Make Me Beg ➸ Larry Stylinson

fifty two

Louis' POV:

These last few days have been a drag, with Zayn and Liam doing their best to try and take my mind off of things. In addition, Liam, being the fatherly figure he is, decided to literally padlock the alcohol cabinet until this all blows over. I'm handling it better than I expected, to be honest, but Harry refusing to check his phone is making me anxious.

It's started to snow outside just like it was yesterday, so I leave for work a bit early to compensate for any slow traffic that I might hit. Zayn and Liam are both out of the house already and I'm the last to leave. If I hadn't taken so long to wake up after a long night of marathon-watching true crime movies with Liam (Zayn fell asleep on his lap after the first movie), I would've stopped by the cafe to meet up with Jen for a morning tea.

I pull on a fluffy coat and lock the door behind me as I walk to my car for work. Today I'm unusually excited to get to work because Juan Luis and I picked the specials for lunch and dinner. We have three dishes on the specials menu; this amazing seafood pasta dish, crusted and seared scallops, and homestyle stuffed shells just like Juan Luis' grandma used to make them (he even let us see the family recipe).

The traffic is slow as expected, and I check my phone multiple times in the case that Harry decided to respond or ring me. I call him at 11 am on my way, like I've done every day since he kicked me out.

No response.

I sigh and toss my phone in the passenger's seat, returning my eyes to the road. There's not a whole bunch on the radio, just two chattery radio hosts on one station and this god-awful American rap song on another. I eventually find a station with some throwback pop songs and turn up the volume as I drive.

I barely hear my phone ring as Rihanna blasts through my car speakers. But once notice and see the caller ID, I nearly throw myself into the passenger's seat to answer before it goes to ringtone. I turn down the music and hold my phone up with one hand, my other occupied with the steering wheel.

Harry's face comes up on the screen when I answer the FaceTime call (I'm not sure why he didn't just call me like normal, but I'm too overjoyed that he called me back to care, honestly) and it's really nice seeing him after what feels like forever.

A second glance at my phone makes me realize he doesn't look in the best of health. His face looks just a bit skinnier than I remember, the skin under his eyes is puffy, and his eyebags are unnaturally dark and slightly concerning.

"Harry, hi! How are you?" I ask, before remembering I'm in a moving car. I prop up my phone between the space between my steering wheel and dashboard and return both hands to the wheel as I drive.

"Hey, Lou, I'm good, thanks." Harry's low voice is tired and exceptionally slow as he talks, and he looks wary. " 'm sorry I didn't call or text back before,"

I see someone walk behind him on screen as he talks, distractng him momentarily. "Who's that, Haz?"

"Hi Louis!" Niall's cheery voice calls from far away and I see him wave in the corner of the screen. "I'm just about to leave the house, I'll leave you two to it. Bye!"

"Bye, Niall," I give a small smile back before he exits my view. "So, Harry, what's up?"

The line is quiet for a bit, and the silence feels uncomfortable as if its hard to talk to one another again even after just a few days apart. Harry's eyes dart around and I keep mine on the road as the snow continues to fall down heavily.

"Just wanted to call to say I'm sorry, and to check up on you. I miss you, Louis, I really do," He whispers and I turn my volume up to hear him better.