Harry did bug off. He turned out of the room and thundered back down the hall, wiping his tears away aggressively, hands trembling with a terrible combination of fear and anger. Fear because Liam had just planted a seed of doubt in his heart. Did Greg only take care of them because of Mama?
No, Harry told himself, shaking his head even harder, forcing the horrid idea out of his mind, and surprising himself when he didn't get whiplash from the movement. Greg was kind, and funny, and always made him feel better when sad. Of course, he loved him-and Liam too, even if the older boy was a pain. Now he was just angry. Angry because his dumb brother made Ni cry and ruined everyone's morning.
Stupid-head, he thought bitterly, stomping back down the stairs and into the kitchen where Dad-Greg-whatever-was kneeling to Niall's level, one hand cupped around the blonde boy's cheek, and the other placed on his shoulder, rubbing small circles soothingly. He looked up as soon as Harry had made his entrance and nodded for him to come over. Without hesitation, Harry climbed on his stepdad's lap, burying his face into the man's shirt when he started to comb his fingers through his hair gently, waves of comfort falling upon Harry like soft pillows of warmth and kindness. He heard a tiny sniff from behind him directly before he felt small arms wrap around him from the other side,
"Don't be sad, Harry." He carefully pushed away from Greg and wiped his eyes before pulling Niall into a proper hug,
"I'm okay, Nialler." His baby brother clung to him tightly for a moment before looking up at him with glassy blue eyes,
"I love you so much." He gave Niall a sad sort of smile, tussling his wild blond hair affectionately,
"I love you too, baby."
Greg shifted from behind them, standing back up to his feet, grabbing a fistful of napkins from the counter, and sliding past them to sop up the milk mess that Harry's dumb brother had made. He was still upset at Liam, but he felt substantially better having gotten his tears out of his system, so he took Niall's hand in his own and led him to the living room to keep him away from the glass that was shattered and scattered across the kitchen floor. His brother's fingers were sticky with syrup, but Harry didn't mind, simply wiping them on his pajama bottoms before picking Chicka Chicka Boom Boom off of the bookshelf and cuddling up next to his brother on the couch,
"A told B and B told C-"
"Meet you at the top of the coconut tree!" Niall finished excitedly, tapping the illustrated tree eagerly. Harry smiled, knowing that Ni had the entire book memorized for months now.
"'Whee!' said D to E, F, G-"
"I'll beat you to the top of the coconut tree!" The process continued to the end of the book and Harry was just fine with that, seeing as Niall seemed to have completely forgotten about the previous events of the morning. His brother begged to read it again, and by the end of their sixth turn reading it, he noticed that the kitchen had become silent. Harry took that to mean his stepdad had completed cleaning up the mess and was speaking to Liam. Then the door to their parents' bedroom opened, and Mama stepped out, dark hair tied back in a low ponytail and wearing joggers and her favorite gray sweatshirt. Harry smiled and ran to hug her, Niall hot on his heels. She bent down and placed a tender kiss on each of their heads before looking around the living room expectantly,
"Where're Daddy and Liam?" She asked Niall, but her gaze drifted to Harry for the answer. He glanced at the carpet hesitantly before shrugging,
"Liam wasn't being nice and I think Greg's grounding him or something." Mama's eyebrows furrowed together momentarily but her attention quickly drifted to the kitchen where Greg was coming out from, his expression pretty hopeless.
"What happened?" She asked him, her tone all accusing. Greg looked from Harry and Niall to Mama,
"Liam said some unkind things, so I grounded him for the weekend." He frowned as he spoke, clearly put off by her interrogation skills. She stood to her full height and gave him a dirty look, making Harry take Niall's hand so he wouldn't become upset again,
"Why would you ground my son in my house without even speaking to me first?" Her voice was just as icy as before. Greg shook his head in disbelief, holding his hands out in a gesture for her to calm down,
"Hold on a minute. We share this house, and I'm pretty sure I'm the one who pays the bills here. Since it's our roof, I think I get a say in how people act under it." Harry held his breath, only releasing it once Niall squeezed his hand for comfort. He wanted to get out of there and into the safety of their room but wasn't brave enough to pass between his mom and stepdad to get there. Their mom let out a bitter scoff,
"Of course, that's what you think."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Greg questioned, his voice raising slightly louder, a hint of challenge stuck in his words.
"You're a fu-flippin' control freak is what that means." Mama snapped, stumbling over her words. Harry swallowed tightly. Flippin', he repeated the word in his head and shivered. Mama didn't cuss often.
"I'm a control freak because I want order in my household?" Greg asked ludicrously, his eyes showing more concern than frustration, "Are you even hearing yourself right now?" Mama stepped closer to him so her face was just inches from his own before trying to push past him. Greg caught her wrist before she left, squinting at her face in bewilderment,
"Sophia, are you-are you high?" Mama tore away from his grip and tossed an aimless shove at him,
"So what if I am? You don't rule my life, Greg." Harry placed a hand on Niall's hair as his baby brother hid his face into his side, unsure of anything their parents were saying.
"What are you thinking?" Greg's voice was quiet, and he didn't falter at Mama's push. Mama didn't respond, but turned for the stairs, probably to see Liam,
"Get out of my house," She growled as she turned away, "and stay away from my boys,"
"Like hell I am," Greg snapped, "You need to sober up and act like an adult because this is unbelievable."
"I said get" she slapped her hands together, "out," another clap, "of," another, "my," another, "house." Harry gasped as Greg slapped Mama's hands away from his face,
"There's not a chance," he responded heatedly, waving a hand in Harry and Niall's direction, "that I'm leaving these kids here with you when you can't even speak without your words slurring like an idiot." Mama's head snapped to look at them, and Harry stepped in front of the three-year-old, trying to shield him from their mother's wild gaze. Then she turned back to Greg and spat on the ground at his feet before stalking into the kitchen,
"Then I'm leaving. Hell, my freaking children hate me, the ungrateful pieces of-" She cut herself off as a loud crash sounded, and Harry almost fell backward in surprise at the sudden noise. Niall let out a whimper and wrapped both of his arms around one of Harry's. Then the door to outside slammed shut and the engine of Greg's car boomed from the driveway before tires squealed onto the road. Greg pinched the bridge of his nose before heading into the kitchen tossing the dirty dishes from breakfast into the sink loudly. Harry swallowed deeply, taking Niall's hand and leading him upstairs and into their room. Once they stepped into the bedroom, Harry noticed Liam was standing in front of their window,
"Are they fighting again?" he asked without bothering to look their way. Harry gave a jerky nod,
"Real bad." It happened at least twice a month, Mama and Greg would get into terrible rows that ended in horrible threats and one of them leaving the house for a day or two. Niall shivered from next to Harry, his eyes squeezed shut,
"It was so loud, Li." Liam finally turned his brown gaze from the window to them and breathed out shakily,
"Were they fighting because of me?"
"No," Harry said quickly, all of his annoyance at his brother subsiding at that moment, "I don't even know what they were fighting about, they used lots of adult words."
"Mama was mean," Niall whispered, opening his frightened blue eyes again, hand still clasped tightly in Harry's. He stroked his brother's hand with his thumb before pressing a little kiss in his hair,
"Don't worry, baby. Mama will be back before tomorrow, and she'll be back to being happy, I promise." Liam frowned at him and gave Harry a hard look that he took to mean 'Don't make promises you can't keep', but he was willing to say anything to cheer the three-year-old up again. Niall nodded, apparently reassured, wiping his eyes with the back of his free hand.
"I'm sorry I upset you both," Liam whispered suddenly, and it took Harry a few moments to remember what Liam had done to upset him. Oh.
"S'okay," he shrugged, "I won't call Greg 'Dad' if you still hate him." Liam's face went from sad to utterly guilty,
"I don't hate him. I-I didn't mean to say that," his voice was doused in hopelessness. Niall let go of Harry's hand and threw his tiny arms around Liam in a tight embrace,
"Don't be sad, Li."
"I'll be okay, Ducky," Liam replied, squeezing his youngest brother with equal strength. Harry felt bad for ever having bitterness toward him, and looked back toward the door,
"Should we go help Greg clean up the kitchen?"
"No," Liam spoke quickly, "he won't be too nice either. I think we should stay up here." Harry sighed, but nodded anyways,
"Okay."
"Is Daddy gonna leave too?" Niall asked, blue eyes wide with worry as he wrung his hands together anxiously.
"I don't think so," Harry replied slowly, picking at his fingernails idly. Liam nodded with much more confidence than his brother had,
"He wouldn't leave us alone, Ni. Even if he were mad." Niall's bottom lip quivered, unconvinced,
"Mama didn't even kiss me goodbye." Harry's frown deepened, and he dropped his hands to his sides,
"She's just a little grumpy, baby. I'm sure when she comes home she'll give you the biggest kiss ever, and then promise to never leave again." Like always, he added mentally but gave the blonde boy the most assuring smile he could muster instead of voicing it.
"I hope she comes back soon," Niall said with a sigh, looking completely deflated, and it hurt Harry's heart a little to see the three-year-old so disappointed. Liam gave the littlest of them another hug, and pressed a kiss into his hair,
"She will."
At that moment, Greg appeared in the doorway, eyes dark with exhaustion, but he had a soft smile on his face,
"Are you all alright?" Harry sniffed to stop himself from getting too emotional,
"Just sad for Mama." Greg offered a half smile before crouching down to his equal level,
"Don't be sad for her, okay? She's just a bit angry with me at the moment." Harry nodded, almost feeling guilty for feeling anything. Liam stepped back from Niall, gaze downcast,
"I'm sorry for yelling at you."
"I'm not mad at you, Bud," Greg replied calmly, "and forget what I said about you being grounded, alright? How about we make some popcorn and watch a movie?" Harry recognized this as a distraction tactic but wasn't opposed to the idea of cuddling up on the sofa, so he nodded half as eagerly as the three-year-old who was bouncing at the prospect. Niall didn't have much of an attention span.
"Can we watch Bambi? Oh, or Nemo! Maybe Aladin?" He seemed to have forgotten all about the hectic morning as he searched his mind for movie ideas, and Harry smiled at him before ruffling his hair playfully,
"You always cry when we watch Nemo, baby. Let's watch Aladin instead." He wasn't in the mood for a sad Niall. The blond boy frowned at his response,
"I don't always cry. Jus' sometimes."
"It's okay, Ni," Liam stated, "I want to watch Aladin anyway." Greg nodded a couple of times before pointing toward the door,
"How about we get that popcorn popping?" Niall clapped his hands happily and dragged Harry with him down the hall and stairs to the kitchen while Greg and Liam followed behind.
The movie had reached the halfway point before a loud knocking on the door sounded, resulting in Greg pressing pause and getting to his feet. Harry craned his neck up from his position on Liam's lap to get a better look while Niall fidgeted from next to him, poking him in the leg with his boney feet. Harry pushed him away gently and grumbled at him to stop moving as he strained his ears to hear one frantic-sounding half of the conversation being spoken in the kitchen.
"Hello? ..... Yes, it is. . . .Wh-is she alright? . . . . Yes, yes, come in. . ." Liam pushed himself off the couch and wandered into the kitchen to get a better look while Niall's hand found its way back to Harry's, blue eyes growing wide with concern. Harry almost didn't take it, eager to follow his brother to the kitchen, but he wasn't going to leave Niall to have a panic attack all alone so he gave it a quick squeeze,
"Probably just the neighbor," Harry assured half-heartedly, a feeling tugging at his gut that this wasn't a friendly neighborly visit. Niall shook his head, unconvinced,
"What if it's a bad guy?" Harry frowned, remembering how Liam told Niall not to answer the door for someone he didn't know because mean people would try to hurt him,
"Ni, it's not a bad guy. C'mon," He tugged the three-year-old up from the couch and led him to the kitchen, squeezing his little hand for comfort. Niall edged closer to him when they saw two men standing just inside the doorway with faces of solemn pity-policemen? Harry squinted at them, very confused, while Niall let out a tiny whimper, apparently frightened by their intimidating expressions. Harry squeezed his hand again but felt a prick of irritation for needing to babysit. Greg looked to be in a daze, but he snapped out of it and turned to Liam almost aggressively,
"Take your brothers upstairs."
"No, I wanna know what's happening-"
"Now," Greg snapped, rubbing his forehead before tossing the eldest of the three a stern look. Liam scowled but obliged, taking Harry's hand and dragging him-and effectively Niall, too-out of the room and up the stairs. Harry gasped at how tight of a grip Liam had on his wrist, yanking it away as soon as they were in their room, but kept his other hand linked with Niall's,
"Why are you being mean again?"
"I'm not being mean," Liam grumbled defensively, tossing him a dirty look, "You're just too sensitive." Harry found himself frowning,
"I'm not sensitive, you just hurt my wrist, and that's not what I would call nice." Liam snorted an unkind laugh before pointedly looking out the window,
"Maybe you're just weak." Harry's eyes widened in surprise as Niall let out a gasp of outrage,
"Haz isn't weak, Li-he's the strongest ever." Harry fought back a smile at Niall's protectiveness and gave his small hand a quick squeeze. Liam let out a growl of annoyance before dragging his gaze back to his brothers,
"Do you ever shut up, Ni?" His tone was icy, cruel, and completely mean, confirming Harry's earlier accusation,
"Hey, don't snap at him, he's only a little guy," Harry chided, deciding it was his turn to become protective. Liam rolled his eyes dramatically, and Harry knew he was making sure that he saw the action,
"Harry, he's not our brother, so stop treating him like he is." Niall's mouth went from a pout to an expression of utter despair,
"You are my brothers, though." Harry opened his mouth to assure the three-year-old, but Liam's voice stopped him,
"No, we aren't." Niall's face contorted into the saddest expression Harry had ever seen, and he fought the urge to punch Liam in his stupid mouth.
"But I love you so much," the blond boy murmured, a tear slipping down his face. Harry wanted to catch it and put it in a bottle because Niall's tears are sacred and should never, ever be shed. Niall removed his hand from Harry's and wiped the tear away with the back of it, sniffing loudly as though to stop any more from spilling.
"We love you too, baby," Harry replied softly before shooting a dirty look at his older brother, "Liam's just being a meany head right now, is all."
"I'm not being mean," Liam nearly yelled, "something's wrong, and you two are acting like babies." Niall's face squished into an angry scowl,
"M'not a baby."
"Maybe not," Liam replied with angst, "but you act like one regularly."
"That's because he's a little guy!" Harry cut in, frown deepening.
"Whatever," Liam grumbled, "Besides, that's not the point. Something's going on and I'm stuck watching you instead of learning what's up."
"Because you're a stupid kid just like Ni and me," Harry reminded, tapping his foot on the ground irritatedly. Liam huffed again,
"Yeah, you two are stupid kids."
"That's not what I was getting at."
"Whateverrrr."
Harry had heard that older kids were rude, but he hadn't expected sweet Liam to ever be anything but kind. At least not to him. He wrinkled his nose up in annoyance,
"You are a stinkyhead, Liam." He knew name-calling was considered bad, but he had to let his elder brother know his attitude sucked.
"I'm going to be the bigger person and not call you any rude names," Liam stated responsibly, "but if I were going to, I'd say you're the smelliest loser around."
"You both are stinky," Niall said decidedly before Harry could say something nasty in return and Harry found himself smiling once he realized how silly the conversation had become,
"Yeah, Ni. We are pretty stinky today, huh?" He glanced up at his older brother and could tell he had become bored of bickering as well. He opened his mouth to say something light-hearted, but movement from the doorway caught his attention. There Greg stood, his eyes that were once alight with joy were dull and void of emotion,
"Your Mama's not coming back."