The Divorce

4

Harry cleaned the apartment and did a load of laundry while Louis was away. He wondered about their conversation. Would Louis just call and tell him that he was moving back home again? Harry had gotten used to having him around already.

As he did the dishes and took out the trash he noticed that one of the pipes was leaking. Not good. He turned off the water and googled plumbers.

Louis walked inside the door looking anything but happy.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Not really. That was a horrible conversation." Louis sighed.

They took a seat at the kitchen table.
"Wanna talk about it?"

"She's so cold, Harry. Apparently, she stopped loving me months ago. That hurts! Why didn't she say anything? She just walked around pretending like everything was okay. I feel like such a fucking fool. I'm so fucking stupid!" Louis said, sounding upset.

"Hey, you're not stupid, Lou. She should have talked to you, before, you know, while she still loved you. Then you could have worked on your relationship. How would you know that something was wrong if she kept quiet? Isn't communication one of the most important parts of any relationship?" Harry tried to comfort.

"It isn't easy to try and talk to someone who always has their phone shoved in their face. What kind of 'job' is influencer anyway?" Louis snorted.

"People make a lot of money on it." Harry replied.

"Well, El isn't one of them. She demands half of everything we own. I have to sell the apartment. Almost 30 and homeless. That wasn't part of me life plan." Louis sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"You are welcome to live here for as long as you like. It's nice to have a roommate." Harry smiled.

"Thanks, love. I appreciate it. I'll pay rent until I find me own place." Louis said.

Harry got stuck on Louis calling him love. He knew it was just a word. Something Englishmen threw around, Louis in particular. That didn't stop his heart from beating fast.
"Alright. Now I have to call a plumber. The pipes underneath the sink are leaking."

"They're expensive as fuck. We can fix that ourselves!" Louis said.

"Do you know how to do it?" Harry questioned.

"No, but I know how to google." Louis smirked.

"Right." Harry giggled and added. "I think we should call a plumber. Safer."

"Oh, come on! How difficult can it be? Let me feel useful. Get the toolbox. I'll google it." Louis smiled.

"Uhm, okay. Let's give it a try." Harry agreed.

He went to the hallway closet and found his toolbox. When he returned Louis was looking at the pipe.
"According to Google we just have to change the pipe to a new one."

"I guess we have to go to a hardware store then because I don't have any pipes lying around." Harry said in amusement.

"I'll drive." Louis proclaimed and closed the door to the cabinet underneath the sink.

Thirty minutes later they were back with a new piece of pipe and rubber packing. Louis wasted no time. He cleared underneath the sink and poked his head inside.
"I need a pipe wrench."

Harry looked in his toolbox and found one. He handed it over.
"I need a flashlight." Louis said.

Harry found one and squeezed next to Louis so he could shine the light. Louis went to work. Somehow he managed to get the pipe off with some swearing. They hadn't thought about the water that was still in the pipe and they were both splashed. Louis laughed.
"Fuck."

Harry laughed too. He grabbed a kitchen towel and wiped his face before he handed it to Louis. Forty minutes later they had managed to attach the new pipe.
"See? Easy!" Louis grinned.

"The big reveal. I'm turning on the water. Make sure there's no dripping." Harry said.

They both stuck their heads inside the cabinet again. Harry turned on the water.
"Looking good... Aaaah!" Louis screamed when the pipe busted and water gushed everywhere.

Harry hurried to turn it off. They were both soaking wet.
"I'll call the plumber tomorrow." Harry said dryly.

Louis burst out laughing. He slapped his knee and cackled loudly. Harry started to laugh as well.
"I'm sorry." Louis managed to get out.

It's okay." Harry said.

They laughed again. When they managed to calm down Louis couldn't stop smiling.
"I fucking needed that. A good laugh."

"Maybe we should "fix" the bathroom sink tomorrow then?" Harry joked and made quotation marks in the air.

Louis giggled and placed a hand over his mouth.
"We better not."

"Good. Do you wanna order pizza?" Harry suggested with a smile.

"Yeah." Louis agreed.

They ate in front of the TV and watched a film. Louis stared mostly into nothing and seemed to be lost in thoughts. Harry let him be. He had a lot to process. When the movie ended Harry made a move to get up but Louis opened his mouth so he sat down again.
"I'm glad we don't have kids at least."

"Was that something you were planning?" Harry asked.

"Not really. I mean, I talked about it a couple of times but she just said that she wasn't ready and I respected that." Louis answered.

"But you are?" Harry wondered.

"Well, yeah. I think so. I always wanted children. I guess that won't happen in the near future." Louis sighed.

"I mean, maybe you find the right person soon?" Harry replied. He didn't like the sound of that.

Louis just snorted.
"Maybe not right now but in the future?" Harry tried.

"Honestly, Harry. You're smart staying single. Relationships are shit. I'm never getting married again. I'm done." Louis huffed.

"I'd like to think not all relationships are shit. I sure hope so. Not with the right person." Harry replied quietly.

"Yeah, you're right. Don't worry. You'll meet that person and he will be very lucky. Don't let me and me broken heart destroy your hope for the future. I'm sorry, love." Louis answered.

Harry sighed. That person was sitting next to him but that was a lost cause. He really had to move on from the delusional hope that Louis would suddenly wake up and realize that he liked him. He just wished that it didn't hurt as much as it did. Louis wasn't the only one with a broken heart.