Happily Ever After?? (Third in the Through The Dark And Free series)

Chapter 1

Third book in the Through The Dark/Free trilogy...
If you haven't you may want to start with TTD and then Free

It had been about a year and a half since Amanda and Niall's wedding. A lot had happened since that day in Ireland. Both Harry and Niall had released albums and done multiples legs of tours. First in small venues and then arenas. Niall still had a little over a month of shows left, but Harry had finished about a month ago. Amanda, of course, had traveled with her husband throughout the tours for the most part. She now worked as part of Niall's team instead of in the ER. She came back to LA occasionally to see Julie and stay with her.

Julie had declined to go on the full tour with Harry, but she did travel with him often. Staying for multiple shows in multiple cities and even countries. But after awhile, she got restless and just wanted to be at home. She had agreed to stay at Niall's house and keep watch over it while Niall and Amanda were away so much. Harry never pressed the issue of her living with him. Nor did he press her traveling more. Things were good between them, and touring was his life, not hers. He knew she would crave the routine of home. He was impressed with how well she did while she was with him. He'd say she was there at least 50 percent of the time that he was on the road. He was ok with that.

Harry had finished his tour with a two night stint at the LA Forum. Playing to friends, family, and his dedicated fans who traveled from around the world just to be there. He never got tired of it. It was a high matched by no other. The energy of the crowd never failed to give him that little extra he needed to fully entertain. Between the promo and premieres of Dunkirk and the tour, he had been on the road for the most part for a little more than a year. He had an amazing life. One that was completely supported by his girlfriend.

Things had calmed down for the most part in Julie and Harry's relationship. They were as close as they'd been. They spent about 3 weeks after Niall and Amanda's wedding traveling across Europe. It had been exactly what they needed. An escape from the reality plaguing Julie's mind. The dreams had gotten better on that trip. She still had them, and seemed to more when she was back home than when she was traveling. She seemed to clear her mind more when she was out of the United States than when she was home in LA. Mostly because Johnny couldn't travel overseas since his passport had been taken. Johnny had been out of Julie's life since the trial. Not even a peep, but the longer he went without contact, the more Julie worried instead of it making her feel safer. At least she was sharing her feelings with him.

After the tour, Harry spent some time in LA, but recently he had brought Julie to the UK. He told her it was to spend some time with his family, and that was mostly the truth. He did want some down time with his family. It had been a very trying year for them. A very tough time. Things still didn't seem real. His mum was always such a calming presence in his life, and he brought her out on tour a few times with him. And when he was busy, Julie and his mum had gotten even closer than they were. Everything just seemed right, natural for the first time in his and Julie's relationship. He was driving through the countryside close to where he grew up. He glanced over at Julie sitting in the passenger seat looking out the window at the scenery passing her by.

Harry couldn't help but smile. She always looked so much more relaxed. So much more content when she was here. Her face seemed to light up while she watched out the windows. He noticed when they stayed with his mum she seemed to love the coziness of the smaller town atmosphere. She may have come to LA to get lost in the crowd. Figuring it would be easier to hide from Johnny in a big city, but she would always be a small town girl at heart. He'd learned that especially when he had went to Wisconsin to visit her family after the trial. "Enjoying the view?"

Julie broke her gaze away from the countryside flying passed her. From the beautiful colors of the wild flowers to the vast number of trees they passed, to the open areas of green spread out before her. "You know I do. Can't help but notice we're back up close to where your mom lives. Are we going to visit?"