Green Eyes | Larry Stylinson ❀

The Final Moment

"It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It's called living." - Terry Pratchett

 Louis receives a call from Anne early in the morning. It startles him awake, an instant fear of some terrible news about to be told. Momentarily, his heart drops to his stomach, but then he looks over and sees Harry laying in bed. Right there next to him, and he's holding his hand. So if she's calling, it must not be about him. Turns out, she's calling because she got a hold of a few people who witnessed the accident. She was curious to know if he wanted to hear the story, to know what happened and hear it first hand from the people who saw it all.

It takes him some time to actually answer. He goes through some internal debate on if he wants to know or if he just wants to leave it up for interpretation. But then he thinks proper about it. His fiancé lived through this tragedy that put him in the hospital, and it feels rightful so as his partner to know. Because when Harry wakes up, he might want to know. Might have all these questions, and Louis wants to be the one to answer it all. He needs to be strong for his boy when he finally comes around. Which, it could be any day now. After he had been responding so well to all the test and examination the doctor performed on him the past few days.

It was a big deal that he wiggled his finger upon command.

The witnesses offer to take him out to lunch, but he chooses to meet at the sight of the accident instead. Knowing it happened at the intersection of the post office. They are to meet early afternoon, and it's mid morning now. He decides to head over there early, reluctantly letting Harry's limp hand go and head out the hospital. The timing works out anyways because the physiotherapist arrives for his daily treatment, their attempt to keep his muscles activating, reintroducing sensation to his skin, and preventing skin break down by shifting him around in the bed.

The walk from the hospital to the post office is not too far, so he decides to do just that. The weather is actually nice, starting to get a little bit warmer. It's partly cloudy with sun, and there is a soft breeze that blows by. He's hardly been outside since Harry arrived at the hospital. Has been so cooped up in the waiting room or in his room that he almost forgot what it feels like to have the sun casting across his skin. The walk clears his mind for a bit, relieves some of the stress and frustration that he feels.

But then he gets to the post office. To the intersection, and there is something that weighs heavy over him. He stops at a telephone booth, looking directly ahead of him at the parking spot that he assumes Harry's car was in. The light at the intersection is still down, and there are a couple workers that are currently working to fix it up. It seems as if the collision had knocked It down. A few windows of the post office are boarded up, which means those are still being repaired as well, having some sort of involvement with the accident.

Sighing, Louis walks over to the empty bench directly in front of the building and takes a seat. The parking spot he was looking at earlier, he notices a few tire skid marks across the pavement. He takes this moment to imagine what happened, coming up with his own version of the accident to try and piece everything together. Harry must have been parked right here. Probably about to pull out his spot when a car turning at the light swerved. The roads were icy, so it makes sense. Then somehow, the driver must have lost control, his car heading straight towards Harry's as he pulled out, and then bam! Harry gets hit, and his own vehicle gets slammed into the post office windows.

The thought sends a shiver through his body, a terrible image going to his head. He has to take himself away from it. Looks and blinks up into the sky. The sun relaxes him a bit, pulls him away from the details of the accident. Eventually, there is a couple that walks up to him, and he glances their way. The two seem as if they are looking for someone, and he wonders if these are the witnesses from the accident. He straightens up in his seat, awaits the inevitable as their eyes lands on him.