Swapping Spit (Nouis) [under editing]

Chp 22-Putting the Pieces Together

We file into the back room because there's more room.

"Take a seat," Liam offers the two of them.

They oblige and immediately pull out note pads and pens.

"So, tell me from the beginning what happened. Don't leave out any details, no matter if you think it's irrelevant," Leeza says calmly, looking at all of us.

Liam speaks up, "We went to a bar, The Blue Cactus, for a couple drinks. Just to let loose and have a good time, you know? I didn't drink too much, but the other lads...completely wasted."

Zayn interjects, "It wasn't that bad!"

Liam snorts. "Says the one who made out with his beer glass." Zayn shuts up with a furious blush.

"Anyways," he continues, "we all went our separate ways, me with Zayn mostly, and at the end of the night, err rather early this morning I rounded everyone up to leave, except Louis wasn't there. We figured he had hooked up with some girl...that's about all I know."

The officers jot away on their notepads. John looks up. "Who was with him last?"

"I was," I say quietly.

"Do you remember anything? Anything at all?"

"Y-yeah, Louis and I were hanging out a-and..." I look around at all the mums and lads staring at me, waiting for me to speak. My throat goes dry and my brain fuzzes out.

Liam seems to notice and suddenly gets up, "I'll make us some tea."

John looks at me with a sincere expression. "Would you like to go somewhere private, Niall?" he offers.

I nod, not trusting my voice. We get up, just us two, and I lead him upstairs to my bedroom for some privacy. We sit down on my bed.

"I can't say it in front of them," I state.

"What can't you say?" he gently prys.

"Before he was taken, Louis a-and I were, uhh...you know...in a back room, d-doing stuff..."

John eyes widen and he realizes what I'm implying.

"And your friends and family don't know about you two?"

"I don't even know about us," I mutter.

"Ok, so you two were drunk, having a good time, and went to a back room to continue being intimate with each other," John states, not judging me at all. I nod.

"Can you remember anything about the room?"

"Umm...it was dark. There was a curtain thing that I pulled closed, so it wasn't too private but I guess we didn't care."

"So basically anyone could have had access to the room?"

"Yeah, so when we were...you know...the man came in and pulled Louis off of me."

"Can you remember anything about the man? What he was wearing, any markings on his face?"

I think hard. I replay the evening over and over. It's fuzzy and there's not much I remember, but suddenly I do recall something, something that sends shivers down my back.

I gulp, feeling suddenly sick. "He had a scar, across his eyebrow."

"Have you ever seen him before last night?"

I nod. "At the park last week...he punched me." My thoughts are running wild and without John snapping me back to reality with his questions, I'd go insane.

"Do you have any idea why he punched you?

"He had a kid named Colby, who I met in the park. He was being rough with him, hurting him and I defended Colby. Which earned me a right punch to the face," I explain.

He just nods and flips to a new page of notes.

"Do you remember anything Colby said or did that would give us a clue where he's taking Louis?"

"Uhh...he had a British accent...He said his mum and dad fought a lot. He couldn't find his dad and got upset and asked me if he left him again."

John writes something down and then asks, "Do you remember anything about the man from that day?"

"Just that he was really rough and mean."

"Ok, and what about this call you received from Louis? Any noises you heard in the background, anything Louis said?"

"It sounded like they were on a busy road, lots of cars whizing by. I don't think the reception was that great because it kept breaking up."

"Ok, this information helps us a lot, Niall. Now, do you think this man is connected in any way to Louis or the other boys?"

My heart leaps again. I fumble in my pocket and pull out the mugshot of the guy I printed out. I kept it with me at all times. Gulping, I hand it to John.

He looks it over and nods.

"I have no idea why they're connected though."

"That's ok. I'll ask his mum," he says mostly to himself.

I wait for him to ask another question but instead he stands up and says, "Well, if you're ready we can head back out there."

"Sure...but can you maybe not mention about how Louis...and I, were...?"

He nods, "I understand. That's not even a huge piece of information so yeah, I'll not mention it." He smiles and we walk out.

When we rejoin the others, Liam offers us a cup of tea, which we both gladly accept, and John now turns to question Louis' mum.

"Johannah, I have reasons to believe your son is involved with a bad man, who is the same man that kidnapped him. Can I ask you a couple questions?" He motions towards a side room.

"Shit," she mutters, seemingly knowing something bad's going on. But nonetheless, she follows him.

I sip my tea by myself, and soon everyone's eyes are on me. I raise an eyebrow.

"What happened?" Liam asks.

"You know the man that punched me at the park?" I ask.

The lads nod. But the mums look confused. Oh yeah, we told them I slipped and hit a counter.

I turn to Maura. "Mum, please don't be mad but you know how we told you I slipped and hit my head on a counter...? Well, actually I was at the park and a man punched me. And that same man is the one that took Louis," I state matter-of-factly.

"What!?" She hurries over and sits beside me. "Are you okay?"

I nod. "Yeah, I am. But Louis' not."

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Author's Note

Wow. Sorry, this update took for.ev.er!! I just couldn't figure out how to fit it all together but it somehow worked, I think? Haha anyways, what do you think has happened to Louis??? Who is the man that took him!? Vote, comment, read again... whatever you want! Now I'm on a role and should update again soon!