You Know What They Do To Girls Like Us

“Amelia!” I call out softly through the long hallway. “It’s time for bed!”

A little 4 year-old girl with a head full of curly blonde hair giggles as she runs from one door to one on the other side of the hallway.

“Amelia, you need to get your beauty sleep,” I smile as I pop in the room that she had entered.

“If I don’t sleep I won’t be beautiful?” she steps out from behind a chair cautiously with her hands clutching the fabric of her pink dress.

“You will always be beautiful, no matter what,” she walks over to me when I beckon for her. I take her tiny hands in mine. “But you need to sleep, so you can be ready for tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she grins up at me and clutches my hand as we walk down the hall to her room.

Before I can even cross the threshold, she is already standing on her bed, toppling over a bit with her arms sticking up. I gently pull off her dress and tug on her pajamas.

“Goodnight, Amelia,” I kiss her forehead as I pull the bed sheets up to her chin.

“Wait, mommy,” she speaks out before I can get up.

“Hmm?”

“Can you sing please?” her wide eyes beg me.

“Only if you promise to fall straight asleep after,” I wag a finger at her playfully.

“Promise,” the look on her face is so serious that it makes me want to laugh.

“Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens…” I bop her nose and she giggles.

By the time I get to the second verse, her tiny eyelids are already closed in slumber. Brushing her hair back from her face, I don’t move for a few minutes to stay in the peace of the moment. The air is still except for her quiet breathing.

“Is she asleep?” a low voice speaks from behind me. I turn with a soft smile.

“In the deepest sleep,” I sigh as I turn back to Amelia. As a pair of arms wraps around me, curls tickle my neck. I almost flinch at the touch of skin against mine.

It took me a while before I would let anyone touch me at all. Months. Almost a year. It was too hard to be able to let anyone in ever again since the person I trusted the most tried to kill me.

When Louis lowered me in the dumbwaiter, I didn’t know that it was a 30 ft drop and that there was no cable. He tried to kill me. Thankfully there were piles of dirty laundry to break the fall. When I climbed out of the small compartment there was a crowd of security waiting for me. They told me Louis had planned everything – framing Harry, starting the fire, letting me plummet to my death. I didn’t believe them at first. There was no way that he could do this to me. But then Louis showed up in the grip of armed guards. He practically spat out his disgust when he saw that I was still alive.

I ended up in a small house away from the city life. I needed some time by myself to process everything that happened. Harry would stop by every day to check on me. He was gentle and patient. He gave me enough space, but also ensured comforting warmth that enveloped me.

10 months until I could trust him. We moved into a larger house closer to the city together. Harry built up a successful solo career that is still sustaining us now.

Since Louis was in prison, the rest of the group broke everything off. Niall visits Harry and I every once in a while. He was the only one out of the other three who actually cared what happened and how we were doing.

We are at peace now in this room. In this moment and new chapter of our life. We have a beautiful daughter and a life away from the darkness of Annapola. Harry never told me about his past girlfriend. And I don’t think I want to know. We will never forget what happened, but we moved on from it.

Some things should stay in the past.

Notes

Oh God it makes me really really sad to end this fanfic. I feel like I'm attached to these characters, I'm going to miss writing all of them.
I hope you enjoyed the epilogue and the fanfic overall! I can't believe it's finished. Thank you so much for reading this and sticking with me through the long updating periods. It's been a bumpy ride, but it's finally payed off. c:
I will have a Harry fanfic up soon, either tonight or tomorrow, so you can add me as a friend if you want to be updated on when that happens! I look forward to talking to all of you on the next fanfic if you read it.
Again, thank you so much.
~christi ellie