More Than You Know [l.s.] ✓

Chapter 22

For the rest of the weekend, Louis went stealth. He turned his phone off so he didn't have to talk to anyone. Wallowing was all he felt like doing, but anytime he got too still and quiet, he was tempted to power on his phone and see if Harry had texted him. He didn't think Harry would after what happened. He'd told Harry he needed time, so what would Harry have to say to him anyway?

When laying in bed feeling sorry for himself didn't work, he got up and decided he needed to be out, thinking this through and not cooped up in his tiny flat.  He went to the park and spent the majority of his morning there, kicking his football into the empty goal over and over. He went to the cinema and saw a movie alone, which was a first for him. Anything he could think of to stay busy, he was doing. Though he must be somewhat of a sadist when he went to the grocery store and bought a cupcake pan and a boxed cake mix along with the ingredients when he remembered Harry mentioning teaching him how to make cupcakes.

He was a sap, clearly and his cupcakes were the ugliest things he'd ever seen, though in his defense, they didn't taste that bad. He didn't think to get baking cups so he had to try to maneuver them out of the tins without them falling apart, which was a fail. Half of his cupcakes had chunks taken out of the sides where he couldn't get them cleanly out. The green icing he'd definitely didn't choose to make because it matched Harry's eyes was smattered unevenly across the top. So they were sad and pathetic, but so was Louis which made him kind of love them for that.

He had eaten three of them in a row.

Today, he's put the rest of them on a plate to carry to work, wanting to get them the hell out of his place before he can devour them and have it go straight to his ass.

Going to work is the last thing he wants to do. He'd thought about calling in, but there's nothing else he can really spend the day doing. At least work will keep him busy, as long as he didn't run into Harry which is what he's afraid of.

Walking into Hudson Towers this evening, he heads towards the front desk, sneakily cutting his eyes around the lobby to make sure Harry isn't here. Calvin stands up and salutes him when he gets to the desk.

"Alright, boss. I'm out of here." Calvin grabs his coat from the back of the chair and pauses when he sees Louis' sit the plate of massacred cupcakes down on the desk top. "What the hell is that?"

"Cupcakes. Do you want one?"

"Looks like someone already ate them and spit them back out."

"Fuck off," Louis jokes half heartedly, rolling his eyes as he plops down in the chair. 

Calvin must notice something is off because he asks, "Louis, you sure you're alright man?"

"Yeah, just.. tired. Go on and enjoy your day." Louis waves Calvin off and tries to perk up and at least give him a half smile. Lucky for him, Calvin listens to him for once and makes his way to the exit.

Even playing solitaire doesn't sound appealing to him right now. He could scroll through Instagram, but he'd left his phone powered off and at home again, still a little terrified of having to deal with whatever could be on it. He puts his face in his palms, rubbing his fingers over his eyes.

The sound of heavy boots smacking against the floor draw his attention. He looks towards the entryway where the lifts are sees Zayn stomping towards him angrily. Not that he's afraid of Zayn but he doesn't want to be seated if Zayn starts swinging so he stands. When Zayn gets to his desk, he smacks both his palms against the top.

"What the fuck did I tell you? I told you not to hurt him," Zayn scolds.

"I didn't mean to hurt him. I'm hurting too, you know. Please lower your tone in here," Louis tries to reason with him, not wanting him to cause a scene at his work.