Mean to Me ♡ Larry

4.5

Chapter 45: Dreaming of You

Present

Harry rubs over his head and squeezes his eyes closed, breathing out shakily. He grips onto his phone and presses Perrie's contact, the ringing sound sending a sharp pain through his head. "Hey darling," he speaks to the voicemail when she doesn't answer. "I only have just gotten your message, I am so happy Layla is improving. I love you all so much. I'll talk to you soon—call me if you need me."

Harry hangs up the phone and throws it carelessly onto his bed, watching as it bounces against his soft sheets. He flops down after it, hitting his back against the bed as he undoes a few buttons on his shirt. He had an interview with Liam today, who had been the perfect fit to fill in for Zayn's position for the moment. Harry had asked Liam to start the next day, and told him he could work in his office so he could monitor him, but in all honesty, Harry was just scared Louis would turn up again. He wanted someone there so he didn't feel as uncomfortable.

The man pushes himself up with a groan and gets onto his knees in front of his side table. He pulls the white, shiny drawer out and rummages through it in search of his bottle of pain killers. He shakes two into his hands, mumbling to himself about needing more when he notices the medication was almost gone.

Harry gets back onto the bed and closes his eyes, wrapping his arms around the fluffy pillow. His heart pounds and stomach churns. He just wants Louis back. The Louis before he found out. He finally felt safe with someone, he finally got out of his shell and allowed someone into his life romantically and it was all thrown in his face.

Harry brings his hands up to wipe at his face, his cheeks wet with the tears he hadn't known had split. He reaches blindly for his phone and gets into action of turning off his caller I.D. He doesn't want to speak to Louis, but he does want to hear his voice, which, for some reason Harry can't explain, or even comprehend, is calming to him.

He shakily presses the contact picture of Louis, heart in his throat as he looks over his large smile and soft hair, as well as his deep blue eyes that Harry should have figured him out from. But he didn't. It rings and he places the phone against his ear, his free hand moving to his mouth, muffling his crying.

"Hello?" Harry furrows his eyebrows. His heart drops and he sucks in a deep breath. "Look, whoever this is, Louis is busy, right?" And then it clicks. Stan. Harry scrambles to hang up before a loud cry is erupting from him. "Stupid idiot," he mutters harshly to himself and yanks at his hair. "He never wanted you," Harry whispers, words aimed at himself. He continues to cry, clutching at his chest, as he tucks himself under the blankets. He considers calling Perrie but forces himself not to, knowing she wouldn't care when she has Layla to worry about.

With a heavy heart and tired, leaking eyes, he falls to sleep.

-*-

Stan throws Harry's phone to the ground with a "whoopsie." It smashes into pieces, screen flickering on and off.

Harry gasps and bends down to pick it up, but that results in a kick to his face from Stan. The boy stumbles back with a loud shout, his vision suddenly blurry and blood pouring down his face.

His ears begin ringing loudly and he can only hear muffled voices. Suddenly kicks and punches are forced onto his body. He cries out loudly and begs them to stop, but they don't. They continue beating him, creating cuts and bruises onto his milky skin. "Lewis, please," he slurs out.

Harry startles awake, dripping in sweat. He pants and swallows back the feeling he is going to throw up, his eyes darting around the room in search for any danger and although there isn't, his heart still pounds in his ears, sounding like echoed footsteps that somehow frighten him more.

He slips out of bed and rushes to the bathroom, dragging the wet clothing, smothered with sweat off of him until he is in just boxers. He stares at himself in the mirror, body pale and glistening, eyes bloodshot and rimmed red. He places his hands on the mirror where it splits and opens the cabinet, eyes roaming over the countless amount of pill bottles that line the shelving. He reads over the names and grabs the sleeping pills, shaking the dosage into his hand and swallowing them with a mouthful of water out of the sink, scooped by his hands.

He drops to sit on the cold tiles, shivering at the change of temperature. He thought he had gotten rid of these dreams and now they are back.

A/N: Two chapters in two days! Remember to read the last chapter if you haven't already! :)

Some of you have been questioning my choices for this book, so let me explain. 1. Larry can't just make up, it would be unrealistic. They have both been through traumatic experiences which they can't just see past as of yet. Having them make up immediately would be unfair to the characters and their emotions. 2. A lot of you have asked why Louis doesn't just tell Harry, well personally, if it was me, I would feel like I am guilting the other person to forgive me. I don't want Harry to just forgive Louis because of what he has been through, I want him to forgive him because he truly does, not just because he feels sorry for him. — I hope this clears some things up and helps you guys understand the decisions I have made. This is a Larry story, so they will end up together but I don't want to rush things.

- Did you enjoy this chapter?

- Are you happy Layla is improving?

- What do you think about Stan answering Louis' phone?

- It was mentioned Harry has a lot of pills in his cabinet, any clue as to what these may be for?

- Thoughts on Harry's nightmares?

- What do you think will happen next?

Please leave me some comments to keep me motivated and have a great day/night! xo