Liam-
I wanted nothing more than to check on Louis since he'd been in bed all day. He wouldn't come downstairs for food, and he certainly wouldn't get out of bed for anything else. It was getting concerning, but I had to wait for Niall to get home. He was a lot later getting home than usual, and he hadn't sent a message indicating why or that he was even going to be late. I wanted to believe that he was truly and utterly okay, but I needed to see first-hand as soon as he got home.
"Haz, come here, please." Harry was still exhausted, but Zayn was out tutoring some kids and I couldn't go up myself, so he was my only option. "Could you go and check on Lou? He's been upstairs all day and won't really talk to anyone and Niall isn't home yet either, otherwise, I would have gone up myself." he nods and kisses my cheek before leaving the room. Now my only option was to play the waiting game and hope that Niall would emerge soon.
Forty minutes after I'd sent Harry upstairs, Louis finally came downstairs wrapped in a blanket and sulking, and Niall was still nowhere to be seen. I had called his phone about seven times but had no answer at all. Not even a text. Still, I try to hide my anxiety and approach Louis.
"Hey, Lou," I whispered, frowning as he lays down on the couch and closes his eyes. "Oh, baby, you've been in bed all day." he ignores me and pulls the blanket up over himself, but before I could say anything else I heard the door open. I kiss Lou's temple before rushing over to Niall. His face was bruising and he was covered in cuts and blood. I gasped and grabbed him by the chin to keep him still enough to check for any other injuries.
"Li, I'm okay," he whispered, pushing me back a little. I didn't stop, turning him to check he wasn't bleeding from his head or anything. "I got mugged on the way home, that's all."
"That's all? Really, Niall? That's all. Mugged. You say that as if it's no big deal."
"I'm okay, I swear. I didn't hit my head, didn't get hit anywhere serious, and they didn't get my phone or my cards."
"No. You got mugged. Attacked, even. That's not okay, and I want to make sure that you're really alright." he sighed and nodded, giving me room to check him over properly. Moments later Harry was tugging on my shirt and waiting for my attention again.
"I think Lou's getting bad again," he whispered, looking at back at a sleeping Louis. I nod and sigh, rubbing my face. It felt terrible; first not knowing about Harry's health, Niall got mugged and now Lou wasn't coming to me for help anymore. It was awful and made me feel like I wasn't being great at caring for them. "He also hasn't eaten since I got back, but I can't convince him to get anything. He just wants to sleep."
"Alright, thanks for letting me know, hon," I whisper, taking a deep breath and somehow finding the strength to smile. "Could you get Niall an ice pack?"
---
Three days later, Louis still hadn't moved from the couch from the night Niall got mugged. He was starting to smell from not showering, and I wasn't sure that he'd eaten anything at all.
"Lou, love?" he looked up tiredly, nodding at me. "I've gotta head off to work, are you gonna be alright here?"
"I'll be fine. Don't worry your head off." I sigh and rub my face, nearly poking out an eye with my keys. It was stressing me out, knowing that I couldn't help all that much. He doesn't pay any mind to it, and curls back up into the fetal position. "I'm trying to sleep, so if you could respectfully fuck off and stop staring at me like a creep, that'd be nice." I restrain from snapping and doing something harsh and leaned down to kiss his forehead.
"I'll be back later. I love you."
"I love you too." it took me a moment or two to stop staring, and underneath the blankets, he was wearing one of my hoodies. It had been washed just yesterday, and it made me smile knowing that he had at one point moved and at least stretched. Being in that position for so long couldn't have been good for his joints. "Bye Liam," he whispers, a hint of playfulness behind his seriousness.
The restaurant was hectic. We had way more customers than usual, most of them being large, large families here to enjoy a meal. Some of my servers were on the verge of breaking down because of nasty old women and men yelling at them, and we could do all that much about it yet. Not with so many people.
"I need two crab-stuffed lobster tails, a chicken cordon bleu, and a chicken makhani!" one yelled out, leaving a copy of a receipt on the counter. I repeated the order out loud and once getting a nod I was set on cooking.
"Get our Chef Rita on the cordon bleu, please Jay."
Being a chef was hard work. That was obvious. I could guarantee that being a server, waiter or waitress was even harder. The amount of unjustified complaints they get is ridiculous. It was clear that this was the case when Michael came through, wiping his hands on his apron as he took a deep breath.
"Give me a minute, I'll have somebody take over." he nods and takes a minute to compose himself. I washed my hands and kept an eye on him once I found somebody to take over.
"What seems to be the issue, Ma'am?" I ask, being as polite as I could to the middle-aged woman that looked like she'd been chewing on a lemon.
"We asked for five colas, two lemonades and three wines with our meal. Your waiter here has the audacity to bring me back six colas and only one lemonade." I nod and look at Michael, who looked on the verge of tears.
"If it's alright, could I see your receipt and the cola? It won't cost any extra as the two drinks are the same price," the woman nods, and I hand the drink to Michael. He followed me behind the bar and out back to give the drink to somebody else once checking it over. The homeless guy who sat out back appreciated the odd drink here and there. It meant that he wouldn't have to search bins or rob the store.
"She said six, I know she did." I nod, believing him instantly. He very rarely took orders wrong, and just by the look on his face, I knew that this wasn't one of those times. I hugged him and let him take a minute to just breathe.
"I believe you, but this is a busy day and I couldn't be bothered to deal with a woman like her. Why don't you take her lemonade, and then take ten minutes afterwards? You're panicking and it's not going to get any better if you push yourself too hard, okay?" he nods and wipes his face. "Good, and don't bother redacting the ten from your break later. This break is an important one, alright?"
