Talk about our future like we had a clue
Never planned that one day I'd be losing you
~The One That Got Away, Katy Perry

~2 months later~

Alessia

“How do you feel about having twin brothers or sisters, Louis?” the interviewer asks.

“Well, I’m pretty excited, just one more month to go and then I’ll be rocking my little sisters in my arms.” Louis flashes a half smile, as his mind goes back to Lexi.

“Sisters? Do you know the genders?” The interviewer exclaims.

“Oh no! Mum wants it to be a surprise, but I wish to have sisters,” Louis replies staring at his intertwined fingers.

“And, may I ask if it’s not too personal obviously, why so? You already have a sister, don’t you?”

Louis’s face turns pale and he presses his fingers together, “I do,” he manages mutter through his gritted teeth.

Alessia switches off the T.V and rolls off the bed. One more month, and she was going to have siblings. Did she even have the right to call them her siblings? Tears had stopped coming now, or she’d gotten so used to holding them back that it had become a habit. She hears the click of a door opening. Marilyn. Alessia flees to the bathroom before Marilyn can see her.

She turns on the shower. Her body screams in protest as the hot water falls on the blue black bruises and red cuts, but she harshly bites on her lower lip hissing, instead. She carefully washes her bruises, gently moving her fingers along the red scratches, and rough marks.

The latch on the door clicks open and Alessia quickly turns off the water and steps out of the shower. She reaches out for the towel resting on the metal rod but he reaches the towel first, roughly gripping it and bringing it away from her feeble hold.

“Give me the towel, Scott.” Alessia speaks through gritted teeth, her face still turned away.

“You know what happens when someone tells me what to do, right?” he asks, Alessia shudders as she sees his hateful smile in the mirror.

“Give me the god damn towel, I have work, today,” Alessia says in a quiet voice covering her naked body with her wiry arms.

“Aww baby,” Scott coos, in a disgustingly mellow tone, “nothing I haven’t seen before,” he says turning Alessia around so she faces the devil himself. He pulls Alessia’s hands away and grips her wrists, so she doesn’t fight him off.

She twists and turns her wrist under his bone-crushing grip, her body wriggling under his. Scott annoyed by this motion, grips her jaw and pushes her against the smooth wall, leaving a streak of red. Alessia’s vision blurs, her head throbs with the intensity of the impact. Her fingernails dig into Scott’s flesh, as she tries to concentrate on the bright bulb, trying to come back to focus.

Her vision is still blurry, and her throbbing head screams for attention. She pushes the pain away and tries to stand on her feet, only to be pushed again by a half-naked Scott.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asks sweetly, before ramming himself inside her. Alessia screams, and regrets it in the next moment when his palm connects with her cheek, the collision makes a sickening sound. He presses his palm against her mouth to keep her from screaming.

Alessia tries to bite his fingers and her hands thrash uselessly in the air. Blackness starts bordering her vision, but the tears Scott is waiting for don’t come. He thrusts faster and harder, but Alessia doesn’t let a tear fall. He, angrily, rams his fist into her shallow stomach, but Alessia, still, only grunts. Tears were pointless, nothing was going to change.

“Are you down now?” Alessia asks blankly, but her head is spinning, she tries to concentrate on standing still.

“Bitch!” Scott cries out frustrated.

“You’ve said that already,” Alessia replies reaching for her towel, and trying not to fall. Scott snatches the towel before her fingers brush with the towel’s soft texture and he pushes her against the wall again. This time the blackness is persistent and her knees buckle she falls on the floor. She clutches her throbbing head with her hands.

Scott shoves his foot into her stomach, making Alessia gasp again. With a slight chuckle he silently slipps out of the dormitory.

Alessia tries to hold on to staying conscious but the darkness lulls her into a deep sleep. Alessia gives up on fighting and finds comfort in the dark. She closes her eyes, but is woken up by the shrill sound of her phone. Her feeble fingers grip the air, until she finally feels the instrument on the bathroom sink. She presses the phone to her ear.

“H-hello,” she whispers hoarsely.

“I’m so sorry Less, but you’ll have to take Lindsay’s shift today. I promise to pay extra. I’m so sorry Less!” Pamela cries on the other end.

Alessia flinches her eyes open and she adjusts to the bright lights. She runs her fingers through her hair, and lets out a gasp as fresh blood trails down from between her fingers. “Yeah I’ll be there Pam.” she speaks trying not to shriek at the large amount of blood.

“Thanks babe, I owe you one.”

“S’okay. See you.” Alessia hangs up without waiting for a reply. She tries standing up with the support of the wall. Finally she stands unsteadily on her feet and looks at her reflection in the mirror.

Her blonde hair looks a wet crimson in color. The old bruises darkening and a new one just below her left eye.

She stumbles backwards and falls into the shower. A helpless cry leaves her mouth, she lies there unable to move. The throbbing in her head persistent, she tries to reach the knob for the shower to turn on. Her hand grazes the cold metal but drops again. She lets out an aggravated cry. She pushes her hand higher and moans softly as the cold water hits the fresh bruises.

Slowly she stands up and rinses her hair, hissing as she hits a scratch. Carefully and on steady feet, Alessia dresses for work. She gently combs the tangles in her hair and lets it stay that way.

Carefully she opens the drawer on her right and pulls out two pills of Ibuprofen. Alessia walks back into the dormitory and pours a glass of water for herself. She swallows the two pills and sits on the bed, waiting for the effect of the pills to take place. The throbbing slightly lessens and that’s enough for her to stand up and stand in front of the dresser, with careful strokes of the brush she hides the ghastly bruises. She covers her head with a beanie, afraid that it might start bleeding again.

She stares at herself in the mirror again, making sure that the long sleeves of her hoodie stretch up to her fingertips. She swings her bag over her shoulder and walks out of the door. She double checks the lock on the door, then turns away, taking cautious steps towards the elevator, hoping the slight limp in her walk wouldn’t give her away.

She jams the elevator buttons and closes her eyes, wishing life was normal. Going back through the times when she didn’t need to count how much she spent.

Alessia pulled out a top from the hanger throwing it on top of the stack of clothes she had picked out after Marilyn had taunted her all day long about her antisociality.

“Are you seriously getting all of that?” Marilyn asked, picking out a pair of jeans and looking at the price tag. Marilyn’s brown eyes widened and she shoved the tag into Alessia’s face. “45 dollars for a pair of jeans, are you kidding me? Where do you get all that money from, anyway?”

Alessia sighed, she had been spoiled by two famous heartthrobs obviously she wasn’t used to checking the prices on things. She closed her eyes. Louis had been taking care of her college fees when she was back in France, but she had changed her bank accounts and everything. The little amount of money she had transferred was all she had in her bank account.

“I need to get a job,” Alessia murmured, running a hand through her hair.

“Bet ya do,” Marilyn smiled throwing the pair of jeans on the rack and checking the tags on each clothing.

Alessia walks towards the small ‘Dunkin’ Donuts’ shop on the corner of the street. She mumbles a ‘hello’ to Pamela, and ties an apron around her waist , the radio buzzes softly in the background and she pulls out her books. She settles on the chair and concentrates on the math problems in front of her.

Her attention is caught by the group of teenage girls chattering noisily near the counter. Alessia sighs and gets up, she plasters a smile across her face and walks towards the counter.

“That’s so sad…I know, I hope they make it…”

“Poor Louis…”

“What about the babies?”

“I feel so sorry for him, after Alexis and all that…”

Alessia shifts uncomfortably, before impatiently tapping her nails on the granite countertop. “May I get you something girls?” she asks.

“I’ll get an iced latte please, peppermint flavor.” Alessia nods at the girl and looks over to the other three, but they are too engrossed in their conversations to pay any attention to her.

“They are huge directioners, and apparently one of the band member’s family or something got in an accident,” the girl who had just ordered shrugs, explaining the others’ chattering.

Alessia nods, and walks inside to get a latte. One of the band member’s family or something got in an accident. The weight of the words that have been spoken sinks in and Alessia lets out a gasp. The empty plastic cup tumbles on the floor, she grabs her bag which is sitting on the chair with her books and pulls off her apron. Alessia mumbles an apology to Pamela, before sprinting towards her dorm.

Her heart thuds in her chest as she fumbles with the keys, she pushes the door open with a lot of effort and drops the bag on the floor. She switches on the television and picks out a duffel bag from her closet.

She changes the channels, until she hears Louis’s name.

One Direction star Louis Tomlinson’s mother and step-father got into an accident a few hours ago. They are now in ICU in a critical condition.

The camera is focused on a very annoyed Louis. Alessia doesn’t need to hear more. She pulls her laptop and books the next flight back to London. Seven hours from now. She throws in a few sweatshirts and jeans.

She clasps her fingers and sits on the couch waiting for live broadcasts from London Bridge Hospital.

Her fingers twitch uncontrollably as she dials the last two numbers on her phone. She takes a calming breath and presses the phone to her ear. Her heart rate increases with every ring.

“Hello.”

“Eleanor, I… it’s--”

“Lexi?” Eleanor’s soft voice sounds from the other hand.

Alessia’s fingers tightly clutch the cushion beside her. “....Yeah, Alexis.”

“Why are you calling?” Eleanor’s voice is cold, now and Alessia flinches.

“I...Mum? Is she--”

“Is she okay? No she isn’t. Why do you care, anyway?”

Alessia cringes, tears fill her eyes. “I...I’m sorry.” Alessia whispers and hangs up. Was there any point in going back? Everyone hated her already.

---

Harry

“Was that Lexi?” Harry asks hopefully from the corner. Eleanor nods, her eyes filling with tears. It had been Lexi. She had talked to her best friend after almost eight months and had snapped at her. Never giving Lexi a chance to explain herself.

Harry’s eyes widen, “my Lexi?” Cara winces beside him, but Harry is too tangled up in emotions to notice that.

“Yes Harry, your Lexi.” Eleanor replies tiredly, rubbing her temples.

“What did she say?” Harry asks giddily, coming to sit beside Eleanor.

“Nothing. She said nothing. I snapped at her and she hung up.”

“You. You what?!” Harry asks getting up angrily. “You snapped at her. You fucking yelled at her Eleanor!”

“Sorry Haz. All of us are not as forgiving as you are. She left us hanging do you realize that? She fucking left us. Am I supposed to worship her if she decides to give us a god damned call?”

“Would both of you calm down. We have bigger things to worry about here.” Liam sighs, running a hand through his hair.

Eleanor gives him an apologetic nod, and stares at her fingers in her lap. Harry picks up Eleanor’s phone and gets up, walking out of the brightly lit hospital hallways.

His fingers are rigid as he presses the last received call button. He nervously scratches the back of his neck before pressing the call button. One ring. Two. Three.

“El?” her angelic voice speaks from the other end. Harry sighs in contentment . “Jesus Eleanor, I’m so sorry. I just...I don’t even know what to say. I’m sorry. God! I’m so sorry. I promise I’ll explain everything, I’m flying back tonight. Is mum okay? Dan? The--the twins?”

Harry smiles as Lexi babbles on the other end. She’s coming back. She’s coming back. The small smile turns into a huge grin. He abruptly turns around as someone taps his shoulder.

Cara stands in front of him, and guilt eats him alive. Cara wasn’t his girlfriend. No. But this still felt wrong, she had been there when Lexi hadn’t. But she wasn’t Lexi. Cara could never be Lexi. And even after almost nine months he only wanted Lexi. Needed her like a drug.

“El? Ellie?” Alessia’s voice is an octave higher on the other end. Cara nods sympathetically and gives Harry a sad smile before walking away.

“Harry. It’s Harry.” Harry speaks, raw emotion filled in his voice.

“H-Harry?” Her voice is a faint whisper. “I...I’m sorry. I thought it was El.”

Harry opens his mouth to speak but is greeted by dead silence. It didn’t matter if he wanted her, because it was obvious she didn’t.

Notes

Sorry for the real long wait, but I only got one new vote. So I didn't have any motivation to write, the comments were wonderful, though. Thank you. Anyway, Lexi is coming back!!!!! Gimme a moment to finish my happy dance. Cara isn't Harry's girlfriend!!! Let's have another happy moment. Alright so what do ya guys think, now? Merry Christmas everyone!! Hope you enjoy your Christmas. And a huge Happy Birthday to Louis!! Can you believe his 22 already!!

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