Mind Me (Larry Stylinson)

Chapter sixty-eight

"I'm going to miss having you both around so much," Anne breathes out, and Harry smiles to her sadly.

He knows how much his mum loves company, and he feels bad that they are leaving. Since his dad left, or was kicked out rather, Anne struggled with being alone with just Gemma and Harry, but she never let them know that.

It was only when Gemma moved out that Harry began to notice how much more Anne would start working. He now understands that it was because she was distracted, she didn't allow herself enough time to remember how quiet the house had become.

When Harry left the house, on quite bad terms with everyone due to his regretful past, he knows that that would have knocked Anne out of place that bit more. She was never one to be alone, and he can't imagine that things are much different now.

"We'll come visit, mum," Harry reminds with a friendly smile. "I mean it. There won't be a repeat of the past few years. And you've our address and numbers now too, yeah?"

"Yeah," Anne nods with a small wave of her hand, brushing Harry's words aside because she knows that he's worrying for her.

Harry and Louis are followed to the front door by Harry's mum, Harry leaving the surprisingly heavy suitcase outside the door to free his hands. He pulls Anne in for one final hug before kissing her cheek.

"Love you, mum. It's been really good to be back home again. I missed you," he mumbles quietly to her. He feels like he's a seven year old boy all over again, when it was just himself, Anne and Gemma. Even through his adolescent years, up until he began going off the rails due to the wrong crowd, he was always unbelievably close with his mum. Much closer than a typical mother and son, and that was because of the lack of a second parent in Harry's life.

After a few more exchanged words, most of which being from Anne reminding them both to visit, Harry hauls their bag into the boot of the car before sitting into the driver's seat, Louis climbing in beside him.

The drive home is long, but neither of them mind. Nearly the whole drive home consists of the pair of them discussing everything and anything between themselves, but there is one question that catches Harry off guard.

"Do you know your dad?"

[TW: very brief mention of SA]

Harry's hands unintentionally tighten around the steering wheel while he throws a quick glance over towards Louis. He has been waiting for this question to be asked, and honestly, he's surprised that it took so long for Louis to ask.

"Yeah, I do," Harry admits before sighing, and Louis can tell by the tone of Harry's voice that he isn't exactly happy to know his father.

"What's his name?" Louis pushes, hoping to find out more because Harry isn't willingly giving him answers.

"Babe, you really don't need to know anything about him because you'll never meet him. I haven't seen him since mum kicked him out and that was when I was eleven. I want nothing to ever do with him again and trust me, you don't want to know him."

Louis rests the side of his face back against the seat while he watches Harry speak, growing more and more confused with each word he says, but one thing is certain. Whoever Harry's dad is, he did something truly terrible.

"Tell me, daddy," Louis encourages, reaching across to place his hand against Harry's arm lightly.

Harry moves a hand from gripping the steering wheel to wipe over his face, tossing his hair over head forward before he drags his fingers back through it and pushes it out of the way.

"He was abusive. Hit my mum, Gemma and I. It was only when he abused Gem that mum actually got the courage to divorce him and kick him out of the house. She was too afraid up until then, but he over stepped a line when the abuse got worse," Harry explains, his eyes never leaving the front windscreen while he speaks.