Becca's POV:
~*~Flashback~*~
"I don't understand why you're making so many cookies," she walked into the kitchen and sat on the barstool across from the counter. "I'll only eat a few, sweetheart."
Mom's brunette hair was pulled up into a messy bun, held in place by a pencil. Her black rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of her nose.
I shrugged. "I'll take them down to the shelter. They won't go to waste."
"Well, don't take all of the cupcakes. The red velvet ones are my favorite," she smiled warmly at me.
I forced a smile. "I know."
"Are you ever gonna talk to me?" she raised an eyebrow and reached out to touch my hand, stopping me from stirring what was in the mixing bowl.
I looked up at her. "Talk to you about what?"
"Lady bug, you've been here for 2 days. Eric won't stop calling. What's he done this time?"
"More of the same, mom."
"Oh no," she shook her head. "Another one?"
"Same girl," I explained. "I had a feeling that it hadn't stopped...but, I couldn't bring myself to admit it."
She let out a troubled sigh and rubbed her thumb across my hand. "Please tell me that you've left him for good this time?"
"I have," I nodded. "That's why I'm not returning his calls."
She nodded. "Should I call David?" She mentioned the name of the same attorney she had kept on retainer for years
"No," I shook my head. "I'll take care of it, mom. You have enough going on," I went back to my mixing bowls. "Are you still talking to Simon Cowell?"
"Yes!" She grabbed a cookie from the pile infront of her and broke it in half. "He's offering me quite the deal," she grinned. "Pretty sure I'm gonna take the job."
"You'll be gone all the time," I frowned.
"Yeah," she shrugged. "But, daughter doesn't have anything tying her down anymore...so she can come with me whenever she wants."
I laughed. "Oh yeah, cause I can just take off and travel the world with you again."
"Oh come on! It'll be fun! Just like old times!" she said with excitement in her voice. "Maybe we'll find you a new love interest!"
"Oh yeah," I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Cause the latest one was such a prize."
"Eh...he talked a good game, you gotta give him credit for that atleast," she shrugged. "Come with me to London. Ya never know...you could meet your soul mate."
"Oh mom," I waved her off and put another pan of cookies in the oven.
The phone rang and she reached over to grab it, swallowing the mouthful of cookie that she had. "Hello? No, Eric, I'm not putting her on the phone. She doesn't want to talk to you. No. No. Goodbye, Eric. Please stop calling here."
I looked at her and rolled my eyes. "Sorry, mom."
"Oh, Becca," she shook her head at me and stood to her feet. "Don't you dare be sorry. I'm your mother..I'm supposed to be with you through things like this," she moved around the counter and took me into her arms. "I'll always be here, lady bug."
"Wake up. We're here," I jumped with a whimper from the feeling of Eric's elbow slamming into my rib cage.
"Fuck," I breathed. He only came with me to annoy me. I knew it the moment he said he was going to call the airport, but when he got drunk on the plane it totally confirmed it.
"Oh, suck it up, buttercup," he stood to his feet and pulled his coat on.
I stood to my feet and stretched, then slung my laptop bag over my shoulder and exited the plane. After collecting our luggage we took a cab over to the hotel. Eric had agreed that he would wait in a room while I took care of business for the boys.
It was almost 8am. I wasn't sure what time the boy's plane was supposed to get in, but I knew they would be at the same hotel. The five of them would only be there for a total of 6 hours, before jumping back on a flight to Germany for a couple of signings.
"I'm tired," Eric threw himself onto the bed, burying his face into a pillow.
"Take a nap."
"Take one with me," he sat up on the bed.
I took my hair down from the messy ponytail it was in and tried to fluff it up, hoping that it looked somewhat presentable for the press and sponsors that I had to meet with. "I can't."
"Yeah, you can," he reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the bed.
"Eric, I came here for work," I sighed. "Ontop of that...you and I-"
"It's been weeks," he snapped. "You're my wife. It's about time that you give it up."
I pulled my hand away and rolled my eyes. "I'm not having sex with you."
"That's what you fucking think," he stood up and in one swift movement shoved me down onto the bed.
"Fucking stop it," I snapped, trying to get away as he straddled my waist and pinned my hands above my head.
"Is that any way to talk to your husband?" he growled, the smell of liquor on his breath made me nauseous. His hand moved up my shirt and roughly cupped my breasts through my bra.
"Eric, please..." I calmed down, trying to get him to do the same. "You're going to make me late."
"Well then I guess we better hurry."
"I don't have time!"
"Bullshit," he spat. "You just wanna hurry up to go see your little faggot boyfriend. Well guess what...he's gonna know that you're mine now. I'm gonna make sure of it." He held my hands down as hard as he could, makin it feel as though my wrists would break and he sunk his head down against my ear, breathing against the delicate skin of my neck. He bit down harshly, causing me to squirm and try to escape him.
"Get off of me, please?" I whimpered feeling the tears burning behind my eyes from the pain.
"Oh, don't start your fucking crying," he groaned and rolled off of me. "You sure do know how to kill a mood.
I jumped to my feet and straightened out my clothes. Without saying any more I grabbed my purse and leapt out of the room.
Niall's POV:
I always loved Paris. It was beautiful...the weather was always nice. Not too hot, not too cold. Atleast this time of year...which oddly was the same time of year we always visited. Not to mention the food. French food was amazing.
We had only been at the hotel for about 30 minutes. Harry, Louis, and Zayn headed upstairs to the room we would be doing our interviews in. Liam and I on the other hand decided that we needed coffee so we stayed down in the coffee shop.
Louis' attitude hadn't improved much. The plane ride was a nightmare, all he did was sit and sulk with his headphones in his ears. I couldn't help but think about how he had probably downloaded every sappy lovey dovey breakup song onto his ipod and listened to them like they were his religion. He sure was the type of guy to do something like that.
Liam sat next to me at the small table, his cup of coffee in one hand and his phone in the other.
"Tell Dani I said hi," I nudged him.
A smile formed on his lips. "Will do."
"Are things better?" I asked.
He shrugged. "We're just friends for now...the break seems to be bringing us closer though, I think."
"Well, that's good," I nodded. "Hopefully you guys will get back together."
He smiled and reached out to squeeze my shoulder. "Thanks, Niall."
"What do you say we get back upstairs?" I asked. "If we're late you know Harry's just gonna start bitching."
Liam stood to his feet and stretched. "I'm already tired and we haven't even started our day."
"I know," I stood up behind him. "Let's just get it over with...these interviews are always the worst. Atleast we'll be able to meet some fans during the signings in Germany."
"I was looking through my twitter," he said as we left the coffee shop and started toward the elevator. "There's a lot of fans in Germany that we'll be seeing later. Looks like it's going to be a massive turn out."
"Really?" I asked as we started toward the elevators. "The more the merrier, right?"
"Right," he nodded and then looked down at his phone. "Can I meet you upstairs? It's my mum."
"Sure," I nodded. Liam ducked toward the corner by the elevator and I reached out to press the button. The doors opened and I stepped inside. I dug my own phone from my pocket and thumbed through my twitter as I felt the elevator lift off.
The doors dinged and opened again. Without looking up I scooted over, allowing the person to step inside.
She cleared her throat. "Umm..hey...Nialler.."
I looked up at the familiar face and sighed. "Becca, what are you doing here?"
"I had to meet with the sponsors," she replied nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You shouldn't have come," I shook my head. "You should just find another job, honestly."
"Niall, I'm sorry."
"Oh fuck that," I rolled my eyes. "Save it for someone who cares. I sure as fuck don't want to hear it. After everything you've done you have a massive set of balls to even show your face anywhere near any of us."
"Damnit, Niall," she sighed. "Please. I did what I had to do."
"You had to break my best mate's heart?"
"That's not what I wanted!"
"Obviously he wasn't what you wanted, either," I shook my head. "Cause if he was..you wouldn't have ran off the way you did."
"I'm sorry that you have such a low opinion of me," she replied. "I know that I deserve it. But...you shouldn't jump to such harsh conclusions without knowing all the facts. You're being an asshole."
"Good," I nodded as the elevator doors opened to my floor, I stepped out and swung around to face her once more. "Cause you're a fucking bitch."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Zayn's POV:
Louis still hadn't spoken to me since I gave him the letter. Honestly, I wish I knew what it said. On the plane he seemed even more distant than before. It was a different kind of distant though...like he was lost in thought.
I shared my concern with Harry, but he just advised that we back off for awhile. Let Louis deal with whatever was going on his head or his heart. Harry had a point, we didn't wanna smother him.
"Thanks, Paul," I followed the older man back inside the hotel lobby.
"You're welcome," he replied with a yawn. "I know how you are when you haven't had a cigarette."
"Well, I'm all better now," I chuckled. "For an hour or so, atleast."
"Good to hear," he nodded. "I'm gonna check and see if Liam and Niall made it back upstairs yet. I'll meet you upstairs."
"Alright," I replied as he veered off toward the coffee shop. I made my way down the long corridor and when I made it to the elevator I reached out to press the button. The face that stood infront of me when the doors open placed me in an overwhelming rage. "What the fuck are you-"
"Hi kid," he grinned.
"What are you doing here?" I snapped.
"Oh ya know...just vacationing with the wife," he smirked as he stepped out of the elevator infront of me. "Paris is the most romantic place in the world, isn't it?"
"Becca's here?"
He nodded. "Yeah...something about some sponsors for your gay little band."
My jaw clenched and I had the overwhelming desire to punch him. "Go fuck yourself."
"That's not very nice," he chuckled. "Come join me in the bar..you can buy me a drink or two."
"Or not," I pushed past him and stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the 5th floor. "Go away, ya clown."
The doors closed and I pulled my phone from my pocket, looking for Becca's number. My thumb glidded across the screen constructiing a quick text message.
I've just seen Eric. I know you're here. We need to talk. Please, don't ignore me, Becca.
Within seconds my phone vibrated in my hand with her reply.
Room 336. Don't tell Louis.
I reached out and tapped the button for the 3rd floor. Within minutes I was standing infront of room 336 and reached out to tap on it. The door opened and she forced a smile. "Hi."
"Hi," I replied and stepped inside.
She looked different. Well, that's a lie. She looked horrible. She'd lost weight and her eyes had dark circles under them.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She nodded. "I'm fine."
"Becca please...what the fuck happened?" I asked, pushing my fingers through my hair.
She pulled her jacket off and laid it over the back of the chair by the desk. "It's a long story, Zayn."
"Well, I have plenty of time."
"No you don't," she replied. "Your interview starts in-"
"Fuck the interviews," I rolled my eyes. "My friends are more important than some interviewer asking me which one of the lads I would date if I was a girl. Talk to me."
She sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, picking at the polish on her fingernails. I noticed the pale bruises on her arms, they were a light shade of green.
She bit her bottom lip and she looked up at me with tears brimming at her eyes. "He...he'll kill him, Zayn. He said he'll kill him."
I groaned. "Becca, come on. It's not like he could just walk up to Louis and stab him, he can't kill him."
The tears rolled down her cheeks and she looked away from me and then back. "He killed my mom, Zayn. He'll kill Louis, too."
With that...it all made sense. She left Louis to protect him.