Prologue
"And all the things that I wished I had not said
Are played in loops 'till it's madness in my head
Is it too late to remind you how we were?
But not our last days of silence, screaming, blur
Most of what I remember makes me sure
I should have stopped you from walking out the door"
- Snow Patrol
"Don't you remember when we were happy, Lou?"
The flashing red told her it was 2 in the morning. On his end it would be 6 in the evening.
"Don't you remember anything from before?"
Silence. In that silence she curled into herself more and more, the chill of that December running over her exposed skin. She felt so vulnerable when a certain someone wasn't there to wrap their arms around her shaking frame. It was almost disgusting how much she could depend on that embrace to keep her warm in the past and now it still surprised her just how cold could affect her. Make her think things she wouldn't otherwise spend another thought on. "Are you there?"
"Yeah."
"I love you."
"Yeah. Okay."
"Louis?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry, love. I was talking with Niall about something. Management wants to meet in fifteen minutes. Which means I've got ta' go."
"Oh." Pause. "Did you hear any of that, then?"
"Oh, no, sorry. Sweetie, I really have to go. Text me in the morning." Click.
"Okay," she whispered to the dial tone, "I really did love you."
