Chapter Forty-One

Make it a sweet, sweet goodbye

It could be for the last time and it's not right

"Don't let yourself get in over your head,"

"When was the last time you saw your son Mr. Styles." The police officer asked Niall. We were all sitting in the living room, Niall hunched over as he held his head in his hands. I sat next to him, rubbing a reassuring hand on his back. He hadn't stopped crying since I got home, but I didn't blame him....

"It was a little after noon... I had just gotten home from taking our son A.J. to a friend's... Jonah... He fell asleep during the car ride so I took him upstairs to his room. That was the last time I saw him." Niall whispered, his voice raw as he spoke. He looked at the officer, biting his bottom lip as he did so.

"You're going to find him right?" Niall asked, looking at the officer as if he held all the answers.

"We're going to try our hardest. Now... Is there anyone that you think might've taken him? Any enemies?" The officer asked, looking at us with hope. I took in a shaky breath before nodding.

"Ashton Irwin...." I said, earning a look from both Niall and the officer.

"But you were with him... He couldn't have..." Niall shook his head, looking at me, completely terrified.

"He left before me... I... I took the long way home... There was a good hour where he wasn't with me Niall..." I said, silently cursing myself for not staying longer. Deep down I knew this was my fault.

Ashton had flat out warned me, maybe not straight to my face... but the way he spoke.

"Because I want you to hurt. I want you to feel the way I did when you left me. I wanted to hurt you... and the only way I could think to do that was to ruin everything you have."

"Are you sure it was Mr. Irwin?" The officer asked, his expression blank. I could already tell that he didn't believe me, and that frustrated me.

"The only other person who would have the balls to do it is Niall's mother. She's more than likely in Ireland by now." I said, not caring that I sounded rude when I said it. It irritated me greatly how little the police force seemed to care... and my son was missing.

"She's not." Niall whispered, looking down at his hands now.

"What?" I asked, wondering if I had just misheard him... but when he still refused to look at me I accepted the fact that I hadn't.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't see the point? She only came by yesterday to alert me of how disappointed she is in me. IT wasn't a big deal at the time... I figured she would be gone." Niall looked at me again, biting his bottom lip. I sighed, knowing that there really wasn't much point in getting angry. We needed to find Jonah.

"So we have two possible suspects then?" The officer asked, writing down in his little notepad.

"Yeah..."

"Now I'm going to need a description of what he was wearing when you last saw him, along with any other additional information that you think will help." Niall spent the next few minutes describing what Jonah had been wearing today, looking at me occasionally for reassurance. I had gone off into my own little world, trying to figure out why the hell this had happened. Ashton had said he was done... and Niall's mum didn't even want anything to do with our family.

So why?

"Alright, thank you for your cooperation... We will keep you updated on any information." The officer said, standing up from the couch. Niall and I showed him out the front door, shutting it behind him before I pulled Niall into my arms.

"It's gonna be okay Ni... We're gonna find him." I said, holding him close as he cried quietly into my chest.

"He's probably so scared Harry... He doesn't like to be alone... He needs me, and I'm not there..." Niall cried, gripping my shirt tightly. I didn't know what to tell him, I didn't know what would help... because I was thinking the same thing.

He needed us... and we weren't there to help him.

"It's my fault... I should've... I should've checked on him earlier." Niall whispered.

"This isn't your fault... You couldn't have done anything to prevent it Niall... This isn't your fault." I said, looking him straight in the eyes. Niall's bottom lip quivered before he gripped onto me harder.

"I just want him home."

"I know Niall... I know. I do too." I whispered, rubbing his back again. We stood like that for a while before Jemma came downstairs, a confused look on her face. Her hair was sticking up in almost every direction, her shirt ridding up just a little. She was missing a sock, and in all honesty looked like she could probably use a little more sleep.

"Mummy? I happy now." She said, walking over to us. She patted Niall's leg, looking up at him with wide eyes. Niall let out a small sob before bending down to pick up Jemma. He cried quietly as he held her, his hand stroking the back of her head as Jemma looked at us like we'd lost our minds. I pulled them both into my arms, holding them as tight as I could.

I wasn't going to be letting them go anytime soon.

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Totally wrote this in less than an hour.

That's a new record btw.

So... who do you think it was?

Niall's mum? Or Ashton? What reason do they have?

Interesting.

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Connie xx