Chapter 8


Niall spun around to the hall closet and grabbed one of Louis' old golf putters. Anya subconsciously took a step toward the loud noise, both adrenaline
and fear pulsing through her veins. She was immediately halted by Niall's stiff arm jutting across her body and he shook his head sternly at her. A look of pure vulnerability flashed in his eyes for a moment but he instantly covered up the terrified expression with a straight face. But a familiar voice errupted from
the bedroom. "CR*P."

Niall lowered the golf club. "LIAM?"

Liam staggered to the doorway and caught himself on the hall table. He clutched a half-empty bottle of rum in one hand and his cellphone in the other. He lifted his phone, still trying to steady his unsober self. "Still nothin'..." He turned around and headed back into the bedroom. "NOTHING!"

Anya and Niall rushed behind him. It looked like a scene taken from a college frat party- cans of beer were sprawled across the alcohol-soaked carpet. Fortunately, most of them weren't even close to empty, which was probably a sign of when he switched his depressive ways to the harder liquor. Niall scanned the room, repulsed by the bitter stinging smell of the alcohol that now overwhelmed his and Anya's room. Liam sat on the bed and went for another swig of rum but Anya sprinted to his side and pried the bottle from his hands and he groaned in diasapproval. "Liam, you can't- you're not supposed- you don't drink! What are you thinking?! Don't you see what you're doing to yourself?!"

Liam bobbed his head while his eyes fixed drunkenly at his phone. "Nooo," he slurred. "Cause now I can pretend like she called me back and I just forgot..." He started to laugh emotionlessly and flung himself back on the bed.

Anya shook her head, struggling to figure out what to do with a drunk and heartbroken Liam. He didn't have the strongest liver and was cautioned against
alcohol consumption. "Niall, get him some coffee, asprin, and lots of water, please. Maybe... Should we call the doctor?..."

"Bon, I'm sure he'll be fine, we can call the doctor in the morning if there's any issues. I'll take care of it." He assured. Anya smiled thankfully at him and he turned to head into the kitchen.

Liam was enthusiasically muttering lines of "More Than This" and Anya reached across his chest and grabbed his phone. According to his call history,
he'd dialed Kelley nine times in the past hour and a half. Anya wondered how many of these calls he'd actually made while still sober. Liam shot his hand at
Anya and smacked his hand repeatedly against her arm. "Nooo, c'mooon give it baaack! Is she calling?!"

Anya grabbed his hand and held it firmly to his side, scooting closer to him. "Li, look at yourself. Look what you're doing. You're slowly losing it. You knew coming into this long distance relationship that it would be difficult and this is just another obstacle. Bud, you gotta pull yourself together."

Liam stared blankly at the ceiling and suddenly snapped his head in her direction. "Did she call yet?"

"Liam, try to focus, please, I'm trying to help you-" Anya's ringtone rang from her back pocket. Liam scrambled up anxiously, anticipating it to be his own phone but Anya pushed him by his chest backwards. "Lie down."

Harry had picked an awful time to call. "Yes?" Anya answered.

"Louis' on his way back to look for his phone, so I'd suggest you stop the guilt sex with Niall before he shows up-"

What a perfect time to set Anya off. Fuming, she bellowed into the receiver, "I don't have the time for this cr*p right now, Harry!"

"Woah, Bon, what's-?" But Anya hung up.

"Harry? Was that Harry? I like Harry..." Liam rambled on next to her.

Anya's phone vibrated violently. Harry texted her: "Whats going on?? is
somethin wrong?"

"Kelley! Is Kelley talking to you!?" Liam lunged across Anya's lap for her phone. She leapt off the bed.

"Liam, it's not Kell," she assured him.

He threw himself facedown on the bed and starting pounding his fist on the pillow. "D*MN IT," he whined, his voice muffled in the sheets.

Anya tugged at the back of her hair in frustration. Dealing with Liam's relationship problems without a sober Liam was nearly impossible and Harry's paranoid nonsense was making her head spin. She turned back to her phone and
tapped in a long, irritated text back to Harry. "Im dealing with liam and his relationship right now and im sick of this s*** im getting about the whole louis
thing. Its over, watever feelings i had last week r gone. the steps me and niall take in our relationship is our business and not related to any feelings i may
have had for louis. THEYRE GONE end of story".

"Bon! Niall!" Louis yelled from the front room. "Have you guys seen my phone?"

Anya frantically hurried to send Harry the message and shoved her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. Niall appeared in the doorway struggling to carry three water bottles, a cup of hot coffee and a bottle of aspirin. Closely behind him was Louis.

"Liam!" Louis' face lit up temporarily, then he furrowed his brow in confusion when he witnessed his surroundings and Liam's condition. He briskly
strolled to Liam in concern. "Dude, what's going on?"

"Kelley," Niall mouthed to Louis and forcefully handed Liam a bottled water, who cocked his head and just stared at it. "Liam, drink. Rehydrate," Niall ordered.

Anya sighed, "He's a mess but he needs to sleep."

"-in his own bed..." Niall finished. He assisted Liam off the bed and led him into his own room as Liam croned on about how he's sleepless "like they are in Seattle". Louis followed behind him carrying the water and other things Liam would need.

The front door opened and closed and Anya could hear Harry and Zayn kicking off their shoes and talking quietly to each other. Anya passed Zayn on her way to the kitchen and bid him good night without looking at him.

"Hey?" Harry offered.

Anya didn't reply but with difficulty. She found it hard to stay upset with Harry for too long. After standing in silence for a few moments, Harry turned
toward his bedroom mumbling something along the lines of "I'll let you sleep it off".

Anya leaned against the couter and dropped her head in her hands, sensing the birth of a migraine. Too much for one night.

Harry spun around right before he'd walked out of sight. "Oh, thanks for texting me back by the way. I wouldn't have known what was goin' on with Liam if Niall hadn't called. I was really worried..."

Anya looked up at him, baffled. "Wait, I did. I did reply to you."

Harry checked his phone for a delayed message he may have missed and shook his head with a shrug, proceeding to disappear into his room.

"D*mn," Anya muttered to herself. She pulled her phone from her back pocket and clicked on her messages. Suddenly, her heart plummetted into her stomach and
her mind started to race. In the frantically hustled attempt to send that text, she'd failed to deliver it to Harry. Instead, that message had travelled to
Louis Tomlinson's inbox.