After The End: Book 1

Epilogue~ Growing

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Authors Note: DON'T SKIP
The After the End sequel is already in the works. First two chapters will be posted immediately after this chapter is made live. It is on my page as "After the end: Book 2" now. If you haven't seen already, "Before the End" is the prequel to this story and I highly suggest reading it if you want to know more about how Harry got here. Thank you so much for reading, voting and commenting this far. I genuinely wouldn't have the drive to write if it wasn't for you guys. Thank you for coming on this journey with me and my characters. It means so much to me!!!
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Harry's POV

I woke up with a jolt. It was very sudden and so surprising that for a moment, I just stared out the window into the dark trying to remember what the dream had been about. Then it came to me. There was a feeling I had both times that my heart stopped. Right before losing consciousness and theoretically dying, my brain always flooded with thoughts and regrets and fears. It was like an emotional wave. It felt like I was screaming except I couldn't move or breath or hear it. That was the most common experience of my nightmares. Death. The feeling of death.

Lux had stayed asleep this time. She was still curled up beside me in the bed. Her hand was on my arm, where it had been when she had fallen asleep. I thought about laying back down, curling up to her and trying to go back to sleep. It was only 3 am according to the clock on the nightstand. That wasn't the ideal time to get up, but I didn't feel like sleeping anymore. Sometimes I woke Lux up when I felt like that, and the two of us would lie awake talking about nothing, but she was actually pretty busy during the day now. Living with us rent free had allowed for her to pour everything into her art and now that she was settled in it as a means of employment she dedicated so much time to it. Now that she had something real going on, I felt guilty keeping her up.

Instead, I gently removed myself from under the covers and climbed silently over Lux's form, careful not to wake her. She stirred for a second, then snuggled her face into my empty pillow. If she ever left me I'd be so empty. I knew it was a risk to let her have that kind of importance to me, but I just couldn't fathom how it could be a bad thing when it felt so good to wake up knowing she was still there.

At the foot of the bed, Birdie looked at me skeptically as if to say This early? Again? Really? I leaned over to pet her for a second and she closed her eyes again. I grabbed a pack of cigarettes off of the nightstand and then wandered out of the bedroom barefooted towards the laundry room. I stopped a moment to dig in the baskets for a pair of clean pants. Louis were the first ones I found, naturally. After pulling them on, I wrapped my favorite stolen cardigan over myself and wandered to the balcony to smoke.

Today was the day. I was going to be in so much trouble for this. I couldn't find it in myself to care. Some things just feel right.

The mural ended up taking Lux a few weeks. I watched her paint it for days on end in bliss. Eventually I snuck my guitar down there under Louis nose and we would sit for hours while I strummed music and made up pointless songs. I was going to have to start playing with Louis again soon. I already missed it.

The day after Lux finished the mural, we had walked to the registers office. We had signed and intent paper. We had waited the allotted 28 days. And today was the day.

Louis POV

"A little early, don't you think?" I asked Harry as I walked out onto the balcony. It was only 7. Everyone was asleep now. I assumed he'd been up a while. At some point that morning, he had put breakfast muffins in the oven. They were cooling now, as the ovens beeping had woken me up. I had rescued them just in time. Harry appeared to have forgotten about them, as he sat on our balcony chain smoking cigarettes with himself.