Authors Note:
The normal font is the present, the italics are flashbacks.
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“Are you going to be alright Louis, you want me to come with you?” Harry asked, his fingers drumming over the steering wheel, his eyebrows knitting together awaiting the answer. I smiled weakly at him.
“No, I’m fine Harry. Thank you though; I just need some time to myself.” I opened the door and got out and felt the fresh breeze blow across my face. It was a beautiful day out today, the sun was shining, casting everything in a golden glow. It was warm, enough to warm your skin and sit comfortably without sweating.
“Do call me when you’re ready,” he said casting me a smile. I smiled in return, but the smile didn’t feel right on my face. As if puppets were pulling the strings to make my cheeks go up – there was no emotion behind it. I shut the door and began my trek through the winding path. Passing stones I couldn’t help but feel my heart constrict at how much sorrow was around, how much pain the families had experienced due to a lost loved one – believe me, I knew. I walked a little farther until the stone that I had memorized came into view. I had memorized every aspect of it, every nick in the stone, and every crevasse in the engraving. The words were not only etched into the stone, but into my heart as well.
“Hey baby,” I said standing just in front of the stone that represented the thing I had truly loved. “I know I saw you a few days ago but... I just really needed to talk.” I didn’t feel silly talking to a stone, because I knew she could hear me. You was always listening wherever I was. If I was here or muttering around our house, I knew you heard everything. I stared at the words on the tablet of stone:
Josephine Marie Tomlinson
Loving Mother, Wife, Friend and Companion
She may be gone from the physical world, but she remains in our hearts
May 14th, 1992 ~ September 26th, 2029
I felt the things I had tried to push away for so long, the emotions I had taught myself to keep buried down only to be shown for my pillow. Tears brimmed on my eyes, obscuring my vision and my throat grew tight just as my heart did. I blinked rapidly, glad that no one was around to see this.
“God, I miss you Jo. More than you can imagine. You know little Sophie is starting to pick out Universities? Well, she isn’t little anymore but she’s growing up. I wish you were here to help me talk to her. She’s eighteen; it’s weird when I talk to her about periods and growing up. But Danielle and Perrie have helped a lot in the lady department, but it is nice to know she does come to me when she needs to talk about boys and stuff. I just wish you could be here to see her graduate, to go to University, to cry when we have to leave her dorm... But you’ll be there with us. I know you will be. God, I still remember the first time I saw you babe, you were beautiful. Do you remember...?”
It was an overcast day and I had just arrived home to see Mum, Dan, and how could you forget the girls? I remember Mum telling me that she had gotten a new next door neighbour; little did I know it was a girl that was going to change my life. I was walking out of the house to grab the paper, and I heard the door shut. I looked up expecting to see someone my Mum’s age puttering around instead I saw you, someone much younger than my Mum and Dan, you almost looked my age. I stood up unsure if she was a fan or not, and that’s when my heart dropped. You froze and stared at me, I was used to this. This always happened, next would come the screaming and again the tears. But the closer I looked you wasn’t staring at me; you were staring over my shoulder. In a blink of an eye, as if I wasn’t even there, you ran past me. Ran so fast it made a slight breeze, and that’s when I smelt your perfume. It was floral and sweet, something so unique and beautiful – it fit you to a tee.
