𝐌𝐑. 𝐏𝐀𝐘𝐍𝐄 ✧ 𝘻𝘪𝘢𝘮

thirty two

Liam lets out a sigh as he steps out of his shower, rolling his shoulders back slowly. He's sore — going to the gym every chance he gets, which was four times this week, has really gotten the best of him. He didn't realize how much he had been slacking on going to the gym since the beginning of December.

Now, at the end of January, he's finally back in the gym where he's just trying to adjust back to his workouts. He's had so much free time when he's not working that he's spent the majority of it all at the gym or driving the two hours every other weekend to see his son at college.

He spends more time with Justin, Andy and Chace on the weekends, when they're not going to bars and would rather just have a boys night at one of their homes. Liam is trying his best to keep himself occupied so his thoughts won't get to him even though they usually do when he's alone at night trying to sleep.

His therapy sessions have honestly given him the chance to let his tears run freely and actually express his feelings instead of holding everything in. He finds himself enjoying his time with his therapist while he talks and talks about everything.

It's been an even better outlet for him after finding out that Jack was together with that fucking guy again. He's not jealous about their relationship, he's jealous that they're acting like a family — upset that Conrad thinks he can just show up out of nowhere and take his son away by buying his love.

Conrad had helped Dylan get into the college he wanted that was two hours away instead of the one that Dylan was previously going to — his third choice. Liam was pissed because Dylan was doing just fine at the college he was at burn Conrad thought it would be better if Dylan went to the college he first wanted which was apparently way better in the long run for Dylan's acting career.

He didn't say anything — knew that Dylan really wanted to get all the help he could on his acting so he stayed mute. It pissed him off that Conrad essentially took Dylan away from him but he's kept quiet because Dylan is happy and that's what matters most to him. If he has to settle on phone calls once a week and text messages every now and then from Dylan then he will.

He's just about to enter his kitchen when his phone starts to ring, making him sigh as he walks towards the ringing device in his living room. He looks at the caller ID and a small smile appears when he sees Zayn's name flashing on the screen.

"Hey," Liam mumbles softly, settling down on his sofa and putting an arm behind his head as he listens to Zayn's voice reply to him.

"Hi, Liam. How was your therapy session today?" Zayn asks, his voice soft which instantly makes Liam smile because he hasn't heard the younger boy's voice in three days (though they've texted each other).

Liam hums softly, a warm feeling in his chest every time Zayn asks him about his therapy sessions. "It was good, yeah. I talked about you this time."

"Yeah?"

Liam hums, doesn't say anything else because his cheeks are flushed and he feels a bit embarrassed about telling Zayn. This is the first time he's actually spoken about Zayn with his therapist, he's spent all the other sessions talking about his struggles with Jack and Dylan.

Today though, all he could seem to think about was Zayn — everything about the younger boy that Liam adores. So, he finally talked about him and although it was hard for him to revisit their past, he thoroughly enjoyed getting his therapist's thoughts on the whole thing.

"I'm glad, I hoped it helped you," Zayn murmurs and Liam grins before muttering a soft it did into the phone.

"Did you go to the gym today?" Liam snorts and starts talking about his time at the gym today. He's grateful that the other boy never pries anymore information out of Liam. Zayn understands that Liam doesn't want to share everything about his sessions but he's still kind enough to ask Liam about them.