Let Me Help You (Zouis)

Chapter four

"Dada! Dada did Santa come!?" Louis groaned and opened his eyes to see the boys sitting on his bed. "Dada? Santa come yet?"


"Niall, remember we didn't put our tree up? I don't think Santa would have seen us". Niall and Harry's bottom lip trembled as their eyes watered.


"But want mumma". Louis didn't know which boy to hold first to stop the tears.


"I know. But you know what?" The boys rubbed their eyes tiredly.


"What?" Louis pushed their hair back from their eyes.


"You have me, and Liam too". Louis sat up and ruffled their hair. "Come on, let's get up and have some breakfast yeah?" The boys nodded and jumped off the bed, running out the room. Louis looked to Liam's sad eyes. "Are you okay mate?"


"I'll be fine. It's just...it's the first.."


"I know. But we won't even celebrate it, okay? Actually". Louis leant down under the bed and grabbed the wrapped gift. "I got you something". Liam frowned at the wrapped mystery and looked back to Louis. "I thought it might be something you would enjoy". Liam opened the gift curiously and stared at the membership card and boxing gloves.


"Y-you got me a gym membership?" Louis nodded.


"Do you like it?"


"How much did this cost you?"


"That doesn't matter Liam".


"Yes it does! I can see the company is struggling".


"Liam, I don't want you getting hurt anymore. I promise, we're fine". Liam smiled up at Louis and hugged him tightly.


"Thank you dad".


"No problem son. Go down stairs, I'll be there in a minute". Louis grabbed his phone and frowned as he had received a text from Zayn.


Hey Lou! You busy today? Mind if I come over? - Zayn


Louis' frown deepened. He didn't want to say no to Zayn but it's not a good time. Louis quickly tells Zayn that today he should just spend the day with his boys and that he's sorry. He gets dressed and walks down the stairs to see the boys sitting at the table.


"Did you boys have a good sleep?"


"Yes dada! But tummy want food now". Louis chuckled lightly.


"I know Ni, would you boys like some pancakes?" Harry and Niall cheered happily and Liam smiled gratefully as Louis got the pan out with the mix.


"Daddy did Santa really not come this year?" Louis dropped the spatula and took a deep breath.


"I don't think so Haz".


"Why does everything bad happen to us this year daddy?" Louis could hear the sound of Harry's voice cracking and tried to hold the tears back.


"Hey Haz, do you want to go outside today and we can make a snowman? I think I saw it was snowing". Louis' shoulders dropped with relief as Liam changed the subject.


"Yes! And snow angels too!" Louis smiled and continued to make the pancakes, setting them on the table along with plates and toppings. They ate in mostly silence and got dressed in their warm gear before heading outside. They had a small snowball fight as Louis held Niall on his hip, as they all laughed, chuckled, fell over and for the first time in six months, had a good time. Liam was having a great time, laughing for the first time in months. Harry had mostly forgotten about what they had talked about that morning and Niall wouldn't stop chuckling. As for Louis, he was happy. He finally was having a good time with his boys and he couldn't have asked for anything more. Zayn texted him over fifteen times and he was beginning to get annoyed because he thought he made it perfectly clear that he wanted to spend his day with his kids. Was it really that hard to understand?


Louis had gotten Harry and Niall a movie each and Niall had insisted they all watch his so they were sitting on the lounge room floor watching Madagascar, Europe's Most Wanted. Niall was sitting on Louis' lap with his head hung lo was he had fallen asleep. Harry was sitting next to Louis with his head rested on Louis' arm also seeming to be fast asleep and Liam sitting right beside him, hogging all the popcorn. Not that Louis minded. Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Louis gently placed Niall on the floor, Harry's head resting above Niall's as he quietly made his way to open the door. He was shocked to see Zayn with bloodshot eyes, creased clothes and a tear stained face.


"Louis". Zayn's voice trembled and his eyes watered.


"Zayn? What's wrong?"


"I...it's..." Zayn let some tears drop.


"Okay, just sit on the couch and I'll put the boys to bed. I'll just be a minute". Zayn nodded and made his way to the couch as Liam glared at him. Louis carefully carried Niall up to his room, tucking him in and doing the same with Harry before grabbing a glass of water and walking back to the lounge room. "Liam, I need to talk to Zayn. Can you just go up to your room for a bit?"


"you can't be serious dad!" Louis frowned. "It's Christmas! You're meant to spend the day with family not.." He glared at Zayn again. "Not a stranger!"


"Liam, please".


"I can't believe you!" Liam ran up the stairs as Louis called out to him but jumped as Liam slammed his door.


"I-I'm s-so-s-sorry Louis". Zayn sobbed and rubbed the tears away furiously. "I-I'll g-go". He went to stand but Louis pulled him back on the couch.


"You came here for a good reason Zayn. What happened?"


"I...I saw m-my ex t-today. H-he s-said.." He took a shaky breath. "He said he wants me back b-but I refused and...he...he started to t-touch me.." Louis put the pieces together and refrained from gasping. "I-I tried to stop him but...h-he's so strong and.." Zayn squeezed his eyes shut from the memory. "I c-couldn't s-stop him".


"Zayn I'm so sorry! I didn't know".


"I'm sorry f-for ruining your day". Louis didn't know but Liam was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, listening to the entire conversation with guilt flowing through him. He didn't mean to get so angry. He was just finally having a great time with his dad and it ended too quickly. He never wanted it to end. He wiped the few tears away and quietly walked up the stairs to his room, looking at his phone. He had a lot of twitter notifications of insults. He opened twitter of course. As much as the hurtful words pained him, he still looked. The only ones that ever caught his eye was from Jack. He has brown soft hair that he just ran his hands through and smoothed it over to the side. He has soft blue eyes and a smile to die for. Liam didn't know why Jack hated him so much. But it hurt. So, he did what he's been doing the past six months. He cut himself. He had many scars scattered over his arms but he liked the pain. It was nice for him. Louis didn't have a clue on what Liam was doing. No one did. Liam didn't have any friends. He had no one. He's just a screw up. He knew he was the reason his fathers company was going down. He was the reason his mother died. He was the reason everything was messed up. That's all he ever thought about. He was no longer the freak who lost his mother at school. Now he was just the gay freak. But Louis didn't know any of this. Liam hoped he would never find out.



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Sorry I took so long!!


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