Small Bump [Liam Payne]

Part Nine

"What do you mean she's gone?!"

"I mean, she left."

"What do you mean she left?!" Louis hollered back, loud enough that Liam had to take his ear away from the phone. He bit his lip, trying to keep his voice even.

"She left, Louis. How else can I say it? We fought and now she's gone and I've been calling for an hour and she hasn't picked up." He sat down once again in the chair at the bar, leaning with his elbows onto the cool marble. "I didn't know what to do, so I called Harry."

"I can't believe she really left..." He heard Harry mumble. He should have known that Harry would have put him on speaker phone as soon as he mentioned Anna. "And she hasn't picked up?"

"No, not once." Okay, so maybe his voice cracked. He'd never admit to it. "Won't even text me back."

"What the fuck did you do?" Louis sighed, exasperated, and Harry added, "It must have been pretty bad for Anna to just up and leave. She seems like the kind of girl who would at least talk it out."

"Yeah, she is, but not this time." Liam agreed, closing his eyes. "She put Taylor down for a nap while I was showering, and then I guess that lady from the orphanage called my phone and Anna answered. She asked when I was planning on sending the adoption papers in. I was--"

"You what?!" Louis schreeched, then Liam heard a soft thump and Harry was saying, "Let him finish!"

"She asked when I was planning on getting the papers to her. Anna told her I wasn't going to, and then I guess a few minutes later she found the adoption forms that I had signed."

"You bastard--"

"Louis, shut up!" There was a soft crackling, and then Harry was asking, "Liam, didn't you decide to keep him? Like, that's the entire reason we arranged this press conference on Tuesday."

"I was. I am!" Liam told them, "But last night, after the hospital and everything that happened with that, I was feeling pretty bad about it, and I signed all the papers. It didn't mean anything, I did it just to make myself feel better, and I thought I had thrown them away. But I guess not, because Anna found them, and she must have just assumed that I was planning on giving him up. Especially after what I said at the hospital." He sagged against the counter. "I'm so, so stupid. I never should have done that."

"Damn right you shouldn't have." Louis growled, and this time, Harry didn't stop him. "It definitely sounds to me like you were ready to give him up, no wonder she got so pissed. I'd probably be doing the same thing right now."

"Did you try and tell her why they were signed?" Harry asked quietly, and Liam shook his head before answering.

"No. I was feeling so horrible about her finding them that I figured I deserved this. She could do better than someone like me who's ready to quit after one small bump in the road. She deserves more than a horrible father like me." Liam laughed bitterly, voice watery as he added, "And to think I was going to propose to her."

There was silence on the other line, and Liam wondered if they had hung up on him. Which he deserved as well. He was a shit friend for calling them like this.

"You...Li, you were gonna propose to her?" Harry asked, and Liam muttered a quiet, "Yeah." There was more silence, and he just knew that Harry and Louis were exchanging a look right now.

"Maybe...I don't know Liam." Harry said quietly. "Look, we'll see if we can find her. Just look after Taylor, alright? We'll call you if we hear anything."

"Yeah, alright." Liam sniffed once, then mumbled, "Thanks guys."

"Yeah, course." Louis answered. "Later." He hung up, and not three minutes later, Taylor was jumping down the stairs, loud singing announcing his arrival. He skipped around the corner, looking around and asking, "Dad? Where's Anna?"