Precious (Harry Styles)

FIFTEEN

Ari arrived home dead on 5:30 that evening, feeling guilty.

The rest of the family were all sat around the kitchen table, eating dinner.

"MUMMY!" Niall jumped up and ran to the door. "Mummy you're early! You can have dinner wiv us, we just started it." He said excitedly, pulling at her arm.

"Ok love, let me take my coat off first though." She laughed. She removed her coat and followed him.

Louis looked at her, surprised that she was home so early. He got up from his seat and turned the microwave on, as she sat down between Niall and Gemma.

"No meetings tonight then?" Louis asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"No, Lou." She huffed, turning back to the children. "So what have you two done today?" She asked them, ignoring poor Harry, who sat in his highchair looking sad.

Louis put Ari's dinner down in front of her. "Don't forget Harry!" He warned her.

"I was going to him in a minute, keep your hair on!" She glared.

The older two told her all about their day, while they ate. Louis helped Harry eat his food, making sure he didn't feel left out.

They finished dinner. "How about we play a game eh kids?" Ari asked. "How about... monopoly?"

"Yeah yeah yeah!" Niall cheered, jumping up and down.

"Go to your room and set it up. I'll be there in a minute."

Niall and Gemma ran up the stairs, grabbing the game from Gemma's toy cupboard. They sat on the floor and started setting it up.

Meanwhile downstairs, Louis was not happy at all.

"You're doing it again!" He frowned as he picked Harry up from his high chair.

"Doing what?" She replied, as she made drinks for her and the other two kids.

"Ignoring him." He responded, holding Harry tight.

"No I'm not, don't be so silly. Harry can't play monopoly!" She laughed.

"Exactly my point! You could've done something that he could join in with!"

"But that's not much is it?"

"Why are you so heartless. You ignored him through dinner, and you're ignoring him now. Why?"

"I am not ignoring him. Stop saying that. Give him to me, I'll find something we can do together while playing the game!"

She pulled Harry from Louis' arms, he was reluctant to let him go, but he needed her to make this right.

"Come on Harry, let's see what those two rascals are up too shall we?" They disappeared upstairs.

Louis put the dirty plates in the dishwasher and turned it on. He made himself a cup of tea and turned on the TV. It's not often now, that he gets a bit of time to himself, so he put his feet up and skimmed through the channels, deciding on watching a game show.

Upstairs...the game was underway.

"No cheating Niall!" Gemma said as Niall jumped over her property so he didn't have to pay her any money.

"I'm not cheating Gem, I never cheat."

Ari and Gemma burst out laughing.

Poor Harry wasn't having fun though. He was sat against a wall, with a few blocks, trying, and failing to build a tower, and getting more frustrated by the minute.

Unfortunately, Ari and the older kids were so engrossed in the game, they'd forgotten about Harry.

Harry was bored, bored of the blocks, bored of being ignored.

So he decided to do a bit of exploring.

He crawled out of the bedroom, out into the hall. The stair gate was across, so he couldn't go down them. So...he headed off to his mum and dad's room.

He thought that nobody cared, except maybe his Daddy, but he didn't know where he was.

He crawled around the side of their bed and headed towards the massive wardrobe.

He looked up and banged his tiny fist on it, thinking it would open.

Of course, it didn't.

So he lay on his tummy and tried pulling it open from the underneath.

He yanked hard, as hard as a tiny three year old could, and the door flew open and hit him in the face. Harry cried quietly, rubbing his sore face.

After a minute, he sat himself up and crawled inside, pulling the door behind him.

He went to a corner and curled up under some spare blankets. He cried. He cried because he was hurt. He cried because nobody cared. He cried and cried and cried, until he fell asleep.

*****

Louis was bored. The game show he was watching had ended, and it was time for one of Harry medicines.

He got up and walked up the stairs, hearing fits of giggles coming from one of the bedrooms.

He popped his head around the door. "Sounds like you're all having fun!" He said, smiling, happy to see Ari interacting with the kids.

His heart dropped suddenly though, when he noticed Harry wasn't there.

"Ari... where's Harry?" He asked, panicking.

"He's there....oh...oh god, where's he gone?" She jumped up. "I swear he was there a minute ago!"

Everyone immediately got up and started searching, calling Harry's name.

They each took a room, hunting high and low.

Niall checked his room, Gemma her room, Ari the bathroom while Louis checked their room.

He looked under the bed, behind the curtains, eventually coming to the wardrobe. He opened the door and pulled jumpers and coats back.

There at the bottom, in a corner was Harry, fast asleep with his thumb in his mouth.

Louis scooped him up in his arms straight away, making Harry wake up.

He cried at seeing his Daddy. Louis smothered him in kisses and cuddles, his heart was pounding.

"What did you do to your head darling?" He asked. There was a big bruise forming around a small cut on his forehead.

"I've found him!" He called out as everyone raced into the room, finding Louis and Harry in tears hugging each other.

"God, I'm so sorry. Are you ok Harry?" Ari asked as she stroked his hair." Harry hid his face in Louis' chest, he was shaking.

"He'll be ok now. He needs his meds, and he's hurt himself. Look at that bruise!" Louis said as he got up, and headed downstairs.

Ari comforted the other children who were shook up from losing their brother. "I'm sorry." She said to them. "Let's go down and check he's ok."

They both nodded and they went down.

Harry was in his high chair cuddling a teddy while Louis sorted out his meds.

"I'm sorry Lou. I really thought he was there."

"It's ok." He said and carried on. "I'll give him this then I'll take him to bed." He'd already seen to the bruise, which was turning darker.

Ari left them alone. Louis administered his meds and took him back upstairs.

Harry had calmed down now, but was very clingy. He just wanted his Daddy. He had no intention of letting him go tonight.

And that's how the day ended, with Louis cuddled up to Harry.

Bit of drama there!

Is Ari really sorry?

Two updates today...go me!

All the love 💞💞💞