[Harry POV]
After Louis dropped me off, I walked into the house to find Gemma. Despite the wonderful night I'd had with Louis, I was so beyond worried about Gemma. She needed to stay safe and I wanted to make sure everything was okay with her before offering to talk to Zayn about it.
Opening the back door, I walked in and neatly placed my shoes by the entrance. My hair was disheveled, but I hoped that Gemma wouldn't notice or question it - I'll blame it on the wind if she mentions it.
"Gem?" I called out, walking towards the kitchen. I could hear the sound of sizzling bacon in a pan, and the house smelled amazing. My stomach grumbled, reminding me I hadn't had much to eat for dinner or breakfast. Chips and soda can only keep my hunger content for so long.
"Hi, Harry," Gemma said, and I saw her turn away from the stove with a smile.
My eyes immediately went to her wrists, and I saw new bandages on them, wrapped slightly haphazardly.
"How have you been?" I asked cautiously, worried over what self-harm she might have issued while I was away.
She must have noticed me breaking eye contact and looking at her wrists because she practically read my mind, "I didn't cut, Harry. The new bandages are just because I had to take a shower and they got wet. Your wrapping job was better than mine, though."
I walked forward and gave her a long hug, wrapping my arms around her body and hooking my chin over her shoulder. I felt her hesitate but soon she was hugging me back, breathing softly.
"I'm glad you're okay, Gem. I know all of this is hard, but I'll help you through it," I whispered.
She pulled back from the hug to look into my eyes before answering, "I don't deserve you, Harry."
I shook my head, "Gemma, you deserve the world, and I want you to see that too. Have you talked to Zayn since yesterday?"
She looked down at her feet and took a deep breath, biting her lip.
"No," She admitted, "I'm scared of what he's going to say if he knows what I did. What if he hates me? What if he leaves me? He might never talk to me again and I-"
"He won't do or feel any of those things," I said clearly, cutting her off from the ramble. "Would you like me to talk to him for you?"
She nodded, "Would you please? I'm too scared to tell him but you have a way where everything you say just makes people feel better. I miss him already, and I want him to know none of this was his fault."
The kitchen timer beeped, and she turned to the stove to take the frying pan of bacon off the stove. I sat down at one of the kitchen table chairs as she divided up the bacon onto two plates that already had eggs on them.
"Wow, Gem, you made all this for us?"
"I knew you'd be home soon and I was hungry so I assumed you would be too," She said, carrying the plates and some forks to the table before sitting down.
"Thank you, I'm starving," I said. Both of us ate like there was no tomorrow and finished breakfast in a bit less than 5 minutes.
Pushing my plate aside, I turned back to her to resume our conversation.
"If you don't mind me asking, what really happened yesterday? It's quite unlike you to get upset over little things."
I saw her look down, suddenly losing all traces of her chipper mood.
"I-" She choked on her words, and I could hear her voice but only barely.
"I don't know if I want to tell anyone that right now. Sorry, Harry, I know you're so open with me but I'll tell you when I'm ready. Soon, I promise."
I reached over and put my hand on her shoulder and she looked up at me.
"Gem, that's totally fine, take all the time you need okay?" She nodded. "Do you want me to go and talk to Zayn?"
"Yes please," She nodded again, "You can tell him about the cuts, but also tell him I was in such a dark place yesterday that I've never felt before, which prompted the self-harm. Tell him it wasn't his fault, Harry, and that it won't happen again, I promise."
I gave her another huge hug before standing up.
"Gem, I hope you know that whatever is going on, you're the strongest, bravest, and best person I've met in my entire life. Whenever you feel like you're struggling, you can always come to me with anything, and I'll be here. I want you to stay safe, and I'll help you through whatever you're feeling."
She gave me a small smile and mouthed a thank you before I gave her one last hug. I took our dishes and put them in the sink before going to put my shoes on again. After putting them on, I stopped momentarily to pull out my phone and text Zayn. Thankfully, I'd never met someone who relies faster than he does.
Harry: Hey Z, do you have time to hang out? I need to talk to u about Gem
Zayn: Yeah you can come over to my place, my parents are out doing who knows what. How's Gem?
Harry: Okay, I think, but I'm not sure. I'll be over in ten mins
I pocketed my phone and said bye to Gemma before heading out the back door and into my truck.
* * *
As I drove, I thought about what to actually tell Zayn. Clearly, I wanted to tell him about the cuts, but I also wanted to see if he had a better idea of what caused it. Zayn was the main person Gemma confided in, so he would know the ins and outs of what was going on before last night.
Pulling into his driveway, I saw him waiting on the curb just like he always does for Gemma when they go on car rides together. I parked and got out.
"Hey, Zayn. Sorry for the short notice." I said.
I could see the worried look in his eyes as he anxiously played with one of the strings on his sweatshirts.
"Is Gemma okay?" He asked quickly.
"You're going to want to sit down for this one." We walked around the back of his house and onto the deck, where he has a nice table and chairs set up year-round. Sitting down, I continued.
"I came home yesterday to find Gemma crying on the floor of her bedroom with her wrists all cut up."
Zayn's hands flew to his face as his eyes went wide. Zayn was never someone who wanted to hurt other people or be the root of their problems.
"Did she do that because of me?" He was at a mere whisper and it was hard to hear him when he was covering his mouth with his hands.
"She originally said yes, but I talked to her this morning when she was level headed and seemed to be in a much better mood. She explained that it wasn't your fault at all and that she has her own things going on."
He slowly lowered his hands from his mouth, biting his lip.
"Do you know anything about what could've happened that led her to self-harm?" Zayn was quiet for a minute.
"Well, she said something about me not staying for lunches," He said, "But I think there's more to it than that."
"How so?"
"These last few months, she's seemed more tightly wound and a bit more closed off than I'm used to. I talked to her once about it and at first, she was hesitant to tell me anything, which is what it sounds like she was for you too, but after a while, she started to spill everything."
"Can you tell me what's going on? I want to help,"
"She's so overwhelmed with having to look after you both. It's not something you can really help with, but I think with your mom working so much and never being home, Gem is getting overworked and it's getting to her. She always tells me that she loves looking after you but I think all of the pressure of that responsibility has caused lots of anxiety. She might have an anxiety disorder or something, I'm not quite sure."
"Do you think she would benefit from a therapist? Just for someone to talk through all of this with her who isn't you or me?"
"I think that'd actually be a really good idea. I've been to therapy before and it really helps."
"Thanks, Z. I'll head back to the house soon and schedule an appointment for her, or at least offer to."
"In the meantime, is there anything I can do?" He asked, and I nodded.
"Come back to my house and talk with her, I'll leave you two alone. Be careful of what you say and don't bring up self-harm too much, okay? She misses you and I know you two can get through this and be better on the other side."
"Thanks, mate. I just love her so fucking much and I don't ever want to hurt her."
And with that, Zayn and I got up from the porch to drive back to my house.
Operation Gemma is a go.
***
I know Zayn, Liam, and Niall aren't as main of characters as you might be used to in a fanfic, but I'll definitely work them in here and there.
Thoughts or comments?
VOTE if you stan Zemma