Apricity (l.s.)

chapter six

I ring Harry's bell twice even if it takes all strength of will left it in my body to not start ringing it again considering the fact that Elia is progressively starting to get heavier in my arms.

Harry opens the door, a tired look on his face that's replaced with a small but gentle smile when he spots his daughter. He takes her from me and invites me in with a nod. I shake my arm a few times until the tingling stops and slip out of my shoes, unsure about whether Harry stills needs me to stay, and peel out of my warm jacket.

Harry comes back from his bedroom after a second, Elia's clothes and shoes in his hands. "Thank you, Louis. Was she unusually tired? A bit early for her to fall asleep."

I shake my head. "She was very bright the whole time, maybe we went down the slide a little too often." I shrug, a little awkwardly. "But she was fine the whole time, only at the end got a little exhausted."

Harry nods before he starts coughing and pulls a tissue out of his pocket. "Sorry, Louis. Hope I didn't infect you."

I shake my head. "It's fine. My roommate is also sick right now so I'm surrounded by bacteria anyways."

Harry smiles a little, an unusual sight when he's not around Elia and points to the kitchen. "Feel free to warm up a little. Or go home, I don't think I need you anymore now that Elia's asleep. You get all of the money, obviously."

I shake my head. "I don't need all the money. But I could just stay until later like usual and do the kitchen", then he immediately adds on, "only if you want me to, that is."

He thinks about it for a second, closing his eyes when he coughs again before he nods. "That'd be pretty nice. Thank you."

"Of course. I brought some tea; do you want me to make you one?"

"Oh, that's okay", he says, shaking his head quickly, "I'm gonna make it myself, you're here to take care of Elia, not me."

I nod, alright with him not taking my offer and head to the kitchen to unload the dishwasher and load it again. He makes his tea, having to lean against the counter every now and then before I shake my head and carefully push him out of the way.

"God, Harry, take my help and head back to bed or the couch, I'll make your tea."

He smiles apologetically, thanking me with a quite mumble and then leaves the kitchen again, heading to the living room.

I finish his tea and search for the right pills out of the plastic bag before I bring it to the living room. He mumbles a quick "Thank you", but I can see that he's embarrassed. I don't really think he has any reason to be because he is sick and this is my literal job and I get paid for it, whether if it's for taking care of Elia or Harry, I don't really care.

I finish loading in the dishes and I even clean the counter before heading to the living room where Harry is laying on the couch, watching some stupid reality TV show.

"I think I'm done now, is there anything I can do for you?", I ask, sitting down on the edge of the couch.

He shakes his head slightly and starts frowning because it probably hurts, moving his head. "Can I?", I ask, reaching out my hand. He nods and I put it on his forehead carefully, frowning because he feels really hot.

"How long have you had a fever for?", I ask, hoping I'm not being too invasive.

"Like two days, maybe", he mumbles, eyes halfway closed.
"You should go to the doctor tomorrow", I say, "Just to make sure everything is okay."

He shakes his head but quickly stops again. "I'm gonna go back to work and uni tomorrow."

I raise an eyebrow and nearly blurt out a "What the fuck", but manage to contain myself and don't say anything.

"Got an important exam and meeting, can't miss that", he says as if he knew I wanted an explanation.

"Then go to the doctor afterwards."

"I have a child", he says, obviously annoyed with me. I was already surprised by how open and talkative he was today.

"And I can take care of her. Come on, if you can't pay me, that's fine too. I'll do it anyways. As a friend."

"Okay. I will pay you though", he insists, nodding.

I sit there for a few silent seconds before I get up. "I'm going to head back home then", I say, "Get better soon. And tell Elia goodnight from me in case she wakes up again."

He nods with tilted lips, eyes still halfway closed, he's probably half asleep already.
I roll my eyes a little, he's so stupid, how did he even manage to raise a child when he can barely take care of himself?

I hand him a blanket before leaving and he thanks me quietly before I walk into the hallway, getting dressed before stepping out into the cold darkness.

I stroll home quickly, trying to stay warm, by leaping up and down when waiting at busy roads, or keeping my toes and fingers in movement. I really don't sense the desire to get sick right now and the cold for sure won't make the possibilities that taking place decrease.

I ring the bell only once so that Zayn won't scold me again. "Thought you were the postman", he says, "He's the only one who rings once."

I roll my eyes. "I've just got some manners, shut up."

"Looks like Elia has good influence on you, Tommo." He grins a little but I just roll my eyes and slip out if my shoes, placing them under the heating so that they will be warm when I put them on tomorrow morning.

"Come in", Zayn says, quickly closing the door, "Don't want to freeze right on the spot. Liam and I made dinner, once again."

"Don't act like you hate spending time with him that much", I say, wiggling my eyebrows what causes him to blush and mutter a quite "Shut up".

I laugh, being amused by the embarrassed look on his face and then quickly head to the kitchen because it smells like burgers.

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hope you enjoyed <3

will try to keep the updates regular but since school started again there might be a bit of delay sometimes