leather journal / h.s

52

im going to go ahead and publish the rest of the story :)

M A R Y

the next day, harry and louis were working the usual shift at styles selections. i had asked for the day off, and with harry being the man in charge i got what i wanted without question.

it wasn't because i was lazy; i was just exhausted as could be. christmas eve was still taking its toll on me evidently, and every time i was left gasping for breath after climbing the stairs that was all i could think about.

"hey, mary." mom said when i made my way downstairs for breakfast. i had just been texting harry and he said that business was really good today. i was happy for him, and really wished i had the energy to be there and work with him. but it would be useless. i would be useless.

still, i was confused at how mom, dad, and jett were sitting in the living room like they were about to go somewhere. was it another one of their art festivals? god knows. "hey." i said with a frown, sitting down with them.

"we're wondering if you'd like to go family bonding with us." dad said sternly and my blood ran cold when i realized what that meant. with lilac gone, there was no one to tell my parents that stealing and lying was wrong.

because i knew that now.

but then again, one time can't hurt-- right?

"where are we going?" i asked apprehensively.

mom just seemed excited about the whole thing, as usual and expected. "robbing a store. well, shoplifting."

i rolled my eyes and went upstairs to change. even though i was agreeing to this only one time... i had such a bad feeling about it that i couldn't just push it to the back of my mind.

after i got changed and we took off, i couldn't help but ask which store it was going to be.

"surprise." was all mom said, and jett stirred in his seat from excitement. i felt like jumping out of the car window and rolling down the street, away from my criminal family.

i almost doubled over and threw up when we pulled in the parking lot of harrys store. i hoped with everything in me that this was just a pit stop.

then, two words i didn't want to hear: "we're here!"

we climbed out of the car and nonchalantly walked into the store. i spotted harrys beautiful head of hair from my side of the store, and it looked like he was having a nice conversation with mike. i was glad they'd been getting along recently.

and there sat king louis, watching over the store with pursed lips and a stern expression like he didn't want to be there. he probably didn't though, just doing it for harry. that's why the both of us had jobs there. for harry.

i didn't want to go through with this. i would've rather ran away from my family.

i watched with a look of disdain as everyone, including jett grabbed bandanas from the rack and stuffed them in their shirts. the store was so busy that no one noticed. it was a shock that louis had even seen me yet. maybe he could've saved me.

"okay; lets go." dad said in a hushed tone, and my heart beat out of my chest as we started for the door. i feared someone would recognize and tell harry. he'd never forgive me.

but something even worse happened: the alarms.

they blared loud and obnoxiously, freezing us all in our tracks and leaving the whole store to stare at us. louis ran over right away and i felt like bursting into tears.