Stay Alive

He didn't run away, Gemma knew that much. He didn't have the funds, he didn't have the support of someone else, and he had nowhere to go. She knew her brother and she knew that no matter how bad their situation was, he would never leave.

He wasn't stupid enough to do that. He wasn't dumb enough to leave without a plan and as far as she knew, he never had one. He didn't take anything from his room and she knew that.

He didn't have much and even if one thing was taken, it was noticeable. No clothes were missing, not a bag, or food. Not even any money was taken from the secret little stash he kept in the air vent that he never told anyone about except for her.

Nothing was missing, but that's not the only reason she knew that he didn't run away.

Harry wasn't afraid of much, but he had always been afraid of the night. Not night time specifically, but being outside at night. The thought of all things that go on or the things that could happen always freaked him out. Not only that, but he hated being away from home. He always found it stressful to spend the night at someone's house, even if it was as simple as their Grandmother's or the kid who used to live next door. He hated it.

There's absolutely no way that he'd leave without money or go to someone else's house.

And that's why she's currently arguing with Des.

"Who gives a shit about him! He left us, Gemma! Fuck him! I may have fucked a lot of shit up but I never left you guys to fend for yourselves—"

"No, but you gladly drained all of our savings for your fucking drugs! So maybe he'd still be here if it wasn't for you! Maybe we would have been better off without you!" Anne screamed, tears of frustrations and longing flowing from her face.

If Gemma thought she was taking Harry's disappearance hard, it was nothing compared to Anne. The poor mother hadn't stopped crying ever since she found out. She's been depressed and so incredibly angry.

And she absolutely hated Des.

"He's a wimp! If it bothered him so much, he should have been a man and stood up to me—"

"He did, but you were just too fucking high to remember it you fucking piece of shit!" Anne screamed, lunging at a laughing Des, but was held back by Gemma.

"He didn't fucking run away!" Gemma screamed in anger and frustration. Des suddenly stopped laughing at how weak his wife seemed and Anne stopped her attempt at killing her husband. They both looked at her bewildered and shocked.

"What do you mean he didn't run away? We read the emai—"

"Look at the facts, Mom. Nothing is gone from his room, he didn't take any food from the house or any money that he had stashed away." Des suddenly perked up but Gemma glared. "I fucking put it somewhere you won't be able to touch it so don't even look for it. God, are you so fucking hooked that you care more about your damn drugs than your son who is fucking missing?" She screamed in disbelief, glaring at her father with such cold eyes that he froze.

"Well, I—"

"No, you're going to fucking shut up and listen to me for once. I want you to let the fact that you'd forget about your only son being missing for those stupid fucking drugs sink into that rotting brain of yours. The little boy that looked up to you like you could protect him from the world, the little boy whose hero you were and loved you with all of his heart even after you began to hurt him and pick drugs over him, he-he's gone—" Gemma watched as tears finally began to enter his father's mind but she wasn't stopping until he broke. "—There is a huge possibility that the only person who never loved you any less when you became a fuck up is never coming back. Harry may never come back to us and that'll be like he's dead. Hell, he could be dead! So pull your head out of your fucking drugs and think about Harry and how scared he may be! He could be fighting for his life while you're slowly killing yourself." Gemma doesn't pay attention to her mother's sobs in the background, all she can see is her anger towards this man.

"If you need a distraction from reality so much, use finding him as a fucking distraction!" Gemma screamed, running out of the house and to her car. She started it up and pulled out of the driveway, knowing exactly who she needed to talk too.

******

Gemma was never one to cause a scene. She liked to be hidden in the back and not have any attention drawn to her. It's not that she hated attention, but she preferred to live her life without eyes prying at her.

However, she was far too angry to care about that.

She stormed into the store that was unusually booming with customers, not that it was unpopular, but it usually wasn't busy at this time during the day. However, that didn't stop her from storming right up to Zayn who was at the cash register.

"Where the hell is he?" Gemma snapped, earning Zayn's attention who had previously been preoccupied with a customer.

"Gemma?" Zayn said as if he couldn't believe that she was there. They haven't spoken since the night at the restaurant despite Louis telling him to get her off his trail. "What are you—"

"Where the hell is that bastard, Louis?" Zayn remained calm on the inside but internally was freaking out slightly.

"Can we talk about this later—"

"No, we fucking can't," she sneered out angrily, looking like a dog that was about to attack. Zayn knew how serious she was and nodded.

"Give me a second." Zayn went into the back and came out with another employee who walked behind the register. Zayn looked at her and motioned for her to follow him into the back. She stomped over to him, her temper reaching its peak. He led her through the back and outside to the back of the mall, giving her an annoyed look. He's already on edge about what he left Harry to face with Louis in that shed and this isn't helping.

Harry's probably a wreck—

"Where the hell is Louis?" Gemma snipped, her brown eyes shimmering in fury. Zayn changed the subject, trying to steer her away from the conversation and to try and stop her from asking any more questions.

"I know you're worried about Harry, but that doesn't give you the right to storm into my workplace and cause a scene—"

"My brother is fucking missing and I'm guessing your creepy friend Louis had something to do with it so forgive me if I don't give a fuck about causing a scene," she sneered. "Now where the hell can I find him?" Zayn rolled his eyes.

"Gemma, I know you're taking this hard, but Harry fucking ran away. I know you loved him, but this shit happens—"

"He didn't fucking run away!" Gemma slapped Zayn across the face. He held his cheek and looked at her in shock. She looked just as shocked as he did.

Until she burst into tears.

"I-I'm so s-sorry!" Gemma cried, falling to the ground. Zayn watched in anger, but he couldn't let her think that he didn't care about her or that would screw things up. So he leaned down to her and held her close to him.

"It's okay, I can't even imagine what I would do if I lost someone I cared about." Zayn sighed. "I still think he ran away, but I'll try to help you find him." Gemma looked up at Zayn with hopeful eyes and she hugged him tightly. He chuckled slightly and found himself hugging her back just as tight without thinking. But once he did realize, he pulled away, quite flustered by the fact that he just did something like that to the person causing him an insane amount of trouble.

"Call me when your shift ends." Gemma stands up with the help of Zayn and turned to run toward her car. And if Zayn found himself smiling fondly at her, no one needed to know.

******

When Gemma arrived back home, she was shocked to see a police car there.

Des.

She ran inside, only to be completely shocked, again, to not see Des in handcuffs, but instead, talking calmly and seriously to the officer. Anne, who noticed Gemma's arrival and obvious confusion, walked over to her.

"Des called them, we're reporting Harry as missing. Des is showing them the email. " Gemma stared at her mother in disbelief. How could that be true after what Des said this morning? But then Des is shouting in anger at the policeman.

"What do you mean you can't help us?" Anne walked over to Des and grabbed his arm to calm him down, but it didn't work. But he was able to stay calm enough to not attack the officer.

"I'm sorry, but the boy is 19 and he said he was running away. There is no reason for us to believe that your son was taken. However, the abuse he mentioned is something I would like to look into Mr. Styles." Des and Anne both freeze, but Gemma stepped up.

"If you aren't going to help us then we'd appreciate it if you would leave officer." The man looked at her unsure, but nodded his head and left without another word.

"T-Thank you, Gem—"

"I only did it because as much as I hate to admit it, we need your help to find Harry. You know the most about the dangerous things that go on in London so you're the best person to help." Des nodded, he was upset but not at her, at himself.

"I-I won't be doing drugs anymore. I-I—you were right. I need to pull my head out of my ass and focus on what's important, you guys. It's going to be hard, but I want you guys to love me again. And I will not stop until we find Harry." Gemma nodded, but she wasn't convinced.

"I'll believe it when I see it. I'm going up to his room to look for clues." She didn't wait for a response, only hurrying up to the abandoned room. She sighed and walked over to his bed, laying down on it and covering up.

"Wherever you are Harry, please, stay alive."