It's just a normal night of babysitting, reading your sisters the 'Jungle Book' which is their favorite bedtime story, even Lottie's, though she pretends to be much too cool for it. Their eyes are drooping as you read them the familiar words that your mother and father have read them so many times before.
Then your phone rings, and while they object you interrupting the story, something inside tells you to ignore their plights.
"Hello? Louis here."
"Is your name Louis Tomlinson? Are your parents Mark and Joannah Tomlinson?"
"Yes… um… wait, what has happened?"
"I'm so sorry to tell you this, but they have been in a fatal car accident."
"….. what? No, they were just out on a date, they should be on their way home."
"I know this is hard to hear, but they have passed away. I need you to come down to the hospital to identify their bodies."
The girl's looks at you with fear in their eyes, they know something had just changed their world forever, but you put on a brave face and tell them not to worry. But you know the time that you must be honest with them is ticking away.
You go to the hospital, look at the shells that used to be your parents and nod 'yes'. You have to bite your tongue to hold down the acid that is creeping up your throat at the sight. You drive home, never feeling so numb in your entire life.
One day passes and there are only so many excuses you can make. You tell them in the best way can and still, everything shatters around you. There is no more disturbing sound than the sound your four younger sister's make at the news of their parent's passing.
Hurt comes in waves and so does grief, at first when you lose someone, it doesn't feel real. It can't be real but after a few days of living in denial, you realize they aren't coming back and you can't do anything about it. You feel helpless, like everything is out of your control.
Your sisters cry and you feel guilty for not knowing how to comfort them, you have to meet with lawyers and deal with people giving you their condolences, whether or not you want to hear them.
With four younger sisters now in your custody, you have to find a way to bring the light back into their worlds before it's too late.
My name is Louis Tomlinson. This is the story of how I bought a zoo.