After The End: Book 1

28. Nothing to be scared of

Without so much as a goodnight, he started towards his room apparently unsatisfied with being awake.

Louis turned on Lux looking expectant. "How is he? Is he doing okay? He doesn't tell me anything."

Lux smirked and rose, placing an understanding hand on Louis shoulder. "I'm Harry's confidant, not yours."

Louis scowled. He asked her regularly about Harry's well-being and she was consistently stone cold about it. Harry's business was safe with her.

"I'm taking him out this week," Lux added as she turned away to flip the tv off.

Louis stiffened. "What?"

"Lux you can date him! That's off limits," I reminded her.

She waved us off with her arm like we were unimportant nuisances. "I'm not dating him. I'm just taking him out. He's allowed to go outside."

Louis made a confused face. "What does that even mean? Where are you going?"

Lux shrugged. "Haven't decided yet. I'm thinking somewhere pretty. I like trees."

Louis looked at me as if I somehow knew what she was talking about. I was just as bewildered as he was. "Lux," I began carefully. "Please be a little less vague." I gave her a very intense look that I hoped conveyed Louis is traumatized. Please don't make him play a guessing game when Harry already stresses him out enough.

Lux seemed to gather the concern. She smiled at Louis and spoke in the soft voice she normally reserved for Harry. "I'll take care of him Louis. He just needs to get out of this house."

With that, she sauntered off to her room and closed the door. Louis rounded on me as soon as he heard the slam. "Why is she like this? How does Harry put up with it? I mean, I know they fight all day but how does he still want to be in the same room as her?"

I laughed. "They're like children together," I agreed. "I think she reminds him to slow down and just laugh."

My tone was positive but Louis wasn't. "They're getting way too close."

"Well what else is he supposed to do stuck in this house?" I countered. He couldn't hardly focus on the telly. He could barely read without developing migraines. He still spent most days with the lights dimmed. He cooked, but that only accounted for a few hours each day. Louis and I worked. Lux was his only available friend.

Louis looked conflicted. "I just don't want to watch him fall apart again. Especially because I know it will be the last time. I want him to stay in our lives..." he trailed off, his eyes gravitating downwards for a moment to my stomach. I didn't think I looked pregnant yet but I had definitely changed just a little. I knew the baby meant something huge to Louis. I knew he spent most days wondering about the intricacies of how his life was changing. I wondered how much it meant to him to have Harry a part of his child's life too. I knew it was important.

"He won't," I said seriously. "Lux wouldn't ever do anything to jeopardize him. She cares way too much. You have to know she acts this way because she cares."

He looked down at his feet. "I've cared about it for a long time. Caring about him has never been enough on its own."

Harry's POV

"Wake up!" I heard her voice break through my sleeping brain.

My eyes flew open. I saw her eyes first, inches from my own. Lux was sitting on top of me, her legs straddled over my torso and her face leaned over mine. I shoved her instinctively, sitting up in time to watch her tumble to the floor.

"That's the opposite of not touching me," I snapped rubbing my eyes. It was still dark outside my window. The clock on the nightstand said it was only a little after 6 am. "And I'm not a morning person."