Restore (Sequel to Purge: Larry au)

Chapter 20

TW?: mentions of PTSD

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"Harry, what happened?" Niall asks, wrapping his arms around Harry and pulling him close.

Harry shakes his head, sobbing into Niall's shoulder and clinging to his t-shirt. Niall looks down at him worriedly, but he doesn't press it. He just shuts the front door and leads Harry to the couch, sitting down with him and letting Harry curl up into him, still sobbing.

Ella appears in the sitting room, holding baby Seamus and smiling. "I found Darcy. Are the Tomlinsons here?" she asks, before she sees Harry and Niall and her smile falters.

Niall shakes his head, silently telling her not to question anything. She nods. 

"I'm going to go watch the kids," Ella says quietly, turning and leaving the room.

Niall strokes Harry's hair softly with one hand, rubbing his back with the other. "Shh..." he breathes. "Shh... it's okay, Haz. You're okay."

Harry just cries, tears soaking through Niall's shirt, but his friend doesn't seem to care. Harry doesn't know how long they sit there like that, Niall holding him while he sobs, but he only stops when the baby starts kicking his bladder and he stands up to go to the washroom.

When he returns, he finds Niall sitting right where he left him. Harry rubs the tears from his eyes and wipes his nose with his sleeve, sniffling and sitting back down next to his friend. 

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Niall asks. 

Harry releases a shaky breath. He's not really ready to talk about everything yet, but he knows Niall deserves an explanation. "Not quite yet," he says. "I still need to... I just..."

"Hey, Haz, it's okay," Niall says, almost as if he read Harry's mind. "Take your time. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. Just know I'm here, okay?"

Harry nods, fighting back another wave of tears. "Can Darcy and I stay here for a while?" he asks.

"Of course," Niall tells him. "You know you're always welcome here."

Harry sighs, leaning back against Niall's shoulder. Niall rubs his arm comfortingly as Harry tries to pull himself together. 

"Can I ask you one thing, though?" Niall says quietly. When Harry nods, he continues. "Is Louis okay? Like, is he safe?"

Harry wants to laugh. "Is Louis safe" is a wonderful question. Louis's putting other people in danger, but he certainly isn't taking care of himself either. Harry doesn't know just how self-destructive he is, but he does know that Louis hasn't been keeping himself safe for months.

"If Louis's in any danger," Harry says finally, "It'll be that he's a danger to himself and everyone around him."

"What do you mean?" Niall asks, just as Ella comes into the room.

"I put Darcy down for a nap," she says softly to Harry. "She was a little sleepy."

"Thank you, Ella," he breathes. 

"Harry," Niall says, looking at Harry with worried eyes. "What do you mean Louis's a danger to himself?"

Harry sighs. The truth needs to come out eventually. With a shaky voice, punctuated only by his own tears, he explains to Niall and Ella how Louis's been drinking and smoking every night before he goes to sleep. How he's been having nightmares, and panic attacks, even though he does his best to hide them from Harry. He tells them how distant Louis's been, and how he picks a fight over everything, and how he hurt Harry when he tried to leave.