Animal

38

Louis stayed locked in their en-suite bathroom until Niall came around with their possessions he'd kept. His shivers stopped and his chest stopped thumping unsteadily. He swallowed the scared lump in his throat and breathed deeply because he was home now and nothing was going to get to him and his baby.

Harry sat leaning against the wooden door while he tried with all his words to coax Louis out of his hiding, still bare and uncaring.

"Lou, baby." His head thumped against the door. "Are you hurt?"

There's a soft sniffling noise and Louis wipes his last tears with some tissues from the bathroom counter. He isn't hurt. Harry fusses with the doorknob until he realises that the abrupt metallic noise frightens Louis. He grumbles irritably and slams his fist against the wall out of anger.

"Do you want to stay inside there?" Harry tries to hide the gritting of his teeth and just how foul his words are meant to be. He hates this separation.

"J-Just for a-a little while, pl-please." Louis replies shakily from the other side.

"Fine." Harry declares in a grunt. "I'm staying here until you come out."

Louis sits on the toilet with a closed lid, rubbing a small palm over his baby bump and staring at his reflection in the mirror.

He felt sick. His chest was heaving like a belt kept tightening around his ribcage with each breath, his head was a little heavy and his eyes burned from the hot tears rolling down his face. Tissue fibres stuck to his cheeks and lips from where he'd wiped his tears off his cheeks and saliva off his mouth.

Not wanting to disappoint Harry proved to be an even worse decision, because now he felt like the world was too small. The walls to their apartment were too close together and the dust particles were lingering just above his head. The air was too thick and his nausea was picking up again.

"Lou?" Harry called again, sounding a lot calmer and less frightening to Louis now.

Louis pulls his very loose T-shirt over his behind and kept the cold toilet porcelain from making his bum fall asleep.

"Baby. I-I'm sorry." Harry wasn't crying, but he sounded like he was close to doing so. "I should never have pushed you, or let you push yourself. Of all people in the world, I'm supposed to understand what you're going through."

Louis didn't feel guilty. He couldn't point fingers at either of them because both of them were at fault. His little fingers worked to tear his tissue apart.

"Let me in please." He asked again, getting closer to bordering on a command.

The boy is about to get up and unlock the door because he's afraid of making Harry just edgier with anger. They've both been to the edge and back way too many times this past month. As much as Louis wants to rebel and just stay in here with a big point to prove, Bean was getting rumbly with hunger.

He bravely walks up to the door and prepares to open it because Harry's not going to hurt him once there are no barriers between them. His reason for not wanting sex is valid, and they're both going to have to handle that until he's feeling secure again.

"Louis." A voice hisses. It's undoubtedly Harry's, but where's Harry's controlled demeanour and supportive tone?

"Yes?" He finds himself compelled to answer. He doesn't want to make Harry angry, because despite his harmlessness Harry is scary when he's angry.

"Do you plan on coming out, love?" It's too sweet now, and Louis retracts his hand from the doorknob.

"J-Just....uh- washing up." He lies. Lame.