The Freak-Family (Zianourry)

Chapter 25

The four boys were bustling around in the kitchen on a Saturday six weeks after Niall left. They didn’t think that much about him anymore- work and school demanding occupation of their minds- but he hadn’t been completely wiped from their memory. They’d decided to not call Niall or his uncle, sparing themselves the emotional drag of living Niall’s life with him when there was nothing they could do, but they had texted one time to stress that Niall could always talk to them if he needed it. There had been doubts along the way, if what they had done was the best thing they could’ve done, because sometimes they felt bad about it. Zayn especially had troubles with it every now and again, for example whenever he’d remember details Niall had shared about his life to the policemen or how he’d clung to him in fear during their great escape.

When Louis had talked with his mother about it, asking for advice on how to comfort them, Jay had come over to assure them all of what they had done. She’d reminded them that it wasn’t normal or expected to adopt a stranger into their lives and that saving Niall alone was a heroic deed of them. It reassured them all, Louis couldn’t have been happier with his mom.

Over all, they’d been able to live a couple of normal weeks. Liam and Zayn had had a few important exams, which heightened the stress level in the house, but apart from that nothing had been out of the ordinary. Still, Zayn felt off. He hadn’t talked about it with any of the boys and didn’t think they had really noticed the past few weeks, but he felt different. He couldn’t pinpoint what was going on, but he felt weary and held back, while there was nothing that could cause him to feel that way. He’d decided to be more attentive about taking his medication and chose to not overthink it, favouring cramming for exams and cuddling with his boys.

The Saturday had started slowly, quietly, the four boys waking one by one and bustling around in the kitchen to make themselves some breakfast. They’d had a nice night together which had caused them to fall asleep rather late, so when Harry finally emerged from the bedroom, it was well past noon. Still, when the phone rang, the sound cut through the room way too loudly for any of them to bear.

Louis grunted as he lurched for the device, but answered it in his normal kind voice. Liam grinned at disinterested face in combination with the enthusiastic replies, but it faded when Louis sat upright suddenly. “Could you hold on a second? I’ll put it on speaker so the other residents can hear it too.” Zayn quickly sat back down from where he planning on leaving to get dressed, all the boys quiet and curious as Louis fumbled to push the right button. “It’s the social worker, boys.” Louis explained, placing his phone in the middle of the table.

“Yes, right, is everybody there?” The woman continued after affirmation. “It’s about Niall Horan, it’s correct you’re familiar with him?” That sparked the boys’ interest and curiosity even further, confirming again and waiting for the woman’s voice to fill the room again. “Okay, that’s great. The thing is, he’s been through a few sessions of therapy now, and his therapist has created a rough picture of him and –more importantly- in which surroundings he’ll best recover.” All the boys could feel something ominous lurking above their heads, trying to figure out where the woman was headed with her story. “It’s not that his uncle is unsuitable, but he’s not best for him. What’s best for Niall is to be somewhere with someone or multiple people that he knows and trusts and that he feels safe with. Seeing the only people he’s been in contact with lately are either his parents or you, and his parents are clearly not an option, your home would be the best location for him to recover.”

The words were out now, and neither of the boys could really tell how they’re feeling. “Niall has let us believe he felt safe in your home and from own experience I could tell he’s more responsive towards you than to anyone else.” Zayn could feel some strange something akin to pride swell in his chest at those words. “Of course you get a say in the matter, I’m merely explaining where the idea has come from. We’d really like for you to decide whether or not Niall could live with you all for an undecided amount of time.” A silence fell then, in which all the boys looked at each other with question marks in their eyes, not a clue how to feel or what to think. “Yeah, okay, um. We’d like some time to think about that, if that’s alright.” Louis eventually uttered. “Of course, of course. We appreciate that you want to consider it, please let us know as soon as you have made a decision.” “Yeah, we will.” And then the conversation was over.