Moon Tower

40

this chapter has been edited and updated. enjoy!xx

june

Laying on my towel, I felt the sun disappear behind my closed eyes.

Peeking an eye open, I saw a shadowy figure hovering over me. "What are you doing here?"

Niall didn't say anything to me, just reached a hand down to me. I took it, letting him pull me up to stand next to him. I hadn't seen Niall in a while. I stayed with him for two more days after I left Harry's house, but went back to my own place when Niall had to start doing promo for his album abroad. With no job, no friends, and no school to distract me from how incredibly sad and lonely I was, I felt listless, just floating through life with no real purpose.

I ended up packing up all my things and moving out of my apartment, as per my original plan. Before I left, Paula and Martin threw me a small going away party. It was just us and Mrs. Robertson and her son Cole, but it was still nice to see my neighbors one last time before moving somewhere new, but "somewhere new" didn't end up being as exciting as I originally thought or hoped.

I found myself in Huntington Beach on my brother's doorstep. Tico didn't question the fact that I was with him, just helped me with my bags and set me up on the couch. For the first time in my life, I had absolutely nothing to do. I bummed around Huntington Beach for a few weeks, surfing, walking Tico's dog, and surfing some more, with a little drinking and watching television in between on my bed/couch. My brother let me wallow on my own, taking me out to the bar he worked at on the nights where I didn't leave the house and opted to scroll through pictures of Harry and me or watch sappy romantic movies that I knew he loved. Then there were days that I felt unbelievably angry. At myself, at Harry for the things he said and did, and at the universe for picking my relationship to fuck with. The anger normally didn't last, though, often leaving me in a depressed puddle of tears and listening to sad songs until the cycle repeated itself. Aside from all that, I thought I was holding it together pretty well, all things considered. At least that's what I convinced myself, but apparently I wasn't doing a very good job. I decided to switch it up today, deciding to feel sorry for myself in the sun instead of on Tico's couch. What wasn't in my plans today was seeing my best friend standing over me on a beach in Orange County.

"You're brother texted me. Said you've been a bit of a mess." Niall slipped out of his shoes and pulled me towards the shore for a walk. I scoffed, shaking my head at my younger brother. I hadn't seen Tico much today. He'd been working almost every day to save up for grad school, which left me to my own devices for the few weeks that I'd been staying with him.

"Yeah well, that's what happens when your life falls apart." I stumble to one side when Niall lightly shoves my shoulder, shooting him a glare when I find my footing again. "What the hell was that for?"

"Your life didn't fall apart, Luz."

"No? What would you call graduating at the top of your class, only to have no job lined up because you were going to join your boyfriend on tour for the summer, but then he started blaming you for his problems and throwing your achievements in your face, so you decide to give him space to figure his shit out, but despite his shitty behavior, you still love him and would jump into his arms if you were given the chance, even after everything that went down between the two of you?" My eyes got misty, and I suddenly wished I'd grabbed my sunglasses before going on this walk.

Niall is quiet for a moment while we walk, and I stare at the different sized footprints we leave behind on the wet sand. "You're right," he says finally. "Your life sucks."

"What the fuck?"

"Ow! Jesus, Luz," Niall yelps when I punch him in the arm. "What do you want me to say? If you're content to feel sorry for yourself, then go ahead. I'm not going to stop you."