Limits − book two

Chapter Three

It's been so long..

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"Hey, Li. I'm ba- what's that on your wrists?"

As soon as those words had come out of Louis' mouth, Liam's eyes widened. How did he know.. How the hell did he find out? He began to panic as he looked down at his arms. His breath hitched slightly when he soon realized his sleeves rode up when he shoved them in his jean pockets.

It was complete silence, Louis staring at Liam, a worried expression clear on his face, while Liam had no intention in making eye contact. He then stuttered out, trying to find an excuse.

"It - It's nothing, Louis." the younger boy looked up at Louis to see if he believed him - he didn't.

"Don't bloody tell me it's nothing! I'm not stupid, Liam. Why do you do this to yourself?" That's when Liam broke. He would have fallen on the floor if Louis weren't there to hold him in his arms. He sobbed onto his hands while his boyfriend tried calming him. If anyone were there to see the situation, it'd honestly hurt just to watch.

Liam fell asleep while continuously repeating the words "I'm sorry". Louis was on the verge of his own tears as he rubbed the skinny boy's back softly. He felt Liam slowly calm down, he laid him on the couch and kissed his forehead. It may be cheesy, but he honestly didn't care at that moment. He was going to reach out for Liam's wrist to examine the marks on his skin when he jumped to a voice before he could even touch his skin.

"Boys! Lunch is..-" Jay got cut off by Louis' stern look. (If it weren't for the fact she saw Liam asleep on the couch she would definitely scold his son).

"Mum, now is not the time." Louis sighed and looked up. Jay nodded but replied anyway. "What happened, love?" The boy took a deep breath before answering. "Liam.. H - He self harms." He looked down to his lap as he heard an evident gasp come from her.

"It shouldn't be such a surprise, darling. He's going through so much. All he needs is support. From you, from myself, from his family." Johannah went over and hugged his oldest son once he noticed he was close to tears.

"He'll be okay, no need to cry. You know what? I'm proud of you. You've helped him through his toughest times and it's incredible how much you've done." Louis turned his gaze upward to look at the wonderful woman he calls his mother. He smiles in reply and nods at her following words. "Now, Lou. What I want you to do is after he wakes up, give him a cuddle, and ask him about it. Alright?"

So he did. Liam had woken up minutes after Jay had left to her work. Louis was there waiting for him, of course. He beamed happily, "Had a nice sleep, love?" Liam only nodded but grinned. "Right, so you know what I have to ask you.."

Liam's smile vanished as he bit his lip.

"There's no need to ask what you already know the answer to."

"That's correct, but there's more questions. Why do you do this?"

Liam got slightly angered. Not at Louis, but at himself. "You know the answer to that as well. I've been treated like shit for what? Two years? My parents don't acknowledge my existence and it's my fault Zayn is in that hospital! I mess things up without even realizing, don't I.. I'm worthless, is that what you want me to say? Because you got it, and it's true. I don't deserve you, your mum. I deserve pain and cutting lets me feel what I need. I'm just a fucked up person and I wouldn't blame you if you left me. I deserve this. I spent ages saying it was Zayn's fault but it isn't. It's mine." By the end of his ramble he was crying. Louis looked away, too hurt at his expression.

"That is not true, and you know it isn't. You didn't chose for Zayn to be ill, you didn't ask for horrible parents, you did absolutely nothing wrong and that's what you should realize. Your amazing and I honestly don't know what I'd do without you. Your my best mate, my boyfriend, my soulmate." And Louis meant every word he said.

Liam didn't make eye contact as he shook his head but smiled weakly nonetheless. "I love you."

Louis returned the smile and pecked his lips softly. "I love you too, so, so much."

It was going to be okay. Well, for now at least. But that's all that mattered.

They cuddled. Liam's head was resting on Louis' chest and it was lovely. It was silence, they enjoyed it. Until Louis broke it.

"Zayn's birthday is tomorrow."

Liam sighed. "What should we do?"

"Show up, the kid looks up to you. He'll love to see you at his party. Your parents probably have it all planned out."

Louis was correct for the most part, except for the last. Meanwhile at the hospital, Niall and Harry were going frantic. They had nothing planned other than decorations. Zayn was sat on his colourful bed as he doodled on a sketch book one of the nurses had given him as an early birthday present. He was happy, he wasn't as weak as before but he's still very ill. He loved his parents' company. They were quote unquote 'fun to be around'. These past few days have been alright. He's gotten tests done and he seems as if he's been the same since when he was first taken to the hospital. He was very excited for his party, it was the only time he'll get to see his whole, (or almost whole) family.

"Right, so we have all the decorations, now we need Liam. We'll call him later. We need.. Who else is on the list?" Harry asked his husband as he paced.

"Louis if he wants to come, Johannah.. My mum might pay a visit, but other than that, it's all." Niall nodded to himself as he read the 'list' they've made for people whom are invited to the party.

What they didn't know, though, was there was going to be a surprise. A surprise, a person, no one would ever expect would be walking into Zayn's hospital room for his birthday acting as if she'd been with him and his family all along.

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I apologize if it's bad. I hope you haven't forgotten about this book..x

-Lilo