welcome to a CLUSTERFUCK of a chapter (:

** mentions of drug use that is not the marijuanas in the first half, & actual use of the marijuanas in the second.

—-

harry walked in the little coffee shop that trisha asked him to meet at, giving her a soft smile when he noticed her through the crowd of people swarming in the building. she had a cup of coffee in her hands, a weary glimmer in her eyes and she looked like she hadn't slept for days. she was a wreck when she learned the discovery of zayn possibly being set up and she said she needed to talk to harry alone. no louis, no evan, no zayn, just the two of them.

trisha took a sip of her coffee, thanking the young lad that waited on her when he brought a cup of black coffee to the table. harry made his way toward her, kissed her cheek and sits in the chair in front of her. his stomach turned when he noticed the expression on her face. he recognized that look.

"what's wrong, mums?" was the first thing to come out of his mouth.

trisha sighed and tapped her nails on the ceramic cup. trying to find the right words to say, she took a breath and finally looked into his eyes.

"i think evan is seeing another woman," she says quietly.

harry furrowed his eyebrows. "what makes you think that?"

trisha pulled out an envelope that was sticking out from her purse, handing it over to him. harry opened it to find a small stack of papers of text messages between evan and another person. hints of meeting up, going out for drinks, and making sure not a soul finds out about whatever was going on.

trisha had been in his life for about a decade, she was the only mother figure he ever really knew. growing up, harry didn't have much of a support system besides zayn. trisha was his mother, evan was his father, point blank. zayn was his brother, even if they didn't come from the same people. family isn't always blood. which is why harry takes his family seriously, they're all he knew. he called trish and evan mum and dad. zayn was a mix of brother and best friend. they were his people; the ones he went to when he needed help, the ones he relied on for guidance.

"you're a hundred percent sure?" harry asked. there was a bit of hurt in his voice. he wasn't sure what else to say.

"about eighty-five," trisha pursed her lips. "i wanted to talk to you because zayn would probably kill him if he found out. you're more planned out and logical at times."

"i beg to differ," harry shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. "zayn's smart. he wouldn't jump on first instinct." he sighs and puts the papers down, leaning forward and continued to speak in a lower tone. "he thinks dad could be the one that set him up because he didn't want to be underboss."

the woman leaned back in her seat and folded her hands on her lap. "he's been acting weird lately but thinks i don't notice it. taking more phone calls, going out more... he didn't come home one night and i thought the man was dead. he wouldn't answer the phone at all."

her son frowned and looked down at his drink. "'m sorry, mum," he says softly. "do you need me to do anything?"

"actually, yes," trisha nodded her head. harry looked back up at her while she took the folder and placed it back in her purse. "i would do it myself, but i don't think i could bear the pain of seeing him with her."

harry nods understandingly.

"i want you to keep a close watch on him," his mother says. she reached over and grabbed his hand. "follow your instincts. if you think it's worth mentioning to me, come find me. if you think it's better off being left unsaid, so be it."

she takes another sip of her coffee. "i hate to drag you into this mess, son," she murmured and harry shook his head, squeezing her free hand.

"you're my mother, i'd do anything for you," harry objects. "it's only fair. you raised me as your own. gave me a sibling, helped me learn right from wrong. i'll beat his brains in if i have to, even if he's zayn's father," he shrugs. "you are the woman i want my daughter to look up to and be inspired by one day."

"oh, harry," trisha crooned and kissed his knuckles. "no beatings just yet. i'd like to do that part."

harry let out a small laugh and stared out the window of the shop. clouds were rolling by as the sky slowly got darker, hinting a storm was nearing its way in. he loved storms. they made him feel at ease. especially when his louis was cuddled up in the bed with him, swallowed by his jumper and a pair of short shorts and had his nose tucked in whatever book had his attention or when raven would lay on his chest, tiny hands fisted against his shirt and they would just snuggle their night away. the cracking of thunder made him feel alive.

"do i need to go tonight?" he asks, breaking his eye contact with the universe and returning to his mother's presence.

trisha shrugs. "if he goes out, i'll ring you."

harry nods and finishes his coffee, unsure of what to do next. bringing zayn into this would make it a bigger mess but this was quite the burden to carry on his own shoulders.

"has he been using again?" harry questioned. the thought suddenly crossed his mind. evan did use for quite some time until his son walked in on him nearly dead from an overdose. after an experience like that, you tend to look at things differently. evan never realized the effects of his drug use on his family until then. that was roughly harry's second year of being around.

trisha stared down at her drink. "i don't think so, love. but i can understand why you're asking."

harry leans back in the chair. "it could explain a lot," he shrugs. "the lying, the sneaking around, he wouldn't want us to know if he relapsed."

trisha shook her head. "'s been almost a decade since he's used haz. i couldn't see it happening."

the two sat in silence for a while as harry got lost in thought. only one other thing could make sense, but never in a million years could that happen.

not unless someone was ready to put their life on the line.

—-

to ease their stress, zayn and harry went for a drive in the countryside to smoke. they were still trying to figure out what their father was doing that was so important not to discuss with his kids, his own members. harry was overwhelmed with all the information he was taking in and zayn was close to saying fuck it and raising hell. harry had yet to discuss anything with his brother about trisha's issues. zayn was just concerned about the setup for the most part.

harry was sitting shotgun, rolling for them as zayn kept an eye out for a cop. it wasn't uncommon for police to scavenge down country roads. they just wanted to smoke and take a nice drive, they were fine. once harry finished rolling and let the paper dry, he lit the end of the blunt and took a few hits. the sticky residue magnetized to his lips as he inhaled the smoke. he missed hanging out with zayn and getting stoned just because they felt like it.

zayn cut the wheel to the left, taking a detour toward a longer route. the leaves were turning a darker red and it was getting chilly as october neared only a little over a week away.

"we have to reschedule the wedding," harry says quietly, not lifting his head from his gaze on his lap.

"what? why?"

harry passed the pot over. "all this shit going on, i don't think louis could deal with it. it's too much. we haven't done much planning, everything's a bit sideways right now...i feel like it'd be better if we wait it out."

zayn sighs softly and keeps one hand on the wheel as he smokes. "you've talked about this with lou?"

"sort of," harry mumbles, slumping in the seat. the night when zayn got out, louis basically went on a twenty minute rampage while pacing the living room, freaking out over everything that had happened in the past two weeks. he cursed evan for ruining his plans, cried to harry because he was worried about his circle of people, and curled up on the couch tucked under harry's favorite blanket while harry made him a cup of tea to calm him down.

"i'm sorry, haz," zayn frowns and passes the blunt back to him. harry took it silently. "let him cool off and see what happens, yeah?"

"yup," was all harry returned.

they were about halfway through their smoking session when zayn heard a very faint beeping from of the car. he checked his lights and they were all off. maybe he was paranoid. he hadn't drove around while smoking for a while, it's no big deal.

"zayn?" harry perked his head up and looked in the rearview mirror on his side. "zayn."

"yes, harold?" zayn slows the car down to go around a curve, flicking the ashes out the window.

"we need to get out of the car," harry says, not daring to move his eyes. he watched as a tiny blue dot flashed by the back tire. "now."

zayn did a double take and steered the car around the curvy roads. "what?"

"zayn, now!"

"haz, i swear to god-"

"we're jumping," his brother says. "this car's a piece of shit anyways."

zayn's heart was pounding as his brother unbuckled his seatbelt and he tossed the blunt out the window. both men swung their doors open and threw themselves out, rolling onto the ground as the car slammed into a tree swarmed ditch nearby.

harry grunted, glancing at his hands. blood was dripping down his left hand from the impact of the road and his outer forearms were indented by the asphalt from the tumble. zayn had a scratch on his face but he was fine.

harry sits up and stares at the car, watching the smoke trail into the sky above them. a swarm of flames erupt before them and zayn pulled his brother farther back, anticipating an explosion.

this was not good.

zayn got up and tossed the rest of the weed from his pocket over a near bank. the shitty part of being in the middle of nowhere was how small the roads were compared to the city. he raced back to his brother before a small booming noise came from behind them and before they knew it, the lower two limbs of the tree were burning as well.

"what the fuck," zayn whispers.

harry just shakes his head in defeat.

—-

so.. how has your day been? 😎 sorry it's short! it's 8am, i haven't been to sleep, and i have to be at work in a few hours. so on that note, goodnight/morning wherever you may be. (:

thoughts on harry keeping the evan ordeal from zayn? larents pushing back the wedding?

i know it's a bit of a filler but it'll play out, i honestly couldn't put anything else together in this chapter so i do apologize about that!! i have the next few chapters written out so an update should come soon x