night shift // l.s.

sixty six

welcome to a CLUSTERFUCK of a chapter (:

** mentions of drug use that is not the marijuanas in the first half, & actual use of the marijuanas in the second.

—-

harry walked in the little coffee shop that trisha asked him to meet at, giving her a soft smile when he noticed her through the crowd of people swarming in the building. she had a cup of coffee in her hands, a weary glimmer in her eyes and she looked like she hadn't slept for days. she was a wreck when she learned the discovery of zayn possibly being set up and she said she needed to talk to harry alone. no louis, no evan, no zayn, just the two of them.

trisha took a sip of her coffee, thanking the young lad that waited on her when he brought a cup of black coffee to the table. harry made his way toward her, kissed her cheek and sits in the chair in front of her. his stomach turned when he noticed the expression on her face. he recognized that look.

"what's wrong, mums?" was the first thing to come out of his mouth.

trisha sighed and tapped her nails on the ceramic cup. trying to find the right words to say, she took a breath and finally looked into his eyes.

"i think evan is seeing another woman," she says quietly.

harry furrowed his eyebrows. "what makes you think that?"

trisha pulled out an envelope that was sticking out from her purse, handing it over to him. harry opened it to find a small stack of papers of text messages between evan and another person. hints of meeting up, going out for drinks, and making sure not a soul finds out about whatever was going on.

trisha had been in his life for about a decade, she was the only mother figure he ever really knew. growing up, harry didn't have much of a support system besides zayn. trisha was his mother, evan was his father, point blank. zayn was his brother, even if they didn't come from the same people. family isn't always blood. which is why harry takes his family seriously, they're all he knew. he called trish and evan mum and dad. zayn was a mix of brother and best friend. they were his people; the ones he went to when he needed help, the ones he relied on for guidance.

"you're a hundred percent sure?" harry asked. there was a bit of hurt in his voice. he wasn't sure what else to say.

"about eighty-five," trisha pursed her lips. "i wanted to talk to you because zayn would probably kill him if he found out. you're more planned out and logical at times."

"i beg to differ," harry shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. "zayn's smart. he wouldn't jump on first instinct." he sighs and puts the papers down, leaning forward and continued to speak in a lower tone. "he thinks dad could be the one that set him up because he didn't want to be underboss."

the woman leaned back in her seat and folded her hands on her lap. "he's been acting weird lately but thinks i don't notice it. taking more phone calls, going out more... he didn't come home one night and i thought the man was dead. he wouldn't answer the phone at all."

her son frowned and looked down at his drink. "'m sorry, mum," he says softly. "do you need me to do anything?"

"actually, yes," trisha nodded her head. harry looked back up at her while she took the folder and placed it back in her purse. "i would do it myself, but i don't think i could bear the pain of seeing him with her."

harry nods understandingly.

"i want you to keep a close watch on him," his mother says. she reached over and grabbed his hand. "follow your instincts. if you think it's worth mentioning to me, come find me. if you think it's better off being left unsaid, so be it."