A Touch of Cinnamon ✓

t h i r t y - o n e | pizzas, brownies, and kisses

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HS

No one sleeps that night.

How could they, what with all that has happened?

The police had to figure out where to place all the workers that had been under Damon's care, and ended up paying for a whole block of hotel rooms for everyone to stay in. Or, well, everyone besides Emerson and Olivia, who went and stayed with Niall. He wouldn't let them out of his sight, not for the entire night.

Everyone moved the mattresses out into the living room, pushed the sofa, chairs, and coffee table out of the way, and set up the spare mattresses so everyone could sleep in the same room.

Harry, Louis and Zayn were all too scared to leave Niall on his own - they didn't want to wake up and not be able to look over and make sure he's okay - Liam wanted to keep an eye on both Harry and Niall, Nick wanted to keep an eye on Louis and Niall, Niall wanted to keep an eye Emerson and Olivia, Emerson and Olivia wanted to keep an eye on each other, and no one wanted to be apart.

But even once everyone was settled across the mattresses laid out on the floor and the one person who could fit on the sofa, no one slept. Not a wink.

At half three in the morning, they ordered a few pizzas for everyone to eat. Niall mainly thought of it for two reasons. One, he was hungry. And two, Emerson and Olivia hadn't tasted pizza in years, and he wanted to watch them melt.

So with that in mind, the entire group got so much joy out of watching the couple eat their first bites of pizzas in longer than anyone could fathom.

The happiness was short lived, however, once someone mentioned Charlotte.

Niall had been tucked under Harry's arm when it happened, having refused to part from him. He needed to be in physical contact with Harry in one way or another the entire night, so they went from holding hands to arms around one another to their legs being tangled to Niall laying his head on Harry's lap, to Harry's head on Niall's lap, all because the thought of not touching one another was too unbearable to fathom.

They never wanted to let go of one another ever again.

"Has anyone heard from Charlotte?" Harry asked, the room silencing once Emerson, Olivia and Niall all shared a look.

"Um..." Niall trailed off, Emerson and Olivia not helping out. This isn't their thing to tell. Charlotte died for Niall, not for them.

"What?" Harry asks, his voice full of innocent wonder.

"She's dead," Niall rips the band-aid off. He keeps quiet, not raising his voice any. Something like this needs to be delivered softly.

Everyone reacts immediately. Most of them look shocked, Harry and Liam look confused, and Emerson and Olivia look sad, just like Niall.

"The day I was taken, I had met with Kim. She called me on Tuesday evening and asked to meet me the next morning. We hadn't heard from her since the miscarriage so I went. She sounded so sad.

"Turns out Damon had her. He hurt her, and that's why Edward died. That's why she lost her baby, because he hurt her. He forced her to lure me out and bring me to him. He was there, but I didn't notice. She dosed my coffee with Rohypnol so I'd be more compliant, or so I'd knock out completely, and I did.