ps: i definitly reccomend listening to Through the Dark by 1D or Sirens by Cher Lloyd if you want to feel the major feels;)) just lettin ya know!
(k now yall can read)
~*~*~
31~'Till Morning
Everest's POV
I drive. I drive without one look back. I pushed my way, pushed my way out of that house full of lies and secrets. I fought, fought my way through the safeguard of that house, the warmth, the comfort, the love. I can no longer call my own home my safeguard.
Warm tears well in the corners of my eyes. Angry tears. Sad tears. I press on the accelerator a little harder, the house I once used to call my home long behind me. I angrily wipe the tears away, forcing the waterfall that was threatening to pour out of my eyes to stay in.
You know, it overwhelms me. All of it. From the lies to the secrets to the truth. It's all too much to take in at once. Anger boils my blood, pain shoots through my every vein, emptiness consumes a part of my heart. I still can't grasp onto the fact that my aunt has been keeping all these secrets from me for weeks, for months even. I know I've kept just the same amount, but hers compared to mine, who's the winner here?
And you know what, I'm actually kind of glad I'm moving out for a couple of days. I'm twenty for goodness sake! A young adult living under the same roof as my aunt and cousin in LA! Don't get me wrong, I'll always be grateful for what my aunt has done for me; taking me in when I needed someone to lean on to until I was able to stand on my own again. But I can't live under the stress or lies or secrets anymore that that household contains. I know I admitted I would never live alone on my own anywhere, but now the idea of it is sounding really good. Harry, of course, will always be someone I can go to for anything, however I don't want to live with him and have him feel like he has to take care of me even though we are a couple. I don't want to have to put that kind of burden on his shoulders. He already has too many to count.
I just want Harry. He's all I need, he's all I'll ever needs
~
I climb out of my car like my life depended on it, Harry just making his way out of the front door of their large flat. He steps out in a grey Green Bay Packers hoodie with a pair of black joggers clinging to his thin waist, long deflated curls brush just above his shoulders ever so beautifully. Eyes a glimmering green and narrowed directly at me, completely swallowed in worry.
I jog in his direction as he makes his way down the concrete steps, the cold Californian air whipping at my hair. Launching my body into his, I wrap my arms around his neck tightly, clinging onto him as if he were the only rock in my rapid river. Clinging onto him as if a strong current tries to pull me along with it and into the vast ocean of the unknown.
I cling onto him even tighter.
"Everest, babe," he muffles in my ear, his tone filled with concern. Strong arms are wrapped tightly around my waist like a bow around a present, causing me to feel the familiar warm sensation of home and comfort.
I squeeze my eyes shut. 'Do not cry, do not cry, do not cr-'
"Come on, let's go inside and we can talk, yeah?" he then says softly. I nod twice, and he wraps an arm around my shoulders comfortingly and gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze. I hug my stomach. "I'll come back out and get your things."
"You don't have t-"
"Everest."
"Right." I whisper to myself, the corners of my lips perking up a bit.
We walk inside together, the house surprisingly quiet.
"Where is everyone?"
"They went out," he answers casually.
I furrow my eyebrow. "Why didn't you go?"
He shakes his head, letting go of me to close the front door. "Mm, didn't really feel like it."
"Haz," I sigh, "Was it because of me?" I expectantly say, instantly feeling guilt rise up and forming a lump in my throat.
"No, no of course not!" He says in a hurry, shaking his head while pulling me towards the living area, both of us sitting down on one of the sofas. "It's just me. I didn't feel like it."
Feeling a little relieved--although, I still feel like this is partly my fault--I drag out a sigh, sniffing loudly once more. Honestly, for a moment there I thought he was going to say he was-
No. He's way passed depressed, he's fine. He's happy. He's happy.
"Alright, babe?" Harry politely asks, voice laced in concern. The back of his hand reaches out to my forehead, then slowly caress down to my rosy, tear-stained, cheeks.
I nod. "Yeah, I'm fine," I lie. "So, where did the boys go?"
He smirks happily for some reason, breaking our gaze. "Where we first met." His fluster in a light pink color and so do mine.
Memories flood back in my mind like a downpour from that night, and I tilt my head back slightly with a wide grin painted across my face. "Oh, The Faze." I smile, re-imagining the scene so perfectly. Then I thought, "We should go there again soon. You know, before you have to go."
His smirk deepens, little half-moon shaped crevices that are his dimples carve out in his cheeks and are as prominent and as beautiful as ever. "Maybe one day," he promises.
"How long have they been out?"
"For a while. Well, since Niall's with them they may be out all night," he lightly chuckles. Ohhh, because he's Irish and all, I see. I lightly laugh, mentally agreeing with him. I then notice his smirk slowly fade into a straight line, still looking down. "So, what happened?" He asked slowly, "With you and your Aunt I mean."
I bite my lower lip, criss-crossing my legs on the sofa. "Everything I feared the most," I say in a hushed voice, twiddling with my fingers in my lap. "Everything was spilled. The lies, the secrets... all of it."
He doesn't say anything, only nods understanding, emerald eyes staring intently at me.
"She confessed that she had been speaking to my father," I murmur. "She confessed that she does know Jenna. She confessed it all." I whisper at the end, resting the point of my elbow on the armrest beside me, looking away from Harry's direction.
"Anyways, she wants me to see him soon since his cancer is getting worst. I just don't know what to do, Harry," I cry, running my cold fingers through my knotted hair stressfully. "One part of me is actually beginning to warm up to the man while the other part of me wants nothing to do with him. What should I do?"
A short period of silence consumed us before Harry finally spoke, "I think you already know what I think you should do."
"Harry," I sigh. "I don't want to, I can't-"
"And I'm not making you," he says with care, taking ahold of my hand and folding it with his. "I'm supporting you, I'll always support you and the decisions you make. But, please, for me, think about what's right."
"I know."
"So you'll think about seeing your dad?"
Pause. "Maybe."
He nods, satisfied with my answer. "So, um, how did your aunt react when you left?" He asks curiously.
I close my eyes, breathing out of my nose. "Not too well," I sigh hopelessly. "She wasn't exactly... okay, with me leaving. She begged and pleaded and cried. She was... angry, like, not only at me really, but at herself. But, in the end she finally gave up. I had already made my way out of the house before she could say anything else. It was pretty bad."
His eyes are sad and full of pity, pink lips pulled into a frown, his smirk long gone. "I know this doesn't mean much, but I'm so sorry, Everest. I truly am. I love you so, so much and I'm glad you came to me. You can stay with me and guys for as long as you want-"
"No," I firmly say. "I'm gonna find my way, I'm gonna get through this. I won't stay for long. Besides, I don't want to get in the way-"
"Everest." He leans in closer, ahold shiver running down my spine
I can't help but smirk. "Right." His large hands then snake their way around my neck, pulling me closer to him. My heart skips a beat and I feel light-headed. Even though he is my boyfriend, I still get those tingly moments when he touches or kisses me. Our foreheads bump into each other, his lips gently pressing onto mine in a slow-pace. He pulls me in even closer to the point where I am now straddling him. His warm hands rest just above my torso and mine caress his face... jawline... neck... collarbone.
As we continue to kiss, I then begin to realize, Harry's my safehaven, my home.
~
"Haaaaaz," I drag out. "What else is on?"
He roles his eyes, lazily picking up the T.V. remote from the coffee table. He switches Boy Meets World to the guide. It's not that I don't like one of the greatest T.V. shows of all time, it's just that we've been watching old reruns of it for two hours straight. He flickers down a couple more channels before selecting one turning his gaze towards me. "Criminal Minds?"
"YES!" I exclaim, Harry fully awakened from his tired-like state. It's one-twenty-five in the morning. Poor baby, I've kept him up all night. He shakes his head sleepily and presses 'select', the pictures on the screen changing.
So, Harry and I made the dumb decision to stay up until the boys came back from the club. So far, it's been four hours. But it honestly hasn't been that bad. All we've really been doing is talk and watch old T.V. shows together. It's been great so far; although I'm not sure how the boys will react when I tell them I'm going to be their temporary roommate for a while. How will Niall react!?
"Agent Reid is bae," I say aloud, taking a huge bite out of my second slice of pizza we ordered a few minutes ago.
"Yeah, over here, your boyfriend," he says enviously, flicking both of my legs which are slumped over his thighs.
I raise my arms in defence. "What, he is!" I tease him.
"I'm turning it off."
"Noooooooo, no, I'm sorry! I love you!" I laugh, reaching for the remote he had picked up again. He roles his eyes playfully, giving in, placing the remote back on the coffee table. "I really do love you, though." I say in a serious tone, sending him a smile.
He returns a smirk. "I love you more," he says, taking my hand and pressing a sweet kiss to my right knuckles. I watch him furrow his eyebrows in confusion as he studies my hand in concentration. I furrow my the same way.
"What?" I ask, confused.
"Your hands," he says skeptically, burying my whole hand inside his. "They're always cold."
"Oh," I sigh, pulling my hand out of his, immediately feeling the familiar coldness in hands. "Yeah, I honestly don't know why they're always cold."
"Are you cold?"
I shake my head vigorously. "No, no, I'm fine," I assure him. "I really am. It's just my hands." I offer him a comforting smile, but in return, I receive a half smile. I know inside he's still concerned about me even when he shouldn't be. I'm fine. I just needed him, that's all. I'm okay now. (but I do often wonder why my hands are always so cold!)
"Alright," he sighs, worry still thick in his tone. After a small moment of watching Criminal Minds, he groans loudly. "I'm so sleepy!"
"Me too," I admit. "Oh, speaking of sleeping, what are the sleeping arrangements?"
"There's a guest bedroom in front of my room, the last door on the left," he informs me. I nod, giving him an appreciative smile.
"Thank you again, Harry, for letting me stay here while I try to deal with this whole... mess. It means a lot."
"Really, babe, it's no problem," he explained to me in sincere tone, wrapping his robust arms around my knees.
Suddenly, random footsteps are heard from outside the door. Distant voices grow louder as the unknown footsteps near the door. It must be the guys, they must be home now--finally. Harry notices, too, and stands up from the sofa, striding towards the door. I remain seated, my eyes following Harry. When Harry makes it to the large front door, exactly five knocks--more like pounds--were heard from the other side.
"It's a signal we use to let the other person know that it's one of us," he informs me reassuringly. I nod slowly, sending him a thankful smile. Smart idea.
He unlocks the door and swings it open. In come four stumbling, loud boys, however, only one out of the four seems to be completely out of it at the moment.
"Took you long enough, Harold!" Louis groans, him and Zayn both dragging in a completely wasted, delusional, zoned out, blonde-haired Niall through the doorway.
"At least I didn't fall asleep," Harry defends himself, closing the door and locking it. "How much did the lad drink?"
"Trust me when I say this," Liam spoke up, "A lot."
"Not surprised," Harry sighs in disappointment.
Louis rolls his eyes. "Alright, Ni, work with me here, you're gonna have to walk!"
Niall made this mumbled noise, like he was trying to say something. Slowly, he finally began to take long strides to catch up with Louis and Zayn, his arms dangling over their shoulders lazily. "Shut it, Louis!" Niall slurred, causing me to giggle lightly. "Don't tell me what to do, you twat!"
"At least I'm not the one who got so drunk off his ass that he can't even remember his own name!" Louis retorts. Sassy Louis is my favorite Louis.
"I told you, my name is Beyonce!"
"I thought you said your name was Theo James," Zayn then said, his face scrunching up in pain from dragging Niall across the house.
Louis then notices me and his face lightens up. "Stoney!" He greets me. I give him a warm smile and stand up, a fuzzy blanket wrapped around my body as I trail over to where they are.
"Hi, Everest!" Liam says to me. "Really good to see you!"
"Good to see you, too, Li." I grin. He then wraps his arms around me for a warm hug and plants a quick kiss to my cheek, I do the same.
"Hello, Everest," I hear Zayn say to me, Niall's head resting atop his broad shoulder. I give him a wave, giggling a bit from the sight. He groans. "This is a little nightmare!"
"Yeah, sorry, love, let me bring this little drunk blonde to his bedroom and then we can talk." Louis smiles.
"Louise, who are you talking tooooo?" Niall slurs again, his poor eyes half open.
"Everest, Ni," Louis tells him as he and Zayn bring him to his bedroom down the hallway. I widen my eyes a little, wondering what Niall might say.
"Oh," Niall simply said. Wait, what? Oh. Just oh? Mmm, whatever, I don't buy it, I'm assuming it's just the beer talking. I'm sure by morning when he's finally sober he'll be pitching a for about me staying here. What a immature, hot tempered, little-
"Okay, we're back."
"What!?" I suddenly say, breaking out of my thoughts.
"We finally got the little beast to go to bed," Zayn irritatedly says, rolling his hazel eyes. "But anyways, good to see you! Haven't seen you in a while."
I grin. "Yeah, sorry about that," I apologies sheepishly. "Been... really busy." I sigh.
"Well, good to see you, though." He smiles, leaning in for hug and a kiss on the cheek just like Liam did, which I gladly return to him. "So, what're you doing-"
"Okay, the lad is finally asleep," Louis sighs in frustration as he returns back inti the living area where the rest of us are. "Now where's my hug?" He pouts. I grin, playfully rolling my eyes and shaking my head. He leans in and hugs me tightly around the waist, my arm squeezing him around the neck. Louis' hugs are the best. Harry's hugs of course will always be my favorite, but there's something different about Louis'. Not necessarily the safe or comforting feeling I feel with Harry's, but Louis' are somewhat more... loving.
"Louis, if you squeeze any tighter, you're gonna end up killing me," I tell him worriedly, tapping his shoulder. He only huffs, finally letting me go. "Love ya, Lou!"
"Love you, too," he says with a smile. "So, what are you doing here at this time of night? Staying the night?" He asks excitedly, looking in between Harry and I while cocking his eyebrows. What a child.
I give Harry an anxious look and he nods approvingly. I sigh, all eyes on me. "Actually, more than one night," I hesitantly say. Louis, Zayn, and Liam have confused expressions, tilting their heads to the side a bit. I continue to explain. "So, I'm having a little family ordeal at the moment with... with about everyone in my family," I slowly say, not exactly sure how to explain this without giving them the full details. "A-Anyways, I needed a break away from them so I can have some time to just... cool down, take a breath, y'know?"
They all nod their heads slowly, eyes glued to the floor. I'm assuming they've all been in my shoes before.
"Yeah," I sigh. "But, I would never stay if it wasn't okay with you guys-"
"No," Louis inturrupts me, holding up his hand. "I understand. Look, we'll always be here for you, love. Whenever you're going through something, please come to us, we'll be there for you. It's okay with me." He ends, sending me a wink and a smile.
"It's cool with me, too," Zayn whispers, half smiling.
"Me too," Liam says. "Hey, don't worry, we'll get through this." He encouragingly says to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"Thank you," I lightly say, offering each of them a small smile. I huff, so relieved they all accepted the fact that I'll be staying with then for a while. "I'm tired now."
"Me too," Harry yawns, stretching out his arms. "I'll show you to your room."
"Yeah you will," Louis snorts. Me and Harry both glare at him.
Harry rolls his eyes, ignoring the childish adult. "Come on." He says to me, reaching for my leather duffle bag he got out of my car earlier, slinging the strap over his shoulder. "Goodnight, boys. 'Till morning."
"'Till morning," the three boys reply back simultaneously. What?
"Goodnight." I smile, my eyes drooping to a close. "Love you all."
"Love you more!" Louis yells first, louder than the rest. Oh Lou.
As we walk down the hall, I can't help but let out a few light chuckles. "'Till morning?" I question.
He shrugs. "Just something different," he laughs. "Saying goodnight is boring."
"Oh gosh." I laugh, leaning my head against his shoulder, stopping in front of the last door on the left. He opens the door and we step inside. A queen-sized bed is pushed in the very corner of the room, a white comforter thrown neatly on top along with two pillows. A sleek black beside table sits beside the bed, a lamp and a few books placed on top. An empty desk is set up in the other far corner, a dresser next to it. The very back wall has a wide window and a couch leaning against it. What a cozy little setup.
"I love it," I admire. "It's... cute."
He smiles sheepishly, placing my duffle on the couch. "Thank you. I actually set it up myself," he says with a proud smile, looking around. "Sorry there isn't much. We just bought this place a couple months ago before coming here, and this is the first anyone has ever used this room."
I nod in fascination. "Well, it's very charming. You have good taste in home décor," I compliment. "Thank you, Harry."
"No problem, babe," he says, cupping my face with his warm hands, meeting my eyes. "I'm glad your staying with us. I love you." He then tilts my head downward a bit, placing a soft kiss to my forehead.
"I love you, too," I whisper, my lips inches away from his.
"You'll be okay in here, right?" He asks with care.
I smile. "Of course I will. I'll be perfect in here."
What my lips have finally craved for has finally come. A burst of excitement erupts within me as his lips bump against mine like a gentle breeze, giving me soft kisses and that warm, tingly feeling.
He ends the kiss, poking me on the tip of my nose with his index finger before pulling away and to the door. "Sweet dreams, darling." He smirks, his hand on the doorknob.
"Hey," I call out. He looks back. "'Till morning."
He grins widely, those deep crevices in his cheeks carving out again. "'Till morning."
~*~*~
~A/N~
sup my little princesses! what is up!? havent spoken to any of y'all in like forever! i know u all probably hate me...
hope this chapter was good. i didn't rlly read over it (bc im a sucky author), except for spell-check. i am so sorry again, i promise ill make it up next chapter! pls dont give up on me and my book:(
love y'all so so much and thank you all for the support. you guys are amazing in every single way!
contact me on twitter!: _replaylouis_
LOVE YOU ALL MY CURLY FRIES
(qotd: i can't help but ask, but is my book even interesting anymore? like do you guys even like it? idek anymore)
kbye
~elle