Undone, Undress (Larry Stylinson)

four

"Liam, you need to tell me what happened."

"It's not mine to tell, Tommo, I said that already. Besides, I don't know the whole story."

"But he won't tell me," Louis whines, somewhat childishly as he grabs Liam's hands across the table. They're having breakfast at a coffee shop to catch up, since they haven't seen each other in a week. As soon as Liam asked about Harry, Louis' mood fell through the floor. "I'm so worried. Something is wrong."

"Have you tried asking him?"

"Of course I have, idiot. He gets defensive and cold and refuses to tell me."

"So what happened then? Why are you so worried?"

Louis looks around, paranoid someone will overhear. He's always like this now, worried he'll ruin someone else's reputation the way he ruined his own. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Liam looks offended Louis would even suggest that. "Of course not."

"You have to promise."

"I do, I promise I won't tell," Liam agrees, linking his pinkie with Louis' and giving him a squeeze.

"Okay, well..." Louis decides to just go for it and get it all out at once. "On Friday night I'm exhausted so I fall asleep on the couch, yeah? And then I wake up at four-fucking-AM because someone is crying. And I see Harry halfway to his room so I ask him if he's okay but he doesn't say anything. And fuck... Li, there were bruises all over his face. Like he got in a fight and lost or something. So then I'm holding him on the couch as he sobs into my shoulder until he falls asleep. Then the next day he doesn't say shit about it and when I ask him he gets pissed."

Liam looks concerned, but collected as he always is. Liam's calmness soothes the anxiety thrumming in Louis' veins, allowing his heart to calm down a little. It isn't enough. He jitters in his seat, unable to sit still, knee bouncing up and down incessantly, fingers tapping a quiet beat on the table top.

"Did he tell you anything?"

"Yesterday after he got really pissed at me he said he was visiting his boyfriend."

"Fuck. You mean his ex?"

"No, he said his boyfriend. Not his ex. So not only am I worried about him but I'm also so fucking confused."

Liam fiddles with his napkin, tearing off small pieces from the corner and folding them into tiny squares. "I don't know much about his ex because he never told me a thing, really. Especially after they broke up. But if they're back together... God, I don't know. They were so bad together, Lou. The guy was a total jackass. So controlling and just, like, mean to Harry. Super pissy and possessive."

"What do you mean?"

Liam sighs. "Like, he never wanted Harry to be anywhere when it wasn't with him, but I always thought Harry kind of liked that sort of attention. Like, to be needed by someone. He didn't mind that he could only go out if the bastard went with him. I dunno. The entire situation was fucked up."

Liam doesn't swear often; it's bad for his image as the calm, collected, reasonable person he is. The uncommon vocabulary makes Louis swallow hard, nervous, fingers trembling against his cup of tea. "But they broke up?"

"Yeah, about a month ago. Harry calls me crying saying he doesn't have a place to stay and he doesn't know where to go, so I tell him he can stay with me until he finds somewhere else. You know how busy I am with school, though; I didn't have time to babysit him. The past month we haven't seen each other much, but I'm one of his closest friends I guess. He doesn't tell me shit though. I just know he like, gets these nightmares?"

Louis' fingers stop tapping on the table. "Nightmares?"

"I'd hear him moaning and crying and I'd go in to shake him out of it. He always told me it was fine but I knew something wasn't right. I mean, it's obviously not normal. But he's had a lot of ...hurt in his lifetime, I guess. Lots of shit he doesn't deserve."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I always hear shit about his parents. He was adopted, you know? Shit like that always happens. I'm not sure if there was any physical abuse, but they definitely didn't love him as much as they should've. I don't think he's in contact with them anymore, which I guess is a good thing."

"Physical abuse," Louis echoes, staring dazedly at the table and thinking of the injuries defacing Harry's skin. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?"

"Be there for him, I guess. Try to talk to him. Maybe not about this, but about other things. God knows he needs more friends."

"Fuck. I'm so worried."

"I know. He doesn't deserve this shit."

"I should go. I'm gonna... I don't know. I'm gonna try to talk to him again."

Liam smiles reassuringly, gathering up his things as well. "Good luck."