Over Again

Zwei // Two

 “Fuck,” Harry muttered, dropped his phone to the floor and ran a hand through his hair as his knees gave in and he kneeled on the floor, his face buried in his hands. He felt suffocated, his chest heavy and he didn’t know how to breath as his eyes burnt. His body felt too tight for all the emotions he felt right now and he felt like he would burst any second.

“Harry?” Louis asked carefully and full of concern, because even though there was this tension between them, Harry was his best mate after all and seeing him like this caused his heart to hurt a little. “What’s wrong?”

“Tammy…” Harry tried to explain but it ended up in a choke or a sob – none of the other boys could really tell. He pressed his lips tightly together, his nostrils flaring as he tried to breathe, to focus, trying to collect his thoughts. He took a deep breath, his lips parting for a mere millimetre to let the air through his teeth and he felt Louis’s hand on his shoulder, his thumb pressing into Harry’s skin to remind him he was alive, he needed to breathe and that the others were still waiting for an answer. “She… Melanie…”

Louis’s gasped loudly and the pressure of his thumb on Harry’s shoulder intensified, causing the younger male to wince a little bit. He looked up into Louis’s grey eyes, “Car accident,” he breathed out. He tried to go on, explain it further but his chest was too tight and everything was just too much.

He needed to be with Tamara.

Again he took a deep breath and turned to Liam. “Give me your phone, please.” Because his own phone lay on the floor, separated in a few individual parts. Liam complied quickly, his face showing pure shock but also a hint of sympathy. Harry dialled a number and ordered a flight to Austria, within the next half hour.

“I’m coming,” Louis told Harry quickly, his voice quieter than usual and also a bit whiny. “I’m coming,” he repeated, a bit distant as if he was rather talking to himself than the younger male.

Harry frowned in confusion but with this lady on his ear he couldn’t quite ask for an explanation so he gave a short nod, “For two, please… Yeah, see you in a few.” He hung up, handed the phone back to its original proprietor and looked at the oldest man in the room. “Why?”

“You never let me explain,” Louis choked out, tears burning in his eyes which he tried to suppress. “I… I still love her, fuck. I… the fans, they were so… fuck.”

Harry took a sharp intake of air and rubbed his temples, his thumb on the right side and his other fingers on the left as he felt a headache approaching. His palm threw shadows on his forehead and as he removed his hand to look up at Louis, his eyes were sparkling with tears. “Fuck, Lou… No, you fucking idiot.” He breathed, trying to get rid of the weight on his chest.

“I know,” Louis muttered but before he could tell him he’d change it all if he could, Zayn’s voice cut him off,

“You guys should get going.”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, we… yeah. Thanks, um. Bye.” He was obviously at a loss of words. He slipped into his shoes and threw on a jacket – he could shower later.

Louis quickly followed him and they hurried, getting into Harry’s black range rover that was parked outside. They had asked Preston for a way to get out without any fan encounters and Preston promised them they could use the rear exit and he would distract the fans.

As Harry turned the key to start the engine, he was once again reminded why they had hired Preston.

…

“So, why?” Harry asked as soon as they were seated, Harry across from Louis with his feet pulled up to his chest.

“To protect her,” Louis muttered as a response, shaking his head. “I realised now though… what a fucking idiot I am. If we… if she… I don’t want her- her last thought to be…”