a sky full of stars - louis partridge

just a memory

EPILOGUE
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4TH, 2024

Louis lit up his cigarette as the ash began to fall to his toes. He didn't care if they'd end up killing him one day, they helped with the pain. They helped him forget about everything and relax for even just a little while. It was cold in London and he was sat in the balcony of his tiny apartment. it was dark out probably around 3am.

There was a girl sitting beside him. She was only a teenager, probably around seventeen compared to him who had just turned twenty a couple months ago. She watched him light up the cigarette and place it between his lips. She hated smoking and if Louis was being completely honest he did too. But he couldn't help it, it was the only thing that could help with the pain.

The two had come home together from a nightclub they were at the night before which was where they had met. As they got lost in each other's eyes the two had come back to louis room and had an eventful night.

But now it was morning, and Louis sat in the cold air on his balcony. "Why do you smoke?" the girl asked. Her voice was quiet, she had only just woken up in his bed and was still trying to adjust to what had happened the night before.

He blew out the smoke and cleared his throat. "It helps," he said simply. 

She raised an eyebrow at him, disappointed with his reply and wanting to know more. "Helps with what?" she asked.

Louis looked up and stared at her, he was trying to figure out why the seventeen year old was here with him and not out with her friends getting drunk or high.

"When you're seventeen you either think you have your whole future planned out ahead of you or you think the worlds against you" he said. He could tell his words surprised her but she didn't say anything. "that's what I thought at least, I thought the world was against me" he told her. "I mean, life was shit. High school was shit, I stood out. I didn't belong with them. A kid who wanted to be an artist. I didn't give a shit about what team was at the top of the football league, or about all the shitty high school drama" he inhaled the smoke and then carefully breathed it out. "Then I got to the real world," he continued, "and realised there's so much more to life than high school" 

He paused for a moment. "You remind me of someone," he said confidently, his eyes studying her appearance . He regretted what he had said the moment he said it, but now she was intrigued to know who. "A girl I once knew." 

"Who's this girl I remind you of?" She asked as Louis let his cigarette burn out.

"My ex girlfriend," he told her.

"What was her name?" she asked slightly smiling.

"Charlotte." Louis said quietly. "Charlotte Willliams." 

"What was she like?" the girl voiced.

"She was beautiful," he started off. "The most beautiful person i have ever seen. And strong, too. She loved to read, She had read probably every book in the entire book store near where we lived and she put purple streaks in her hair once when she got bored. She designed her own clothes too. She had a passion for designing." Maybe it was the smoke going to his head but something about him really wanted to talk about her again. It had been so long since he'd really told anyone anything. "And she was quiet sometimes. She hated waking up early and loved the night sky. She loved to go star gazing too, and when i took her i couldn't even watch the stars because i couldn't keep my eyes off of her" 

"Where is she now?" The girl whispered.

"Probably in Paris perusing her dreams."

"Did you love her?" The girl asked quietly. Louis sat there starting into the moon. He knew he'd loved her. He had always known. 

"Yes" he replied.

"How'd you know" the girl said

"Because seeing her happy was the only thing I ever wanted, even if it wasn't because of me."

"That's why I had to let her go."
"And now she's just a memory"

and now they became what they were to start with, strangers.

and that's the end. i hope you all enjoyed this book, I really enjoyed writing it. feel free to leave feedback in the comments. i love you all & thank you so much ❤️