A Footballer's Fling

15

Serious topics of like bad parenting, more or less, mostly more. I don't want to spoil it but thought I should put that this chapter gets kind of serious.

Harry holds Marcel as he sleeps. Marcel is resting peacefully on Harry's lap, snoozing quietly as Harry stares at the wall in front of the bed. Louis paces back and forth in their bedroom, like he has for the past two hours. His phone is pressed to his ear, still mumbling frantically to whoever is on the other side this time.

"I don't care if there are no fingerprints!" Louis whisper shouts. "We know who it's from!" He listens for a moment, stopping his pacing. "He threatened us! We don't feel safe! He threatened our son!"

Harry can't even bring himself to feel comfort at how Louis referred to Marcel as his own son. He just continues staring at the wall, his baby boy in his arms.

"You know what, fuck you!" Louis raises his voice, stirring Marcel in his sleep. "Fuck you!"

He hangs up and throws the phone at the arm chair in the corner. He runs his fingers through his hair, gripping tightly and pulling in frustration. He drops his hands, glancing back at Harry.

"Hazza..." He murmurs, approaching the bed. "I'm going to make this better. I swear to you, I'll have this fixed." Harry just nods, keeping his eyes on the wall. "I'll hire extra security. Personal guards for you and a whole team of them. They'll be at my game tomorrow. They'll walk us to our car. They'll stay outside the apartment, all day and everyday."

"He's going to find him." Harry whispers. "He always hated Marcel, from the second I told him I was pregnant. And he's been holding in all of that anger for years." Harry's eyes finally move away from the spot on the wall, focusing on Louis. "He wanted me to give Marcel up, Lou. He's going to hurt my baby! Louis, he wants to hurt my baby! Please, don't let him hurt my baby!"

Louis climbs onto the bed, kneeling in front of Harry. With his hands pressed onto Harry's thighs, he states firmly, "He's not going to hurt him, I promise. He's not going to touch you either, okay? I'm not going to let you out of my sight, either of you." He sets his hand down onto Marcel's forehead, smoothing back his curls.

Harry reaches out for Louis' hand on Marcel's head. He pulls it close to his face, pressing his lips against the skin. "Did you lock the door?"

"Yes."

"Can you go double-check?"

"I already did, baby."

"Could you just check again, please?"

Louis kicks another goal, immediately turning to find Harry in the crowd now that he's not focused on the ball. Harry stands with Marcel in his arms, Niall standing with a happy arm around them, two bodyguards standing on either side.

Zayn and Liam slap Louis on the back, congratulating him before giving their own protective glances into the stands. They wander back to the rest of the team, a wary feeling washing over them.

"It'll be fine, Louis." Liam assures, "They've got an entire security team with them."

"Yeah, yeah. They'll be fine..." Louis looks away from Harry, trying to keep his head in the game.

"You want any nachos?" Niall asks, ruffling Marcel's hair.

Harry shakes his head, setting Marcel down on the seat beside him. "I'm not hungry."

"You're pregnant, Harry, you're always hungry."

Harry shrugs, glancing at Marcel. "Okay, yeah. Could you go get some for us?"