After The End: Book 2

35. Someone Else for a Day

Naomi's POV

Things were going great. Oliver had definitely noticed Louis absence, but Louis was staying true to his promise of FaceTiming throughout the day and that was helping bridge the gap. Lux had alternated between her home and Louis all day but largely we'd been alone.

It felt weird to be alone in Louis bed. I was sleeping in his room like I had before and it was lonely. Most of my things still resided there but it didn't feel like my home. I'd given that up.

Still, being with Oliver, waking up to him at night and being there for his morning had been a dream. Louis had given me such a gift by allowing me to be there. I was dreading his return.

I had just put Oliver down for the second night when he called me. We had watched their performance live right at bed time and I'd tried to keep the baby awake long enough so that Louis could see him but he'd been so tired. Louis seemed to understand. I updated him on the babies condition although nothing had changed. Diapers, failed attempts at crawling and his favorite toy officially seemed to be the cat toy.

"I appreciate you doing this for me," Louis said through the phone. I didn't know where he was, but the background was all concrete walls and official looking signs. I could see he wore his performance clothes still. Watching him on stage had been a bizarre experience after knowing him mostly from inside the home. He looked like a star. Harry and him both did, especially after the energy the both of them had brought to the stage the second night. People were talking about it everywhere, which almost helped me forget about what I'd seen about Louis from the night before. I didn't feel like I had a right to say anything, but I was definitely struggling to bite my tongue.

"You don't have to be appreciative of anything," I assured him. "It's my job to be his mum. I'm not doing you any favors."

Louis shrugged. "Well I still appreciate you. You've really been reliable lately."

Lux arrived through the elevator and let herself in with a wave. It was late, but she'd taken to coming over at all hours in Harry's absence. I suspected she didn't sleep well with Harry away.

"Is that Louis?" She said gesturing to the phone. "They've been offstage for over an hour. Where is Harry?"

Louis perked up, seeming to recognize Lux's voice. "Harry's probably back at the hotel," he answered.

Lux approached and snatched my phone out of my hand.

"What do you mean he's at the hotel? Aren't you with him?" She said sharply into the screen.

"No, I'm going to the after party. He didn't want to come," Louis explained in a reasonable tone.

Lux scowled. "You're supposed to be keeping an eye on him Louis!"

"I am," Louis argued sounding exasperated. "I can't keep eyes on him at all times."

"Or at all apparently!" Lux snapped. "Where was he when you were at the bar last night?"

"Lux!" I snapped taking my phone back. "He's not Harry's babysitter! He's allowed to live."

Lux scowled at me. On the phone screen, Louis seemed to be trying to formulate a response. He was visibly alarmed by Lux's demeanor. She looked worried. I knew Harry was hard to get ahold of on a good day. He rarely responded to anyone in a timely manner, but he hadn't answered her since sometime before the performance that night as far as I knew. She was getting antsy.

"I know you're worried Lux," Louis said finally. "But I don't think it's fair to expect me to be at his side when even he is telling me to back off a little. He's got to be allowed some agency. It's not like I've not been with him at all."