Catch Me I'm Falling - A Larry Stylinson Fanfic

Chapter 11

February 25th - Day 40

When I heard the faint ringing of my cell phone, I didn’t think too much of it. I was in the shower at the time, and though my obligation to my patients was important, they could wait the five minutes it would take me to wash my hair and dry myself off. 

When I heard the house phone ring a minute or so later I didn’t spare it a second thought. It wasn’t until I came shuffling out in my grungy old sweatpants and saw Liam standing at the counter, phone in hand, looking a bit like a kicked puppy, that I remembered that I’d been expecting a very particular call today.

He looked up when I came in, doe eyes wide and comforting in a way that made the whole thing that much more painful. People didn’t look at you like that when they had good news. They didn’t.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were having symptoms again?” He asked, voice soft and gentle, like he thought I was about to shatter. 

I avoided his eyes, running a hand through wet hair. “I was hoping it was nothing.” I paused, gauging his expression. “It’s not nothing, is it?”

He shook his head, lips pressed together. “No. It’s not nothing.”

I inhaled deeply, felt the air compress in my lungs before exhaling long and slow, my body deflating with the breath. “Fuck.”

“It’s going to be fine.” He said, looking like he wanted nothing more than to scoop me up in a hug and never let me go. “You’re going to make it through this.”

“I don’t know if I can.” I answered honestly, feeling as bleached and pale as the kitchen we stood in, damp feet on dirty tile and a growing emptiness in my heart. “Just tell me how bad it is.”

“Stage IV. There was other stuff too, I don’t know…” He said, stepped tentatively forward, holding a hand out like he needed me to take it as much as I needed to. I’d never seen him look so fragile, my safe strong Liam with hairline cracks tracing his skin.

“That’s pretty bad.” I replied, twisting my fingers together, a complete and utterly hopelessness building up inside me. “Its fucking absolute shit.”

He nodded his acceptance. “But you’re not going to have to do this alone, you know.” I could see how much this was hurting him, hear the tenderness in his voice, how much he wanted to be able to fix this with a hug and a hot cuppa. 

I nodded, moving so I was holding tightly to his fingers, hands strong and warm and familiar. “I know.”

He smiled a sad little half smile. “I love you, Lou.”

I nodded, my vision blurring as I collapsed into his chest, head buried in his neck. I was so small in his arms, his hands pressed on my shoulders and caving me into his breastbone, head tucked into my shoulder like he was trying to protect me from the outside world. Hugging Liam was like hugging a big teddy bear, a teddy bear that squeezed you just tight enough that you felt like nothing could get you and smelled like aftershave and detergent.

“I love you, Li.”

He ran a hand through my hair, fingers rubbing my skull in soothing circles. “We’re going to be okay. I’ll take care of you.”

I buried my head in his collarbone, letting myself hope that Liam was right, that I could make it through this. “Thankyou.”

“It’s nothing.” But standing there in the kitchen with a tumor growing in my chest it was everything to me.

xx

Harry was sitting on the side of his bed when I came in, looking positively perky considering the circumstances. He was wearing a dark green pea coat, a fluffy white scarf wrapped loose around his neck, smiling brightly as he kicked his white converse’d feet against the bedframe.