R O O M 1 9 7 // Harry Styles & Louis Tomlinson Edition

Twenty-Five

~Wednesday 1st February 2017~

03:02 am

Harry finally falls asleep, his phone beside him on the mattress, at one in the morning. The apartment is cold and dark and silent as he sleeps, the day's events draining him of all energy.
The clock ticks loudly in the living room, two minutes slow, as the front door is unlocked from the outside and gently pushed open, making a soft noise as the wood lightly scrapes against the concrete floor.

Louis holds Harry's spare key in his left hand, as he closes the door behind him softly with his right, squinting his eyes to see through the pitch black darkness. His shoes squeak against the floor, so he steps away from that spot, sure to tread carefully from now on.
He moves to the bedroom slowly, struggling to make no noise as he walks, his long coat tangling against his legs when he reaches the door. He opens it cautiously, peering around the white wood at the sleeping form laying on one side of the mattress. When he approaches the young boy, stepping around the bed, he grabs the sheets and pulls them up to Harry's chest. He removes the nearly-dead phone from his side, and places it on the bed-side table, plugging it into it's charger wire.
Louis looks down at the sleeping boy, his chest rising and falling in a peaceful pattern, his lips parting slightly with every soft snore, his hair a mess upon his pillow. Louis cannot help the stray hand that reaches up and touches Harry's cheek, his fingertips barely grazing the surface of Harry's skin, but enough to feel the warmth radiating off of Harry's body. Louis' fingers find Harry's hair, gently brushing a few strands away from his eyes, as he breathes in this moment, remembering every whispering noise, every warm touch, every heart-breaking look.

Ripping himself away from the moment, he turns towards the wardrobe standing in the corner, opening it's doors, praying that they remain silent as he does so. He collects the phone laying neatly atop a pile of clothes and notebooks, and closes the doors again, after taking a long look at the photographs of young Harry and Gemma tacked to the inside of the wardrobe.
Louis exits the bedroom, just as slow and as cautious as his entry, and takes a seat on Harry's navy couch, removing an envelope and some car keys from his coat pocket. He reaches across the coffee table, switching on Gemma's lamp, illuminating the room and giving him space to work.
It doesn't take him long to guess Gemma's mobile phone pass code. 010294 - the same as his phone. He navigates himself through Gemma's unorganised phone, eventually finding her text messages. There are 54 unread messages from Harry. Louis scrolls through them, reading each one, taking his time when he reaches the ones from this past month.

From: Harry
i'm sorry i didn't say goodbye
Recieved Sun 18th Dec 2016 - 15:54

i got a new job at the hotel today, my new boss is lovely...i miss you
Recieved Sun 18th Dec 2016 - 18:02

i made a new friend today, his name is milo. My job is going great too, Mr Tomlinson is lovely, i really like him. i miss you
Recieved Tues 30th Dec 2016 - 02:04

Merry Christmas Gem. I miss you.
Recieved Sun 25th Dec 2016 - 07:56

i think i've fallen in love with him
Recieved Sun 1st Jan 2017 - 02:14

i got rid of all my alcohol tonight. maybe 1 day i'll make you proud
Recieved Sat 7th Jan 2017 - 20:23

he left me, he's gone, and so are you, and i'm lost....i miss you..and i miss him
Recieved Today - 01:44

Louis' heart shreds itself into multiple tiny slithers, as he cries through the messages.
Leaving Harry in that damn hotel this morning, in such a cold and heartless way, had killed him from the inside out. He had cried the whole way down in the elevator, and again once Harrison drove away from The Magnolia. He never wanted it to end this way, but it had to be done. They need space away from each other, to heal and to grow. At least, that's what Louis has been telling himself over and over, as he puts this plan into action.
He removes a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and flattens it out against the surface of the table, reading through the smudged handwriting across it and carefully typing it into Gemma's phone. He presses send, wiping away his last tear as he does so, shoving the paper back into his pocket, before arranging the envelope and car keys in a place Harry will find them in the morning.

In his last task for this early morning mission, Louis returns to the bedroom, placing Gemma's phone back inside her wardrobe, careful to shut the doors quietly.
And then, in a habit of weakness, Louis approaches the sleeping boy once more, lightly tracing the line of his jaw with his fingers, before leaning down, Louis' lips inches away from Harry's face. The boy snores softly, and a single tear falls from Louis' eyes, accidentally landing in Harry's hair.

"Happy Birthday, Harry." Louis whispers, his voice failing him as he speaks. He tries to blink away more tears, but they refuse to go away, tumbling down Louis' hot cheeks, as he leans further, closer, to Harry, breathing in his intoxicating scent.
"I love you." He confesses, brushing a risky hand over Harry's tangled hair, as he stifles a sob deep inside his throat, placing a tender kiss on the boy's forehead. Louis stands, removing his hand from Harry's body, and wiping away the few tears that have escaped.

And after taking one last longing look at the boy who changed everything, he exits Apartment 4B, leaving behind Harry's spare key, closing the door behind him, the tall brick walls of this apartment cold and dark and silent in his wake...

Chapter Image was found on Pinterest