I stared down at him for a long while, trying to process all of my emotions at once, but the overpowering feeling of relief reminded me of the pain he had caused to everyone I loved. It wasn't until a hand was placed on my back that I remembered I wasn't alone.
"Harry," Luke murmured. I looked up at him and shared a look. I thought Luke may have been angry with me for taking his father away before he could know him, but when Luke's mouth finally broke out into a smile and he pulled me in for a hug, I knew I had done the right thing. He held me close and repeated in my ear over and over, "We have each other now."
I buried my head into his shoulder and let myself cry for a moment, but I knew this wasn't completely over. Rosie was still in the other world. Suddenly, I heard a familiar cooing sound and pulled back from Luke. Kayla had pulled herself up to her feet and was reaching out desperately with her little arms. She was finally free of Samuel's control. I ran over to scoop her up in my arms and away from the edge of the cliffside. Her body curled into mine as it always had done so well. I missed holding her so much. She reached up to touch my cheek and despite the tears in my eyes, I was smiling widely.
Luke and Grace approached us, her arm around Luke for support. "Hey," Grace's soft voice said. I looked over at her. "What about Rosie?"
"I'm going to get her back," I said certainly, glancing at Luke with a small nod, but his eyes weren't meeting mine. "What's wrong?"
"I'm still weak," he muttered. "It's not always easy to send people to that world. When Samuel had control of me, he was strong enough to send you there and back to see him. He was the link between this world and the other. Now he's gone, I don't know if I have the strength to bring you both back."
"B-but we have to try," I stuttered. "I'm not losing her, Luke."
"If you get stuck, you won't get to raise Kayla. She'll lose both of her parents. You know exactly how that feels, Harry."
I stuttered, but no words could come out. I stared at Rosie's unmoving body and felt my chest constrict until I could barely breathe. I couldn't imagine a life without her. Knowing she was there with Samuel created a new course of anger inside of me. I would not live with myself if I knew I had subjected her to that eternal hell with the man who made her life torturous. Kayla squirmed in my arms until she was comfortable again. Our eyes met and I couldn't help but smile. She had so much of her mother in her. She was strong and feisty and just beautiful, but I had to leave her.
"You'll look after her, Grace, won't you?" I asked, looking up at Kayla's godmother. She looked shocked and unsure of what to say. I gave her an insistent look and eventually Grace knew she couldn't decline.
"Of course," she croaked.
I nodded and pressed a kiss to Kayla's forehead. She let out a small giggle I told myself I would never forget the sound of. The tears finally escaped as I softly handed her over to Grace. Kayla seemed unsettled for a moment before recognising Grace and moving closer into her.
I wiped under my eyes and took a deep breath. Luke was already looking at me when I turned to him. "Are you sure about this, Harry?" he asked.
It was the hardest decision I had ever made, but deep down I knew Rosie and I were meant to spend the rest of time with each other, even if it meant in the other world. I gave a small nod before shuffling over to Rosie and lying beside her. Luke crouched down beside me. He met my gaze and for the first time I noticed the tears in his eyes.
"If you can only bring one person back, you bring Rosie back, okay?" I asked. "Promise me, Luke."
He hesitated for a long while. I gave him a strong look and eventually he whispered, "Okay."
I made myself comfortable beside Rosie. I slipped my hand into hers and prepared myself. Luke touched my head with his stronger hand. I looked up at him and smiled.
"I always wanted a brother," I croaked, letting out a small laugh. "I love you, man."
Luke sniffled. "I love you too."
My smile widened as I closed my eyes and waited for him to rest his forehead against mine. His shaky breath fanned over my face. The last thing I heard was a small whimper before I was pulled out of this world and into another. The falling sensation was second nature to me now. All the while I was thinking of the possibility of remaining stuck here and how I could protect Rosie from Samuel for eternity.
I finally landed on a hard ground and pulled myself up to my feet. "Rosie!" I called out. "Where are you?"
The small sound of a sob came from behind me. I spun around to find a figure curled up in a tight ball crying quietly to itself, but it wasn't alone.
"No one tells me what to do," a familiar voice spat.
Rosie's younger self had my younger self up against a wall, her hand around my throat tightly. I remembered this moment and many others where the beast in her hurt me, but I never blamed her. I now understood the creature inside of her wanting to claw its way out and kill mercilessly, despite the feelings of the human it was within. Rosie was never to blame.
She had lifted me up the wall until my feet stopped touching the ground. I had my hands wrapped around hers to try and pry her grip from my neck.
"Rosie," my younger self croaked. "I trust you."
I knew the next moment that occurred where she let me go and I forgave her, but the memory changed suddenly. That was what this place did: it reminded you of the pain and suffering you experienced in your life, forgetting the moments of love and forgiveness. I found out the reason for her hurting me that day was Samuel and did everything I could to stop it, but we never saw that.
The scene changed to the living room of the flat. The younger Rosie was straddling me on the bed at Louis' party, dragging her sharp nails down my body that left deep cuts. The Rosie I had come to find was still curled up on the ground, hitting her own leg and crying out insults to herself. She had not been here for a very long time. It just showed the effect of this place on people as strong as Rosie.
I slowly approached Rosie and crouched down in front of her. When she had tried to reach me before, it was as though I had shut her out so much that she felt this wall between us. It wasn't until I reached out to her myself that she was able to hold me again. I never had that worry with Rosie though. She was always there for me, despite my behaviour and my hurtful words. I was forgiven each time because she always put me first.
"I forgive you," I whispered. Her head shot up from her knees. I smiled and ran my fingers through her hair. "I love you, Rosalie Styles."
She let out a whimper before flinging her arms around me and pulling me into her with such force. I smiled and let her revel in my touch. Her hands ran up my back and into my hair, her lips frantically running kisses up and down my neck. "I love you," she whispered, "so much."
She pulled back, but still held me within arm's reach. I held her face in my hands and wiped her tears away. "I'm here for you always."
I thought she would smile and hold me once again, but her eyes grew distant and cold. She looked over my shoulder and instantly backed away. I stood up and turned around to come face-to-face with the man I had not long ago ended.
"How nice to see you again, Harry," his deep voice rumbled. "You've come back for your precious wife."
"Yes," I agreed, "but I also wanted to give you something, Samuel."
The man smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "And what would that be?"
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a needle filled with Aquavirine. Rosie gasped behind me. Samuel's eyes widened. "Where did you get that?"
"I was in a dark place," I murmured. "I told myself that ending my life was the best solution to everything so I created this Aquavirine for me. After realising how much I had become like you when I held Rosie down, I no longer wanted to live. I went to Luke for the final time to say goodbye to him and to you, but instead I found out you were controlling Luke and, well, you know the rest."
Samuel's expression was still dark. "You were always a weak man."
"I thought I was," I agreed, "but now I realise that having these dark thoughts doesn't make me weak or a coward. I just have to be strong enough to hold them back. And I did, several times throughout my life. Losing my parents at a young age changed me, but it made me into who I am. If my parents hadn't protected me, I would have been brought up by you with such pain and anger all of the time. Instead I found compassion and respect and above all, love. I'm glad I didn't jump that night and I'm glad I never used this Aquavirine to end my life yesterday, because it means I can use it to get rid of you once and for all."
The dark man took a weary step back. "You wouldn't."
I nodded. "Oh, I would."
Samuel turned to run, but I was faster and stronger than him. I grabbed hold of him and pushed his body to the ground. He fell onto his stomach and tried to crawl away, but I brought a foot down to his back to hold him down. He squirmed under me like a bug that I could easily squish. I grabbed him and forced him onto his back. His eyes were black with rage, but it no longer scared me. I held him down to the ground, digging my knees into his sides and wrapping my hand around his neck so I knew he couldn't get away from me. I had been chasing this man for too long. It ended now.
"Go on," I sneered. "Beg for your life."
He twisted and turned under me violently, trying to pry my fingers from his throat. "Never," he spat. "A man doesn't beg for anything."
I smirked. "Except for a woman who never loved him."
A new wave of anger crashed through Samuel. He was hitting out and spitting insults to me, but now I had control of the situation. I held his neck tighter until he calmed down again.
"You were never loved, Samuel," I taunted. "Not by anyone. You never truly got to experience someone expressing their affection for you. You led a cold and lonely life, causing pain and destruction to try and fill the empty hole inside of you. Now you can die knowing that you failed."
I brought the needle up and revelled in the feeling of finally being in control of my own life. I plunged the needle down towards him but was abruptly stopped by a hand around my wrist. Samuel tried forcing the needle away from his skin, but I pushed back, craving to finally end this man.
Now both of Samuel's hands were resisting against me and slowly the needle was turning away from him. The hand around his neck proved useless as he grew stronger. Samuel gave a wicked smirk, my face reflecting off of the dark pools in his eyes as the needle was slowly turned to face me.
"Goodbye, Harry," he muttered.
I prepared myself for the pain as the needle slowly moved towards my body, but when I felt warmth over my hand and the needle slowly twist back towards Samuel, I felt overwhelming relief. I turned to see Rosie crouched beside me, her hands over mine to help me finally kill Samuel. We shared a smile before together we forced the needle closer and closer to Samuel's neck. He cried out and fought violently against my body holding him down, but it wasn't enough. Rosie and I were stronger than ever with the desire to release ourselves from Samuel's claws. The needle finally reached our victim's neck and dug in deep. We pushed the liquid into his system, causing him to jolt and tremble as his body reacted to the Aquavirine. We let the needle fall to the ground and watched Samuel in his final moments. He was frothing at the mouth and hitting out, but as the seconds passed the monster in him came to its end. We expected him to slowly die out but being in this world meant it wasn't his body dying: it was his soul. It looked as though his body was about to explode and it finally did. He burst into flames and let out a spine-chilling cry before exploding into dust. I stared down at where Samuel's body was seconds ago, knowing he was gone. Forever.
A hand finally touched my neck. I turned to Rosie and watched a soft smile warm her face. I realised I had been holding my breath and finally let out a deep sigh of content. My wife straddled me as I sat on my legs and pressed her warm hands to my cheeks. It wasn't long before our lips met in a deep kiss. We held each other like we had been torn apart forever. Despite the happiness running through us, we couldn't help but let out a few tears as we kissed. The relief had finally come over us and we could be free. Her hands found their way into my hair and fisted it, knowing the effect it had on me. I brought her closer to my body and deepened our kiss, making the most of every second I had with her.
Eventually, she pulled back and pressed her forehead to mine. "I never want you to feel alone again. If you ever have a dark thought, even for a second, you come to me. I don't care if its three in the morning and you're feeling lost. I will always, always be there for you. I love you, Harry."
I gave a sad smile. "I love you too," I whispered.
We hugged for a long while until eventually I had Rosie curled up in my lap, her head on my chest. I pulled her close and rocked her softly.
"We did it," she murmured, looking up at me with a smile. "We're free."
I smirked and leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips. She hummed against my mouth and fisted my top, but suddenly it felt as though she weighed nothing. I opened my eyes to see Rosie disappearing before my very eyes. Within seconds, I could no longer feel her lips on mine.
"Harry," she spoke before she faded away completely, leaving me alone in this dark world.