St. Ambrose Mental Health and Rehabilitation Center //// AU LiLo

Chapter 42: Call Me a Stranger

Louis was blitzed. He'd been clean for a long time, and while he knew not to take as much as he was hitting before rehab, he still wound up shooting a little too much. When he woke up, he was slumped over in the alley, half frozen and still high. The problem was that the initial rush from the heroin was over, and now that Louis wasn't passing out and could function again, he could think as well. Naturally, his thoughts were with Liam.

Liam was freaking out. He knew he'd hurt Louis by admitting the real reason why he panicked, but weren't they always supposed to be honest with each other? Louis had just walked out without a word, though, and Liam wasn't expecting that. He was expecting Louis to yell, swear, and maybe throw something. Instead, Louis had just left him standing there and as much as Liam wanted to go after him, he thought it might be best to give the lad some time alone to gather his feelings. After four hours, when Louis hadn't returned, Liam went out to look for him.

"Have you seen Louis?" Liam asks sheepishly, now in Zayn's room after not finding Louis at the pitch or on the roof.

"Not since we were all at Group this morning," Zayn answers cautiously, not sure what response Liam was looking for and whether he'd get unreasonably upset like earlier.

Liam picks up on his hesitation. "Sorry about before, mate, it was uncalled for. I've been having problems with Louis, and I took it out on you. I know that was a pretty shit thing to do.'

"Don't worry about it Liam," Zayn shrugs it off. "Did you work it out with Lou?"

"No," Liam sighs deeply, walking into the room and slumping down on his bed. "I just made things worse and he took off, hasn't been back for hours."

"He'll turn up when he's ready, he always does."

"I'm not so sure, I really hurt him this time."

"I thought Louis was the one that screwed up," Zayn says, narrowing his eyes. "He's been going around looking guilty for days."

"It wasn't his fault," Liam says cryptically, refusing to expound.

"Have you checked the pitch, the roof?"

"Before I came here," Liam responds sadly.

"Sit tight, then," Zayn says. "When he wants to talk to you he will."

Louis was freezing. He'd only grabbed a tshirt on his way out of his room, and the cold November wind was ripping right through it, despite the drugs burning him from the inside out. Six hours gone and he was finally starting to come down, it was already a miserable crash. He wanted to curl up and die, feeling crushed by the guilt of slipping and the heavy sorrow in his heart from his fight with Liam. Liam. Liam was all he wanted, to be wrapped in Liam's arms, to have Liam's lips pressed into his hair. Louis forced himself up on shaky, unsteady legs, whipping the tears from his eyes. He was shivering, but he couldn't tell if it was from the bitter cold or from the drugs starting to leave his system. He didn't want to show up at the center still stoned, but he wanted Liam, and he wouldn't be completely down by the time he got back. He hoped Liam still loved him after seeing this; he still loved Liam even though Liam wanted to be straight.

Liam shot up from his reclined position on his bed when the door swung open, the other lads in the room falling silent as all of their eyes fell on Louis, standing in the doorway.

"I-I h-h-haven't been g-gone that l-long," Louis stutters out, teeth still chattering uncontrollably.

"You're freezing Lou," Harry says, springing up from the desk chair he was occupying and rushing over to Louis with the blanket from Zayn's bed. "Where the hell have you been?"