Chapter Text
A week later, Louis had finally adjusted to being in his small home again with his mother and father. Their little two bedroom house was nothing compared to the large, extravagant cabin he'd spent the past few months in, but it was home, and he loved it. And, his mom and dad were there, so that made things ten times better. He needed the support of his parents now more than ever.
Jay knew the second she saw Louis that he was pregnant, and she told him so. It took Dan a little longer to figure out, but when he did, he was happy. After a round of tight group hugs, they sat down and had a serious talk. Louis couldn't help but cry. He had left his mates and he was pregnant with their pup, after weeks and weeks of trying. It wasn't the baby that he was sad about, it was the fact that his mates didn't know they had a child on the way.
Well, they didn't know he had their second child on the way.
That was all Louis could focus on anymore. Every morning, he would wake up and immediately his brain would go to Callie and her pregnancy. He would be showering and it would suddenly appear in his mind. He would be out taking a walk and picture his alphas teaching her pup how to ride a bike or throw a ball. His mother knew he was struggling, and she tried to ease things for him. She ignored the calls from Marcel's phone and she helped keep his mind off of things.
Slowly but surely, Louis eased back into his old life. He helped his mom around the house, he went grocery shopping with her when they could afford it, and he even got a job at a small market. The hours were long and the pay was shit, and he was only allowed one break the entire time, but it was a job and it would bring in extra money. He felt bad having Dan being the only one working now that he was home.
His parents knew not to mention anything about the bond or his mates. He'd cried enough as it is. Instead, they helped him prepare himself for the months to come. Jay had some of his old baby things stashed away, in perfect condition. Though, she wished the situation were happier. She couldn't stand seeing her only child in so much emotional pain.
-
Harry rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. No matter how many times he looked out the window, he would not see Louis coming towards the house. They had royally fucked up this time, and they had quite possibly lost their mate forever. He wanted to kill Callie. He wanted to slaughter that bitch. Unfortunately, Sophia had beat him to it, and she quite literally dragged her friend out by the hair.
Though he was exhausted from driving Louis home, Liam still sat down and listened to his mate give her friend the what-for. He'd never seen (or heard) his mate like that before, and he'd never been prouder. He kept a smug grin on his face the whole time they listened to the two omegas go at it in the kitchen. Finally, around midnight, Callie emerged, crying her stupid eyes out.
She apologized over and over again about barging in on them, for ruining their night. She explained tearfully that she wasn't pregnant and she'd never slept with Harry. She was feeling the pressure of getting a mate and she went about it the wrong way. The three brothers would have forgiven her, but she left out one clear detail; the main reason they hated her fucking existence.
She ruined their relationship with their mate. She caused a beautiful creature so much heartache and so much pain that they would never be able to look at her in the eye ever again. They told her so, and made her leave. Callie had begged Sophia to come with her, but Sophia refused. Their friendship pretty much ended right there. No one dared to watch as Callie left the house, though they heard her sobs from outside the cabin.
Now, they all were silent. They didn't really speak to each other, and they hadn't for the past week. The night Louis left was the worst night of their lives, and they all blamed it on each other. Or, so they pretended. Deep down, they all blamed themselves. Edward blamed himself because it was him who made the stupid joke that started this whole thing. Harry blamed himself for allowing Callie to accuse him of sleeping with her, and he didn't try his hardest to make Louis stay. Marcel blamed himself for letting Louis leave; for not begging him to stay.
It killed Liam to see his friends like that. He and Sophia had been staying with them, just to keep an eye out. Alphas did crazy, dangerous things when parted from their mate, and even more so when it was an intentional parting. They were known to burn houses down, throw themselves off of bridges, even chase after their mate and hurt them physically, just to show how much they were hurting emotionally.
He'd kept quiet about the pregnancy. Every passing day, it was getting harder and harder not to say anything. There was no easy way to tell his friends that their mate was pregnant after what seemed like forever trying. They had what they wanted most, when they really didn't have it. It was some sick twist of fate, and when he told Sophia, she wanted to tell them right away. He made her promise not to, and that was that.
That was a week ago, and it's still on the tip of his tongue. He watched from the doorway as his friends moved in slow motion. Harry kept staring out the window, and Edward sat in the same chair in the same dark corner, and Marcel stared at the same page of the same book for what seemed like forever. They were a train wreck in slow motion. Quite honestly, it was pathetic.
He knew they were hurting and heartbroken, but none of them had tried to get Louis back? They haven't even asked if Louis had said anything to him on the way home. It was like their lives had completely lost all meaning. They were empty shells, and Liam couldn't stand it anymore. He let out a deep breath and stood in the center of the living room. He cleared his throat, only gaining Marcel's attention.
"Harry, Edward," He snapped. The other two alphas looked up. Harry looked confused, and Edward looked bothered. "You three need to snap out of this. What is going on with you guys?"
"In case you forgot, Liam," Marcel drawled slowly. "Our lives have just been destroyed."
"I don't see how," Liam shrugged. "Callie admitted she was a lying bitch and she left. I don't understand why you three aren't going after Louis. It's that simple."
Marcel shook his head. "It's not, Liam."
"Yes, it is. I would do anything if Sophia left me." Liam admitted. "I would go to the ends of the earth to get her back. I just don't know why you three aren't doing the same. He's your mate after all." And he's carrying your first pup, you idiots, he wanted to say.
Marcel sighed and closed his book. "I wish it were that easy."
"Why isn't it?" Liam asked. "You know, I'm beginning to think you three don't really care for him the way you say you do."
Edward's head swiveled and met Liam's. His stare could freeze the sun. "Bite your tongue," He demanded quietly.
Liam shrugged again. "I'm just saying."
Harry stepped forward. "If you're trying to instigate something here, Liam - "
"I'm not, Harry," Liam promised. "I just hate seeing you three so sad. You need to do something."
"We can't." Marcel sighed.
"And why not?" Liam inquired.
"We don't know where he is." Marcel replied. They barely even remembered the towns name, so how in the world would they find Louis? They had no street name, no house address, nothing. All they had was Jay's phone number, and she ignored every single call, as she rightfully should.
"I think I might know," Liam told them. "I didn't drop him off at a house, though."
"Where did you leave him?" Harry shouted, his voice going high. "You didn't just leave him on some street corner, did you? Oh my God, Liam - "
"Harry! Calm down!" Liam put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "He wanted to be dropped off at a supermarket. I waited until his mother came and got him, but I didn't follow them or anything."
"Why not?" Marcel asked angrily.
"Because he told me that if I did, he would have his mom drive around aimlessly. They wouldn't have gone home with me following them." He explained to his friends. "I don't think he wanted me to know where he lived."
"Why?" Marcel asked.
"I think he knew that if I knew where he lived, I would come and tell you three." Liam shrugged. "I guess he really doesn't want to see you three again."
"Not just again," Harry spat, sitting down. "He doesn't want to see us ever in his life. How did we manage to fuck up like this?"
Marcel's eyes darted over to Edward in what he was hoping was an undetected manner, but Edward caught the gaze and stood straight up. "If you have something to say, baby brother," He spat. "Say it."
"Alright," Marcel squared his shoulders back and faced Edward. "This would have never happened if you hadn't made that stupid joke. We're in this mess because of you."
"No," Edward stepped forward. "We aren't. We're in this current mess because of that little whore and her easy reputation. We were in the previous mess because of me. Check your facts, baby brother. This is not my fault."
"This time," Marcel fired at Edward. "It's hard to tell, though, because you're always fucking everything up for us! Harry and I can't ever be happy because you're always doing something to fuck everything up. You're the reason bad things happen, Edward! You're the reason Louis left, you're the reason we never mated before him, you're the reason mom and dad drank -"
The side of Marcel's face erupted in white hot pain, and before he could blink, he was sprawled across the ground, clutching at the side of his face. He felt someone cradling the his head, and he heard shouting, presumably Liam and Edward. He heard the door slam, and then Liam knelt down beside them.
"Are you okay?" He asked, assessing Marcel's blooming bruise.
Marcel nodded and sat up, clutching at his jaw. "Yeah, yeah," He worked it a few times. "I'm fine." He sighed. "I shouldn't have said that. It's not his fault for mom and dad. I need to apologize." Liam glanced over at Harry, and Marcel caught the action. "What? What's that look for?"
Liam let out a sigh. "Uh, Edward said he uh..." He took a deep breath. "Edward's not coming back."
-
Louis sighed and rubbed at his aching back. He had been stacking boxes and stocking shelves for the past three hours at work, and he still had eleven hours to go. He stood and eyed the boxes of cans he still had to shelve and wondered briefly why he decided to take a fourteen hour a day job. The pay wasn't that good, and he was on his feet for thirteen hours and forty-five minutes of it.
But he needed to pull his weight around the house, and maybe save up some money for the baby. He cradled his flat stomach and sighed again. He was a day shy away from ten weeks, they'd found out a few days ago at the free clinic. They did an ultrasound and got an extremely blurry shot, and they weren't even sure if that was the baby or not, but they had no doubt that he was almost ten weeks.
He'd wanted to call his alphas and tell them the good news, briefly forgetting everything that had happened. When it came back to him, he felt even lonelier than he was, and a little bit depressed. He didn't want to raise this pup on his own, he couldn't raise this pup on his own. Pups needed their fathers, a strong alpha presence, especially if the pup turned out to be an alpha. Alphas raised alone by omegas grew up to be vicious, ill-mannered, disrespectful people. He'd seen it before. He wondered if he and his alphas would resolve things before then. A part of him wanted to, but the greater part of him wanted to never see them again as long as he lived -
"Tomlinson!" His manager barked. He swiveled his head around. "I'm not paying you to stand around! Stack those cans and then go to aisle eight. We've got a shipment of crackers that need to be shelved."
"Yes sir," He said quietly. He turned his attention to the stack of boxes and let out a deep breath. This was going to be a long day.
-
Edward stopped running and looked around him. The land was bare and there were hills everywhere. He'd made it out of the forest and into God knows where, but at least he was far away from his house and brothers. They were free to do as they pleased now. He wasn't there to cause anymore trouble or ruin anymore lives. His brothers could go and get Louis back, and they could live their lives out. They could try for pups and hopefully succeed. They could re-bond, without him.
His paws flexed in the dirt as he stared at the vast landscape in front of him. His brothers were better off without him, and there would be no more heartache, no more pain in that cabin. He was the one to ruin everything, just as Marcel said. He was the reason why Louis left and their parents drank. He was no good for them; he never was. They were happier without him. He was selfish for staying as long as he did. His brothers, his mates had made him the happiest he's ever been, but he didn't make them happy. He made them miserable, and now he saw it.
With a howl that carried through the wind, he continued to run. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew that he was never going to go back home.