Warning!!! This chapter contains lots of violence and swearing. If that's not your thing, I suggest not reading!!
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Recap (Niall's POV):
Liam crouches down beside me. He takes in Louis' condition. His shirtless torso is covered in scrapes and scratches, dirt and grime mixed with sweat. Bruises litter his innocent skin, turning it dark blue and black. His blood, a murky red, is splashed over his arms, hands, legs, back. Liam has to look away. He clamps a hand over his mouth and I can see his brain trying to process it all.
And then the strongest man I know breaks down. A muffled sob cuts through the thick silence and Liam collapses to the ground beside me. His hands move to his hair and grip it tightly, and his face twists through a series of emotions I never thought he would ever experience. Distress, stupor, anger.
Tears pour out of his eyes and he begins hysterically crying, completely loosing his ability to contain himself. His wails of distress echo off the cold, metal walls, sounding ten times worse.
I wrap my arms around him and pull him to me.
"It's going to be ok," I whisper against his knotted hair.
"This isn't fair!" He surprises me by exclaiming. "No-body should t-treat someone l-like this!"
"I know. I know. What Richard did to Louis was awful, inexcusable. But we found Louis, and he will be ok. We found Colby, too!" I tell Liam.
He nods his head and wipes the tears off his cheeks. "Louis will be ok," he repeats to himself.
And in that moment I realize how our usual roles had switched. I'm usually the one in distress, needing Liam to comfort me. But here he is, needing my shoulder to cry on. And I'm happy to give it.
Then something shifts within Liam, I can feel the air thicken around us.
"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch." His voice is low, threatening.
"What?" I'm confused.
"Richard. I'm going to fucking kill him."
Is he serious? He just had a complete mental breakdown, and now he's threatening to kill Richard? I'm worried for Liam's mental stability.
"Liam, I'm not sure that's the right way to approach this..."
"Damn right it is." He suddenly pulls away from my embrace to stare at me. His hard stare nearly burns a hole through my face. "Richard nearly killed Louis, so I'm going to kill him."
"Liam-" I start.
"Don't tell me what to do, Niall. I know it sounds tempting to you, too."
I remain silent because as much as I feel sick with myself, it was tempting. To get back at Richard for all the pain he's caused us.
"I want Richard to know exactly how he made Louis feel. I want him to feel the way Louis did."
I nod my head slowly, letting his words seep in. But as much as I agree, something within myself stops me from saying so. Richard is a human being, despite how utterly messed up he is, he's still human. And it isn't right to do to him what he did to Louis. That makes us no better than him.
"I don't know if I can do that," I say, barely above a whisper.
"I'm about done with this shit," Liam announces. He stands up and stalks away, out the door.
So much for comforting him.
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Liam's POV
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