One Direction Preferences Book 2

328. He comforts you when a family member dies

LIAM:  Your jaw is slack and your limbs go weak as the phone rolls out of your hand and onto the bed.  Immediately concerned, Liam props himself up.  "That conversation didn't sound good.  What's going on?"  Stunned by the news you'd just received, you burst into tears.  "[Y/N], [Y/N], what is it?  What's going on?" Liam asks, desperate to know what's causing you so much distress, as he scootches closer to you and drapes an arm around you.  "It's...it's my mom," you blubber out through your sobs.  "What about your mom?  Is she ok?"  You choke on your sobs in response, unable to say the words.  That's all the answer Liam needs.  He holds you tightly, not saying another word.  He continues to hold you, rocking you gently until you're all cried out.  He lays with you for hours, never loosening his grip on you, until finally you break the deafening silence.  "She's gone," you state simply.  "She's gone, and she's never coming back," your voice cracks again on the last few words as a fresh batch of tears well up in your eyes.  "Shhh, baby, it's ok.  We'll get through this."  You feel drops of tears hit your face and you realize that Liam is now crying, mourning with you.

LOUIS:  "Baby, you'll never guess what happened at the studio today!" Louis' voice fills the house as he enters the door.  "Me and Harry were shooting each other with Nerf guns and then-" he stops dead in his tracks upon entering the living room and seeing you sitting on the couch, hugging your knees to your chest, eyes red and blotchy from crying.  "What's going on?  What happened?" his tone instantly goes from light and airy to one of concern.  You sniffle and clear your throat, trying to hold back the tears that are forcing themselves out.  "My uh," you clear your throat again, "my uncle passed away this morning," you explain, your lip trembling as you continue to try to fight off the oncoming tears.  "Oh my God.  Baby, I'm so sorry," he says coming to sit next to you and wrap you in a hug.  "It's ok.  He's been sick for a while, we knew it was coming eventually," you attempt to put on a brave face.  "That doesn't change the pain you feel from missing him," Louis says, and you finally allow yourself to breakdown once again.  "I know.  I know it doesn't.  I miss him so much, Louis," you sob into his chest.  "I know, baby.  Let it all out," he soothes, stroking his hand over your hair and rocking you softly.

ZAYN:  You'd managed to keep from crying all day.  You'd been crying enough the last few days and you wanted to maintain a brave front on this day.  You'd made it through the funeral tear-free, but you're struggling to keep your composure at the cemetary.  As the kind words are spoken about your grandfather - by someone who never even had the pleasure of knowing him, no less - you lose it.  All at once, you go from stoic and stone-faced to a crumpled mess.  Zayn had been keeping his arm around your shoulders throughout the entire ceremony, and in reaction to your sobs, pulls you into his chest, wrapping his other arm around you too.  You sob into his chest, no doubt ruining his shirt, but he pays no mind.  He just holds you, being the strength and support you need at a time when you can't bear to be strong any more.

NIALL: Waking up in the middle of the night, Niall rolls over in the bed to find you're not there.  Curious, he gets out of bed to go look for you.  He finds you in the almost completely dark living room - the only light coming from a small desk lamp.  He hears you sniffle as he comes down the stairs.  "Babe?  What's the matter?"  You jump slightly, startled by his sudden presence.  You turn to him, swiping away the tears from your cheeks.  "Nothing," you tell him.  "Well, something's bothering you," he states firmly.  "It's silly really."  "There's nothing silly about it if it has you this upset."  He moves to join you on the couch and that's when he notices the picture frame in your hands.  He gently takes it from you and immediately recognizes it as the picture of your long-deceased grandparents that is ordinarily hanging on the living room wall.  He gives you a questioning look.  You laugh slightly.  "I told you, it's silly."  "I just don't understand..."  "I never knew my grandmother.  She died before I was born, and sometimes it really bothers me that I never had the chance to know her and make memories with her the way my older cousins did," you admit as another tear trickles down your cheek.  Niall reaches up and wipes it away for you.  "That's not silly at all," he tells you earnestly.  He takes you in his arms as you continue to grieve the grandmother you never had the chance to know, until the two of you fall asleep on the couch and remain there the rest of the night.

HARRY: "Alright, we got the flowers, so I think now it's just a matter of getting the food organized and then everything should be all set," you rattle off, speaking as though you are planning for a party.  "Baby, why don't you let someone else handle something for a while?" Harry asks you gently.  "No, it's fine.  It's just easier if I do it."  "Babe," Harry says so firmly that his tone has you stopping dead in your tracks.  He stands in front of you, holding you by the arms so you can't just walk away from him, forcing you to listen.  "It's been two whole days since your dad passed and you haven't reacted at all."  "Sure I have.  I have everything all set for the wake, funeral, and reception afterwards.  Well, everything other than the food," you amend, defending yourself against Harry's accusations.  "No, I mean you haven't let yourself just feel it.  I know you weren't exactly close with your dad, but this has to be affecting you."  You jerk out of his grasp.  "Don't tell me how to feel, Harry.  You don't know anything about my situation with my dad," you spit angrily.  "I know that people need to grieve a loss, and that you haven't allowed yourself to do that yet."  A lump forms in your throat at his words and you storm off to the bathroom, slamming the door behind you.  There, in the quiet solidarity of the bathroom, you let yourself feel the pain of the loss.  Your sobs come out in heavy, choking gasps.  Harry hears this, and quietly opens the door to poke his head in to check on you.  When you don't protest his presence, he enters the room fully and sits down on the floor next to you, scooping you into his arms and holding you close.  "This is what you need to do right now, baby.  I'll take care of getting the food organized."  Too choked up to form a response, you just pull yourself tighter into his embrace and cry until your eyes have run dry.