Stripped

Chapter 29: Freedom

Chapter 29: Freedom (Ann's P.O.V.)

I sprang from the car when I saw Harry round the corner with Taylor right behind him. I sprinted down the sidewalk, throwing my arms around my best friend. She threw hers around me.

"You're okay," I mumbled into her hair.

She nodded, "Yeah."

We stood there and hugged for a moment before separating as I felt a hand rest on my back. I looked over my shoulder to see that Louis had come to join us. Harry stepped up beside Taylor and we all smiled.

"Shall we head back to your place?" Louis asked as he motioned toward the car.

I nodded, "That sounds great." I looked at Taylor, my smile from ear to ear.

The four of us turned and walked back to the car. I couldn't help but smile. For the first time in what felt like forever, there was a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. I was sure that Taylor felt the same way as I felt her wrap her arm around my waist. I put mine around her shoulders as we matched each other's strides for the car and home.

"God," Louis said as he held his stomach. "This has been one hell of a night."

Taylor nodded her head, "It sure has. I could go to sleep right now."

Harry opened the back door on the car before Taylor and I slid into the back seat. Harry got in and turned the radio on as Louis began to pull away. Within minutes, we were all singing at the top of our lungs. Smiles painted on all of our faces.

I leaned over toward Taylor as we sang the final note louder than before. There was a brief silence in the chair before I whispered to her, "So what happened in there?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing much really. Harry came in, paid Carson and we left."

She went back to singing, but I could tell that there was a small shiver on her skin. There was something that she wasn't telling me, but I could wait. Right now was one of the best moments we had had in a long time and I wasn't about to try and ruin it by prying into things. We needed to living in this moment for as long as we were going to have it.