Liam knew. Maybe Harry had talked to him, maybe it was just the way he was, but Liam knew Harry had given up. He would come around with Niall — and every once in a while Zayn — and play cards or video games with Harry while Louis showered or slept or generally lived his life. He would smile sadly at Harry when he left, always promising to come back one more time. They had an ongoing joke, Harry and Liam, that had taken Louis too long to understand. Liam never left without saying: “Don’t leave before I get a chance to say goodbye.” Harry always respond: “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Louis didn’t understand until it was too late for it to matter anyway. He didn’t understand until Harry’s funeral when Liam leaned over the coffin, an absolute wreck, whispering the same sentence over and over, as if some sort of sick mantra.
“You left before I could say goodbye, I never said goodbye.”