Don't  hate me :)

Mag 🦋

TWENTY-FOUR
The broken glass.

A few days went by and we just fell back into routine.

Alarm set off at six, kissing Harry awake, protein smoothie, wake up shower and my morning run.

Somedays, Harry joined me in the last two, others, he decided to just take a walk with Amélie, and have a lazy morning in bed.

It's not like I can't blame him, he doesn't have to go to work here, so if he wants to sleep in and relax, he's more than welcome to stay at the penthouse while I spend the rest of my day at the club.

My mother was long gone by now, she returned home the day after the family dinner, and made Harry promise that he'd visit our hometown to meet the girls soon.

Of course, when she left, I finally got my room and my water bed back.
Harry and I didn't waste a second trying it out together.

Today though it was Saturday, the day I was having Desmond and Niall at the club for a friendly game.

I had called some of my old mates from years ago, and I luckily confirmed seven players to join us, making that a fair five against five.

Harry refused to join us, saying it was my bonding time with his father and that he hated playing football anyways.

Instead, he asked me to drive him to this butterfly greenhouse he found on the internet, before going to the club.
So, naturally, we had to get up earlier and suppress the morning run from the routine.

He was actually really excited about talking to this woman that ran the place. She seemed to have convinced him that they could find a solution to his allergies, that she had the same plant and that they could run some tests.

Also, he was thrilled to get some new butterfly species for himself.

Honestly, he looked as excited as a child with a new favorite toy the whole trip to the greenhouse.

"Be careful, yeah?" - I said after parking the car on the lot outside the gigantic glass structure, very similar to Harry's.

"Yes." - He smiled, pulling me for a kiss. - "I'll cover my whole body in fabric before touching the plant. I'm not suicidal, you know?"

"It's my job as your boyfriend to make sure you remember how dangerous that is for you."

"I know." - He nodded while smiling. - "Thank you for driving me."

"No need to thank me, sweet. But remember that I'll be at the club for a while and I might not have my phone with me, so if you need a ride back, you'll have to call Liam, yeah?"

"I can call a cab."

"Okay, just don't let anyone see you alone when you get home. It's all still very recent and I don't want anyone ambushing you outside my place."

"It's that a possibility?"

"People are going crazy." - I shrugged. - "Just be extra careful. With the plant and when you return home. Both." - I stated firmly and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Okay, mum." - He leaned over and pecked my lips. - "I'll be extra careful."

"I love you." - I mumbled, still lost in his previous kiss.

"Same." - He said cheekily.

"Excuse me?! Same?"

Harry poked my cheek and kissed me again.

"I love you too. See you in a few hours." - He said, leaving the car moments after.

🦋

Desmond and I played on the same team, our opponents: Niall and Ronaldo.

Of course, our team won.

But that didn't stop Niall from recording lots of videos with everyone and screaming his team was the one that won at the cameras.

He said it was teaching material for his kids.
I said it was bullshit.

The rest of my mates left after two games, wanting nothing more than a beer and some time to catch up with each other. On the other side, Niall, Des and I decided to do a whole tour inside the club and grab something to eat on our way back.

I showed them the dressing rooms, showers, the offices, VIPs, and I even introduced them to Rangnick, who came after us to close the gates and secure the place.

It was a fun day, and most importantly, Des loved every second of it.
Even more when I invited him for fish and chips in a place that reminded him of his childhood.

After eating, I drove them both back to the hotel and on my way back home, I checked my phone to see if I had news from my baby boyfriend.

I didn't.

It felt weird. He hadn't even sent one text all day, not even to say he was already home.
That was not usual of Harry.

I intended to call him to say I was on my way, but that only led to voicemail.

Which only felt weirder.

I hit the pedal, driving as fast as the speed limit allowed me, to get home and check if he was there.

My gut was now telling me that something had happened.
That I should indeed worry because my sweet wasn't alright.

I felt it in the depths of my heart.

If Harry was hurting, I needed to get there.

I rushed out of the car, not even caring about locking it and ran inside the building, ignoring the doorman and almost pushing one of my neighbors out of the way.
I quickly pressed the code for the penthouse and the lift went up.

But not fast enough.

"Harry? Are you home?!" - I screamed into the empty living room, dropping my things on the closest chair and walking rushedly towards the bedroom.

I pushed the door open and what I saw on the other side immediately made my heart stop.

Harry was curled up into the blankets, sobbing against the pillows. His face completely facing down and his crying being muffled.

"Baby? Babe, what's wrong?" - I said softly, sitting by his side at the edge of the bed and placing a hand on his trembling back.

"Lou." - He whispered, tilting his face just a bit.

"Yes, sweet. I'm home. Why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I've ruined it."

"What? What happened, tell me."

And then he lifted his head and I saw his face.

Bruised and with dried blood all over.

His eyes tired from crying but also completely swollen from the injuries around his beautiful face.

"What happened to your face? Harry, who did this?"

"Two men were here, waiting for me before I could even get into the building. I'm sorry, you told me and I didn't…"

"What?!"

"They ambushed me." - He cried, burying his face in the pillow again.

"Baby, did you call the police? I'm sure we have cameras outside the building."

"It doesn't matter! Your fans hate me and I've ruined everything for you."

"Harry, what?"

"I did! They called me awful things and they said I'm ruining you and Manchester and everything and I hate it, because it's true!"

"It's not! You are not ruining my career, you aren't. Baby, you're the greatest thing ever happened to me. I won't let you say those things and those people are going to pay for what they've done. I promise you." - I said, laying down next to him and cupping his face, softly analyzing the wounds.

"But more of them will come too, I don't even want to look at the news anymore. Mom told me people found my social media and they know every single detail about my life. I can't even go back to my job!"

"Harry, calm down. Please. Can we clean your face? Put some ice, baby please. You're worrying me."

"My face is fine." - He huffed.

"No, it's not."

"Louis, you don't understand! This will continue happening!" - He said, sitting in bed. - "I don't care about my face right now, I care about what will happen to us if we keep doing this!" - He screamed in between tears.

"Harry, I told you. We're getting through this together. We'll hire security, we won't be leaving this place alone until we know we're safe to. There's a lot of things we can do to stop this. We will be more careful until things calm down."

"Louis, no. I don't want any of that." - He said, standing up and walking round the bed to the bathroom, giving me his back.

"Then what do you want, sweet? Tell me." - I said, standing up from the bed and following him closely.

"I want to be normal again, to go back to my greenhouse, my flat, my country and things to… to be simple." - He sighed, washing some tears away as he cleaned his face in the bathroom sink.

"Baby…" - I trailed, not knowing what to say to make it better.

"It's okay. There's nothing you can do." - He said, tears starting to fall down his cheeks again.

"There must be something." - I said softly. - "I can ask for a few days and go back to America with you, to help you settle and make sure you're okay again. How does that sound?"

"No!" - He cried. - "You still don't get it! Your life is this, is fame and interviews and fans and excitement, Louis! But I'm not used to this. I don't think I can…" - He sniffed. - "I don't think we're going to work?"

"Harry, no! What?"

"All of this is hurting me."

"What about all that soulmate thing?! What about being together no matter the obstacles?!"

"You know what they also say about soulmates?" - He cried. - "That they never get to be happy together."

"What are you even on about?! This is you being scared, this isn't how you actually feel! I know it."

"I can't do this!"

"But we can't be apart either, can we?!"

"We can try." - He sobbed.

"I don't want to try. I want you. Don't you get it?"

"Louis!" - He screamed, exhausted and trembling. - "This is not what I thought… I can't… it's too much."

"Are you giving up? That easily?"

"I don't know!"

"Okay, fine. Then figure it the fuck up, and then tell me your answer." - I said sharply, heading out of the room and slamming the door in the process.

Only three seconds passed when I heard the door opening again.

"Louis, stop." - I heard Harry's broken voice behind me, making me stop in my tracks.

"Did you make up your mind?"

"I want to go back to America."

"Oh, yeah?" - I snorted. - "Fine." - I said, turning around and walking to the kitchen to get a fucking glass of whiskey.

"Fine?"

"What do you want me to say?!"

"Maybe fight for me?"

"Fight? Harry, if you don't want to be with me, I won't keep you. You're free to go. But you can't say that I haven't fought for you when that's all I've been doing since the day we met."

"So that's it?"

I sighed, resting back on the kitchen counter.

"Harry. I seriously don't know what to tell you."

"You would let me go that easily?"

"I don't want you to go. I want you to stay and talk things through like adults because I know we can sort this. But you always run away anyway, so it's no use."

"Is that what you think of me?"

"It's not what I think, It's what you do! So if you want to leave, then go ahead."

Harry shook his head.

"I'm booking a flight for tomorrow and I'll sleep in the guest room tonight."

"Does it mean it's over?"

"Until the universe says otherwise."

"Ha. Fine." - I huffed.

"Fine." - He repeated, turning back towards the room. - "Oh and by the way, I have a solution for my allergies if you wanted to know. So, you don't have to worry anymore."

"Great." - I shrugged, walking around the kitchen aisle and opening the fridge. I took a frozen gel bag and handed it to him. - "For your face."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Harry left the room and I finally poured whiskey into a glass, gulping it all down in one go.
I threw the glass across the kitchen, crashing it against the wall and breaking it into pieces.

Tiny little pieces.
That no one was going to pick up.