Louis' POV I checked my watch to see that I was already late for school. Mom coughed, slightly sitting up in the process. She looked okay but she had been coughing all morning. It looked like she had the onset of a fever. The doctor was running late and still needed to get to school. I could not leave her here until the doctor came. "Mi Amor," Mom said, reaching out a hand to stroke my hair. "I will be okay." I did not answer and just eyed the door anxiously. The past few days had been hell. Mum and father had been screaming at each other none stop and it was taking a toll on her. The bastard was already out and about, not giving a fuck about the wife he had put in this condition. Mum's blue eyes searched mine, trying as always to figure out what was going on in my head. "Mum rest." "I will," She managed to say with a weak smile. "You can go, he will be here so..." Our butler, Hector knocked on the open door to get our attention. He looked worriedly at mum. There was so much war
Minutes before... Louis' POV The elevator door opened with a bing and I stepped out, only to collide with someone. Before he could scurry away I held him by his collar. "Watch where you are going," I hissed in annoyance. What was a kid doing here in the first place? The little boy looked up at me and I recognized him instantly. It was Zoe's younger brother, only now his face was almost the same shade as his hair. He looked scared. Before I could let him go I heard a voice call out. "Hold him, please," I looked at the person and realized it was Sandra, running towards us. I held on to him even though he was squirming. She caught up, knelt and tried to get a hold of him but he remained resistant. "Please, Andrew..." She pleaded with him. "Sorry... "No, you promised it was a surprise birthday party..." He countered, with hurt in his eyes. "...For Ray," He sniffled. "What happened?" The mention of another male from the boy's mouth surged my interest and I could not help but blurt o
Zoe's POV The windows were up but the air conditioner was working its magic. Despite Louis being beside me, driving, I relaxed. After the nurse had administered to me some painkillers, given me an ice pack for my leg and covered up the cuts on my face with bandaids. Louis appeared again and offered to take me home. After a little back and forth, I agreed. If I wanted to be completely honest with myself, I was glad that he had offered because I could not even begin to imagine walking or at least limping back to class after the elite's classroom fiasco. But again, there was tomorrow and Andrew that I had to face when I got home. Our relationship could never be the same after today. And then there was Sandra. To think that I was willing to put myself in harm's way for her sister just to be stabbed in the back was jarring. "Is everything alright?" Louis' voice pulled me out of my reverie. "You are crying." I touched my face to find that in fact, I was. I guess it hurt more than I wa
Louis’ POVI came to her rescue with another towel. Pulling the ruined towel off her lap, I pulled up her skirt to her already reddened thigh. I wiped the soup off. I got her on her feet and discarded her wet skirt and sat her back down. “How much does it hurt?” I asked her. “I am fine, Louis,” She responded. “You screamed,” I countered. “It was a reflex, it didn’t hurt that much.” She maintained. “ Now can I get my skirt back?” It was not only her thigh that had reddened.“No,” I said curtly, picking it up and walking away. I could not bear to see her like that. She was so alluring and I was losing my mind.“No?!” She got up and limped after me. “It is mine for goodness sake.” “It is wet,” I countered.“I am half naked.”God, why did she have to say that? I paused and held myself back from turning around and seeing her like that. “I’ll get you something else to wear,” I walked off. When I came back she was sitting on another couch, she got up as she heard me come from behind her.
Louis POVI tried to be gentle at first but soon I was taking her in like she was air and I had drowning been before. I probed and nibbled at her lips. They were alluringly warm and soft. My mind drifted to thoughts of how many others had had this experience before me. She was not fighting me anymore, she felt numb beneath me probably with surprise. Against every longing that threatened to smother me, I drew back but just enough to rest her forehead on mine. I let go of her hand and held her face. I took in a breath of her and had to force my eyes from rolling back. I could have devoured her. She did not push me away, she let the silence wash over us. I was the first to oust some distance between us but only to be able to look into her eyes. She looked up at me searchingly. For what I suspected was reassurance that I was not just deceiving her. After what I had done to her in the past combined with the incident today, she had every right. I let her find what she was looking for, me
Zoe’s POV“Happy birthday, dear,” Mum said as she placed the box in front of me on the dining table. “Sorry, it coming late but with this that will never happen again.” I eyed the box instead of looking at her. “Come on, open it up.” She pressed. I sighed, still keeping eyes on the box and not at Andrew who was still right in front of me. Mum did not need to force him to be here if did not want to. It made the situation even more awkward. I placed a tentative hand on the pink ribbon that tied the lid closed before tugging on it. It fell away and it lifted the lip and peeked inside. It was a white box with the image of a flip phone. My eyebrow almost disappeared into my hairline. “A phone?”Mum jumped a bit, obviously happy with my reaction. “Come on, check it out, everything has already been set.”I discarded the white box and pulled out the phone. I could have giggled, it was so darn shiny. “Oh my gosh.” I could not explain my excitement. “Now you can call your new friend,” Mum
Zoe’s POVWe had to talk but ruining this moment felt like sin. It had been about two weeks since the whole birthday party incident and things between Louis and I were smooth. Sandra had not reached out to me at all. I was hurt by her actions but I could not hate her. I was hoping that not all we had had been a charade on her part. I remembered the look on her face in the elites’ classroom. The agony and vulnerability. She had not jibed at me like the rest of them. Even though, deep down I knew that if the prank had ruined my relationship with my brother, I would feel differently. But Andy did not alienate me like he alienated Regina. I was glad that he did not understand the complexities of the situation. He did not need his innocence tainted more than it already was. Yet he took it maturely and said, “Kissing is what grownups do and that those mean kids should mind their business.” He had told me that the only reason he had cried was because he did not like what they were calling me
Zoe’s POV“Where have you been?” Mum turned away from the stew she was stirring. “It is late.”“Out with a friend,” I lied. Her gaze narrowed on me. The way I had let my hair down must have aroused her suspicion. “It must have been a lot of fun,” She suddenly flashed me a mischievous smile. She walked up to me and I fought every urge to run. She reached out and pulled a small leaf out of my hair. “Lots of fun,” She repeated. “Anyway dinner will be ready soon so maybe you should take a shower. She walked back to the stove. “Yeah, maybe I should,” I chuckled nervously. “Andy’s in my room by the way,” “Okay,” I said. Even if he was cool with the ‘grown up stuff’ but there was no way in hell that he was seeing me like this. On my way to my room, the door opened and out came Regina with my savings purse. She paused at the entrance and gave me a disapproving look. “Mum’s broke, you’re broke, Is there any useful person in this goddamn house?” She disappeared for weeks only for her to