falling for you [prequel] ➳ l.s.

ten - the call

The call came around ten that night. Louis picked up his phone immediately, always eager to talk to his boyfriend. But his excitement quickly changed to worry when he heard Harry's panicked voice come through the phone.

"Lou, I don't know what's happening. I can't, I just can't, I don't know how --" Harry paused his rambling to suck in a sharp breath. "I need your help, please, I need you."

Louis scrambled out of bed without hesitation, balancing the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he hurriedly tugged on a pair of pants. "Okay, love, it's okay. What's wrong, baby? Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"I-I don't know," Harry's voice trembled, and Louis could tell that the younger boy was on the verge of tears. "Nothing's wrong, I don't know, I just feel . . . I just can't breathe. I can't do it. I don't know how. I don't know how."

"Is your mum home? Where's your mum?" Louis demanded. Even as he pressed his boyfriend for more information, Louis was already running down the stairs and out the front door, fumbling to unlock his car as he crossed his front lawn.

"No, she's not here. She's, um, she's still at work. I'm all alone, I'm so alone, I --" Harry's voice cracked, and a broken sob escaped his trembling lips. He couldn't bring himself to speak anymore, so he just sobbed into the phone, clutching it to his ear like a lifeline. His only connection to Louis.

And Louis's heart shattered at the harrowing sound.

He scrambled to fit the key into the ignition, cursing under his breath until he finally got the car started. Harry just cried and cried, gasping shakily for air as he did. Louis zipped away from his house, running every stop sign in his neighborhood to get onto the main road as fast as he could.

"Harry, I need you to breathe for me, sunshine. I need you to feel your heartbeat, alright? Can you find your pulse for me?" Louis coached him through the phone.

Harry continued sobbing, but Louis could hear the faint rustles of movement through the line, and he knew that Harry was following instructions. Just like he always did.

"Now you're going to count, alright, baby? Inhale for five beats, then exhale for five. Nice and easy, yeah? Can you do that for me?"

The silence that filled the other end of the line had Louis on high alert. The hysterical crying had stopped, thankfully. He strained to hear what was happening, not wanting to ask because he didn't want to ruin Harry's focus. Finally, as he turned into Harry's neighborhood where there was less traffic, he could make out the quiet inhale and exhale of tiny breaths -- shaky and uncertain, but growing steadier each time.

"Good boy, so proud of you," Louis praised him softly.

Harry just sniffled quietly in response. Then, in a quiet and shaky voice: "Need you."

"Okay, it's okay. You're okay. I'm coming, sweetheart, I'll be with you so soon." He turned onto Harry's street and parked a bit crookedly in front of Harry's house.

"Are you here?" Harry asked hopefully, hearing the distinct sound of the engine shutting off.

"I'm just outside. Is the door unlocked?"

Harry shook his head, although he knew Louis couldn't see. "The spare key is under the plant."

"Okay, darling, I'll be up in just a minute. Love you." Then Louis hung up the phone, slipping it into his pocket so he could shift the heavy pot to the side. Sure enough, the key laid beneath it. Louis hurriedly unlocked the door, rushing inside and up the stairs.

When he entered Harry's bedroom, the room seemed eerily silent. The lights were off, but the moon shone brightly through the window, sending shadows dancing across the floor and walls.