Take Me Home

Chapter Fourteen

That evening was the one where Liam got to go home and Zayn had work, so Calum was the only carer in the house.

The kids liked Calum, but he wasn't like Liam. He was good at his job, but that was it, they didn't see him as a parental figure as they did with Liam. He also wasn't much older than some of the oldest children, being just eighteen himself, so at best, he was a glorified babysitter to them.

So when Harry came home from school that day in a horrible mood, Cal was busy playing with Jesse and Brody, and he didn't even notice the red rings around his green eyes or the pain behind his anger, simply letting the teen storm up the stairs and slam the door to his room before he went back to playing with the twins.

Harry threw his school bag across the room, not even caring when he saw Louis and Niall flinch. The two of them were sitting on Louis' bed - Niall was focusing on trying to read the children's book in his hands and Louis was finishing his maths homework.

Harry glared at them, his stomach churning. Everything seemed to be making his temper worse but all he really wanted to do was break down and cry his eyes out because his break up with Daniel was rough and he still couldn't believe he had said all those things to make him hate himself.

"What're you staring at!?" he snapped, kicking his schoolbag roughly, not caring about the stupid books inside.

Niall frowned, closing his book and scooting toward the edge of the bed, almost like he was planning on leaving the room before things could get louder or maybe even violent. Louis, however, just chewed his lip and looked concerned. He had known Harry for a long time, and he hadn't ever seen him like this. Sure, he got moody sometimes, but he was never aggressive.

He stood from the bed carefully. "Haz? What's wrong?" he asked.

Harry couldn't stand the sympathy in the boy's voice. It made him feel even more pathetic. "Leave me alone, Lou," he told him, his voice stern.

Louis shook his head, not fazed by the tone as he took a step closer. He trusted Harry and his mild manners. "Haz -"

"I told you to leave me!" he yelled, suddenly, pushing the boy away gently. He had forgotten about how the kid had been being bullied and as soon as Louis began to cry, he realised what he had done. "Shit. Lou, I'm so sorry -" he started, but the seven year old had already gotten up off the ground and run out of the room.

Niall watched with wide eyes. Harry was the first person he had trusted when he came here, he couldn't believe he was acting like this. He stared at him for a few seconds, then chewed his lip.

"That wasn't nice," he said, calmly, as if Harry didn't already know.

Unfortunately, the older boy's temper didn't seem ready to calm down yet. "Shut up, Niall," he hissed, trying and failing to take a deep breath. He just wanted everyone to go away and give him a minute to catch his breath.

Niall's stare turned into a glare and he pushed himself up from the bed. "You made Louis cry, you're just like a bully. A mean, horrible bully," he told him, defending Louis once again before he too ran out of the room to find the upset boy.

Harry deflated at that, feeling awful and guilty for upsetting both of the younger boys on top of all the pain of today's events. He was meant to look out for them and he was doing the opposite.

Everything seemed to be piling up on top of him, and all of a sudden, he couldn't breath. He sat down on the bottom bunk where Niall was meant to sleep, panting heavily. He rested a hand against his chest as it heaved up and down shakily, tears beginning to leak from his eyes for the second time that day. He felt sick, he couldn't breathe, and he really wished that Liam or Zayn was around to make everything better.