Leave Me

XXIII

The funeral was planned quickly and mostly by Harry. He'd always been the one to plan their events and Niall was in no condition. Liam knew Harry was strong but he never really knew how strong until they asked him to pick out the urn for his dead partner and best friend. He pointed to a slender, silver option in the catalog without a word and walked out, but Liam could see the glimmer of a tear on his cheek as he left.

They held it at the lighthouse. Louis adored the view and Harry knew the other slave would be happy there for eternity. They cleared out the lobby to shove in chairs and a giant picture of Louis. Afterwards, Louis would be poured off the cliff overlooking the waters below. It was a proper goodbye that Louis would be proud of.

On the day, Harry was generous with his time, shaking hands with people from Louis's past and from their small town, clients and friends that Louis had won over in his short time with them there. Some of them, Harry knew, some he didn't. Most of them, he could see why Louis included them in his life. They were people that Harry could get behind. Some, he thought, would even make good friends.

Niall showed up drunk. Harry wasn't surprised. Actually, Harry selfishly hoped that if he died like Louis had, Niall would be a wreck, too. The only problem was that if Niall kept roaming around shoving people and tugging at Harry's belt in a salacious manner, no one would be thinking about Louis. And Louis deserved all the attention.

When Zayn walked in with Liam on his heels, both of them visibly carrying the weight of what they'd been through on their shoulders, Niall snarled and Harry knew he needed to intercede before someone else got hurt. He grabbed Niall by the wrist and stepped in front of him, blocking his view of the other pair. "Come with me," he urged.

Niall ignored him, trying to push past his slave. "They shouldn't be here," he seethed, then shouted across the room, "You shouldn't be here!"

Harry tugged Niall back into him and forced the blond to look up at him. "Not here. Don't ruin this moment for Louis," Harry warned gravely. "Let's step out for a breath."

Niall sniffled, tears collecting in his eyes as he nodded. Harry rewarded him with a soft kiss to his temple and pulled Niall into the furthest room from the crowd of people. Only after they closed the door did Harry realize they were in Zayn's office. He cringed at the choice but Niall was stumbling around, mumbling sorrowful words, so Harry figured he wouldn't even notice.

"I need you to hold it together. This day is about Louis, not you and not them," Harry declared when Niall refused to turn and look at him. "Niall, are you listening?"

He wasn't, Harry could tell. The blond's attention was caught by the array of degrees and awards on the wall behind Zayn's desk. Niall just stood there, looking up at them with clenched fists. Harry didn't know how to fix this. He didn't know what to do. "Ni, honey," Harry tried, voice soft and calm. "I need- What are you doing?"

Niall had finally turned around but now he was rummaging through Zayn's desk, completely ignoring Harry when he was vulnerable and asking for help. "I'm looking for Zayn's lighter."

Harry raised a brow. "You don't smoke."

Niall's lips tipped up in a dangerous smirk. "No but those awards will." It took a moment for Harry to comprehend what he was saying, but when he did, he lurched across the room to stop him. Niall was haphazardly opening every drawer in the sturdy wooden desk and just as Harry reached out to stop him, Niall paused.

"What?" Harry asked. Niall's smile grew wide as he held up a phone, screen black and case scuffed. Harry's brow furrowed. "Whose is that?"

Niall shrugged. "I don't know. Why does Zayn have a secret phone? What is he hiding?"