By The Hillside

Chapter 10

When Harry had driven off to do errands the day prior, their goodbye had been slightly awkward. They were back at the ranch, and Niall was sitting on the doorsteps, scratching Abby's belly, so even though Louis had wanted to step up and kiss him, he didn't. He wasn't sure what this was, or if they were going to repeat it. A big part of him hoped it. He liked kissing Harry. A lot. More than.

They had parted ways by the truck, and Louis had watched as Harry drove away. He had then proceeded to walk Piper and Sunny, help Conny in the kitchen, and then retreated to his room for the rest of the day, reading. He was on a call with Eleanor when he heard Harry come home, his steps dragging up the stairs.

He held his breath as he waited, hoping that Harry would knock on his door, but Harry hadn't. Instead, it was only the sound of Harry's bedroom door closing that rang in Louis' ears.

With a sad frown, he had returned to his call.

The following morning, his first thought when he woke up was Harry. He remembered their trail ride from the day before, and a warm feeling filled his body. But then he remembered their awkward goodbye and how they hadn't shared a word since.

Slowly, he sat up in bed, only to get jumped by a big ball of fur.

Abby had been lying at the end of the bed without him even noticing, and she began licking all over his face, her paws planted on his chest.

"Abby!" he squealed as the dog licked his nose. "Get off of me, you little door-opening bastard."

Abby stared at him with big, brown eyes, her head tilted slightly to the side. She licked around her mouth, then licked his.

"Arg!" Louis gently pushed her off him, once again sitting up. He reached for his phone on the nightstand, grasping it.

He unlocked it, being met by a notification from his dad. He sighed, rolling his eyes. He hadn't gotten a text from his father since the morning of Sunny's birth, not even after he had replied with No to his father's Are you behaving? text. And now, here he was yet again, with a notification from his father.

With a sigh, he pressed the notification, closing his eyes before reading it. After a few seconds, he opened them, and read.

Spermdonor: Louis, we should talk

Louis rolled his eyes. It was too early to even think about having a conversation with his father, but he also didn't want to completely ignore him. He chose to be annoying instead.

Louis: Something we should have done eighteen years ago. Agreed.

He pressed send, and placed his phone on his nightstand once again, the screen facing the wooden surface. He swung his legs over the edge, running his hands over his face. Abby came over, placing her head in his lap. She looked up at him with big, almost sad eyes.

"Hey, girl." He scratched her behind the ear. "Do you think your dad would mind if I paid him a morning visit?"

She didn't answer.

"Yeah, I don't know either. He kissed me, you know."

Still no answer.

"I think I would like to kiss him again. Do you think he would like to kiss me again?"

She licked his palm.

"I will take that as a yes."

He stood up, stretching his body. He had slept only in his boxers, the room being too hot the evening before for him to even bother to wear a T-shirt.

He walked over to his suitcase where all his clothes still lay, and grabbed a pair of grey sweatpants, pulling them on.

Barefoot and shirtless, he exited the room and walked over to Harry's door. He could hear movement behind the door and held his breath. Slowly, he lifted his fist, letting it hover above the surface for a few seconds, pondering whether to actually knock or not.