Good Enough

F o r t y T h r e e

"He hates me," Louis admits weakly, "he has every right to, but," Louis' words pause as his eyes drift from the floor to Liam that sits slumped in the chair his own chocolate orbs focused on the wall - he didn't offer Louis a saving grace by denying his distain for the man - "I guess it just hurts to know,"

"Did you prefer I keep it a secret?"

It was Liam's first words to Louis in the four days they had been together, regardless of his initial protest to therapy, when Louis had barged into his room that morning he told him the appointment had been set and that Liam simply didn't have a choice in attending.

Suddenly the puppy-brown eyes travel towards Louis, they narrow as Louis shrinks slightly wanting to place his own words carefully in reply.

"N-no?"

Kristin Biggs inhales deeply at the tension in the room, she crosses her legs settling into the chair, "Did you know hate isn't the opposite of love?"

While the question is directed to the room, Liam scoffs rolling his eyes, he was so sure this was just another therapist his father paid to tell him how wrong he was and to be a loving and well-behaved kid for his fathers.

"Where's Harry? Where's my brothers? Why did you tell our new fucking house manager I was at a friends house-"

"To protect you!" Louis shrieks, "Do-do you honestly fucking think I want everyone to know how depressed you are Liam?!"

Liam cowers at the booming voice, tears pricks his eyes, "A-are you embarrassed by it? As-ashamed?"

Louis groans placing his head in his hands with a sniffle, "N-no, no," He wipes at non-existent tears meeting Liam's face once more, "I'm terrified of it," He swallows thickly bringing his bottom lip between his teeth, his arms cross as he gestures to Kristin, "The-the thought of fucking coming here,

The thought of needing this, and-and the thought of showing up alone when you're gone," 

Shifting in the chair, Liam leans forward placing his elbows on his knees, he sits adjacent to his father, Kristin between the two in her own chair, "Gone how?"At the question he feared he knew the answer too, Louis' face contorts as genuine emotion envelope him, in his oceanic eyes Liam could see his fathers aged soul, his broken heart, and fear.

Kristin doesn't let the question be answered, she extends her hand capturing attention, outstretched in her hand is a pen, "Take this please," Liam furrows his eyebrows taking the black pen in his own grasp, "What do you think the opposite of love is?"

"I-I don't-"

"Write it down, don't say it yet." She hands her notebook to Liam averting her eyes to give him space to scribble his answer.

Liam rolls his eyes jotting down the first thing that came to his mind before returning the notebook and pen. 

"Fear,"

Kristin tilts her head offering a smile as he reads Liam's word, "Can you explain?" he sighs feeling his fathers eyes boring into his head, "F-fear brings out the worst in everyone, l-love brings out the best," 

She nods chewing her bottom lip as her eyes direct to Louis, "Dad? Care to add to that?"

"It's Apathy," He croaks, standing from the couch he wipes at his eyes, "The-the opposite of love is indifference, apathy," 

Silently he motions to the clock, "T-the hour is up," as if he couldn't wait to leave the room, Louis hurries from it the minute Kristin acknowledges their time is in-fact up.

Liam's the last to stand trailing Kristin to the door, "I'd like to see you both again," She muses glancing down at her calendar, Liam scans the lobby seeing Louis already getting in the car, "I-I'm not suicidal," confessing what he thought was obvious, yet needed to be re-affirmed, Kristin returns a reassuring smile in reply, "I didn't think you were,"

Knowing the You was pointed towards Louis, Liam nods chewing the inside of his cheek, "Same time next week?"

"Why did you ask that question?" Liam asks suddenly, he feels an immense guilt building in his stomach at admitting his hate, "To show you that this was fixable." She replies, squeezing Liam's arm comfortingly, "To hate is to love, you still care enough about him to hate him."

Turning away, Kristin grabs her pen filling in the time slot, "I'll see you both next week,"

Tucking his hands in his pocket, Liam exits the lobby seeing Louis staring pitifully at his phone while sitting in the drivers seat.

Trudging to the car, Liam opens the passenger door sliding in, he doesn't give Louis warning before pulling him into a hug with a kiss to the cheek, "You're okay," Hearing Louis sob at the comfort, he holds him tighter swearing that he wasn't going to leave him.

>Long overdue, I'm so sorry, routine updates are coming I swear!

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>Emma :)