as the months passed by, liam's mood swings have increased. one day he'd be an angel and the next he'll yell at you for no reason. he'd tell harry to hang out with his mom and when harry does, liam will give him the silent treatment. every time.
liam has also been confined to a wheelchair. it's been getting harder for him to walk. this only angered him more. his mom moved his room downstairs too. harry took karen's side on this, much to liam's dismay. liam couldn't even make it halfway up the stairs before needing to sit down and take a breather.
it's stressful, yes, but harry knows he has to be patient. it's not liam's fault that he's like this.
he's just finishing up a student's senior photos when he gets a call. "hello?"
"harry? it's me, karen."
"hey karen! how are you?"
"i'm fine it's just- it's liam." she sighs. a harsh chill immediately runs through harry's body.
"what's wrong? is he okay? did something happen?"
"no, no, no he's fine! i'm sorry i should've worded it differently. liam is refusing to take his medicine. he turned off his alarm clock for it. he even smacked the bottle out of my hand and they all fell to the floor!"
"that's not like him." harry voices his thoughts.
"i know. could you come over and try to talk some sense into him? you're the only one he listens to."
"i'm on my way."
"thank you harry."
"no problem. i'll see you soon." harry says and hangs up the phone. he says goodbye to his clients, then he's on his way.
he arrives at the payne household in less than ten minutes. karen gave harry a key to the house so he doesn't need to knock to get in. karen is sitting on the couch in the living room with her head in her hands. "thank god you're here. he's in his room. he won't even let me in, he locked the door!"
"i'll take care of it. you go get some rest." karen looks exhausted. harry can't imagine being a single mom taking care of an ill child. karen nods thankfully and heads upstairs. harry on the other hand stays downstairs and walks to liam's new room. when he knocks he is met with an immediate, "leave me alone!" "babe? it's me." harry says and knocks on the door. no reply. "can you let me in?" no reply. "i'm not leaving until you open this door so you-" harry is cut short mid-sentence when the door is swung open.
"what do you want?" liam snaps.
"good to see you too." harry says sarcastically. liam rolls his eyes and walks back to his bed. "and you shouldn't be walking. where's your wheelchair?"
"if you came here to lecture me then you can leave." liam says and points to the door.
"your mom told me you weren't taking your medicine."
"yeah? so what?"
"liam you need to take your medicine." harry sighs.
"i don't need to, you guys just want me to! what's the point anyway!? i'm still going to die. no matter how many pills i take!" liam yells.
patience, harry reminds himself, patience.
"actually," liam continues, "how about i kill myself right now and take every single one of these!?" he throws the medicine bottle at harry. "i'm going to die anyway! why not just end it right now!?"
"listen to me." harry says sternly and picks up the bottle from the floor. "these may not cure anything but it sure as hell prolongs it. these are what are keeping you alive right now. i need you alive. i don't even want to think about what'd i do when you're no longer with me. you have a mother who loves you so much and let's not forget eleanor! can you imagine how devastated they'll be when you go? you're dying. that sucks. but stop acting like you're dead already!"
"get out." liam says barely above a whisper. harry goes to open the door but liam stops him. "wait. don't go. please don't leave me. i'm sorry." liam gets out of his bed and stumbles to harry. "i'm so sorry," he says and grabs onto harry's arms, "i'm so-" liam chokes up and tears are running down his face.
"it's okay." harry says and pulls him into a hug. "it's okay." he repeats.
"no it's n-not i fucking smacked the bottle out of my mom's hand and watched her pick up every single pill. i'm a horrible person!"
"it's not your fault. let's get you to bed yeah?" liam nods but makes no movement to get to the bed. harry picks him up and carries him to the bed. he lays him down before laying on top of him. "it's okay. you're okay. now try to go to sleep." harry brings his hand down to intertwine their fingers. he starts to doze off a few minutes later.
harry doesn't think liam knew, but he was awake when liam reached over to the bedside table, grabbed his bottle, and took his medicine.
