Stockholm Syndrome ✔

Chapter 24 - Seek and Ye Shall Find

The moment Harry stepped back into the cellar was also the moment when Louis woke up. They stared at each other for what felt like hours until Harry turned his eyes away and walked back to his regular place, leaning against the wall.

Since Louis couldn't move that much, he had to settle for turning his head, ignore the stiffness in his neck, in order to look at Harry.

"You look troubled", Louis commented with throaty voice.

"Do you need water?" Harry asked, deadpanned and ignoring Louis' words.

"Yeah", Louis said but he still wanted the answer. "You went somewhere. And you came back looking like... that."

Harry walked to the bed, took the bottle which was in between Louis' body and the wall. "My face is in its normal form", Harry said, opening the bottle and bringing it to Louis lips. "Drink."

Louis shook his head and dodged the bottle. "No. Or yes, your expression is neutral but your eyes are not."

With one quick move Harry placed his hand on the back of Louis' head to prevent movement and forced Louis to drink. Then he put the bottle back to its original place and returned to lean against the wall.

Louis examined him for a moment and sure, he may have lost his touch but he still wasn't stupid.

"Troy said something to you, there's no one else who could affect you like that", Louis stated, frowning a little.

Harry turned his narrowed eyes in Louis' direction but didn't say a thing.

"I'm right, am I not?" Louis asked, pushing the subject.

"None of your business", Harry muttered, crossing his arms.

Louis wanted to grin. "I told you. I told you I'm the only one who you can talk to and from who you can get answers you deep inside want to know."

It made Harry stare at Louis in silence and Louis barely dared to breath but then Harry suddenly blurted out, "What's wrong with Anne?"

It looked like Harry regretted it as soon as he asked it, but he still held the eye contact with Louis.

"You mean your mother?"

Harry narrowed his eyes even more and he was visibly uncomfortable. "Anne."

Louis thought about a second before saying, "Just trust me when I say that you'll really, seriously want to see your mother."

"I doubt it."

"Then why did you ask?" Louis asked, raising an eyebrow, but Harry didn't answer. "Huh, Harry? Why?"

Harry started walking back and forth, pulling his hair. "I shouldn't be speaking with you."

"But you're."

"Well what did you expect, Louis? You shouldn't have come back!" Harry yelled, blunt and spreading his arms.

"I came back for you!" Louis half-yelled back. They had had that conversation already and Louis really wasn't in a mood of re-living it.

Harry snorted, shaking his head. "Ah, but that's it, you. Shouldn't. Have!"

"But. I. Did!"

"Why, Louis, why?" Harry yelled, or more like pleaded. He knew he shouldn't be feeling or talking like that but he couldn't stop himself. And neither could Louis.

"Because I care, okay? I care!" Louis yelled in frustration because he couldn't move or do anything else but speak.

Harry turned his back to Louis. "Stop it."

"It's the truth", Louis said quietly.

"Stop it, Louis!"

"I can't", Louis said. "And I know you care too."

"STOP IT!" Harry yelled, basically running closer to Louis so that he could yell at Louis' face. "Don't give me false hope when you and me both know it's never going to work out— we're brothers!"

What caught Louis off guard was the part where Harry said 'giving false hope' because how Louis saw it, Harry had hoped they could be something before he knew about the brother thing. But still, all Louis managed to push out of his mouth was, "Stepbrothers. We're stepbrothers."

Harry shook his head, his eyes wide open, his hair was a mess and generally the lad looked like he was balancing on the edge of mental breakdown. "It changes nothing."

"When I talked about caring, I said nothing about it being romantically", Louis pointed out, not even really knowing what he was pursuing.

"Ha!" Harry's voice was full of sarcasm and gibe. "So you care about me platonically? You're saying that we care about each other brotherly?" Harry laughed but it wasn't real laugh, it was something that made him sound like a maniac. "Cut the shit, Louis— we've never been brothers, we don't have that kind of bond!"

"Now you're the one saying that it's romantic caring", Louis pointed out.

"Shut the fuck up, Louis!" Harry yelled and walked around, kicking the wall every now and then. "This conversation ain't going anywhere. You and me both know I'm stuck in here, forever, and even blind man can see that you're not in a good position. No, you're in a fucking deep shit!"

With that, Louis couldn't argue.

"Harry—"

"There's no way out!" Harry yelled almost hysterically. "No matter how we feel, what we want or what is right— there is no hope!"

"We could get out together!" Louis insisted, not taking his eyes off of Harry.

Harry stopped, looked at Louis and spread his arms. "How? Huh? It wasn't possible before, that's why I'm here. That's why I am like this. That's why you are basically dead. So please, tell me, how is it possible now if it wasn't then? What's different?"

"Motivation. Motivation is different. It's better now." Louis closed his eyes for a moment. "That's the key. Better motivation."

"Better motivation?" Harry hissed, his voice like poison. "Oh, because there's now more between us than just a kidnapper/kidnapped relationship?"

"That's not what I meant", Louis said calmly, wittingly ignoring the part where Harry admitted that there was something between them, but Harry was anything but calm.

"Then what? What's that great motivation now, huh?"

Louis bit his lip and then he dropped the bomb, "Your mother's dying, Harry."

Harry froze, his widened eyes locked with Louis and just then Mihail stepped in, carrying a food tray. He stopped in place, his eyes jumping from Harry to Louis and back again.

"Uh... Did I... interrupt something?"

"No", Harry muttered and stormed out.