Louis watched as Felicie finished the final part of the Zorro Drill. He felt a small smirk flit over his face at her confident stance. The girl really had no limits on her self assurance. He looked past her and saw Odette in the corner. His Odette. The same one that had told him to get out today, and yet he couldn't help loving her. His concern for her outweighed the heartbreak he had felt earlier in the day. He could still see her right cheek was slightly bruised and the way she was standing suggested that her ankle was positively brutal at the moment. She turned away from him, blinking rapidly and Louis felt his own tears well in his eyes. He quickly cleared his throat and turned to the class.

"Ladies, anyone who did not get their feet measured yesterday may step forward and get that done."

Odette looked back up at him and her eyes, god those dusky blue eyes would be the death of him. She nodded in affirmation and just like the day before she kneeled down as the 4 girls in his class who hadn't gotten their fitting done yet walked over to her. He winced at the cracking sound her ankle made as she slid to the ground. He could clearly see the pain she tried so hard to mask behind a wall of indifference. Felicie smiled at her, and Odette smiled back. But… not fully. It was never fully, always half or just a small lift of the corner of her mouth. The girl went over to her mentor and asked her a question. Odette nodded and Felicie and Camille practically ran out the room whispering excitedly about who knows what. He felt like a bystander, someone who wanted to be part of another's life but couldn't. He could only look through the glass to see what was going on, never giving his own opinion or being able to touch the people on the other side. So he just watched, transfixed but heartbroken.

"Sir, are we dismissed?" One of his students asked him.

Louis growled. "Seeing as how two of your classmates already left, what do you think the answer to that question is?"

The black haired girl flinched at his tone and quickly nodded, escaping his presence as fast as she could. He sighed, he really should not have lashed out at her like that. It was not the girls fault that he was so bitter, after all.

Odette clapped her hands. "Alright that was the last one! It was great to see you all today."

She glanced up at Louis, something flitting over her face before she looked away. He, however, did not move his eyes from her slim form. She slowly stood grabbing her cane and giving him the slightest of nods, eyes still not meeting his.

"Call the shop when you need this again." She said quietly.

"Of course."

He watched as her back turned to him and she began to walk away, still much heavier and painstaking than usual, as if her injury was rejoicing in her misery. He turned around in the empty studio room and ran a hand over his face, why had he just let her walk out? He should have asked if she was alright, even if she had been brutal earlier in the day, he still had enough moral decency to want to know if she was ok. He cursed himself and quickly crossed the floor grabbing his coat and walking out the door. If he hurried he could catch her before she got to her… it occurred to him that he actually didn't know where she lived. He began walking in the general direction of the shop, figuring that was his best chance of finding her. He only had to walk a block before he saw her turn towards the shop. He frowned as she stepped up onto the pavement and he ran after her, hoping to catch her out in the open so she wouldn't feel trapped again. He was nearly to her when he saw it. Black ice, only visible from his angle because of the moon dancing off its clear surface. Odette didn't see it and her bad ankle came down on it at the same time as her cane. The cane slipped from her grasp and even Louis could see the weird way her ankle rolled out from under her. He watched as the bone hit the concrete and a dull sound echoed off the empty streets. Then the rest of her body collapsed on top of it and she cried out, Louis instantly started moving again. As soon as he was close enough to touch her he placed a concerned hand on her shoulder.

"Can you stand?"

She nodded her head, small hitches in her breath making her pain known. Louis frowned but gently pulled her up, her eyes were still closed and when she tried to put weight on her ankle she yelped and her body gave out. Louis quickly caught her, picking her up as gently as he could. She let out a small whimper and squeezed her eyes shut even harder.

"Where do you live?" He asked her, the tone in his voice conveying his panic.

"Attic." She gritted her teeth and curled her fingers into fists.

Louis didn't waste another moment, no matter how much he wanted to berate her for not coming to him instead of living in an attic.

He walked up the stairs and set her down on the larger bed, looking around at the small room. Rather cozy if you didn't take into consideration that it was barely big enough to fit one person much less two. Odette groaned behind him and he looked back at her. Suddenly she was grasping his hand with surprising strength.

"Can.. can you get the… bandages out of that cabinet?"

He nodded quickly, disentangling her hand from his and walking over to the cabinet she was pointing to. He found the medical wrap and brought it back to the bedside. She reached for it and with trembling fingers tried to sit up. Her lips pressed together but it didn't stop the small sob from escaping her lips. Louis pulled the wrap away from her and gently pushed her back down into the pillows.

"On a scale of 1-10 how bad does this hurt?" He gently pressed his fingers into the skin above the swollen ankle. She hissed and shut her eyes again, Louis instantly retracted his hand and took hers.

"Really, really bad." She whispered.

Louis frowned, Odette never ever told anyone how bad she was hurting. She preferred to keep it hidden in herself. The fact that she had even admitted this much was a surprise Merante couldn't predict.

"Could... could you do it?"

He nodded, taking the bandage and slowly moving back to the damaged limb.

"How tight do you want this?"

"Just tight enough to push it back into place." She murmured.

Louis gave her hand a squeeze and then began to wrap it around her ankle. She tensed as he neared the end and her ankle popped back into place with a painful crack. Odette yelped and s few tears slipped down her cheek. Louis winced, quickly finishing and tying the bandage off. He scooted closer to her, gently wiping the tears away and experimentally testing the small bruise on her cheekbone. She quickly retracted and looked away. Louis placed his hands on her arms and turned her face back to his. When he saw the tears and remorse in her eyes he tried to reassure her with his own.

"Are you alright?" He whispered.

She kept her hands tightly wound in fists. "I… I never know."

Louis frowned. "What do you mean?"

She sighed coming closer to him. "My ankle will act up out of nowhere, I barely ever get enough sleep, my employer has been abusing me, and I am forced to work two jobs to keep me and Felicie afloat."

Louis felt the fragile hope in his heart defuse again. "Why don't you just…" It occurred to him that he actually had no idea what he was going to suggest. She looked down and the shadows danced across her hollow cheekbones, the bluish bruise giving her a haunting look. Silent tears slipped down her cheeks and she seemed to involuntarily lean towards him.

"Why do you let her do this?" He whispered, wrapping a tentative arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. Odette seemed too weak to fight it and instead pressed her head into his chest and allowed him to slowly rub her back and rock her back and forth, whispering soft comforts into her hair.

"I… I don't know. I keep thinking that she will stop but… she never does." She whispered.

Louis stiffened. "You mean she has punished you like this more than once?"

Odette shuddered and Louis' heart broke at her next word. "Yes."

Louis growled, his arms seeming to instinctively come around her waist and pull her against him even farther. She leaned into him, seemingly wanting any type of physical contact. He carefully caressed her cheek and, daring to be brave, kissed the top of her head murmuring.

"I swear that is never happening to you again. I'm going to call the police and…"

Odette pushed away from him, panic clearly written on her face. "No… no you can't!"

Merante frowned at her, gently bringing her back to his side. "Why not?"

"She threatened to hurt Felicie… I couldn't bear it if something happened to her." Odette whispered her voice breaking when she realized just how futile this was.

Merante cursed, feeling his brow furrowed in concentration as his hand absently soothed her tense shoulders and back. "So you're just going to let her continue to abuse you? Has she hurt Felicie?"

Odette scowled at him. "Do you really think I would allow her to do that?"

Louis shook his head. "No I don't think you would, you would sooner lose your job than have any harm come to her. I understand."

She looked down. "I would. I love her too much."

Louis nodded, feeling a small smile stretch over his face ."I know you do. But I will find another way to help you. I promise."

Odettes eyes searched his. "Why?"

"Because no one deserves a life like this and I wouldn't want someone I know to go through it more than any nameless stranger."

"Maybe... but I was such a terrible person to you earlier today. And yet… yet you still came to see if I was ok." She gave him that ghost of a smile. "You're a very incredible person, do you know that?"

He pushed a piece of her hair off her forehead. "Hmm, I do. But you're the reason I am."

Odette blushed, and he smiled at her. "And don't even bother denying it, you know its true. I was a mess before I met you."

She smirked, her misery seemingly forgotten. "That's true, you were."

She leaned back into him and Louis felt his heart fill with hope again. Maybe it would take time and patience but when it came to her… he could wait.

A/N

Hello Readers! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Comments and any feedback are greatly appreciated! Anything I can work on to make my writing better please tell me, I always want to improve. And any ideas for this lovely pairing I can do my best to put into this story. Happy Halloween! Stay safe and healthy during the pandemic and have a great day!