Together (Sick & Hurt Liam)

Christmas Letters (edited)

Zayn's POV

The entire house is full of excitement and chaos, for today is Christmas day. The babies are crying, Doniya and Gemma are chatting, Waliyah, Lottie and Fizzy are gossiping and giggling, and Daisy and Phoebe and Saffa are begging to open presents. Louis is talking to his siblings and trying to make the babies stop crying and Niall is outside on the phone calling his family to wish them all a happy Christmas.

Harry and I however are in Liam's room not really wanting to be out there, neither one of us really feeling the Christmas joy. No matter how hard I try I can not join in on the joking or excitement. Harry is feeling much the same way. 

"Liam, you really don't have to go out there if you don't feel like it. They all understand," Harry tries to sway Liam for the fourth time. Liam ignores him. He has already changed into a new pair of clothes and cleaned up the best he can. He leans against the wall closest to the bathroom, exhaustion from those simple task already clear.

"Seriously, Liam you look like crap and are already exhausted. Just relax again today," I try to convince him.

"No, I need to do this. I have been in this room now for over two weeks just resting. I need to get out there and actually socialize. I'm sick of being in here," Liam replies before moving cautiously away from the wall. The moment he does though he stumbles backwards. I jump up from where I had been sitting and grab him before he can hit the floor.

"I'm telling you this is a bad idea, Li. You can barely even stay up right and you want to go out there with a bunch of kids that are going to pester you?" Harry asks as I help Liam over to the bed where he sits down.

"I'm fine," Liam tries to protest.

"Yeah, because almost falling over is fine," Harry snaps back sarcastically.

"I haven't got sick since the 23rd. I am actually couscous now for more than 15 minutes and my fever has gone down," Liam tries again.

"Yeah and now you're just going to take all of that progress throw it out the door and push yourself too far today, because let's face it Liam, the only way you are coming back into this room after you leave it is when you either pass out or suddenly get too sick to move. I'm not letting you do it," Harry continues to argue.

"You don't have to let me do anything. I can take of myself, I can do this." 

"Oh yeah you can take care of yourself. No, we haven't had to hold you upright when you would get sick, we haven't had to feed you, we haven't spent night after night in here trying to lower your fever, we haven't woke you from every nightmare and calmed you down, we haven't sat in here day after day so you wouldn't be alone..."

"Shut up! I get it, I'm sorry. I just want to do this one god damn thing for me!" Liam yells back at Harry tears running down his cheeks. "I just want things to go back to normal. I'm sick of being sick and having to rely on you guys! I'm sick of having him haunt my nightmares! I'm sick of being weak and scared.." Liam breaks falling back on the bed his body shaking with sobs as he lets the past 3 weeks sink in. 

"Liam....I didn't mean it in a rude way...." Harry mumbles the stress of the past year fully hitting him as tears fall down his cheeks and crawls on the bed beside Liam wrapping his arms around Liam.

Liam's POV

As sobs fill me, my head pounds, my entire body aches and I feel as though my entire body is frozen a set of warm arms wrap around me and pull me close to their chest as sobs begin to shake them too and their salty tears hit the back of my neck. 

"Li, I'm so sorry we broke our promise to you that night, I wish we could have done something..." Zayn speaks up tears and anger in his voice as I feel him crawl up on the other side of me.