Faking

13

Thirds POV

"Yes- yes, I know that Ashton! But everything points to him being alive, I-...I don't want my boy's getting hurt by this man if he is alive. I can't. They've been through enough." Harry's voice faded down at the end, the mere thought of Louis, Liam, Niall, or Zayn getting hurt by this ugly, and intolerable man made his stomach curl.

He didn't want to imagine it - maybe because he didn't have to. It didn't take a lot of work to think back to the strikingly small boy that was battered on every inch of skin, locked in a cage with terrified eyes. It made Harry's heart drop the more he thought about it. The more he thought about that happing to all of them.

Louis still had night terrors- hell he wet the bed cause of all the stress his body and mind went through on the daily!

No matter what the paper said, he couldn't risk it. He wouldn't risk it. There was a moment of silence over the phone, presumably to let Ashton collect his thoughts. "Alright. I'll keep looking. But I'm telling you, there is nothing on this man. He's- It's like he was never documented or summat. I don't know mate, but I'll keep trying for now."

A sigh of relief escaped Harry, his shoulders sagging. "Thank you, I mean it. Thank you so much, Ashton. You don't realize how much this means to me."

Ashton chuckled, the sound muffling a bit due to the connection. "It's not a problem Haz. But hey, I would like to meet your kids sometime. If they're anything like Niall, I'll love them to death!"

Harry smiled a little bit, musing out, "They aren't exactly like him. Lou- he's super sweet but real tentative. And Li, he's still got major walls built up, and he's older so I know it's gonna be harder to get through to him. They're both lovely though, and Lou, he was the cutest thing when he was sick. Spoke in the third person which was so adorable mate-"

"Okay, I get it, man. They're adorable, and all yours. I'm jealous, seriously. But, I have to go wake up Micheal. Little thing needs to eat. Look, I love you mate, have to go now!"

"Okay, love you too. Talk to me in a few?" Ashton agreed quickly and hung up the phone a moment later.

An exhausted sigh left Harry's lips, his body falling back onto the bed in his room. Zayn was out right now, needed at work for a few hours (even though he had said he'd work at home for a few months) and it was the afternoon. The curly-haired man had ventured downstairs a little earlier, finding Niall and Liam huddled up on the couch watching TV.

It was adorable, he thought. He loved seeing how happy Niall had been with Lou and Liam around. He was always happy before that of course, but this seemed like a more genuine kind of happiness. It made Harry's heart swell. He did wish that Liam would be that vulnerable with Zayn and him, but he knew it would take a while.

Lou, on the other hand, had still been asleep in bed. He must've been exhausted from these past days.

A quiet knock came from outside Harry's door, making the man's head lift up as he said, "Come in!" The door flushed open to reveal Louis in all his sleep-hazed glory. That meant his bed head and ruffled clothing. "Hey baby, sleep well?" Louis nodded a little bit, standing at the entrance of the door almost awkwardly.

Harry's eyebrows furrowed, it didn't take a genius to figure out there was something bothering the boy. "Come here, babe." Harry patted the bed, concern starting to etch his features when Louis only came around to the side of the bed. Harry lifted Louis up and into his lap, letting the boy settle before asking anything else.

The man's knee gently bounced, making the boy sat on his lap move slightly up and down. "What's wrong bub? What's got you so bugged, mm?" There was a quiet sigh, and if Harry hadn't had Louis directly on his lap he wouldn't have caught it.