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

Twenty-Seven: Part I

~Thursday 2nd February 2017~

The day after his 23rd birthday, Harry decides to finally visit Gemma's grave, getting in his brand new car and driving a mile north to the cemetery where his older sister lays. The grave is pretty easy to find, still fresh compared to the other eroding headstones that stand in a neat line, like obedient soldiers awaiting their orders.
Harry lays down the flowers that he bought for her, arranging them carefully in the two small vases of water that lay either side of her granite headstone. They're daffodils - Gemma's favourite. The yellow reflects against the grey stone under the sunlight, highlighting the engraved writing. Harry reaches forward and places a hand upon the top of the headstone, shocking himself with just how cold the granite is, but keeping it there, pressing his palm into the stone and staying there for a moment or two. After telling his big sister just how much he loves her, Harry leaves the cemetery, getting in his car and driving back to his apartment, nothing but peace in his healing heart.

~Friday 3rd February 2017~

A day after this, the young man decides he must put a plan into action. He wakes at seven am and drives his car to the nearest bank, depositing the two cheques into his account. The bank teller's eyes go wide as she reads the amounts on the paper, before doing her job, as Harry chuckles to himself. To be honest, it really hasn't sunk in for him yet either.
After his bank visit, Harry buys a whiteboard from the local store and brings it home, tidying the already-tidy living room, bagging up each and every bottle of alcohol he can find and throwing the bag out. It makes a satisfying shattering noise as it lands inside the apartment's skip, making Harry smile as he turns back into his living room, setting up his makeshift office in the space between his couch and coffee table. It takes him an hour or so to organise all of his thoughts onto the whiteboard, using four different coloured markers, arranging similar ideas beside each other in his scribbled handwriting.
When he is finally done, he calls his mother, eager to hear her voice and let her know what he's decided to do with his ideas of owning a hotel. She tells him that she is proud, to which Harry smiles uncontrollably.

~Saturday 8th April 2017~

"This one's nice, Harry." Anne Styles tells her son, as she scans the large lobby of this abandoned hotel. This is the fourth property viewing of this week so far, and Anne has been there for her son each and every time, excited to be part of the process. She flew over from England a week ago, and so far, the mother and son duo have been a good team.
"I'm not too sure on this one, Mum." Harry admits, as he wanders around the dark space, inspecting every inch of this property. "It just doesn't feel right." He adds, and his mother nods, agreeing with him, as they exit the building with their arms linked together, following their estate agent to the next property on the list.
Later that day, as Anne is buying lunch for the both of them from a fancy little cafe, something across the street grabs Harry's attention. He leaves the cafe, telling his mother he'll be right back.
The newspaper stand across the street is owned by a sweet old lady, who grins widely at Harry as he approaches the rack of newspapers on the left. He reaches for one, unfolding it and looking down at the picture on the front page. It's his car - the Styles 197 - and the headline above it reads "Tomlinson Vehicle Manufacturers Hit Gold with Best-Selling Car of March Across Globe". At the bottom of the page sits a small grainy image of Louis Tomlinson himself, smiling into the camera with that signature smirk. Harry grins, before buying the newspaper and returning to his mother.

~Saturday 15th July 2017~

The last box is heavy as Harry picks it up, walking with a struggle to the front door of his apartment. He decided a long time ago that there were too many memories to stay living here, so he's moving out and renting the apartment out to a young newlywed couple - Noah and Sarah Hudson.
He makes sure to take Gemma's lamp with him to the hotel he's staying at until he can find a new apartment. He leaves most of the other furniture for the new tenants, deciding to start fresh wherever his feet land. Harry hands the keys over to Noah, as he passes with his last few boxes under his arms, stopping by at Apartment 4A before he leaves, to say goodbye to Mrs Fenwick, sweeping the sweet old lady up into a tight hug, thanking her for everything. She laughs, before kissing him on the cheek a dozen times, staining his skin with red lipstick, and waving him goodbye as he pulls away from the sidewalk in his car, boxes piled high in the back seat.