Lights (2019)

Epilogue: Forgiveness, Can You Imagine?

Four months later

"Help me would you," I groan, struggling to put the middle section of the synthetic Christmas tree into its place. Louis scrolls on his phone, Eleanor's head resting in his lap as she naps. I glare at him, "Louis!"

"What?" He startles, "what do you want me to do?" he whispers. "She is asleep-- I'm not waking her up."

"Whipped piece of shit," I grumble, tumbling forward for the tree to fall into place. I let out a breath, "Finally."

Jay and my father took the kids out to celebrate the end of the semester. I had been home for nearly two weeks already--it was nearly the middle of December and these people hadn't put up the tree for Christmas. So here I am... putting up a tree that is much taller than me without any help.

"Good job, Blair!" Louis applauds softly before returning to his phone.

"Fuck off," I pant, plugging in the lights from the lower section. I look up at the unfinished tree, I will have to get a ladder to finish it. I fluff the branches spreading them apart so it actually looks as though it might be a real tree.

"What are you doing today?"

I look between him and the unfinished tree. I gesture at it in exasperation. "This!"

"Oh," he mumbles. "I have a friend stopping by for some old textbooks and other shit."

"Congratulations," I grumble. " I didn't know you had friends."

"Piss off," he rolls his eyes. "I just didn't want you to be ambushed."

"Well thanks, I guess," I mumble, shuffling around the unfinished tree.

"You can put the top section on, while I go get the decorations from the attic."

"But--"

"Nope," I yell back, as I run up the stairs.

I had been home for two weeks after a long grueling first semester of college. Eleanor came home with me, well she came home for Louis because apparently she and her family aren't close. During the school term, I had run into Liam and Niall a few times at the library. My classes had gone well, and I passed everything. I still hadn't declared a major, but my counselor told me that was perfectly normal for first-year students.

I pull the cord to open the attic door and climb the ladder. It had been years since I had been up here--my father is usually the one to get the decorations down, but I wanted to do it myself this year. The air was musty and it was so cold that my teeth were chattering. I flick on the lights and look around for the Rubbermaid boxes that contained the holiday decorations.

I have always hated attics-- the dust, the bugs, the creepy childhood dolls. This time of year it's freezing in here. I have to lunge over boxes and different items until I reach the shelving that my father had half-mindedly put up years ago. I stack different boxes of bobbles and ornate family ornaments into my arms and pray that I don't die as I try not to trip on anything.

Managing to get back to the ladder was the easy part, getting down it was the challenging part. The boxes are moderately heavy as I balance them in my arms. The doorbell rings, it must be the friend Louis mentioned. I finally reach the bottom of the ladder, I set down the boxes and shut up the attic. The doorbell rings again.

"Louis, are you going to get that?" I call as I struggle with the boxes down the stairs. The knocking starts up and I groan in frustration. It's Louis' fucking friend, so why am I the one who has to get the door? I set the boxes at the bottom of the stairs and roll up the sleeves of my sweater before throwing the front door open. "I'm so sorry--Harry?"