Truly, Madly, Deeply: A Dark Louis Tomlinson Fan Fiction

Chapter 23: Still The One

I had finally fallen asleep around 5 A.M., a fitful sleep filled with nightmares about being trapped in a building that Ryder Hartley was burning down. When I finally decided to wake up for good, Louis was no longer there, the bed feeling cold and empty without him.

I kicked back the sheets, stretching and yawning before rolling out of bed and trudging into the living room. I could see Louis on the patio, still in his boxers and leaning against the railing, a cigarette dangling from his lips. I hadn't known that he smoked, but it didn't matter. If anything, it made me even more attracted to him.

I slid open the sliding door and stepped onto the patio, greeted by a refreshing breeze. "Morning."

He hastily stubbed out the cigarette when he saw me, looking ashamed. "Hey Stel."

"I was just about to make breakfast." I said shyly. "How do you like your eggs?"

He frowned. "You don't have to make me breakfast."

"I want to!" I insisted. Since my mom was so terrible at cooking and my dad was busy putting felons behind bars, I had actually become something of a chef. "Are omlets okay?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "Omlets are always good."

He followed me back into the apartment, and I flipped on the tv to the morning news before heading into the kitchen. "It would be a lot of help if you could peel potatoes for hash browns. Is that okay?"

Louis didn't reply, but instead was staring at the television, a curious look on his face. "Stella!" He called.

"Yes?" I asked, digging through the refrigerator for eggs.

"Isn't that your dad?"

I set the eggs down on the counter, walking over to join him. Sure enough, my dad was on the screen, standing on a podium in front of the DA's office with the Mayor. It was obviously a press conference of some sort, he did them all the time. "Turn it up." I said, Louis grabbing the remote and pressing the volume control.

"And now we're going live to District Attorney William Parker's office, where he and Mayor Regelado will share their thoughts on this morning's shooting of prominent Miami social figure and nightclub owner Diego Rivera. Rivera, who was long thought to have connections to the Mob, was found dead in his office at around 8 AM with multiple gunshot wounds to the stomach and chest. So far, no suspects have been taken into custody."

Next to me, I could see Louis' posture stiffen, the remote control slipping from his hand and crashing to the floor. I stared in horror at the t.v., where my dad had just started expressing his thoughts about Rivera's death.

"Obviously, now is a difficult time for Mr. Rivera's loved ones. His devoted wife and young children are distraught at this morning's events, so I believe it's best we respect their privacy as much as possible." My father began, speaking into one of the reporter's microphones. "As of right now, Mayor Regelado and I are working very closely with the Miami-Dade Police department to get any leads as to who committed this heinous crime."

"Mr. Parker!" Shouted one of the reporters. "What do you have to say about the alleged gang war that has broken out as a result of Diego Rivera's death? Is the city safe anymore?"

"I can assure you," Said my father, his tone serious. "That as long as i'm District Attorney, Miami will be safe."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Louis struggling to remain calm. I had no idea what to say that would make this situation better, in fact, this was the worst thing that could possibly happen. His phone suddenly started blaring, interrupting the silence. Angrily, he removed it from his pocket and jabbed the answer button.

"Hello?" He barked. "Yes you wanker, i'm watching the news. This has Hartley's name written all over it, I knew I should have killed that son of a bitch when I had the chance. Have you spoken to Cruz? No? Well then why are you wasting time on the phone with me, call Cruz you twit! I'm leaving right now, i'll meet you two at the docks in half an hour."

He hung up, dissapearing into the bedroom and reappearing seconds later with his clothes, which he haphazardly pulled on. Running a hand through his unruly bedhead, he took a deep breath, looking at me anxiously. "I have to go. It's not safe for you to be alone right now, call someone you trust, and stay with them until you hear from me, okay?"

I nodded, still a little bit in shock. He landed a soft kiss on my forehead before slipping out the door, leaving me completely alone to mull over what was happening.

"Oh my God." I slipped to the hardwood floor, putting my face in my hands. Last night at the club, Ryder had warned me a revolution was coming, and now a man was dead. A man who just happened to be the only person who was protecting my boyfriend, who was reckless and volatile and was going to get himself killed if I didn't break up with him. In addition to all of this, I had my borderline obsessive ex who I was overly emotionally attached too trying to destroy my life every chance he got. Oh, and if I didn't start doing my homework I was never going to get into college and I would end up having to be Ryder's trophy wife.

Don't you dare cry Stella. I told myself over and over again as I hyperventilated into my palms. Crying wasn't going to solve anything, I needed to take action. Pushing myself off the floor, I trudged to the bathroom and showered before heading into one of Astoria's closets and helping myself to a wool Isabel Marant Nanette top, jeans, and leather Steve Madden combat boots. Since I didn't have my car with me, I had no way of getting home. Someone would have to come pick me up, which was fine since Louis had told me it wasn't safe for me to be on my own. With a murderous Ryder Hartley on the loose, I wasn't about to question that statement.

I pulled out my phone, deciding I would try my mom first. Can you come pick me up at Tori's? I texted, tapping the screen as I awaited her answer, which as usual was almost instantaneous.

Mom: Darling, i'm with your father at the Press Conference, you've obviously heard about the shooting by now. Why can't you just have Tori drop you off at home?

I sighed, frustrated, not even bothering to reply before moving onto my next option. I sent a group text to Dani and Perrie, hoping one of them would reply. Are either of you free? xx

Both of them took longer than expected to reply, so I braided my unkempt wet hair and grabbed a granola bar from the kitchen. When I got back to my phone in the closet, I had messages from both of them.

Perrie: Sorry doll, I have work all morning. I get off at 5, if you want we can grab some dinner then xoxo

Danielle: Hey Stel, Liam and I were just on our way to the mall, should we pick you up?

"Ugh." I muttered. Perrie was busy working and there was no way I was going to third wheel on Payzer's date. That, unfortunately, left me with only one last option, one I had been hoping I wasn't going to have to resort to. It physically pained me to text him, but I couldn't just stay here all day waiting for Louis to maybe come back for me.

Stella: What are you up too?

Niall: Nothing, just at the music store on 5th getting my guitar tuned. I'm about to leave though. Why?

Stella: Stranded at Ash's, can you come pick me up?

I held my breath as I waited for him to reply, 99.% sure he was going to say no. After the fight we'd gotten into last night, why would he want anything to do with me? I certainly wouldn't.

Niall: Sure babe i'll be there in a few xx

I stared at his reply in disbelief, unable to comprehend that he was being so casual, as if nothing had happened. A part of me wanted to believe that maybe Niall knowing about me and Louis had changed something in him, that it had made him realized that I really and truly had moved on, but I seriously doubted it. He was probably just being the usual bipolar Niall that i'd been dealing with lately, and he would show up here in ten minutes and start giving me shit about last night.

Oh well, I only had to survive a twenty minute car ride with him and I would be safe at home. Knowing Tori wouldn't mind, I took one of her several Chanel Boy bags and transferred my wallet, house keys, and phone from my clutch into the luxurious black leather satchel. In all the fuss, I hadn't realized that the television was still blaring away in the background, so I plopped down on the couch and absentmindedly flipped the channel to Bravo, hoping the mindless entertainment would distract me until Niall got here.

About twenty minutes into an episode of the Real Housewives of Atlanta there was a knock at the door. Nervously, I got up and opened it, praying that there wouldn't be any confrontation. I was too emotionally exhausted to fight right now.

"Hey love." Niall said, smiling as he walked into the foyer. "Are you okay? You look tired."

I shot him a confused glance. "I'm fine, I just didn't sleep very well."

"I was really worried about you last night." He said, looking ashamedly at his worn Adidas sneakers. "When I saw Louis leave I was going to offer to drive you home, but I knew that you would say no."

"Perrie dropped me off here." I lied. "But, if you don't mind me asking, why do you care? I thought you hated me."

"Stel..." Niall began, an earnest look in his gorgeous eyes. "You know that I could never hate you. I've been a complete dick lately, and i'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

If I had been confused before, I was shocked now. I had never thought i'd live to see the day where he would actually apologize for how much of an asshole he'd been the last couple weeks. My brain was telling me to brush it off, that he was just, to quote Louis "manipulating me into feeling sorry for him", but my heart could never not forgive him, no matter what he did. It cared about him too much. "Yeah, you've pretty much been winning the douche olympics lately. But thanks for apologizing. Oh, and for coming to get me."

"It's no big deal." He said casually, but I could see that he was trying not to smile at how easily I had let him off the hook. I hated myself for being such a pushover when it came to him, that I would probably end up regretting this, but for now I would just enjoy the fact I had my best friend back, temporary as it may be.

"Do you want to go take a walk on the beach?" I suggested suddenly, not wanting the moment to end. "It's a bit chilly, so it shouldn't be to crowded."

"That sounds perfect." He smiled, extending out a hand to me, which I enveloped in mine. When it came to Niall, I had never thought of holding hands a necesarilly romantic gesture, we'd been doing it since we were ten. I had always noticed though how his hand fit in mine as if it was made just for me. It was rough and callused from playing guitar so much but still soft and warm, like that one pair of jeans that fit just right. I held onto him tightly as we took the elevator downstairs and strode through the lobby to the sliding glass doors which lead straight onto the soft sand of South Beach.

It was more crowded with then I had expected, what with people enjoying their Sunday afternoon and all that, but it wasn't as bad as usual. Our fingers still entwined, we strolled slowly down the beach, not speaking but enjoying each other's company. It brought back so many memories of afternoons and weekends spent doing almost exactly the same thing we were now. Just being with Niall, knowing that I was with someone who loved me unconditionally had always been enough for me. Of course things were different now, but the underlying emotion was still there.

When we were far away enough from the crowd that we had some semblance of privacy, Niall plopped down on the soft sand and I sat inbetween his legs, his arms wrapped around my waist with my hands gently resting on his, just like we always did when we wanted to look out at the ocean. For a while we were quiet, enjoying the sound of the waves gently lapping against the beach, but Niall broke the silence with a question.

"Do you remember Summer '09?" He asked, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Of course." I answered, feeling the same panging in my heart I always did when I thought about Summer of 2009. We had still been so young and innocent back then, not yet jaded by the harsh unfairness of reality. Asher, Tori, Niall and I had spent every day at the beach together, having picnics, playing soccer, swimming, basically just being the happy family that we always had been. However when sunset would come Ash and Tori would always slip away, leaving me and Niall by ourselves. We would sit just like this, watching the sun dissapear below the horizon, talking about things. School, our plans for the future, books, movies, among other things I didn't really care to think about at the moment. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason in particular." He whispered. "Just that it was probably the best time of my life. I miss those days more than anything."

I snuggled in closer to him, leaning my head back against his chest. "I miss them too."

"They don't have to be over." He urged softly. "I mean, we can still make up for lost time. Remember all the plans that we made? I want that for us."

"Oh, Ni." I sighed, lightly tracing my thumb over the back of his hand. "You know things are different now."

I could feel his grip on me tighten, as if he was scared that I was going to get up and leave at any given moment. "I know." Niall conceded sadly. "But Stel, answer me honestly. Do you ever think that maybe i'm still the one?"

I didn't like where this conversation was heading, but I would allow him an answer. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't. But you know that I have Louis now, and you have Eleanor." Suddenley, a terrible concern crossed my mine, one I had to address sooner rather than later. "Are you going to tell her? About me and Louis."

Niall was silent for a few seconds, thinking over his answer. "If I think that he's going to do something to hurt you, then yeah, i'll tell her. But otherwise no, my lips are sealed."

I sighed in relief, satisfied with his answer. Louis would never do anything to hurt me, if anything we had to worry about me hurting him. Ryder's offer still lay heavily in my mind, rearing it's ugly head when ever the thought of Louis crossed my mind. It made me feel nauseous, as well as disgusted with myself. I needed a distraction before I threw up my granola bar all over the sand. "Niall? Can you recite me that one poem you always used to when we were younger? The one with the kingdom by the sea?"

"Annabel Lee?" He asked, and I nodded at the familiar name. "Okay, i'll try, but it's been a while since I thought about it so I may mess up."

His tone of voice dropped as he recited the first few lines of the poem, quiet so that no one else would hear the words that were meant just for me.

"It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea

That a maiden, she lived with no other thought..."

"Then to love and be loved by me." I whispered the last line of the first stanza along with him, causing a small smile to tug on his lips. I nuzzled into him as he continued to tell the story of a young man who loses the love of his life and continues to spend the rest of his years yearning for her, begging a merciless God to return her to his arms. The way that his soft lilting accent said the heartachingly beautiful words never failed to send shivers down my spine, and by the time he was reciting the last stanza tears were pooling in my eyes.

"For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride

In her sepulchre there by the sea-

In her tomb by the sounding sea."

As usual when he finished reciting Annabel Lee, we had a few seconds of silence, allowing the words to sink in. I nestled into Niall's strong arms, inhaling the familiar scent of his Armani Mania cologne, which he had been wearing for as long as I could remember. It was as if all my senses were being assaulted at once, causing my mind to go fuzzy. The sight of his hair rustling softly in the breeze, the sound of his voice when he whispered in my ear, the feeling of his skin on mine, the way just the smell of his cologne could bring back millions of memories I had spent so long supressing. It was almost to much for me to handle. I needed to get out of here, right now. I knew this feeling better than almost any other emotion. This was me falling in love with Niall James Horan all over again.

"Niall-" I said, about to detangle myself from his arms and make up some excuse about having somewhere else to be, but before I could finish his lips pressed into my neck, right on the sweet spot only he knew was there, rendering me speechless.

"Run away with me." He whispered. "You're my queen, so i'll build you a kingdom by the sea ; and i'll be your knight in shining armour. You'll be safe from harm, but most of all, you'll be loved by me, more and more with every beat of my heart, until the day I die. Just me and you, my sun, my moon, and all my stars."

I felt as if someone had taken a sledgehamer to my heart. "Stop it." I said quietly, more to myself than to him.

"Hmmm?" He hummed into my neck.

"Stop it!" I commanded again, pushing myself away from him and standing up. "I don't love you anymore! I love Louis, what is it going to take to make you realize that?"

He stood up too, towering over me. "You're lying to yourself. You've been lying to yourself for a long time, but you don't have to anymore! You, and me, we're soul mates, and you know it. Just give me a chance Stella." He begged. "Give me a chance to fall in love with you over and over again every day for the rest of my life."

As Niall was speaking, tears had begun slipping from his eyes, and he was now hastily trying to wipe them away. Gently, I used my thumb to aide him, and he caught my hand in his, bringing it to his mouth and kissing it softly. 

"I'm sorry baby, I really am." I consoled him. "I'm sorry that you're hurting, but really, it's for nothing. Because you're right, we are soul mates. It's you and me against the world, and that's never going to change. But being soul mates isn't necessarily about being with someone, it's about loving them unconditionally. Every single part of them, even the part that may not love you back. I love you sweetheart, I really do, but i'm in love with Louis. If we're going to be a team, you have to accept that, just like i'm going to accept that you're with Eleanor."

"Okay." Niall finally agreed, after taking a few moments to calm himself down. "It's just me and you."

"My sun, my moon, and all my stars." I finished for him, softly mumbling the e.e. cummings quote that had somehow over the years become our way of describing how we felt about each other.

Now that I had him back in my arms, I never wanted to let him go. Maybe this was a sign, the universe giving me some sort of signal that it was possible for me to have the happy ending I so longed for. That me, the love of my life, and my best friend would be able to coexist peacefully. That I would find some way to get Ryder off my case, or even better yet, my father would find some way to put him behind bars, where he belonged.

In my back pocket, I felt my phone vibrate, and I pulled away to answer it. It was a text message from an unknown number, however it did have a 305 area code so it was coming from somewhere in Miami.

I slid open the message, my eyes scanning the screen. However, as I read the small words in the litte grey bubble, I could feel my happiness diminishing so quickly that by the time I had finished reading I was left with nothing but pure, unadulterated dread. If I had thought that the worst had happened this morning, I had been sadly, sadly mistaken.

A few minutes ago, I had been acting as if choosing between Niall and Louis was a life or death situation. But now, in this moment, that was exactly what it was. But it wasn't exactly so much a choice as it was a decision that had already been made for me. The universe had sent me a sign alright, but I had misread it completely.

Yes, we lived in a kingdom by the sea. Yes, we had a love that the Gods themselves wouldn't be able to comprehend. But happy endings only happened in fairytales, and just like the poem, this most certainly was not a fairytale.

There was always the chance one of us was going to end up dead. However, one of us may already be.

_____________

A/N 

So a bit of a cliffhanger! I know I don't usually end on cliffhangers, so please don't hate me

xoxo Mac

P.S. The poem that Niall recites to Stella is Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe, and if you haven't read it, I seriously reccomend you do:) It's my absolute favorite!