48 Hours // l.t. [1]

Chapter 23

Louis woke up shortly after the announcement. He blinked, glancing around in confusion while running a hand through his already-disheveled brown hair. He wrinkled his nose.

"What's going on?" he asked, his words slurring.

"We're in Los Angeles," I told him, trying to keep my voice light. Chewing on my bottom lip softly, I turned my head slightly away from Louis.

Why was I freaking out about this? Why was I acting like this? I knew this from the very moment Louis started talking to me. Eventually I would have to get up and out of this seat and walk away from Louis. The problem... the problem was I didn't realize how difficult it might be when the time came to say goodbye.

I was mix of emotions. Part of me was elated that finally, after so much time of waiting, I was finally here. Within a matter of minutes, I'd see my best friend and aunt. Another part of me was torn at having to say goodbye to Louis.

I knew the right decision. I knew what I had to do. My first and only priority was to keep my aunt safe and take care of her. That was why I was coming to LA.

No distractions... None whatsoever.

A hand was suddenly waving in my face. "Hey, hey, are you okay?"

I glanced up to meet Louis' blue eyes. My eyebrows pinched together as I frowned in confusion. "Of course I am. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. It's nothing. You were were staring off into space," Louis said. "There was just a certain look on your face... made it seem like you were thinking about something that was upsetting you."

I shook my head, forcing a smile on my face. "Nope. Totally good here."

Louis didn't look entirely convinced but he let it pass. I took the time to gather everything together and ball up the garbage in my purse. There was a bag going around collecting garbage. When it came to us, I dumped my garbage in it. I passed it to Louis, who did the same.

My knee bounced up and down as I kept my hands smushed in between my thighs to keep myself from fidgeting even more than I was already. I was impatient the more we came closer to the city. My eyes glanced everywhere, taking in everything I'd missed. But of course, I didn't see much. It was dark out and though the lights were illuminating the entire city, I still didn't see much.

My eyes flickered up to the black sky. It was like a black velvet blanket spread over the city of Los Angeles. The stars were missing and though I knew I would miss seeing them, this city still felt like home to me. That was the only thing that mattered – having something that felt like home.

Time passed quickly as the bus weaved in and out of the city streets. It didn't take long for the bus to pull up to the greyhound bus station. Everyone simultaneously rushed for the aisle to get their bags and suitcases from the top compartment.

However, I stayed until most of everyone was gone and the aisle was clear. I got my bag from the top compartment and walked down the aisle, knowing Louis was right behind me.

Bags were in a pile besides the bus, bags from the bottom compartment. I found mine and snapped it upright. I waited until Louis found his suitcase – a large black one – and walked into the building with him. I stopped just a few feet away from the doors.

My hands shakily found the zipper of the sweatshirt, pulling it down. But Louis' hands found my trembling ones and stopped me. My eyes found his blue ones.

"What-" I was about to ask what he was doing, but he stopped me, again.

"Keep it. That way, I have a reason to come back and see you," he said, smiling sadly.

A lump formed in my throat and I could feel my eyes burning with unshed tears. Fighting the tears back, I blinked but it only made it worse. My vision blurred for a moment.

"I... I... Louis, I can't..." my voice wavered and my bottom lip trembled. I was so, so close to breaking down. I couldn't, not here.

"Hey, what's the matter?" his voice was closer, softer and quieter. He cupped my cheek softly, his thumb stroking my skin softly.

"I can't... I have to focus on my aunt," I said, forcing the words out. I felt like I was being choked as I continued. "I have to take care of her and I don't have time for... I mean, I really like you and... I didn't expect to feel the way I do about you in two days."

I didn't want to look up at him and see what kind of expression was on his face. I didn't want to, but when Louis didn't pull his hand away and kept cupping my cheek with his warm hands, I had to. My eyes found his again and he was... smiling. He looked sad... but there was a twinkle of joy in his eyes. Behind the sadness.

"I understand," he said, speaking slowly. A tear rolled down my cheek and he wiped it away with his thumb. "When you're ready, though, call me. I'll be there."

His hand fell from my face, and he leaned in. My breathing hitched, and stopped as Louis pressed his lips on the corner of my mouth. Then, he turned his back and walked away, disappearing into the crowd of people.

It took a few minutes to get my muscles moving, to get everything going again after that. And when I could finally move again, my eyes searched for my best friend.

I found her waiting by a large family with a couple newborn babies nestled into their arms. My body was moving before I could think. Running towards her, I dropped my bags a few feet away from her and flew into her arms. Tammy caught me and wrapped her arms tightly around me, not letting me go. All I could think about was Tammy and her strong, fruity perfume and how good it felt to have her around again.

The emotion I'd been trying to hold in finally burst, like water out of a dam. Tears rolled down my cheeks and sobs were wrenched out of me. And all I could do was fall to my knees while clutching onto my best friend with everything I had.

I would have liked to say that this trip ending with something good between Louis and I, that my aunt was perfectly healthy and not sick at all, but that would have been a lie. An outright, stupid lie.

Sometimes, stories don't have happy endings. And maybe this one doesn't, but that's okay. Life isn't always about happy endings and the princess getting her prince while living happily-ever-after. Life doesn't have fairy tales, evil queens and princes risking everything to save his princess. But, it does have good people worth meeting, even if you only know them for two days. And that alone makes all the difference.

Okay, I lied. This was the last chapter. Please don't hate me omg. The next time I'll update this is when I'll let you all know when I've published the sequel to this story, Time Again. Love you all and thank you for reading this story. I never thought it'd be this popular. ♥