be together.”
The car remained silent for a few minutes. When we pulled up to the police station, he let go of my hand, aware of the police men who could see us.
“I love you.” He smiled sadly. “I love you, always and forever.”
I nodded softly. “I love you, too.”
The passenger door opened, and a police officer helped me out of the car.
“Right this way, Malory, we need to ask you a few questions about exactly what happened.”