The Side You Don't Hear (1D)

Chapter 8

Peter's POV

                I was walking down the stairs of Alice's apartment complex on my way to run some errands when someone rudely bumped my shoulder.  Watch where you're going, I thought, as I turned around to see who it was.  "Sorry mate!" a familiar voice said, and as soon as I saw who it was, I realized why I knew the voice.  It was Liam, one of Harry's band mates, and he was running straight up in the direction of Alice's apartment.  Maybe he was coming to apologize for Harry's absence yesterday, but he seemed like he was in a rush.  Curiosity got the best of me as I made my way back up the stairwell and into a nearby hallway so Liam wouldn't see me.  I watched him frantically knock on doors and apologize to those who opened them when they weren't who he was searching for.  He finally got to the one that belonged to Alice, barging in practically the second she opened the door.  I waited, wondering what he was doing, but not wanting to interrupt.  I was considering leaving a few minutes later, but just then Liam came busting out of the door with Clark in tow.  He ran past me, and even though I was extremely confused, I went straight to Alice.

                I had barely gotten half way to her door when she came out, saw me, and said "Follow him."  I was confused, but then tears started to pour from her eyes and she yelled at me, "Please!"  With that, I turned around and ran as fast as I could down to my car.  Just as I exited the building, I saw Liam climb into the back of a small, heavily tinted black car.  I jumped into my own beat up car and started following them, making sure to leave enough distance between the two of us to not seem suspicious.  As we drove, I couldn't help but worry.  Why did Liam have Clark?  Why was he in such a hurry?  Why did Alice let him take the baby?

                Liam's car pulled up on the side of a small restaurant and he slid out with Clark and the baby bag.  I parked my car around the corner and pulled  a black hoodie and snapback from the back seat of my car to look a little more subtle.  I walk around the block the long way to avoid walking right past Liam and his body guard and take a seat at a table on the opposite side of the restaurant.  I pull out a newspaper to cover my face and laugh at how cliché I was acting with this whole "being a spy" business.  I watched patiently, ordering a cup of tea to look less creepy, but it didn't take long for something to happen. 

                Liam was just sitting there, rocking Clark in his arms, when Harry came up behind him.  Wait, Harry?  And Clark?  In the same place?  Was this like part two of Liam's plan when part one failed?  I started to get very nervous, not knowing how Harry would react, but I could tell by Liam's face that he was feeling the exact same way as I was.  Harry took a seat, and it didn't take long for his body language to go from carefree to scared as the realization of who Liam was holding hit him.  The boy holding the baby stood up and talked the curly haired one into holding his baby, and for a minute all was at peace.  Liam and I both smiled as Harry handled Clark with care.

                As soon as Liam nodded for his body guard to leave, I noticed Harry's expression turn from wonder to desperation.  He looked frantic, and before Liam could even catch on to his change in attitude, Harry had grabbed the bag and taken off.  Liam stood up, clearly shocked, but knew he wouldn't be able to catch Harry on foot, so he ran around the corner to his car.  Once he was out of sight, I jumped up, knocking the table over in front of me, and took off after Harry.  A car wouldn't serve any good, as he ran down an alley.  He had taken poor Clark with him, and who knew what that boy was going to do with the child.  For all anyone knew, he could try to get rid of Clark so he wouldn't have to deal with him any longer.  That boy could be a complete psycho!  These thoughts only fueled me more and I ran faster.  Liam is an idiot for letting Harry hold Clark, and I would get him back for Alice, no matter what.

Harry's POV

                Once I had turned down an alley, I realized the severity of what I just did.  I had stolen this baby.  No, I didn't steal him; he's mine too and I have rights.  But where will I take him?  I can't go back to my house, that would the first place Liam and Alice would look for me.  I can't go to one of the boy's places because they'd just call Liam.  That just left once choice: a hotel.  I knew that if I went to a big, popular one, I was sure to be recognized, so I ran to the nearest  motel and straight up to the front desk.

                "I need a room, any room," I stated out of breath as I threw the cash contents of my wallet at the man working there.  It was probably enough to rent out the entire motel, but I didn't care.  The man handed me a key and attempted to give back the extra money, but I stopped him.  "Keep it, but on one condition.  Do NOT tell anyone I'm here or what room I'm in." I said sternly.  The man looked confused, but nodded.  I took the key and ran to the room number listed on the side of it.

                 Once inside, I locked the door securely and slide down to the floor against it.  For the first time since I fled the restaurant, I looked at Clark in my arms.  He was crying, quite loudly, and I wondered how I hadn't noticed before.  Maybe it was the adrenaline in my system from what I was doing.  I panicked slightly at that point  What do I do?  I don't know anything about babies!  Whenever baby Lux cried, I handed her off to someone else.  I was never able to calm a crying baby, but now it was my only choice.  Right then I remembered the diaper bag I was smart enough to grab before I left.  There had to be something in there that would be useful.

                I carefully set Clark down on the bed, still wrapped in his blanket.  I started pulling out the contents of the bag and laying them out.  Five diapers, two bottles, two nooks, some baby wipes, an extra blanket, and a small teddy bear that I recognized as the one Liam bought at the hospital while he paced the waiting room five months ago.  He had been more nervous than me that day, but I never knew why.  But back to reality, what did Clark need?

                My frantic thinking was cut short when the door to the apartment was violently kicked down in one solid shot, revealing a rather large and angry looking Peter.  I hadn't seen him since the hospital waiting room where he sat quietly while Liam freaked out.  But that quiet man was vastly different from the one standing in front of me.  I was down on my knees, making the already giant man tower over me even more than usual.  Without even saying a word, Peter lunged at me, knocking me on my back as he straddled me.  Without giving me a second to catch my breath, he started punching my left cheek repeatedly.

                 With every punch, he let out a few words, ones that were obviously fueling his anger. "How could you?" "Why are you doing this?" "How could you leave your son?" "How could you leave Alice?" "You're supposed to be a father!" "You're supposed to love them!" These were just a few of the things he said, each one hurting my heart more than my face, as his punches grew weaker after every strike.  Eventually, he stopped speaking and stopped hitting me.  I never fought back, knowing that I deserved everything that he could possibly dish out.  Peter slumped over me, putting his forehead on the ground above my shoulder, and started crying.  Well this I wasn't expecting, I thought as I just laid here embracing the pain in my face.  I can't believe this is crossing my mind right now of all times, but I have a feeling management is not going to be happy about all of this.

                As if all of this wasn't completely insane, what happened next was the biggest surprise of my life, including finding Liam with Clark a mere ten minutes ago.  Peter sat up, his eyes red and puffy, and looked at me with something I couldn't quite place.  Then he leaned down and kissed me angrily.  If I wasn't in complete shock and paralyzed by pain, I would have pushed him off of me and punched him myself, but I just couldn't.  I was saved almost instantly when Peter was violently ripped off of me by a police officer.  I watched him being dragged out of the room while yelling Clark's name and saying he had to take the baby with him.

                The owner of the motel walked in then, helping me sit up.  "You alright, kid?" he asked me.  I nodded, whipping the blood from my lip and nose on my sleeve.  "Sorry about him, I called the cops as soon as he ran through the lobby, but I see it was a bit late."

                "It's okay, I probably deserved it." I answered him.  The man nodded and said something about calling him if I needed anything, but I really didn't listen.  I just wanted him to leave so I could get back to my son, who was still crying on the bed.  I packed the bag back up and moved to the room next door, as this room no longer had a door.  I was then left again having no idea what to do next.