In Front Of A Camera

• chapter nineteen •

"I should probably call Mitch to come pick me up," Harry said after about an hour. "I wanna stay longer but it'll seem suspicious."

Louis nodded, he hated that they had to be this secret, and sneak around. He understood why though, and tried to be as supportive as he could. "Okay love," Louis kissed his cheek sadly, and handed Harry his phone to use.

When Mitch arrived, Harry got up and squeezed Louis' hand. "Soon we'll have no more goodbyes okay? I just have to figure out this baby situation, and then I'm done with him."

Louis nodded, squeezing his hand back. "I love you, I hope I can see you soon."

"Me too..." Harry whispered, holding back his tears as he walked out the door, unsure of when he'd see him next.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Mitch asked as Harry got into the car.

"It went good," Harry sighed, "I just wish I could stay. I was so close to being ready to leave Liam, so close. But now there's Everleigh and I can't just leave her there."

"I'm sorry H," Mitch put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here for ya, and we can get this figured out okay?"

Harry nodded sadly, "thanks Mitch. I really appreciate everything you're doing for me."

"It's not a problem, you're my friend. That's what friends do." Mitch replied, and then passed the phone he'd been holding in his hand over to Harry. "This is for you, I got it while you were with Louis. It's on my phone plan, so Liam won't see anything... I really don't feel like it's safe for you to be without a phone and I guarantee Louis feels the same."

Tears welled up in Harry's eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day, "you really got this for me?" His voice was trembling as he powered on the phone.

"Yep," he smiled.

Harry was happy, and so relieved to have access to a phone again. He knew it'd be a bit tricky keeping it from Liam, but he was determined to make it work.

•

Harry walked into the house and was immediately hit with the sound of Everleigh's cries. As he closed the door behind himself, he also heard the shower running. He rolled his eyes, so irritated with Liam right now.

He walked into the nursery they'd put together over the last few weeks, and found her in her crib just crying her little eyes out, and it was obvious that within the hour or two that Liam had been home, he hadn't changed her. Harry didn't even know if he'd done anything with her.

"Oh sweet girl..." he gently picked her up, "did daddy leave you all alone in here? I'm so sorry baby." He held her against his chest, bouncing lightly while rubbing her back.

Her crying died down pretty quickly, the infant was growing pretty attached to Harry. He was basically her only caretaker, and was becoming a parental figure to her.

"Alright let's change your bum hm?" Harry patted her diapered bum lightly, and carried her over to the changing table.

The poor thing was starting to get a rash, so Harry made a mental note to talk to Liam about not changing her. It was unacceptable.

After she was all fresh and changed, he carried her to the kitchen to make her a warm bottle. He was getting a hang of 'parenting' even though he still felt like he was doing a horrible job with it.

Once her bottle was made, he carried her to the living room and sat down on the recliner to feed her. His own stomach was grumbling and hungry, but he didn't think about that right now. She was his priority.

He stared down at her with a soft smile, stroking her little cheek with his finger as she suckled on the bottle.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't growing attached to her too.

•

It was around 9 pm, Everleigh was asleep in her crib and Liam had just left to go meet up with some guy, leaving Harry by himself. It wasn't anything new, he spent so much time alone, but that night he was just feeling a little extra lonely.

He smiled a little though, when he remembered that he had a phone now, and pulled it out, sending a text to Louis.

H: Hey Lou:) it's Haz, Mitch got me this phone. Now we can talk more!

He had butterflies in his tummy, waiting for a response. He'd been talking to Louis for such a long time now, but little things like this still never failed to give him butterflies.

He waited and waited, minutes turning to hours as he waited for a response. It was nearly midnight now and he was starting to get a little nervous, overthinking everything. He didn't want to annoy Louis, but he was also pretty anxious, so he decided to call him.

Still no answer.

He tried once more, and then left him a voicemail, hoping that he hadn't done something wrong and lost him.

He knew he was probably being a little dramatic, but having dated someone like Liam, his fears were completely valid.

•

Louis awoke on the couch, feeling a little sore because he hardly ever slept anywhere that wasn't his bed. He took a moment to register his surroundings and rubbed his eyes, it was dark out.

He glanced at his phone, seeing it was 3 am he realized that his little cat nap he'd decided to take after Harry left, had lasted quite a bit longer than he'd intended. He'd just been so tired.

The second thing he noticed on his screen below the time, was the notifications. Immediately he clicked on the voicemail.

Hey Lou, it's me. Sorry to bother you, I was just wanting to make sure you're alright. I'm sorry if I've done anything to upset you, and you don't have to talk to me anymore if you don't want to, but could you please send me a text just to let me know you're okay? I love you lots.

Harry.

Louis quickly sent a text back, feeling so much guilt. He hadn't meant to worry Harry, and he really hoped he wasn't too upset or worried.

L: Hey- sorry I totally crashed right after you left. Meant to take a short nap but I just woke up. No need to worry, I'm okay, just exhausted:) love you too. Sleep well baby.

And with that, he rolled over and went back to sleep, Harry filling his dreams of course.

Hey!! Not sure how I feel about this chapter, definitely had some writers block but anyway, there it is:) have a good day or night!
-💛stella