Slipping Away (A Larry Stylinson FanFic)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Harry awoke the next morning with a dead arm and a face full of hair. He groaned and pushed the hair out of his face. He looked down to see Katie sleeping peacefully as she curled up into his chest. He gently rubbed her back before noticing that Adaley was nowhere to be found. He carefully slid from underneath Katie and padded his was down the stairs. He smiled to himself when he heard Adaley's giggles coming from the kitchen. When Adaley saw him she grinned happily.

"Morning Mr. Harry!" she said excitedly and Harry chuckled.

"Morning Ada." He hummed and walked over, kissing his mother on the cheek. "Morning Mum." He said softly and Anne smiled.

"G'morning sweetie." She said softly and handed him a plate stacked with pancakes. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her mother.

"I helped make breakfast, Mr. Harry. Ms. Anne taught me how to stir the batter!" Adaley said proudly and Harry gave her a loving smile.

"I'm sure everything is delicious." He said as he sat down, eagerly diving into the pancakes. Anne rolled her eyes before looking at Adaley.

"Remember what I told you that you can call me?" Anne asked Adaley softly and the little girl blushed, nodding slightly. Harry raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to ask but Gemma stopped him before he could start.

"Good morning my beautiful family!" she said happily. She walked over and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and then gave Adaley one, causing her to giggle. She sat down in front of Harry with a plate of her own. Anne shook her head and went back to talking softly with Adaley. Harry zoned out as he slowly chewed his pancakes, thinking to himself about what he was going to do that day. He jumped slightly when he felt a tap on his arm. He looked down to see a smiling Adaley.

"Yeah?' he asked as he watched Adaley fidget with her shirt. The little girl gave him a shy smile.

"Nonna wants to take me, Mommy, and Aunt Gems shopping today for a girl's day." She said softly and Harry gave her a confused look.

"Nonna?" he asked and Anne stepped over, gently rubbing Adaley's back.

"I told her that I didn't want her calling me Ms. Anne and Gemma didn't want to be called Ms. Gemma so I told her she can call me Nonna like you used to call my mum." She said softly and Harry nodded, smiling down at the little girl. "And Gemma wanted to be known as Aunt Gems. Robin told Adaley to call him Pada." Harry nodded again before taking the last bite of his food. He sat back and rubbed his stomach.

"The food was amazing. Thank you Ada and Mum." He said and kissed both of them on the cheek. "Why don't you go wake up your mum?" he suggested and Adaley nodded, jumping down and running up the stairs. When Harry was sure she was out of earshot he looked over at him mother.

"What?" she asked as she started to clean up the dishes. Harry gave her a small smile before he spoke.

"Thank you." He whispered and Anne gave him a strange look. "Thank you for taking them in and treating them like family." He murmured and she nodded. "They don't really have anyone back in America. They have Katie's brother Terrance but that's it." Anne gave him a sad smile.

"Even after this hiding is done Katie will always have Gemma, Robin, and I. If they need a vacation they're always welcome here." She said with and smile and kissed her son's head. "I'm taking them all out shopping today because I want to get to know Adaley and Katie personally. I don't want to just see them as your beard. I want to know them and see them as two individual and beautiful girls." She explained and Harry gave her a huge smile.

"You'll love them, honestly. Katie reminds me of you. She's so loving but she's definitely got a fighter side in her." He said fondly and Anne squeezed his shoulders.

"Well I can't wait to see that side for myself." She said softly and kissed his cheek. She finished up her dishes before telling Harry that she was going upstairs to get ready. As soon as his mother disappeared Gemma turned to Harry and narrowed her eyes.

"When do you plan on telling me why you're using Katie as a beard?" she asked.

"I-it's hard to talk about." Harry stuttered and Gemma sighed. "I promise I'll tell you." He mumbled and Gemma shook her head.

"Tonight you and I are doing what we did when we were younger." She said and Harry groaned.

"Gems. I'm not seven or worried about Mum and Da's divorce." He grumbled and Gemma smacked the back of his head, causing him to whine.

"I don't care what you say. Tonight after everyone goes to bed I want you to come to my room." She said and stared Harry down until he finally agreed. She gave him a peck on the cheek before she disappeared up the stairs. An hour later the girls were all biding Harry a goodbye as the disappeared out the door and into Anne's car. Harry shut the door behind them and turned around, sighing quietly. He started to wander around his childhood home. His fingers danced over the old worn furniture and his eyes gazed at the family photos that adorned every wall and shelf space. He took a deep breath and he noticed that different smell danced around him. First he smelled vanilla from pancakes earlier in the morning. Second sent that caught his attention as a faint trace of Robin's clone. He followed his nose to the chair his stepfather sat in every day since they'd bought it. He smiled at the old worn material that was hiding beneath a blanket that his Nonna had made right before she passed away. Next he smelled lilacs and a small smile grew on his face. Lilac were his mother's favourite flowers and scent. Whenever he smelled lilacs he instantly thought of his mother. He followed the scent to the small vase of lilacs and baby's-breath sitting on top of the TV. He leaned forward and inhaled deeply, letting memories flow through his mind. He looked down at the worn rug that he and his sister had spent many rainy afternoons playing on. He remembered fondly the day his sister was babysitting him while Anne was at work. Their mother had come home early as a surprise and found a young Harry sitting on the couch in one of Gemma's old dresses with make-up on. Anne started to chastise his sister when he stepped in and told his mother that he asked Gemma to do it. He laughed softly as he remembered the shocked look on his mother's face and the helpless one on his older sister. As he thought of Gemma his smile faded. He walked up to her room and sat down on her bed, picking up the picture of the two of them when they were kids off her nightstand. He held in his hands as he thought back to the late night when he and Gemma would have their 'campfires'. Whenever he got upset he'd wake Gemma and they'd crawl into her closet with a flashlight. They'd point it to the ceiling and Harry would talk about what was bothering him. Eventually Gemma started to keep pillows and blankets in there because some nights Harry would talk until he'd pass out. Gemma would sneak out and leave a note on her bed before crawling back into the closet and curling around Harry as he cried in his sleep. He felt a tear roll down his cheek as he looked at their picture. He ran his fingers over the glass before he set it down and walked out, shutting the door behind him. He walked to his own room and sat down, looking around him. He felt tears welling in his eyes as he looked at the dorky posters on his wall and the stuffed animal collection that threatened to break his closet door down. He took a shaky breath before he stood up, opening his closet door. He moved the clothes and let out a small sigh of relief. There in the back of his closet was his hiding spot when he wanted to be alone. He opened the small door and walked in, shutting it tightly behind him. When he sat down in the tight space he looked around. He saw all his old journals and the bed he made for himself. He laughed softly as he remembered the day his family thought he ran away because they couldn't find him in the house. That was before they knew about the secret room. His secret room. After that day he was required to put a sign on his closet door telling everyone that he wanted time in his hideaway. He smiled as he leaned against the pillows, looking up at the many drawings he did on the walls. His mother wasn't too happy about it but in the end she didn't care. It was his own way of dealing with everything. Harry pulled out a sharpie from his back pocket and started to doodle on the walls again, humming softly to himself. As he doodled he let his mind drift off. When he was finished drawing he looked up and tears started to well in his eyes. Before him was the dagger that looked identical to the one on Louis' arm. Instead of being a rose attached to it, it was instead piercing a heart and Harry knew exactly whose heart it was. The dagger was Louis' and the heart was his own. When he saw what he'd done he broke down crying, sobs wracking his entire body. He managed to cough out two words before exhaustion took over his body.

"Why Louis?"