Hidden Identities // H.S

Epilogue

Harry Styles

I stare at the empty desk that's now been filled with boxes and other junk I placed on top of it. That desk used to look so different. She would sit there. I'd look at her without her noticing and admire her. I admired her as she typed on her laptop or how she would play with the office supplies that she could reach. She always sat there every time I came to work. We'd come in together and we would leave together.

I left that hospital room to get her dinner. I didn't want her eating anymore hospital food. I came back with the food in hand and she was gone. The room was empty; there was no sign that she ever stayed in there. All besides the folded piece of yellow paper that was left on the bed.

That was over a year ago. A year and two months to be exact.

And it still feels like it was yesterday but also thousands of years ago.

A lot has happened in one year for me. It makes me wonder what has happened in our time apart for her. If my life was a rollercoaster in one year, how was one year for her?

Last I heard from Zayn, she was doing great where she is. She's living comfortably.

I went through the five stages of grief for someone alive. I'm embarrassed to admit how much pain I went through for her. Now looking back I might've been a tad over dramatic. I didn't know how to handle any of the sudden pain thrown at me.

My anger was directed toward Zayn. How could he let her leave? How could he drive her to the airport? How could he let all of that happen? How could he plan all of that with her and look at me like nothing the next day?

When I ran into Zayn the next day at the mansion, I wanted to beat him up endlessly. I yelled at him and it ended with tears streaming down my face. He is a bodyguard; of course he knew how to dodge every weak hit I threw.

"How could you let her leave! How could you be so stupid!"

"What the fuck did you do! You let her go! How could you let her go!"

"Where is she? Tell me where she flew. Please. Zayn, please."

"I miss her."

"How could she leave me like this? What the hell did I do?"

After a few months Zayn and I made up and we became friends. When he has time away from studying, we meet up for drinks or lunch. Our conversation always leads to her. He's told me a few things about her new life, not too much to get my hopes up.

Zayn and I are very close friends now. He started studying criminal justice at a local college and that's where he met his girlfriend, Jade. They got engaged a year later which was three months ago. He had met her prior to before the entire hostage situation went down but wasn't serious about her.

Now they're inseparable.

Jade already had previous experience as a part time wedding planner and has managed to plan two entire weddings in so little time. One in Pakistan to get married for Zayn's culture and another here in New York for close friends and relatives.

Their first wedding was last week. I had two important meetings that weekend and couldn't attend but from the pictures I've seen, it looked beautiful.

I'm going to be Zayn's best man at his wedding next weekend. That's my second closest friend getting married and getting his shit together. And me? I'm still caught up on one of my ex- girlfriends.