R O O M 1 9 7 // Harry Styles & Louis Tomlinson Edition

Twenty-Two

~Friday 27th January 2017~

00:43 pm

The following three weeks continue like before: mis-matched days of constant affection followed by days of hardly seeing each other. There are days when Louis and Harry spend every waking moment together, blissfully ignorant. Then other days they are separated, by Louis' endless meetings or Harry's days off. It's an irregular pattern of spending so much time together and then hardly no time at all. It should break them, ripping them apart slowly, but if anything, their time apart makes them feel closer than before.
The feeling between them now is different. Stronger somehow, but also more fragile, ready to break at any moment. Daily phone calls from Mrs Tomlinson interrupt their affair, but also keep them grounded, forcing them to step back and face reality for a few minutes. Louis answers the phone each time, putting on his 'good husband' voice and letting E rant about her newest problem with the pregnancy. She's 15 weeks pregnant by now, but neither Harry nor Louis speak of his looming fatherhood, preferring to push it to the back of their minds, ignorant to the facts staring them in the face.

Tonight is different though. As Harry sleeps peacefully beside him in Room 197's king-size bed, Louis sits on the edge of the mattress, spinning his phone through his hands nervously. He looks over his shoulder at the sleeping form behind him, sprawled out against the mess of pillows and sheets, before turning back to his phone, plucking up the courage and dialling her number.
It takes only a few seconds for Mrs Tomlinson to pick up the call, but she waits for Louis to speak, silent and nervous herself. Louis is silent too, trying to string words together to form an actual sentence. This has been a long time coming - they both know that - but, this is still going to be difficult to get through.
"I want a divorce." Louis announces, his voice quiet and low as he looks back over to Harry lightly snoring. There's more silence from the other side of the phone, as the weight of three long years of marriage sits between the husband and wife like a bomb about to explode. Louis waits for his wife to speak, anxious and afraid. But, then comes her answer. Two words, two simple words, that ends everything.

"Me too." E finally says, her voice soft and sweet, but Louis can already tell that she is crying - out of relief maybe. He comforts her, calming her down as he moves from the bedroom and into the bathroom, afraid of waking Harry. Just like her husband, Mrs Tomlinson has fallen in love with someone else. She doesn't love Louis anymore, she confesses.
And, then comes a conversation between man and wife - probably the only real conversation they'd had in years - that lasts well over an hour. They discuss everything, from lawyers to houses, from babies to prenuptial agreements.

"You love him, don't you?" Eleanor asks, one hour and fourteen minutes into their conversation. The question stuns Louis into silence, as he sits on the bathroom floor, watching the sky outside get darker, as the night moves on, stretching ahead like a long road, full of endless possibilities. Now it's Louis' turn to cry, slowly letting a few tears escape his eyes, as he pinches the bridge of his nose, unsure how to answer.
"You deserve someone like him." She speaks again, her tone happy and friendly, soft and light. Louis wipes away at the few stray tears that lay on his cheeks, letting out a nervous laugh. "He makes you happy, Louis. You deserve...happy." E adds, as Louis smiles at her words. When they were teenagers, Eleanor was the sweetest girl you could meet. But, wealth and power - plus, being stuck in an unhappy marriage - had made her rude and selfish. Now, talking to her over the phone and discussing their divorce, Louis can see the old Eleanor returning, and he smiles at that too, happy for her, after all this time.

Twelve minutes later, Louis hauls himself off of the bathroom floor and returns to the bedroom, where he climbs into the empty space. Harry stirs as he moves, but Louis shushes him, reaching forward to wrap his arms around the young man as he sleeps. Harry pushes his face into the space between Louis' neck and jaw, settling into this comfortable position, as he starts snoring again.
Louis kisses his hair, smoothing his hands against the space of Harry's back, as he looks up to the ceiling. He smiles, relieved and happy, as sleep finally takes him.

* * * * *

~Monday 30th January 2017~19:51 pm

Three days later, Harry is finishing his shift, giving the kitchen counters a final wipe down, as Louis watches from his seat at the desk. He hasn't told Harry the news of his divorce yet, unsure when the right time to announce such a thing is. He knows the longer he leaves it, the worse Harry's reaction will be, but he remains silent, afraid to disrupt this delicate balance the two lovers have found.
"We should go out tonight." Louis announces, as Harry puts away his cleaning supplies and turns to face him. He nods, apprehensive about being near alcohol, but wanting to spend the night with Louis. These last few days, he has been chirpier, happier even, than before. Harry couldn't quite put his finger on why, but he appreciated the change nonetheless.

Twenty-two minutes later, Harrison pulls up outside a newly opened bar, a block away from Harry's apartment, saying goodbye and wishing them both a fun night. The music is loud and the floor is crowded as Harry and Louis enter the building. They find two spare bar stools at the far end of the busy bar, sitting down beside each other as Louis orders their drinks. Their night continues like this, drinking and talking. Louis is in a great mood, cracking jokes and flirting shamelessly. Harry can't tell whether it's because he's tipsy or whether there's another reason for his sudden change in mood.
Harry chuckles at Louis' tipsy smile, pulling himself to sit closer to his counterpart, so close that he can feel the warmth radiating off the businessman's body. He even risks a kiss, planting his lips against Louis' cheek for a split second, elated to be in the presence of this happy version of the man he adores.

It's around eleven pm when Harry sees a familiar face from across the crowded room. The mess of red curly hair is a dead giveaway, so he stands from his seat and approaches Milo, telling Louis to wait here.
"Milo." Harry starts, facing the young man, but he ignores him, keeping his eyes away and moving his cup up to his lips. "It's me, Harry. Why haven't you been texting me back?" Harry speaks again. Milo looks across at him, his eyebrows in a hard line, and a deep frown set into his lips.
"I know it's you." Milo shouts over the thumping music, his tone hard and angry. "But, I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to be your friend. Not anymore." He adds, turning away from Harry once more. Harry reaches across, grabbing the young man by his shoulder and turning him back to face him.
"Why?!" Harry asks, puzzled and a little drunk. "What have I done?" The speaker right above them pumps out a heavy rap song, bursting Harry's eardrums as he waits for Milo to speak again.

"I saw you and your little lover." Milo answers, pausing to point towards Louis, where he sits on a bar stool, watching from across the room, worry painted across his features. "At The Parrish Hotel. My girlfriend works there. Says you two stayed the night in a room together." Milo adds, scoffing, as if Harry's supposed to understand.
"Yeah, so?" Harry asks and Milo scoffs again, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I don't want to be friends with you." Milo announces, spitting the words out. "So, why don't you and your little boyfriend go somewhere else with your rainbow and unicorn bullshit?!" His words are full of venom and hatred, and they instantly make Harry's blood boil.
"You bastard!" Harry says, shaking his head as he realises this man has been so hateful all along. All Harry can see is red, his chest rising and falling rapidly with every angry breath, his skin stretched white over his knuckles. He had trusted Milo, bringing him into his life and befriending him. And, now after all that, this is who he turns out to be

Harry isn't a violent man, but the first punch to Milo's nose comes very easily to him. Milo stumbles back with the full impact of Harry's force, as Harry's fist starts to burn in dull pain. Milo's nose begins to bleed, as he swings for Harry. He misses, but as Harry steps away, he trips over a bar stool and falls to the floor. Milo uses this to his advantage, standing over him and punching him hard against his jaw and then again in his gut.
Louis rushes over, pushing Milo away as two massive security guards arrive too, grabbing Milo by the arms and escorting him out of the building. His group of friends follow him, arguing with the guards and cursing over to Harry as they leave. Harry's jaw is red and his knuckles are sore as Louis reaches down, pulling him up off the ground.
"Let's take you home." Louis says, as Harry winces in pain as he stands, clutching his stomach. The busy crowd of the bar have all stopped by now, staring at the scene unfolding before them, and they continue to watch, as Louis grabs Harry by the waist, pulling his weight as they move to the entrance of the building.

Chapter Image was found on Pinterest