The Runner ➳ Narry (Book One)

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Holy fuck, took you long enough!" I jumped back in surprise at the figure standing in the door frame. A flash of lightning lit up the features, and I immediately recognized the long feathery hair and the slim body. 

"Louis? What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, my voice raising to be heard over the loud pelleting of the rain on the house. Louis stepped into Niall's house, tracking water in with him. 

He was soaking wet, his t-shirt and hair dripping onto the hallway floor. I closed the door behind him and searched for Niall in the dark. I felt a warm hand slip into mine and I immediately knew I found him. 

"I have to talk to you," Louis said, his face barely visible. He was panting slightly, his voice holding a hint of worry. "It's important, Harry."

I narrowed my eyebrows at him. "What's going on?" I asked. "How did you get here?"

"I ran," Louis said, out of breath. 

"You ran here in a thunderstorm? At one a.m.?" I questioned. Niall was tensed beside me, a confused look also on his face. 

"I have to talk to you," Louis repeated. His eyes scanned over to Niall standing beside me. "Alone."

Niall clenched my hand as another thunder clap went off. I leaned sideways and placed a soft kiss near his ear. "It won't be long," I whispered. Niall nodded slowly and released my hand. He turned to walk into the kitchen, leaving Louis and I alone together in the hallway. "What is it?" I asked. 

Louis grabbed me by both my biceps and moved us farther down the hallway, out of Niall's earshot. "He's looking for you."

"Who?" I asked once he let go of my arms. 

"Jeff. The guy who stabbed you," Louis said quietly, almost in a whisper even though Niall couldn't hear us. "Someone from the warehouse ratted out the area we live in. He was knocking on doors in the building all night trying to find you."

My eyes widened. "Did he come to our flat?" I asked. 

Louis nodded. "He just asked if you lived with me. I said no of course," Louis brought his fingers up to his hair to yank on it. "He's going to be searching this whole street, maybe even the flats again."

"Shit," I cussed. I ran a hand down my face and groaned. "Where am I supposed to go then? If I stay here, he could see me." 

"He wanted to come inside to search the flat," Louis said. 

"If he entered with force the security cameras would catch it," I replied with some relief. 

"Exactly. There's no security cameras on the houses, though. He could easily break in to any of these places," Louis gestured with his hands to Niall's house. "He's on a hunt for you, Harry. You're not safe." 

"We could go back to the flat, he won't be able to come inside to find me," I said. 

"He was already suspicious of me. One whiff inside that apartment and it's obvious we have drugs in there," Louis' voice was low. "He could have smelt it, Harry. He could come back any day and find you in that flat. This time, there won't be any escaping." 

I ran my hand through my hair, pulling on the ends. "What the fuck am I supposed to do, then?"

"He's going to get a search party going, Harry. You have to get out of town," Louis said with a sorrow tone to his voice. "You aren't safe here."

"I can't just leave!" I said a bit too loudly. I lowered my voice again once Louis gave me a warning glare. "I can't leave you. I can't leave Niall."

"You can't stay here!" A harsh whisper escaped Louis' lips. 

"Then come with me," I said. "Both of you."

"That's not fair to Niall. Does he even know you run drugs?" He shook his head at me, searching my worried eyes in the dark. 

"No," I replied simply. "I can't leave, Lou. I can't."

"You're going to DIE if you don't!" He flailed his arms in the air. 

"I'll be careful," I said reassuringly. "I'll watch for him, and keep my eyes open at all times. But I can't leave."

Louis sighed and turned around, using one arm to support his body as he leaned against the wall. He let out a couple deep breaths before pushing off, turning to me again. "Fine," he said. "Fine. But you need to be careful, Harry. Don't go out in the open unless you're armed or I'm with you." 

I nodded. "Okay. What about the runs, though? John's going to fire me if I don't show." 

"I'll just have to babysit you," Louis said with a soft smirk. He let out a deep breath and stepped forward, grabbing me by the shoulders and pulled me into a hug. Water soaked through my shirt, leaving me shivering but I held him close anyways. "I'm sorry about earlier," Louis said into my shoulder. 

"Can we please stop fighting?" I asked. "It's annoying and I can never win."

Louis laughed, pulling back from the embrace but still standing close. "Yes please."

We walked back into the kitchen together to find the outline of Niall's body sitting at one of the island stools. I gave him a small smile, even though he couldn't see my face. Once we entered, he turned around and hopped off the stool, meeting us in the middle of the kitchen. "Is something going on?" He asked. 

Louis nudged my side with his elbow a little, signalling me to at least let Niall know. "Well, um," I started. "Remember when we had to hide from that guy?" 

"Yeah?" Niall said, his voice sounding worried.

"He's trying to find me now," I said. 

"He wants Harry gone, for good," Louis added. "He's been searching this whole street and our building for him."

Niall stayed quiet, his eyes darting between me and Louis with confusion. 

"We just need to make sure we keep an eye out. All of us," Louis said. 

"Us?" Niall spoke up. "I never asked to be a part of a murder hunt." 

"It's too late, Niall. You're a part of it now," Louis' voice rose. "If you like Harry, if you want to keep him safe, then you are just as a part of this situation as I am."

Niall ran a hand down his face, letting out a big sigh. "I do like Harry," he said. 

"Then keep him safe," Louis stepped forward to rub Niall's shoulder. "I'll find a way to deal with that guy."

"What do you mean?" I asked. 

"I think you know," Louis' voice was low and intimidating. 

I shook my head at him. "Lou, you can't. Let me deal with it, it's me that he wants dead anyways."

"What are you guys talking about?" Niall asked frantically. 

"We'll talk about this later," Louis turned towards the kitchen archway. "It's safer at the flat right now," Louis said over his shoulder. "We need to get out of here. At least until we know that Jeff won't be coming back." 

"What about Niall?" I asked. Louis spun back around on his heel. 

"He's coming."