After the End: Book 3

37. Teenagers Scare Me

Double update because I'm weak and it's Harry's birthday lol
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Louis POV

The elevator wasn't moving. To make it move, I'd have to press a button or put in my floor code or something. Instead I was just standing stiffly in the middle of it, surrounded by glass walls and worn carpet and silence, trying to form a coherent thought to move forward. I couldn't break down yet.

On the other side of the doors that I knew would no longer open on the floor I was currently suspended on, was Harry. He'd very aggressively shoved me and I couldn't decide whether or not I deserved that yet. Throwing his trauma at him had been a rather low blow on my part, although the intent hadn't been malicious. My disregard for maintaining just a little bit of restraint had been a product of shock and resigned shame. I couldn't pretend that his actions alone surprised me. If I pretended I'd been completely in the dark, that would be naive.

Staunchly refusing to be involved with Oliver, his inappropriate and sleepless energy, being annoyed when the girls tried to stay up with him at night, rejecting his moral draw to avoid meat... of course he'd been using. Those were just small details among so many troubling behaviors. Subconsciously, I'd always known. I'd just let myself pretend because I so badly wanted him to stay. I had missed him so much and I'd been so stupidly desperate to trust him.

That conversation around his sobriety had imploded so quickly. The fact that he was so mentally ill was evidently wrapped into basically every word that came out of his mouth. I imagined him in there pacing or crying or having a complete breakdown now and it killed me and yet I was so angry at him.

And the girls. They were upstairs possibly completely unaware that I was now sitting on immense knowledge they absolutely didn't want me to have. I couldn't fathom that Harry had made great decisions the night before, although I believed him when he said he didn't feel as though he had a choice. That much was obvious. Harry believed he was doing the best he could with the resources he had and that's why I'd not faulted him for doing what he thought he needed to do to protect my sister. I believed that her safety had been his priority and I was thankful she was now safe. The best things he'd done in the past 24 hours was protecting her and making sure I knew the truth before I faced them.

I needed to be ready to face them. I needed to get their versions of the story and I needed to act before anything got worse. Daisy and Phoebes combined actions had endangered everyone. Oliver had been endangered. Harry had clearly been harmed in the process. Phoebe had done drugs. Daisy had driven my fucking car and stolen Harry's phone. I'd been gone for a little over 24 hours and it had been a shit show of epic proportions. The rage and upset and absolute shock that was enveloping me was toxic. I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw things. I wanted to hand this off to someone older and wiser. I wanted to call my mum.

I couldn't do any of those things. Instead, I took a deep breath. I wiped any emotion off my face and I put my floor code into the elevator. It was time to be the parent.

It roared back to life, lifting to the next floor, and then stopped with a ding. The doors parted and opened into my living room. Immediately, I saw the kids. Daisy and Phoebe were both on the sofa. Oliver was poised looking half awake in Daisy's lap. It appeared they were watching a children's movie on the television, but at the sound of the elevators arrival, they all three looked over at me with varying levels of excitement. They were all blissfully unaware.

I stepped out and discarded my bag to the side quietly, before rounding back to face them again without words. I just took in the sight. The house looked the same. It smelled a bit like baked goods. All three kids were visibly unharmed, although Phoebes eyes were just a bit bloodshot with dark circles I truthfully wouldn't have noticed without Harry's heads up. Both girls looked only mildly guilty. I would have guessed they broke something small and invaluable, not something as massive as my trust.