Keep Me Safe (Sequel to Take Me Home)

Chapter Forty-One

The entire family went to watch Louis' first football game with his new team a few weeks later. It was icy cold and so they were all wrapped up in hats and scarfs, hands gloved.

Liam had to admit, he was a little worried about how Niall would deal with being at the game with all the crowds of people that would no doubt include people from school (especially since he had only left the house a handful of times in months now), but the blond was adamant that he wanted to see his brother play.

And he had been progressing, for real this time. He'd been working well with Cal, even having a few sessions alone with the man in the past couple of weeks, and they were getting along well. When he wasn't having a good day, or when he was having a quiet day, he spent it writing in his journal and cuddled up on the couch with Cooper and some popcorn. He was definitely getting better with eating again - he'd even woken his Papa up at three o'clock one morning claiming that he was too hungry to sleep, his appetite clearly growing again now that he wasn't suppressing it so much.

Everything signalled that he was moving in the right direction, and they got through the bad days with the hopes that it would get better again. They all knew, of course, that what had happened to Niall would undoubtedly affect him for the rest of his life. But for right now, he was coping well and they couldn't have been more proud of him.

Thankfully, the crowds weren't overly large when they arrived at the field. There were a load of plastic chairs set out and a few people had laid blankets down on the wet ground. Liam and Zayn made sure to get a spot close to the pitch so that they'd be able to watch Lou as well as possible, and Liam didn't miss how Niall was clinging onto the back of his jacket.

Just as he was beginning to wonder if he should take the twelve year old home, Luke ran over, cheeks and nose red from cold, hat pulled down over his head. "Hi Ni," he said, grinning, then looked up at the two men. "Hi Liam and Zayn!"

Liam smiled at the boy, shaking his head. "Hey, Luke. Didn't expect to see you here," he said, and the tall boy gave a shrug.

"I told Louis I'd come watch. Hey, Ni, I got a blanket with my Mum down at the front. Wanna come sit with us?" he asked, and Niall glanced up at his parents with worried eyes.

Liam gave a small shrug, more than thankful for the twins' friend at that point because he was at least acting as a distraction for Niall. "It's up to you, Bug," he said softly.

Niall scrunched up his nose at that. "Dad! Not in front of my friend," he muttered at the nickname, then turned to Luke. "Yeah, I'll come."

Liam watched with a small smile as the two of them disappeared off the other end of the field, the normality of what had just happened warming him up from the inside. He turned to Zayn, who looked concerned, and gave his hand a squeeze.

"He'll be fine," he reassured softly, and the other man gave a small nod.

"I just worry when I can't see where he is," he murmured, and Liam nodded in understanding because he knew that what had happened to their smallest son had effected all of them in one way or another, and for them as parents - it had made them almost afraid to ever let any of their kids out of sight again.

Over Zayn's shoulder, he caught sight of Harry, who was standing with Ashton. The two of them were whispering to each other, laughing softly and he shook his head, clearing his throat. The two of them had no concept of personal space, especially in front of other people.

"Any closer and you'll be swallowing each other," he said, and they broke away. Ash blushed and looked down at his shoes whilst Harry raised an eyebrow.

He seemed to be prepared to spit out some sexual innuendo about the word swallow for a moment, then shook his head to himself. "Shut up, Dad. Tell him, Pops," he said, and Zayn raised his hands as if in surrender, letting out a laugh.