After The End: Book 2

20. Famous

Naomis POV

Louis was already sitting on the bench by the fire inside the coffee shop when I arrived. He was staring at the door intently and seemed to take notice of me immediately when I walked in. He looked good, for someone who'd been abandoned two days prior. His eyes looked tired but his posture was strong where I was withdrawn and his face was expressionless. He had his hair tucked into a beanie and seemed to be going quite unnoticed in the back of the room.

I took a deep breath before making my way into the shop slowly. As I got closer, it became clear to me that Louis was alone. I'd half expected it, but it still stung my heart a little bit to know he hadn't brought Oliver. I'd spent the last two nights agonizing over being away from him but I couldn't argue with Louis when he'd informed me they wouldn't be home. I had no rights to call the shots anymore. I had to work on his time.

As I got closer, Louis face seemed to register how shitty I looked. My hair was choppy, my eyes rimmed red and my face dry and pale. He gestured to the space on the bench before him silently and I sat. He remained on the far end away from me, studying the sight of my unruly appearance.

"He's with Harry," he told me immediately.

"Harry's a babysitter now?" I inquired surprised.

"Who else would do it?" Louis asked me plainly. He wasn't wrong. It was always one of us. I had removed myself from the equation. Someone had to step in. Harry was a year sober now, so it made sense to trust him. I trusted him.

"I agree," I affirmed. "Not that my agreement should matter much to you."

Louis was quiet for a moment. He seemed to be staring at me trying to remember if he had any idea who I was. I could tell, he barely recognized me. He didn't know the woman who had walked out on him. Finally he spoke, "I am trying very hard not to be angry with you."

"You should be angry with me," I replied quickly. "I'm angry with me. Walking out on you was..." I trailed off.

Louis pursed his lips. "I don't care about you walking out on me. I've been dumped before, I can survive that. You walked out on Oliver and that—" Louis cut off. I could see it in his eyes that the thought of Oliver being hurt in my madness was the true thing that infuriated him. He took a deep breath. "What do you plan on doing next? I need to know so that my life doesn't come to a grinding halt again."

"Louis, I wasn't trying to dump you," I started carefully. "And Oliver," my voice cracked and my eyes welled up at the thought. "I just didn't feel..."

"Your feelings don't matter if he's a victim to them," Louis said sternly. He was still speaking in a calm tone but his upset was obvious. I was thankful that the coffee shop was mostly empty. I couldn't imagine this all being public knowledge. Louis seemed to notice how escalated he'd become and took another deep breath. "The conversation about you and I needs to be secondary. I don't care who dumped who. This has to be about him."

That stung a bit although I'd expected it. Still, I had to wonder if he was closing the door to us. Were we done for good? Had I just lost the worlds kindest man? Was I happy with that? I'd thought before that I would be happier without Louis but I'd just spent the last two days distraught and unable to function. Had that all been about Oliver or had the ache in my chest stemmed from Louis too?

"Naomi," Louis stated pulling my attention back out of my own head. "You've been gone for two days and you've barely even asked about him."

I blinked hard. "I knew you would be fine with him."

"That's not good enough," Louis frowned. "You can't just assume I'll handle him. He's ours, not mine."

"I know," I said quickly shaking my head. "I know that, but if he was going to have to be with one of us, you're the obvious choice."