Lean On Me ~Zouis Family

Eighteen

For Louis, it was hard to look at his son. His tiny, bruised, fragile son. It was hard for him to accept that Niall had an eating disorder, Anorexia Nervosa they were calling it.

It was just as terrifying as it sounded.

Niall had been allowed to leave the hospital, Dr. Mathis had sent him to speak with a psychiatrist who had come to an agreement with Niall that if he could reach one hundred pounds within seven days, he could continue his treatment at home. If not, he'd be admitted to a special hospital that dealt with eating disorders for a minimum of six weeks.

Louis and Zayn had been given a few instructions on how to get him to eat, they weren't to be too tough, nor too lenient, and it was absolutely crucial that they don't ever say anything to deliberately make Niall feel bad about not eating because that did more bad than good.

They weren't to leave him by himself for too long after eating, they needed to know when he was going to the bathroom and how long he was spending. They needed to make sure he wasn't making himself sick.

On top of all of that, he had to deal with the bullying issue with Liam at school. He had to have a meeting with the school principal in regards to Niall being beaten up, then had to sit through another meeting with Liam and Logan, Logan's parents and the principal.

Louis just wasn't sure he could handle it all.

He had Zayn, of course he did, but he was just one man, he wasn't a miracle worker, he couldn't just take all the problems away. He didn't know anymore than Louis did. All he could do was offer his support, and Louis wasn't even sure that would be enough.

They needed each other to get through this, and Louis was afraid Zayn would disappear like he did last time the family faced a serious issue. He was afraid Zayn would run off with Dave again, or someone else, and they'd do more than just kiss. Louis could hardly stomach the thought of it.

Bullying. That was easy, Louis had dealt with bullying throughout most of his high school years, he could handle giving Liam the support he needed.

But Louis had never had an eating disorder, he'd never known anyone who had an eating disorder; he had no clue how to approach this situation. He had all this information buzzing around his head that Dr. Mathis had given him, yet he still had no fucking clue.

Niall hadn't said much, refused to answer the question "What make you think you're fat?" every time it came up, he didn't much like engaging in casual conversation, and was always looking for ways to hide his body when around other people.

"What am I supposed to do for dinner?" Louis stressed pulling his head out of the pantry to where Zayn was stood at the counter making tea.

"Just do what you'd normally do."

"But what if it's too much for him?"

Zayn sighed softly, "Babe, everything is too much for him. It doesn't matter what you make, he'll try to avoid eating it."

Louis felt his eyes sting with tears, he blinked rapidly in attempt to stop them from falling. He felt himself being pulled against Zayn's body, and fuck he would have had this all under control, he'd have calmed himself down if Zayn hadn't hugged him. But instead he found himself crying Zayn's arms. Again.

"He's not okay now, but he's going to get better yeah? We're going to help him and then he'll be eating like a champ."

Louis laughed wetly against Zayn's body, "He used to never stop eating when he was younger."

Zayn squeezed Louis a little tighter, and Louis squeezed back, lifting his head from Zayn's chest and pressing a kiss to his lips. "It's all going to be okay." He mumbled.