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

Twenty-Six

~Wednesday 1st February 2017~

11:47 am

A crack of thunder roars through the sky, followed by a flash of lightning that tears it's way through the dark rumbling clouds, as this February storm increases in size, dragging itself over the streets of Chicago. The powerful noise startles Harry awake, his eyes wide open in a dazed panic as he sits up in the centre of his mattress. It's dark and wet and grey outside, but his alarm clock tells him it's still the morning.
As he looks down at the small clock, sitting on his bed-side table, he notices his phone, plugged in and fully charged to 100%. A text message icon sits in the top corner of his screen, but Harry ignores this. It's probably just a spam message from his service provider. He removes the mobile from it's wire, holding the warm metal against his palm, as he also realises that his bed sheets are pulled up against his body. Last night, after finally dragging himself to bed at God-knows-what-time, he fell asleep, with his phone still in his hands, his sheets by the foot of the bed. How has he woken up tucked into bed with a fully charged phone? Harry ponders this for a moment, before climbing out of bed and making his way to the living room, a ridiculous kind of hope - maybe Louis is here - stuck in his brain.

Louis isn't here, Harry finds, as he moves through his bare apartment, his feet cold against the concrete floor. He's still tired, and a little confused, plus all the emotions from yesterday are still running though his mind, like a never-ending traffic jam, honking and blaring and kicking up smoke. When he passes the front door, he picks up the mail that has collected at the bottom, bringing it to the kitchen and shuffling through it. Mostly bills or junk mail. But, there at the bottom is an envelope, with his address written neatly in his mother's handwriting.
Harry tears open the envelope hurriedly, wanting nothing more than to see his mother's words, hear them in his head, her voice soothing his every nerve. He finds a note first, a short letter, handwritten by Mrs Styles.

Harry,

Gemma has been sending this money back to me for a while, with the intention of keeping it safe and then gifting it to you on your 25th birthday. When she died, I wasn't sure whether to send it to you or wait until your 25th in two years. But, I know what she would have wanted me to do.She loved you, Harry. You may not believe it, but she adored you from the moment you were born. You were her best friend and the little brother that she needed.Please don't blame yourself anymore, petal. Gemma wouldn't want that. She would want you to go on and make something of your great ideas. She would want you to be happy. Maybe, this money can help you do those things.Call me whenever you need me. I'm always here for you, forever and always.I love you, darling. Happy 23rd Birthday.Mum xxxx

Drops of salty tears fall onto the page, bleeding into the ink and staining the paper, as Harry wipes away his tears and removes the cheque from the envelope. $25,000. He shakes his head in utter disbelief, refusing to believe that this is real. He must be dreaming. He must be still asleep in his bed, making this all up in his head. Harry places the cheque beside him on the kitchen table, as he looks around the large room, unsure what to do with himself. This sudden shock of $25,000 runs through his veins like electricity, stunning him into a breathless silence.

As he looks around the room, Harry finally spots the envelope and car keys on the coffee table.
He takes a moment to blink, squinting his eyes and tilting his head, as if his mind is playing tricks on him. It's only when he approaches the items and reaches out to touch them, that Harry realises this is real. He places his phone down beside the keys, grabbing the envelope cautiously, before opening it, ripping apart the seams.
A simple blue and green birthday card lays inside the envelope, with 'Happy Birthday' written in silver calligraphy across the front. Harry opens the card slowly, his palms starting to sweat, as a piece of paper falls out, landing upside down on his lap. He ignores this for a moment, reading the inside of the card first. In Louis' handwriting are just six words.

Happy Birthday.

I believe in you.

Harry's attention turns to the paper in his lap, grabbing it and turning it over. This shocks him even more, standing in surprise, his hand over his mouth, tears littering his eyes, as he reads the second cheque of today.
$300,000.
Louis' cursive signature at the bottom of the cheque tells Harry that this is not some bizarre fantasy he's made up in his head. He sits down again, his legs feeling weak, letting his head fall into his hands as he is overwhelmed with shock and a strange sense of happiness. He begins to cry again, but these - for the first time in forever - are happy tears, stinging his eyes as the drop in the most joyfully uncomfortable way. And, then he remembers.

The car keys. He picks up the key and it's shiny silver key-ring, turning it over in his fingertips, inspecting it. He finds an engraving on the back of the key-ring, that reads "For You". The surprise of the money still hasn't sunk in, but he tries his hardest to work out what car and whose car they could possibly be for.
Harry's mobile beeps, interrupting his thoughts, so he puts the keys back down on the table, and grabs his phone. It's a text message from his mother, checking if he had got the cheque. But, another message in his inbox pulls all focus away from Mrs Styles. "New message from Gemma" his screen reads, blinking a shade of green, as he presses his finger onto the icon. He's had enough shock for today, that a text message from his dead sister may tip him over the edge into insanity. Harry reclines in his seat on the sofa, taking all the pressure off his legs, as he begins reading.

From: Gemma

Harry,I don't pretend to understand the struggles you've battled through in your life. Our lives have been so different. Some battles you've faced in your 23 years, I can't even comprehend. But, what amazes me so much about you, is your determination to overcome anything in your way. Your passion for the people you love. And, that giant heart of yours. I was lucky enough to have a piece of that heart for a short amount of time. And, I took that for granted, which was foolish of me. But, sticking around and damaging you even further, would be even more foolish.There is a whole world out there waiting for your ideas, waiting to see you grow. And, as much as I would love to stay and watch you grow into a stronger and more determined man, I would only hold you back. You can't be the best version of you when I'm around. You need to heal.

The car keys belong to a new model I've just designed. The 'Styles 197'. The very first one we built is waiting for you in the parking garage above your apartment. I hope you like red. No more driving around in that rusty old Volvo.

I want you to accept my gifts and use them to kick-start your wonderful ideas. There's a hotel out there somewhere, just waiting for you to claim it. I hope your life brings you nothing but success and happiness. You deserve the world and everything in it. Be safe.Something tells me we'll see each other again, someday.

Love from,

Louis William Tomlinson - the man who believes in you.Gemma Anne Styles - your guardian angel.

We love you.

Received Today - 03:37

The last group of raindrops slide down the window, the sun peering out from behind a cloud, as Harry reads and re-reads the text, unable to stop the joyful, sad, hopeful tears that paint his cheeks. He looks up, out of the window and into the sky, as the sun forces the dark clouds away, pushing them out of view. Harry sighs, still overwhelmed, still shocked, still tired.
A bird chirps just outside - perhaps from the nest that's been made in the neighbour's flower bed - signalling the end of the storm, as the sun's rays flood through the window and land on the walls of this apartment, decorating them a sweet yellow.
Harry smiles.
This is it.
This is the first day of the rest of his life...

Chapter Image was found on Pinterest