SOLITUDE

Chapter Eleven

Louis didn't speak at all. Not in the car, when Zayn clung onto his hand, when they drove away from the house, not when they got to the flat and received a weird look from Niall and a 'where's Harry?', not even when they tried to shove food into his mouth. He didn't speak before he went to bed, not when he spent the whole night staring at the ceiling with wide eyes, not in the morning when Niall woke him up with a gentle pat on the shoulder and a 'it's gonna be okay, man,'. He didn't speak at all, overall.

So when the three boys sat on the sofa, Niall trying to keep himself as far away from Zayn and Louis as possible, his own thoughts clouding up his brain, and Louis hopelessly stuck between the two, it felt different. Especially when Louis spoke.

"We left him there," He stated, glancing at Zayn with the corner of his eye. Judging him, clearly wanting to scream out that you did it, it's your fault.

But it wasn't Zayn's fault. Zayn only tried to help.

"I'm sorry," Zayn repeated for the fifth time that day, his eyes fixed on his own lap.

"Zayn, don't blame yourself," Niall whispered, and Zayn nodded a little, not daring to smile at the Irish boy's kindness, when Louis' cold glare was fixed on him. "It wasn't anyone's fau- well, Harry's dad..."

Louis flinched a little, his stomach oddly unsettled and his heart beating fast, his palms warm and sweaty and he took a deep breath. "I can't believe this is actually happening,"

"Why did you leave him?" Niall said softly, his eyes shining when he met Zayn's gaze.

"I didn't-"

"It's his fault! It's all his fault, he made me leave, he pulled me-" Louis spoke up, suddenly feeling a sudden rush of confidence, but he felt his mouth shut when he saw the sad look on Zayn's face. "I'm sorry,"

"I shouldn't have..." Zayn swallowed, his eyes meeting Louis' and the blue orbs softened instantly. "We should have called the police. I'm so stupid- I'm so sorry, Louis. What if-"

"No what ifs," Niall spat, cutting Zayn off. "No what ifs, okay? Let's not come to conclusions when we don't know anything. For all we know, he might have ran away. He did, before, right? He ran away, that's why he was homeless. Yeah?"

Everything clicked into place inside of Louis' brain. Obviously, how could he be so stupid. Obviously he ran away from his father, because of something, that something being his father beating the life out of him for whatever reason. Louis felt his breath catch in his throat as he sprung up from the sofa. "Oh my god,"

"We need to go there," Zayn said, standing up himself and lacing his fingers with Louis', their eyes meeting again. "We need to, Louis. He's still there. I know he is. You need him. He needs you."

-

"Why did you leave him there? How did you even get there?" Niall said again when they piled into the car, Zayn behind the steering wheel, Niall beside him, and Louis in the back, his knees pulled up so that his chin rested on them, his eyes staring into the distance. "Not safe," Niall had muttered, but Louis just shrugged, brushing the comment off.

Zayn dug his teeth into his bottom lip, pulling on it gently, in thought. "I live next doors, you know. I obviously... didn't know about Harry's dad - I don't really communicate with my neighbours,"

Louis looked up at the comment, his eyes fixing on Zayn and his quiff and his soft brown eyes, and he suddenly felt a pang of guilt in his heart.

"I heard glass smashing," Zayn continued, and Louis recalled the memory of Harry pushing the glass of the window, the loud noise of it smashing into a million pieces on the ground, and the tears welled up in his eyes. Harry. Who was perfectly safe in his arms just yesterday. "So obviously I investigated, being the person I am. The door was open, so I just walked in, you know? Went upstairs when I heard whimpers and crap, and so I found Harry and Louis and uh, Harry's father."