24 Hours

Part 23

I'm a failure. I had failed to keep my promise. I lied. I lied to Louis. I'm such a terrible person.

Louis is probably finishing his mission right about now, telling the unlucky victim that they're going to a better place. He's probably entering the soothing flames, letting them wrap around his skin as he thinks about Heaven. He probably has a smile on his face the whole time.

He's probably walking through the red door, being met with Lucifer. Lucifer smiles at him, black eyes glinting like they do when he knows something. He knows that Louis won't be coming to Heaven with me. He knows we were tricked, and he knows I gave Louis lost hope.

Louis is probably walking back now, still beaming with happiness. People are looking at him weird, because who would be so peaceful in Hell? People who are supposedly escaping.

He's probably entering our building. Clicking the eleavator's button, making his own elevator music. He's nearly skipping down the hall, racing to get to our room, to see me, to go to Heaven.

As he opens the door, finds the room empty, he waits. He's anxious, wanting to get to paradise with me already. He waits. And waits. And waits until he can wait no more. He starts pacing, nervous. He suddenly can't take it anymore, exiting the room.

He probably goes to Zayn's room, opening it without knocking. Zayn is there, pacing as well. They look at each other, already knowing something is wrong. The endless possibilities race through their minds.

As for me, my mind is blank. All I see is white. I can't pull a thought together in one piece, and I'm scared. I feel this way until suddenly my eyes flicker open and my body makes contact with wet grass.

I sit up, dazed. I rub my arms, already feeling the bruises form. I hold my head, waiting for the stars to clear from my vision. When they have, I open my eyes. I look around, take in my surroundings.

Breathtaking. Beautiful. Those are two words that could be used to describe what I'm witnessing. However, the only word that correctly fits is heaven.

Then I remember. My mind reels as everything comes back. Hell. Louis. Angels. Nick. Heaven. Everything.

And I break down.

I scream, pulling at my hair. I tug as hard as I can, making sure I can feel the pain so I know this isn't a terrible nightmare. I pound the ground, pulling out bits of grass. I stop, and I just lay there, my face in the wet blades. I cry, letting out all my frustration and sorrow.

I'm like this for a few moments, just crying. Sobbing. Then I hear a voice.

"Are you going to stop being a pussy, Styles?"

I roll over, looking up to see who owned the voice. An upside down Luke appears.

"Why couldn't Perrie find me?" I groan, getting up slowly.

"I know, I know. You hate me. Get over it, we're stuck in this place together."

I walk over, my eyebrows furrowed. I study Luke's face for a second. His eyes are red, his nose pink.

"You've been crying." I note.

"Yeah, no shit. However, I realized that crying for eternity won't solve this problem." Luke rolls his eyes.

I nod, agreeing. Even though Luke was an ass, he was smart.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask.

"About what?" Luke responds.

"Michael."

"Didn't see the need to. It wasn't vital information."

Luke squirmed a bit, then started drumming his fingers against his lips.