Nothing Gold Can Stay

Chapter Two

The rain beat heavily against the thick glass window. Outside, people rushed along the pavement, clutching hefty umbrellas in an attempt to keep dry for work. Rae thrummed her fingers against her cardboard cup.  Most people would complain about being alone, with the horrible British weather and bitter coffee. On the contrary, Rae enjoyed it. When she was alone, she could watch the people outside. Often, she made up stories for each person. The paunch man with a red nose was an alcoholic, and his wife and children had left him due to it. The old woman with the periwinkle raincoat and the perm lived alone- her son had abandoned her and her husband had died a few years ago. Most of the stories were rather pessimistic and pitiable, although Rae thought that the more so, the better- it made it more believable.

After all, life is messed up. Everything you care for goes away. Because, if what Robert Frost said was true, nothing gold can stay.

Erin was golden. She was so strong, so fierce, full of life. So dignified. She knew about the world we live in, knew how men were so cruel and harsh.

So cold blooded.

Yet, each time one of them got hurt (and it was more often her than Rae) she simply raised her chin and laughed. She fought a lot, too. They said they liked her because she was feisty.

I guess personal taste varies, Rae thought bitterly. She laughed, but without humour.

"Any particularly reason that you're laughing?" came a raspy voice from beside her.

Rae gasped, and jolted upright, sending her chair clattering to the floor. Trying to retain some composure, she whipped around and glared at the offender.

"Who are you, and what do you want from me?" She narrowed her eyes, and raised her eyebrows, as though prompting the man for an answer.

"Should I not be asking you the same thing?"

Maybe more of a boy than a man, she noted. Surrounding his head was an untamed mane of chocolate curls.

"What do you mean?" Her eyes narrowed further, so that she seemed to be squinting at the ma- boy, and her brows furrowed in confusion.

"You mean to say that you don't know?" His jade eyes glinted with amusement. She wouldn't have been surprised if the pair had glinted with something else too, knowing how the men in this town were.

"I don't recall saying anything by accident in this short conversation," she shot back. The dimples set deep into his cheeks were made more prominent by his lips curling upwards.

A deep chuckle reverberated through his chest.

This action angered Rae- she had only just met this person, and already he was mocking her. What right had he to do so?

 "I believe I asked you a question. Who are you?" she repeated, fists balled up at her sides.

"And I believe I asked you the same."

"Has your mother never taught you not to answer a question with a question?"

At this, the expression on the stranger's face darkened.

"Shut up," he hissed. "Don't you dare talk about my mother, bitch."

 She curled back into herself, trying to stay away from the figure in front.

"So you want to know who I am?" he sneered. "I'm Harry Steele. And I run this town."

*****

  RAE'S POV

 He was standing in front of me, leaning slightly towards me. I was terrified, though tried not to show it.

"So you want to know who I am?" he sneered. "I'm Harry Steele. And I run this town."

I tried to keep my face as blank as possible, but I was confused. It must have registered in my expression, because soon he was standing in front of me, his face merely inches away from mine. I tried to move back again, but instead stumbled into a chair. I couldn't even make a run for it, because there was the glass shop window behind me, and he lowered his arms on either side of my head. Recalling how Erin had been trapped by Him, my breath quickened, as did my heartbeat, leaving me behind. My eyes frantically searched the space behind him, trying to find some escape, some salvation from the panic that was engulfing me whole. I flinched when I felt Harry's hot breath on my neck.

"That was all you needed to know. And don't forget it, Angel. At least, until next time. "

My eyes had fluttered closed, and when I opened them, Harry was nowhere to be seen.

What had he meant? How could a single boy run a whole town? Then again, all of that boyishness had vanished at the slightest instigation. And Angel? Where had that come from?!

Then it hit me, and my eyes widened.

There was going to be a next time.

I felt my knees begin to buckle beneath me, and I slipped away into black.

 ***

"I run this town."

"At least, until next time."

My mind was full of disturbing images of jade, darkened with anger and... Possessiveness? I wasn't sure why that sprang to mind, and there wasn't any reason for it to... After all, I had just met the guy. I brushed the thoughts away immediately.

Squinting from behind heavy eyelids, my vision was fuzzy.

"Oh, my head..." I groaned.

"She's waking up! Quick, quick!" I heard a distinctly female voice say.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I murmured.

A blonde head of hair promptly bobbed up to me.

"Hello! I'm Pat, and this is Alexis!" she said perkily, jerking her thumb in the direction of a grumpy brunette.

"ALEX," Alexis corrected.

Ignoring her, Pat continued.

"We're in the storeroom of the coffee shop. We saw you with Harry just before you fainted, and..." she hesitated.

I raised my eyebrows as if to prompt a reply.

"He had left the shop, but we just wanted to make sure that you were alright. That he wouldn't... Come back for you."

I furrowed my brows. What did she mean? Coming back for me? And how did she know who he was? Alarm bells rang in my head as I recalled his words.

"And I run this town."

Surely, a single person couldn't run a town. It wasn't physically possible. It was the state that ran the town, no one else. And certainly not this firm-headed male- he acted like a fifteen year old girl on her period, what with his sudden personality changes and mood swings.

"Excuse me, Pat, but who exactly is Harry Steele?"

Pat, who had been immersed in some conversation with  Alex, jolted upright, and pursed her lips. Her face gravened, and she closed her eyes, shuddering at the mention of his name.

"Harry's- Harry's the leader of a gang. They terrorise the town. Everyone knows who they are."

I froze, confused.

"What about the police?" My voice quavered, afraid of what was to come.

She laughed without mirth.

"The police do nothing. The pack can get away with anything. Murder, kidnap, rape..."

At the sound of the last word, my breathing became shallow.

"They get everything they want."

My heart stopped.

"And right now, they want you."