WHO: Louis & Therese my favorite little frenchies
WHAT: Sibling bonding?
WHERE: Louis & Adian's magnificent rooftop garden
WHEN: Saturday morning!
Because he was proud of the majestic flat that he and his best friend had managed to snag (steal) right from under some snotty pair of muggle polo players, Louis attempted to take advantage of all its glory on a daily basis. He read in the natural sunlight that shone down through the magnificent skylights, cooked on the fire-lit stove that was painted quaffle red (he
refused to call it Gryffindor Scarlet, like Adian insisted it was), and whenever the weather was perfect, he made it up to their rooftop garden. This fine summer morning,Louis made his way up the spiral ladder that led to the roof with his toast freshly spread with jam.
“Oy, get your own beautiful view of the greatest city on Earth,” Louis said with slight surprise in his tone as he spotted his sister resting in one of the couches. Therese was of course allowed access to the wards of his flat, but she was always so strange about barging in, even though she’d make him feel remarkably guilty for making her wait outside for more than a few seconds. “Here to enjoy the sunrise?”
He was about to tease that the sunrise over the muggle cigarette billboard that blocked most of the view from Therese’s flat was
just as lovely as the one that was rising behind her, but he noticed that the narrowness of her eyes was not from sleepiness, but tears. “
Ce qui cloche?”
“
Tous,” Therese grumbled, rubbing her face. Louis dropped his plate of breakfast on a nearby stool and sat down quickly beside his sister. He...he was not sure when it was the last time he had seen her cry. He had been in school when everything had happened with Valois (Louis could not even
think of the man without seeing in
rouge), and she had been doing well he had believed.
“That is a bit vague.” He pushed back into the cushions and put out his hand for her to continue. “I will be the therapist, I will only charge you a galleon an hour.”
She pinched his thigh. Louis rubbed the spot, but continued to listen expectantly.
“I did something foolish last night. I went to see Michal---”
“There are some things little brothers do
not need to hear---”
Therese pinched him in the side this time, and much harder. “It is not like
that. It is---”
Louis watched her expression drop again, her whole demeanor slumping forward in exhaustion. His eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, “Have you been here all night?”
“Only since----two,” she muttered, ears growing red. Louis’ eyes widened and he made to question her further, but Therese put the heels of her hands to her eyes and nearly stopped his heart with her next words, “I miscarried in January.”
The younger sibling’s hand froze in its attempt to reach her shoulder as if he had been stunned, though the knot in his chest felt like he had been hit with the painful spell.
“I did not even
know that I was...and I did not want anyone to know that...but I
had to tell him and...I thought it would change things, but I did not
think...” Therese dropped her hands, shaking her head. Her voice trembled harder with each passing word. It seemed like she was using all of her strength to not shed any more tears. “He just left, he
left and gave up on things as if nothing had happened and for some reason last night I had the---the
stupid idea to...to go and profess my lo...”
She winced, shaking her head and looking at her brother with a tearful gaze. Louis could not erase his shocked expression and gaped openly at Therese. She sniffled, “I do not want to say that word because then that is---admitting that these men I’ve...I’ve felt so
strongly about did not find me worth fighting for or---or
fixing---or
anything!”
Louis snapped out of his stupor as his sister broke into tears again, pulling her into him in a tight embrace. His mind could not currently wrap itself around everything that had so quickly come spilling out of her mouth. Miscarried! She had been pregnant, Therese had---that had been his niece, or nephew, or---she hadn’t known? That is confusing, that meant it was early, that----he had come
home around then, and he had been bothering her by living on her couch and she had not said a
word! He had known about the breakup, but she never spoke of it, she only shut the wireless off whenever the Falcons were playing-----
He loosened his grip and stood after a few long minutes of frantic thoughts and consoling words, running a hand through his hair.
“I am going to kill him,” he said, his voice shaking. “I am going to find him and I am going to break his---his gigantic
chin and---”
“
Stop,” Therese muttered miserably. She grabbed for his hand, but Louis shook her away.
“No! This is---unacceptable! You are----he does not
deserve a moment of your----The Falcons are
épouvantable!” Louis spat. The team, they were
not terrible, but he was soon to throw out every piece of memorabilia he had. “I will hurt him for you. I will get Adian and we will hurt him.”
Therese shook her head, and she would have looked amused were her eyes not swollen and red.
“You would get pummeled by his teammates.”
“It would be worth the one cheap shot I’d get in,” Louis said in a dignified manner. He stared at Therese, literally biting onto his tongue as he held back all the things his mouth wished to blurt out but knew he shouldn’t. He was feeling so sad for her, but upset that she had not confided in him sooner, confused as to why she was even bothering with this fool, and---now quite tired.
“I’ll make you breakfast,” Therese muttered, gesturing to his toast. A pigeon was currently nibbling on the crust. Louis sighed and shooed it away.
“I need to go back to sleep more than I need to eat.” His arm around her shoulder gave her a squeeze and Louis stood the two of them up. “You can take my bed so you do not terrify Adian by sleeping on the couch. You know how he is with pretty girls.”
“I do not feel very pretty these days,” Therese said with a scoff. Her face flushed deeply, as if her words had not meant to be more than just some of her miserable thoughts. It was now Louis’ turn to pinch her and he scolded her gently in French before swiping up his plate and leading his sister back down into the flat. She needed to rest, because she did not deserve to have a sleepless night over some
imbécile who made her feel this way.
She needed to rest, because it would give him time to plot how precisely he was going to teach said
imbécile a well-deserved lesson.
