Take Me Home

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Is he okay?" came a whisper from the floor. Liam looked over his shoulder to see Louis sat on Harry's lap, looking terrified and tired, eyes ringed with red.

Liam offered them both a tired smile of his own. "He's okay, baby. It was a nightmare. You and Haz used to get them not long after you both moved into the home, remember?"

"They weren't like that," Harry murmured, frowning.

Zayn smiled at him with sad eyes. "It's just the mind's way of coping with everything it's been through. Ni probably had a really bad dream, but he'll be okay...let's get you both back to bed now, alright?" he said.

Liam watched as Zayn gently lifted Louis out of Harry's arms and put him back down on his bed, pressing a kiss to his forehead and tugging the duvet up to his chest, where Louis had situated his arms on top of the covers. "Get some sleep, little man," he murmured, and Louis nodded slightly but his eyes glanced over to where Niall was sleeping in Liam's arms. "Hey, he's alright."

"Scared me, the screaming. I thought it was that man, the one who used to hurt him. I thought he might've got in and he was going to hurt him again," Louis whispered, eyes wide as saucers. Zayn glanced across at Liam and the two of them shared a look.

Liam spoke up from the other bed. "Nobody's going to be getting in, Lou. You're all safe here."

Louis nodded, brows still furrowed. "I know that," he said, voice stiff. He glanced across at Liam. "But can you stay here tonight? Not because I'm scared, just..." he trailed off, then chewed his lip, clearly afraid.

Liam smiled at him. "Course, baby. I was planning on sticking around anyway. I don't want to risk waking Ni by moving him," he said, looking at Zayn, who nodded in agreement.

He placed a kiss on Niall's head and then one on Liam's cheek, before looking at Harry, who was still sitting on the floor, eyes half closed. "Come on you," he murmured, taking him by the hand and helping him to his feet before placing two hands on his shoulders and guiding him out of the room. "Back to bed," he said.

Liam shifted on the bed, keeping Niall pulled up to his chest and tugging the blanket up over the both of them. "Get some sleep now, Lou. You have school tomorrow, you need some rest," he said softly, seeing that the boy was still watching him with silent eyes. He nodded once and closed his eyes.

"I'm glad you and Zayn are here," he murmured, before he fell asleep.

#

The next morning, Louis and Zayn made breakfast together. Louis always liked to help out in the kitchen, especially with his Zayn. They turned it into a game of sorts.

"Eggs!" Zayn yelled, and Louis giggled, taking three out of the box and chucking them to the man one by one. Zayn managed to catch every one of them and then cracked them into the frying pan.

When they were setting the table for breakfast afterward, Louis went quiet.

Zayn noticed and nudged him slightly, pretending to have horns by holding two forks up from his head. Louis giggled and then frowned.

"Zayn, is Niall coming to school today?" he asked, chewing his lip. Zayn pressed his lips together in realisation.

So that was what was getting to the kid. He was afraid of going to school without Niall. He supposed the blond boy had become a sort of safety net to him, since he had protected Louis against the bullies before.

Zayn smiled at him. "I'm not too sure, little man. He woke up a couple more times last night, I think he might be a little too tired."

Louis nodded, hanging his head as he set down the last plate. "Okay."