Young & Beautiful

“Oh yeah. He’s a right fuckin’ mess, it’s pretty bad. Me dad said he’s impossible to work with. He
doesn’t even know where he is half the time, and if he does, you don’t know which side of him is
going to show up, you know?”
Louis swallows, because shit, that’s pretty intense, before Niall takes another gulp from his refilled
glass and ponders, lips wet.
“You know, I’m not even sure if he’s living at home right now, actually. He might be
institutionalized.”
“Institutionalized?” Louis repeats, shocked. “What, for drugs or…?”
“No, I think he’s clean now. I think. Me dad was never really sure, to be honest. But no, he goes
through these breakdowns every now and then. Hospital sets him up then he’s all right to go back
home.”
“So he’s a nutter.”
“That’s an understatement.”
Louis nods, more to himself than anything, and clears his throat, refusing to think about the
implications of the situation and how it relates to Harry. So he stands up and walks over to Niall,
head held high.
“Well,” he says, clearing his throat and grabbing the tumbler out of Niall’s hand, “I’m sure Harry
isn’t even aware of the situation. I’m not quite sure he realizes that anybody else exists in the
world.” He takes a drink and—oh, yep. Vodka. He winces as he struggles to swallow while Niall
watches in amusement.
“You may have a point there. He didn’t seem too fussed when his mum died.”
“…His mum died?”
“Well, one of them. I’m not sure if she was his real mum or not. He’s had a few.”
Good lord.
“How did she die?”
Niall shrugs. “Nobody knows. It was pretty hushed up, so it could’ve been an overdose or some
shite.”
Some shite? Louis feels a little sick.
“It probably was drugs. Seeing that his sister’s a bit of an addict herself.”
This is just getting worse.
“He has a sister?”
“Yeah. She’s a big time model. Gemma Styles? Never heard of her?”
Louis shakes his head. “I’m not really…into models. Well. Female ones.”
Niall smirks. “Well, she’s fit. But a fuckin’ mess. Raised Harry until he could take care of himself,
then she was out of there.”