A Second Chance - A Larry Stylinson Fanfiction

Chapter 18

I am so incredibly beyond sorry for not updating in absolutely forever, but things came up and I know you guys couldn't care less and you just want to read the update, so here you go. I've had this part planned for over a year, so I hope it's good enough and worth the extremely long wait.

Enjoy(:

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Chapter 18

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It's rather daunting waking up with Harry wrapped around me like a boa constrictor, his quiet snoring and warm breath ruffling my messy hair. I've woken like this hundreds of times before, but never have I felt each quick beat of my heart in every part of my body that's making contact with Harry, I can feel his heart beat against my back, steady and rhythmic as it's always been. His strong arm holds me pressed against him and I've long lost feeling in one of my arms, but for some reason, I don't mind.

What I do mind is the fact that I've never been this contently comfortable with Eleanor before.

And with that thought comes gnawing guilt that makes me feel wrong lying here in Harry's arms. The feeling I suppose someone would get if they were lying in another's bed when their significant other is waiting for their return home.

I try to tell myself I'm doing nothing wrong, but the weird, foreign feeling bites at me until I feel sick. So I cautiously grab Harry's hand that rests loosely on my stomach and slide it off my body, allowing myself escape. I untangle my legs from Harry's and slip out of bed to look down at him, his sleeping form still curled around the dip in the mattress where I was lying.

Not allowing myself to look at Harry any longer, I quietly open his door and slip into the hallway, walking on my tiptoes to avoid creaky floorboards and awaking the other three boys that are snoring loudly from the living room. As I walk through the room, I smile at the sight: Liam's lying on the sofa, his arm wrapped tightly around Zayn's torso who's sharing the couch with him, their legs tangled beneath the thin maroon blanket that only covers their waists down. Zayn's got his hands pillowed neatly under his head while Liam breathes deeply with his mouth slightly open, practically inhaling my best mate's hair. Beside them on the love seat, Niall's sprawled across with his mouth gaping open ungraciously and roaring snores sounding out.

Wishing I had a camera or at least Zayn's ability to draw to capture the moment, I turn to the kitchen and start when I see Anne sitting at the breakfast table, sipping tea with the morning newspaper spread out on the table before her. She has her mug halfway to lifted to her lips, but pauses at the sight of me. "Louis."

Our last encounter flashes through my head - her standing in my doorway, looking at her son as if her heart were breaking, sitting in my basement as she undid the last two years of Harry's life like a loose thread on a knit sweater. "Mrs. Cox," I greet back, feeling too much like a stranger to say her first name like I used to in what feels like another life.

Anne sets her mug down on the paper without taking a drink and folds her hand on the table. "Louis, take a seat."

Cautiously, I pull out the chair opposite her and slide into the seat, wondering what on earth she'd want to talk to me about. Maybe she just wants to ask how I''ve been, or how Harry's been. But could it be that she doesn't want me around Harry anymore because I'm stressing him too much, especially after having destroyed the wall that separated his new life from his old one. Whatever it is, I can feel the weight of it through the look in her eyes.

"Louis," Anne begins, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear before refolding her hands on the table. "You and Harry were friends for a long time before the accident." Oh God, I think, she is going to tell me to leave Harry alone, that I'm only destroying all the progress he's already made. "And as friendships grow, they evolve. Take your mum and I for example. First, we were just the mothers of our son's new friend. Then we became friends ourselves as we saw more of each other through your friendship with Harry. Eventually-"