Unstable (Sequel to Twisted)

Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine





"You okay?" Niall asked softly as I sat down on the couch, holding a pillow tightly to my chest. He sat next to me, his hand starting to rub soothingly on my back.

Zayn?

The leader of the new gang was Zayn?

But it couldn't be...

"Would you like some water?" Louis asked, crouching in front of me to peer at my face. Liam was at his side, his brown eyes looking me over, too.

I was starting to feel claustrophobic with everyone just staring at me, so I snapped, "Can you guys give me some space?" I didn't mean so sound harsh, but...this situation was really moving too fast, and seeing Harry with a gun really was bringing back some non-pleasant memories.

Louis held his arms in the air in a surrendering gesture and began backing away, although I heard him mutter something about redheads.

"How does Harry know it was him?" I asked quietly.

"I'm not sure yet," Niall replied gently, "but Harry got back from the organization with the gun, and if Harry seemed that positive that it was Zayn, then it had to be him. He's probably going to ask him a few questions in a few minutes."

As if on cue, Harry's head poked through the basement door, and my face paled again when I saw the pistol in his hand.

"Boys," He called loudly, "come downstairs, now." His eyes met me and his gaze softened for a moment, "Claire, I want you to stay up here, alright?" He left the basement door to crouch in front of me, replacing Louis' spot and grabbing my hands gently. However, his eyes turned sour when they noticed Niall was comforting me, and he said nonchalantly, "Hands off, Niall." Niall instantly pulled his hand away and started making his way down to the basement. "Are you okay?" He was back to looking gentle, looking over my face. "That fucker didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, he didn't." I whispered. "We talked."

"About what?"

"He....he didn't seem like he was out to hurt anyone." I whispered, my throat tightening. Was I that oblivious? "He seemed like he was just trying to figure everyone out."

"Well he was lying to you." Harry said softly. "And it's a shame he tried to gain your favor by playing the pity card, wasn't it? But he's a traitor now-I just need him to fucking confess and we can be rid of him." His emerald eyes were dark with disgust and hatred-but most of all, he looked almost hurt, pained, betrayed. He trusted Zayn, I knew this. Their number one rule, after all, was loyalty, and Zayn apparently broke that one rule.

"You're going to kill him?" I asked.

"I'll do whatever it takes."

Harry started to straighten up, and I felt like grabbing his hand to stop him-to tell him not to kill Zayn.

But I didn't.

I felt scared and nervous, sick and feeble. I spent the last few minutes downstairs talking to Zayn, who was apparently the leader of the new gang forming in Cheshire. He was the one behind the people beheading that woman and her child...

...he was beyond fucked up.

And he tried to trick me.

"So stay right here," Harry whispered, bending down to press a kiss to my forehead. "I'll get this taken care of, alright?" I didn't reply, and I didn't look at him, not even when I heard his heavy footsteps and the closing of the basement door.

Now that it was quieter in the house, I could hear the sniffling coming from the living room. And I had a feeling I knew who it was.

Eleanor.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my entire face narrowing in worry when I saw her trembling form on the couch. She had her knees pulled to her chest, her face buried in her hands as she wept.

"I-I can't believe it was him," She cried, her voice muffled. Thank god Lottie was taking a nap right now, or else I don't know what we'd be doing right now. "We all trusted him, Claire, I trusted him. And he betrayed us...he's killing people."

"Harry said he'll take care of him." I said. I couldn't really agree with Eleanor; I always knew Zayn was shady. I always saw him as a heartless bastard, but Eleanor saw him differently, probably because she was there when Zayn first joined the gang. She saw him at his lowest point-she held a lot of pity for him, while I held mostly distaste.

"I just can't believe it..." Eleanor said again, shaking her head. "I...I need to clear my head up for a bit, I'm sorry, Claire." Without even looking at me, she sniffled loudly and stood up from the couch, retreating back to her room in the hallway. And I was left alone in the room, not quite knowing what else to do.

It was amazing what one man's actions could do-of how much it could affect people.

I didn't feel as emotionally betrayed as Eleanor or Harry, but I felt angry by the fact that Zayn tried to gain my pity the very last minute. With an emotionless face, I walked quietly to the basement door and opened it slowly-very slowly, so it wouldn't creak, and I carefully stepped down the steps to where I could see what was happening.

The boys were surrounding Zayn, and Zayn was sitting on a simple chair with his hands tied behind him.

"...Look, mate, I never did any of this." Zayn was saying, his voice fumbling over words in haste. "I would never betray any of you! I know of the rule! Why the hell are you believing this?"

"It all makes sense now, doesn't it?" Harry asked bitterly, addressing the boys. "We're no longer in a gang, and you couldn't accept that. You're power hungry-you've always wanted to be the leader, I could always tell, so you seized this chance to finally take the upper hand."

"That is bull shit," Zayn hissed. "Are you serious?"

"Shut up!" I flinched when a loud sound was heard when Harry backhanded Zayn across the face, silencing him instantly. "You only speak when I fucking tell you to speak, got it?" Harry looked Zayn dead in the eye, his back to me, and Zayn looked him evenly back. "I should've killed you when I had the chance. I should've known this entire time it was you who was conspiring against us."

"Fucking traitor," One of the boys grumbled, I think it was Liam. They all held grim faces, but Liam looked the angriest. I remembered him being rather close to Zayn.

"I didn't do anything!" Zayn repeated loudly, getting angry from the accusations. "I would never betray any of you! Hell, you all started changing-I'm the only one who's sticking to the real codes here."

"What did I just say?" Harry snarled again, and my throat went dry when he landed a punch to Zayn's jaw. "Keep your fucking mouth shut, yeah? Or I'll just kill you right now." His voice was demonic, deadly, lethal. "Nobody would mourn over you; I'm the one who took you in. I formed you into the person you are right now, and this is how I'm fucking betrayed? I get stabbed in the back by my own mate?" He ended the last sentence with another few punches to Zayn's face, and I had to look away for a moment. My face was starting to hurt just looking at the punches thrown Zayn's way.

"Where were you meeting up to do this?" Louis asked when Harry stopped punching him. His voice was unusually deeper, serious and solemn.

"I wasn't meeting up," Zayn replied gruffly, and I could see the scarlet blood oozing down his nose from the punches. "I never did anything, you guys aren't even fucking listening to me."

"Our sources tell us they saw a glimpse of the leader." Liam said crossly. "They said he was wearing a big black jacket, just like our old gang one. You're the only one who never burned yours."

Zayn sighed from this information, "If you're stupid enough to believe that-"

"-Stop. Fucking. Speaking. Without. My. Permission." Harry hissed loudly, grasping tightly onto Zayn's chin and forcing the man to look up at him.

Zayn stayed silent, but he stared boldly back at Harry, not showing an ounce of fear.

"We all trusted you," Harry said. "I trusted you around my family, I trusted you around my girl even after the time you nearly killed her-fuck, I should've just killed you then." He pulled away from Zayn and ran his hands through his wispy hair. I knew how Harry felt; Harry was blaming himself. He was telling himself that he could've stopped this whole situation sooner, because now, people have been killed. Harry was thinking that the mother's blood, along with her boy's, was on his hands.

But it wasn't his fault.

How could he have known that his own mate would've betrayed him?

I had my hand covered over my mouth, and that was when Niall noticed me standing in the doorway when his blue eyes glanced over, since he was the one facing me. He said something quietly to Harry, and Harry looked over his shoulder at me, his face twisting from furious to irritation.

"What the fuck did I just get done telling you, Claire?" Harry snapped. "Get back upstairs-now. You don't need to see this."

I locked eyes with Zayn; he was emotionless, his stature not at all pained or scared in the chair. I couldn't help but admire his bravery when it came to it; Zayn wasn't a coward, and he certainly wasn't weak. He faced the consequences without a bat of the eye, and he didn't flinch once.

I wasn't able to move from the spot, and Niall was making his way to me, since Harry mumbled something to him. I knew Harry was in the moment-he was in no way in the "mood" to try to calm me down, but seeing the blood staining Zayn's shirt now was making me feel sick.

"Come on," Niall whispered, grabbing onto my wrist, "let's get you upstairs. You really don't need to be seeing this."

He tugged me up the stairs, and he asked me once again if I was okay, but I didn't reply. I was staring out the window; the sun was high in the sky, and there wasn't a cloud out. The day was beautiful-on the outside, but on the inside, it was utter turmoil.

And I was standing there when I heard the doorbell ring.

Now was not the time-really.

I was going to just ignore the doorbell until it rang again, so I ran my hands through my hair and wiped shakily at my eyes, glad to see I haven't been crying.

I opened the front door to reveal a man wearing a college-looking hoodie with a welcoming smile.

"Hi," He greeted me, "I'm a university student here, and I kind of broke my phone this morning, so I was wondering if I could use yours?"

He did look like a college student, so I said, "Yeah, sure, let me get my phone." My voice sounded hoarse and flat, and I didn't even offer a smile in return to the look he was giving me. I went back into the house, trying to remember where I left my phone. I checked on the kitchen table, and then on the desk in the living room.

But it wasn't there.

"This is a nice place you have," The man said suddenly, and I flinched a little, seeing him standing right behind me.

I told him to wait there-I never invited him inside.

"It's not my place," I said quietly. "It's my friends."

"Is it just you and your friend living here?" He was looking around the room with curiosity.

"She has a daughter, too." I replied, careful to leave out the fact that Harry and his boys were living here, too.

"Cool."

"Uh, you mind if I go upstairs to look for my phone?" I asked, forcing a smile. "You can just sit down on the couch-it should only take me a moment."

"Yeah, sure. Thank you."

I hurried upstairs, letting out a sigh when I was out of ear, and went into my bedroom with Harry. There was my phone, sitting on the desk. I grabbed it, pausing for a moment to admire the picture of Harry and I framed on the desk.

We looked like a typical couple, going out on an outing. My face even looked happy, and Harry had a much more serious smile, but all in all, we looked great.

When I headed back downstairs with my phone in my hand, I was surprised to find the man looking at the row of pictures on the desk.

"Nice looking family." He said aloud, not looking at me as I came down the steps.

"Thanks, here's my phone."

He turned back to me, giving me a grateful smile as he took my phone. I even noticed a class ring on his finger, but that was the moment when I heard the vague sound of a very loud shout, coming from the basement.

The man paused from noticing the noise, too, and he asked, "What was that?"

"We have a tv downstairs." I replied with a shrug. "My friend probably has the volume very loud."

Understanding crossed his features, and the man chuckled, "I love having the volume up, too." He was looking at my phone, and I moved closer to see him scrolling through my contacts.

"What're you doing?" I asked quickly, reaching to grab the phone.

He moved his arms away, "Sorry, I don't know how to use this phone. How do I go to the place where I can type my number?" He shot me a sheepish, innocent smile, and I froze for a moment.

He was starting to look strangely familiar...like I've seen him before somewhere. He wasn't someone I must've known a lot, because if I really knew him, then surely I would recognize him instantly. But there was something very familiar about him.

"Hey, haven't I seen you before?" He asked me, beating me to it, and his face looked genuinely confused as he looked down at me. "I swear I have."

"Yeah, I've been thinking the same, too." I mumbled, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Ah! I figured it out!" He said animatedly, snapping his fingers. "You're the girl who thought me and my friend were going to kidnap that girl riding the bike! Remember?"

It dawned on me.

He was the man I had slapped, and he was also the man who gave me a ride back to the apartment after I wrongfully accusing him of trying to kidnap the girl on the bike. My lips spread into an easygoing grin from this new information, and I could tell the man had cut his hair shorter to a buzz cut, but his friendly, bright blue eyes still looked lively as ever.

"Yeah, that was you!" I chuckled a little. "How's your cheek?"

"It still hurts here and there. You got me pretty good." He joked playfully, going back to typing something on my phone. When he finished, he silently held it to his ear, and he walked away from me a bit, his back now to me. It was then I realized that he was also pretty tall-not nearly as tall as Harry, but he did tower over my height.

I visibly relaxed now that I knew who this man was, so I sat on the couch and waited for him to start talking on the phone.

"Damn, he isn't answering." He grumbled. "I'll try again."

"It's fine, take your time." My words fell flatly when I heard another distant sound of someone shouting from downstairs, and my smile disappeared when I could only imagine what was happening down there.

"Well, I don't know what he's doing, but he isn't answering. He probably doesn't recognize the number." The man told me, handing me my phone. "Would it be cool if I hang out here until he calls back?"

No.

"Yeah, that's fine." I said, forcing a smile. He returned my smile and sat across from me, crossing his ankle over the other.

"So what's your name again?"

"Claire."

"And you're the girl from London, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm originally from America."

"Ah, I can tell by your accent." He leaned back into the couch and folded his hands loosely in his lap.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Nathan."

That seemed like such a normal name-it wasn't weird or strange-sounding. Nathan. Just Nathan.

His face then suddenly grew solemn, his eyes darkening slightly, and he asked, "I saw you in London, and I'm assuming you don't remember."

My smile vanished from the serious look on his face, "What do you mean?"

He chuckled, another smile coming, but it was strange because his chuckle didn't sound light-hearted. It was a serious chuckle, if that even made any sense.

"I remember you very clearly." He stated matter-of-factly. "You were with Harry Styles, the leader of One Direction."

Shit. I didn't know he knew this.

"That is true," I mumbled with a slow nod of my head, still trying to get accustomed to his sudden change in composure.

"They said he escaped from jail," Nathan said. "Have you seen him?" His question was innocent and casual, yet his eyes looked like a different story.

"No, I haven't." I replied calmly. "I thought he was dead; I didn't know he escaped from jail."

"Nobody knows where he is," Nathan said. "It's like the police-everyone, just seemed to forget about him. But I've heard rumors or people seeing him here, in Cheshire." His eyes softened. "I just thought I should tell you this, since I'm sure you're not his biggest fan right now."

"When did you see me in London?" I repeated the question, trying to remember when I ever saw him.

"It was kind of a moment kind of deal." Nathan said with a shrug. "I'm honestly not surprised you don't remember me."

"Care to tell me?"

And that was when the front door threw open. I glanced down the hall, thinking it was Gemma getting home early at first, but my entire face went utterly pale when I saw men wearing those black masks heading straight towards me.

Holy shit.

"Hey-" I got up from the couch, about to warn Nathan, although I was confused when he just sat there calmly, watching me. The first man to enter the room grabbed me easily before I could move, and another grabbed my other arm. Their combined strength instantly overpowered me, and they tied my hands behind my back, shoving me down to my knees on the floor.

"You don't remember me at all, huh?" Nathan asked sharply, no longer smiling. "Are you sure about that, Claire? Because I remember you very clearly."

"W-What's going on?" I asked shakily, feeling someone's hand tangle in my hair, forcing me to look up. Fear instilled its way in my heart when I was facing dark, cold eyes in eye sockets. Zayn must've alerted these men, telling them where the house was. And Harry didn't even know they were here.

Nathan got up from the couch, and my body went stiff when he took out a pocket knife, flicking the tip out so I could see. His blue eyes were watching my face closely, seeing the fear creep its way openly.

"You threatened us," Nathan murmured. "You took our gun; we were trying to kill Harry, don't you remember? The alleyway?"

And it hit me.

He was one of those men who were trying to kill Harry-it was the night when I saved Harry's life, when I took the gun and pretended that I knew how to shoot it.

"I almost had him, too," Nathan hissed loudly now, angry, "if you hadn't stepped in."

I was surprised, rendered speechless upon the shocking realization. I had never quite noticed the men on that night, but I was really beginning to see Nathan in a whole new perceptive now.

"Oh, by the way, I know he's here." Nathan said. "So where the fuck is he?"

"I haven't seen him," I lied quietly, wincing when the man behind me grasped tighter onto my hair, silencing me instantly.

"Check the house." Nathan told the two men, who released me. My mouth went completely dry again when I saw the pistols attached to their hips, and I crumbled to the floor limply. I had no time to calm down or register this entire situation before Nathan grabbed me by my hair, forcing me upwards into his chest. He held me firmly back against him, his lips breathing across my ear.

"And you're a pretty little thing, aren't you?" He murmured huskily. I was panting now, eyes wide in horror, especially when his hand started going across my stomach. "Harry's little plaything, hm? I'll bet he had a field day with you."

He broke off in sadistic chuckles, so different than the innocent aura he had earlier.

"You lied to me," I said aloud-it was dumb to say, but my mouth moved on its own consent.

"Of course I lied to you." Nathan replied, and my heart plummeted when he pressed a rough kiss to my neck. It didn't feel good like when Harry kissed me, his teeth grazing my skin. No, I was filled with nothing but horror and disgust from his mere touch. "You're too easy to believe someone, Claire. You try to see the good in people, and I took advantage of that. Silly, silly girl."

"Boss, we found a girl in the room, and also a younger girl in the other." A man's deep voice called, and I snapped my heard upwards.

Lottie and Eleanor.

NO!

"Bring them both down here." Nathan released me suddenly, shoving me on the couch. I stumbled and fell head first onto it, and I flinched when Nathan slapped me on my bum.

"No-let go of me!" Eleanor's sharp voice was heard, and I felt Nathan's hands grab at my hips, forcing me upwards with him pressed into my bum again with his crotch. My face was pale now, and I was trying to speak but no words came out. His hands were prying and intrusive-oh god.

"I've always had an interest in redheads," Nathan murmured hoarsely from behind, his other hand running through my hair.

"Don't touch her!" Eleanor shouted when she saw Nathan touching me, but he only chuckled and gasped onto my hair, forcing my neck to arch and my body to instinctively to move away from him. But he simply wrapped his other arm around my waist, and he grinded his hips into mine, eliciting a feeble whimper to escape my lips.

Harry...

"Who the hell are you bastards!" Eleanor was shouting again; I couldn't see her since I was staring down at the mattress.

"I'm Nathan, it's nice to meet you. I'm the leader of a gang, if that turns you on." Nathan said with a sickly humorous tone, and my stomach churned when he grinded up against me without an ounce of modesty. He was leaning down towards me again, murmuring, "I wonder how furious Harry would be if he saw me doing this to his plaything, hm?"

"Let go of me," I said through gritted teeth, since my mouth was shaking. My hands were curled into tight fists in the confines of the thick rope over them-I was vulnerable, powerless, and unable to move.

"Tie her up," Nathan told the man holding Eleanor. His attention was back on me, stroking my hair almost soothingly, "Now, where is your boyfriend, Claire?"

"I told you, I haven't-"

My voice broke off when he delivered a swift smack to my bum, silencing me instantly. The air was silent for a few moments until Eleanor growled, "Don't you dare touch her like that, you sick fuck." Her voice was enraged without an ounce of fear.

"Don't get jealous, sweet cheeks," Nathan cooed, "you'll get your turn soon enough. I like sharing."

Sick bastard.

Lottie's loud crying was evident in the air; I've never heard her cry like that. I could hear the man hurrying down the steps carrying the little girl in his arms, and Lottie's screams were so loud, echoing throughout the entire house.

I felt tears prickle at my eyes from the sound of her crying, and I asked, "Please don't hurt her....please."

"I'll be nice to her if you be a good girl, yeah?" Nathan patted my bum to emphasize his point.

The basement door swung open to reveal Harry's head. He probably heard the sound of Lottie's screaming and knew something was up. But as soon as he saw Nathan right behind me, his lips close to my ears, his entire face went to a complete mask. He hid the anger, the fury, and he asked sharply, "Who the fuck are you?"

"There's the man of the hour!" Nathan exclaimed loudly, happily. "It's nice you could finally join us!"

Louis piled in behind Harry, along with the rest of the boys, even Zayn. I couldn't meet any of their eyes since I was bent over with Nathan grasping onto my hips onto the couch.

"Get your hands off my girl," Harry said, finally letting his anger show. His voice was eerily calm. And it was then I noticed Lottie's voice was muffled, since the man apparently covered her mouth up with his to muffle the loud sounds of her screaming.

"Are you the leader of the gang?" Louis was the next to speak.

"I am." Nathan replied. "I've been looking everywhere for you fuckers, did you know that? I wanted to get rid of you because I thought you were going to form another gang. But Harry, isn't it a shame that you never let me join One Direction? Look how far I've come; imagine if you had me on your team." His voice turned sarcastic and mocking. "I'm now the leader of a growing gang, and you're just a fucking pathetic man living in a house with women. It's funny how the world works, isn't it?"

This situation was getting more and more hopeless, it really was.

"And I was going to kill these girls in front of you," Nathan said casually, "but that was until I realized how fuckable they are. I mean, have you felt her ass?" His hand was back on my bum, squeezing the skin, and I tightly closed my eyes, biting my tongue to hold back a comment. "Yeah, I think I'll be keeping these girls, definitely."

"What the hell do you want?" Liam's turn to ask.

"I want karma." Nathan replied simply. "I tried to join One Direction, and Harry broke my nose. He took one look at me and sent me away. I will say that I'm very happy that he did that now because hey, I've got two pretty women coming home with me and I've got a whole gang forming, while you boys are probably going to die today. I think my karma finally paid off."

"It wasn't karma you were looking for." Louis mumbled. "It was revenge, mate."

"And I turned you away because you had psychotic statistics." Harry snarled. "You killed people for fun-not because of the fucking business. It would've been stupid to let you join."

"Take these girls to the van, leave the younger girl." Nathan suddenly ordered, moving away from me and shoving me forwards. I nearly lost my balance if the other man hadn't caught me, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder like I was a ragged doll.

"No!" I shouted, kicking my feet when I realized Nathan was going to stay here, that he was going to kill Harry. "No! Please don't hurt him!" I was sobbing loudly now from the horrible feeling of hopelessness and being pathetic in this kind of situation. But I couldn't go anywhere, not thrown over this man's shoulder, and my hands were tied behind my back.

I was thrown roughly into the back of this van, and the very back closed in front of me with Eleanor lying next to me. She was crying, too, and I got off the ground to start shoving my body against the back door. Maybe it wasn't closed all the way-maybe I could force it to open somehow.

I couldn't give up now.

My sobbing increased when I only started to hurt my shoulder from barging against the door so much. The door wasn't budging; we were stuck here like sitting ducks.

Nathan was going to kill Harry, and then he was going to do god knows what to Eleanor and I

Oh my god.

"Claire? Eleanor?" A feminine voice asked from behind us, where the cage separating us from the front of the van. My crying ceased for a moment upon hearing the familiar voice, and I whirled around to see none other than Perrie Edwards sitting in front of the cage, staring back at us with eyes full of tears.