After The End: Book 1

25. Caught

Naomis POV

"So you're telling me that nobody here drinks at all anymore?" Lux's voice permeated through the door, which stood slightly ajar to Harry's room. Was she seriously bothering him before he even got out of bed?

Harry laughed in a way I hadn't heard before. It felt positive and carefree and genuine. "If any of you drink then I'll start drinking and Louis will send me packing."

"You'd probably be more fun though," I heard Lux say giggling.

"Oh absolutely," Harry said sarcastically. "Just ask Louis, he thinks it's great."

"I still think you're great all the time," Lux added. "I bet you're great in bed."

"What happened to your promise to keep your dirty thoughts to yourself?" Harry said exasperated. He sounded annoyed, but I could tell it was laced with more humor than before. Lux giggled in the background.

I shoved the door open expecting to see the two of them standing at odds as usual. Instead, I was met with a confusing sight.

The two of them were sitting up in the bed together. Harry was leaning on the wall behind him. He wore the same woman's cardigan he'd been parading around in the previous night and his hair was a mess. Notably, the dark circles around his eyes, though still present, weren't so dark. Under the covers, opposite him, Lux was laying on her stomach, using her elbows and a pillow to prop up her upper torso and head. She was looking up at him dreamily, her hair a mess in every direction.

They were in the bed together?

Upon seeing me, Harry froze. His face paled and he looked from me down to Lux very quickly as if hoping I couldn't see her. He seemed to shrink into the wall behind himself.

Lux took a moment longer to recognize my presence. She followed Harry's terrified eyes to meet mine and then her smile dropped to something a little more serious.

There was a long moment where nobody spoke. We all just stared waiting for someone to pipe up and explain the situation. Then, down the hall, Louis exited his bedroom and started in my direction calling, "Is Harold awake already? I want breakfast!"

Harry took one look at Lux and then very ungracefully shoved her out of his bed where she just barely managed to land on her feet. She paused as if unsure what to do with herself before bolting behind Harry's door and planting herself against the wall. A moment later, Louis was at my shoulder looking at a very shaken and dumbfounded Harry.

"You're up early," Louis questioned.

Harry nodded, seemingly at a loss for words.

"Did you sleep okay in here?" Louis glanced my way as if unsure if he could ask that in front of me. Harry was particular about his problems being known to the greater community.

Harry seemed to finally break free of his shock. He rolled his eyes and glanced in Louis direction as if very uninterested. "Yeah I'm a big boy," he informed him. "I can sleep in my own room."

Was I supposed to say something? Louis was my priority right? I felt frozen, unsure whether or not I was helping perpetuate some type of lie. Louis nodded uncomfortably at Harry's statement. "You know what I mean."

Harry sighed and snapped back at him. "I'm not going to cook for you if you mother me."

I could tell Harry was forcing it. His voice still wavered slightly. Louis held up his hands in surrender. "Apologies," he muttered. He glanced at me again. "He's not a morning person," he informed me before heading the rest of the way down the hall towards the living room.