Motel 6 // n.h

[32] Discovered

  Avery Holmes

  We all stood around in the hotel living room, hair still dripping wet, still all in our bathing suits. Aimee didn't know what was going on and how serious this was, giggling and running around the room. I didn't even bother with stopping her as Sam turned the volume up and hit play.

  "Mama, look!" Aimee said, jumping in the air as high as she could. She loved being the center of attention, but she still hadn't learned to be quiet when she was told. And I couldn't really blame her, she was only three, anyways.

  Everyone turned to the television, eyes wide and ears open for whatever we were about to find out.

  "What was criminal Kate Winters's motive behind the almost-shooting of Niall Horan? Sources say that Winters has a history of being unstable and that just in the last two years she was admitted into a mental hospital." I gaped, glancing at Niall's expressionless face.

  "Police are still trying to track down Kate Winters and say that now she has an accomplice who has been traveling with her." My eyes widened even bigger now as a picture of Jake appeared on the television screen. I looked down at Aimee, who frowned up at the t.v.

  "Daddy..." She said, her shoulders slumping. I could tell that even though she didn't know what was going on, she knew something was very wrong. Looking around the room, I made eye contact with Liam, who silently took Aimee in his arms and left the room with her. I was grateful for that move, because now Aimee wouldn't ask questions.

  "Fans of the boyband One Direction have been in for a long ride, all confused and wondering where there beloved Niall Horan has gone. Sources say that he has met up with the rest of his band and that they are somewhere west.

  "A picture of the Irish singer has been circulating of him holding a little girl and walking beside an unidentified girl. Is there something we don't know about? Could this be his girlfriend? Could this be his daughter? Whoever they are- we wish them the best of luck with all that's going on and we hope that Kate Winters is taken into jail. I'm Melissa Smith on Entertainment Tonight."

  "What!?" I shrieked, looking at Sam. "I never saw anyone taking our picture! How did this happen?" I asked him. Not only did the world know who I was, but everyone saw my daughter. From this little photo, we were thrust into a world of danger. What if Jake found us?

  "I-I don't know." Sam said, bewildered. "Do you remember what day this was?"

  "It looks like it's from New York." Zayn said. "I can see the buildings in the back, and I remember Aimee wearing that shirt."

  "Do you realize what this means?" Harry interjected. "If someone knows that we were there, there's a possibility that we're being followed by paps or fans. I did see a lot of the same cars when we drove over here, but maybe they didn't follow us this far."

  "There's no way." Louis shook his head.

  "Some people would go a long way to find out where Niall is." Sam reminded him. "It could be possible, but I don't know how we'd find out if paps had followed us here. We've just got to be extra careful when we're out."