“Liam Payne is Dead!” That was the message from the other end of the line before she hung up. I sat up in bed, trying to clear cobwebs and put my thoughts in order as I mulled over the phone call that served as an alarm this early morning.
The rays were sipping in through the window accompanied by the chirping of the birds as they heralded the coming of day.
In my boxers, I climbed off the bed onto the cold floor, slowly padded my way to the balcony, and stared into the early morning, the news weighing down on me.
I know that in the morning
I’ll see us in the light up on the hill
Although I am broken, my heart is untamed still…
The words came rushing through my mind of the great hit, “Story of My Life.” One Direction was the band on which our young hearts drew love and dreamt. The breakup of arguably the most successful boyband of all time tore through the hearts of fans.
They broke up in 2016, but Payne began a successful solo career. On Wednesday, October 16, he was found dead after falling from the third-floor balcony of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Payne began his career and path to stardom with the boy band One Direction, which placed third on the seventh season of The X Factor in 2010. The band was formed by Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik. They became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. However, Payne described his time with the group as grueling and quite miserable, saying he “hated” his life.
He sold more than 23 million singles and three million albums. Still, Payne said that his mental health suffered after the band broke up and that he struggled with substance abuse.
