Young & Beautiful

Louis doesn’t feel connected to his body right now.
A pause.
Then.
“Liam.”
And ice floods Louis’ veins.
“What about him?” he asks, panicked, high, dizzy.
“He’s here. In hospital.”
“What about him?!” Louis repeats in a snarl and he’s sat down on the bed. He’s dizzy. He
probably needs water. Everything’s shaking.
There’s the faint sound of voices and hubbub on the other end.
“He overdosed.”
Silence.
Louis stares.
“They’re stabilizing him, Louis,” he says, and the tension in his voice is so alien and
uncomfortable and horrible. “It wasn’t too late. He’s still here, Louis.”
Louis stares.
There’s no blood in his fingers.
“Come back. Zayn’s asking for you.”
Zayn.
“I’m coming,” he says faintly, eyes tearing because he hasn’t blinked, frozen to the spot. No air,
no thoughts, no movement. Louis is filled with nothing.
“Good.”
Silence.
Long, thick silence.
“He’s going to be okay, Louis.”
“They said that?”
A pause.
“He’s going to be okay.”
And that’s all that Louis hears before he hangs up.
**
“Do you want me to stay?” his mum asks, wrapped in a thick jacket, face still sleep-creased and