Night Changes (N.S MPREG)

28.

Harry's POV

After mine and Niall's intimate moment, we cleaned each other silently. Eventually, Niall reached past me and shut off the water, which was now starting to go cold. He passed me a towel and wrapped an identical one around his hips. I did the same thing, not taking my eyes off of the smaller boy that was stood in front of me.

He silently walked up to the counter and picked up the bracelet that he had taken off before we showered, slipping it back on his wrist. I watched as he did this, wondering what the significance of the bracelet was but not wanting to ask him in fear of hurting him. 

"I think there should be some of your clothes here," Niall told me softly, walking out of the room with me trailing behind him. He was referring to the small amount of clothes that I had left here in the space of when Niall and I had 'gotten together.' There wasn't a lot but there was enough to last a little while.

We both dressed in silence. I noticed that he wasn't exactly acting like himself but I didn't comment, still turning away as he dressed because I could tell that he wanted some privacy. 

I looked over once he had said that he was dressed, though he stood still with his head hanging low. He was biting the nails on his left hand, which made me let out a sigh and sit on his bed. He heard me sigh and so he looked up at me, a questioning look appeared on his face, which made me motion for him to sit next to me. He frowned, but did what I asked and sat down beside me on the bed.

"What's wrong, princess?" I asked in a gentle voice, instinctively grabbing his smaller hand in mine in hopes of comforting him as much as I could.

He let out a breath, not daring to meet my eyes for even a second, they were trained on the floor. "Nothing, I just--" he cut himself off. I knew that whatever was troubling him was something very personal and I immediately felt bad for prying into his private life.

"You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to," I added.

I wanted to know what it was, obviously, but I wasn't going to force him to tell me. It took me a while to tell him about my life, so I didn't exactly have any right to be mad if he didn't tell me about his.

"No, it's fine. I think it's time I tell you anyways. I just haven't spoken about it in a while," he said. 

"Take your time, princess. Don't rush yourself, okay?" I told him.

"When I was younger, around fourteen or so, I had a boyfriend. It wasn't very serious, considering that I was kind of young but I cared about him," he began.

"I also had a close friend. He was like my brother, and I loved him like one, but Alex- my boyfriend- didn't like that. He was possessive...and he hated how close I was with this friend of mine," he paused for a second.

"That's Carter, isn't it?" I asked softly, already seeming to know the answer.

Niall nodded.

"Alex didn't like anyone in my life but Carter was the worst. No matter what I did, Alex hated him. He would somehow find a way to hurt Carter but I was oblivious to it. When I found out, I tried to break up with Alex but he wouldn't let me leave," he stopped to wipe the tears that had begun to fall.

"Alex didn't let me speak to Carter anymore. He was so much stronger than me, so I had no choice but to listen. So I-- I lost a close friend. The last time we spoke was one day when he came to my house and gave me this bracelet. He always had it. It was like...a part of him. He just told me that he wanted me to have it...and then he left."

I tightened my hold on his hand, immediately noticing that it was shaking in my grip. His eyes were still glossy and he stared straight ahead of him.