She's Not Afraid

"I'm Telling You Because You Need To Know"

"I'm sorry babe," Liam said quietly, as he kept his eyes on the road, one hand on the wheel, and the other on Danielle's knee as she played with his fingers gently.

"I know this was supposed to be a calm, relaxed dinner. But I hate keeping things from you, and I just really wanted you to know what's going on..."

"I just don't get it, are you sure? I mean, this is James we're talking about, he's almost become a friend..." Danielle said.

"James and his family came up in this business quickly, because they deal with just drugs. Our family knew better, we have our hands in some drugs – but we've got total control of it. Our power comes from fear and business. We have our hands in almost every local business, we invest, and we cut off anyone who threatens that. We make deals with people who are hopeless. It's not pretty, and we take advantage, but it's what we do. And we're smart with the money that we make through everything. No one but the 5 of us guys know what accounts the money goes into – no one knows how things run. And we do it that way to keep up the power. No one can trace us. No one can prove anything. If they did, it would be because they got the information straight from the horses mouth – which would never happen."

"Okay, I get that, but I don't understand James..." Danielle said, as she looked up at Liam.

"James deals with drugs solely. He deals with scumbags. And he let's his crew do and deal. They're as cracked out as the people he sells too. And the thing with drugs, is if it's the only thing you're making money off of – there's always going to be someone somewhere who can make more money and get more drugs. And this guy, Sikes. He's big in the drug world. And he has been taking over towns one by one. He gets people hooked, and he drains them of everything, until they need him to bail them out. People who are into drugs – they'll do anything for it. That's why none of my people are allowed to touch it. Because drugs can compromise an entire operation..."

"Okay..." Danielle said slowly, as though she were still trying to comprehend.

"I think James made a deal with the devil, or he got himself into deep. And I think he's working with Sikes, or Sikes is trying to take over what James created. Either way, it's bad."

"Why?" Danielle asked, "What's so bad about him?"

"To put it nicely, he's a fucking psycho. The stories that have come out from this guy. He's deranged. He's taking over towns one by one. And he won't stop at anything. He doesn't care. And he scares people, so no one has been able to stop him," Liam said.

"And you think that James is working with him?" Danielle asked, "But wouldn't that put James in danger?"

"Yes," Liam said, "But if James made a bad deal, or lost money, or maybe just caught up in the power that Sikes has to offer, he wouldn't care how much danger he's in. And if he is involved with this guy, there's no getting out of it."

"So, what does that mean for us?" Danielle asked

"Well, first of all, it means that this truce that we've upheld for so many years, is off. Sikes isn't interested in any type of truce, and if he is getting involved with this town and this area, he won't anyone competing with his power."

"What are you saying, Liam?" Danielle asked, her voice cracking a bit, as she looked at her husband with wide eyes.

"I'm saying that, if this is really happening, we're going to be targeted. I'm saying that there's a good chance of a gang war."

"Oh my god..." Danielle hissed, as she looked straight ahead at the road, her mind rushing with hundreds of thoughts at once – none of them leading to a good place.

"I don't want you to worry Dani. My first priority is your safety, and David's. If we have to get you out of town, we will."

"Liam, I'm not going anywhere," Danielle said, "I told you that. I knew when I married you what I was getting into you."

"Yes, you did. And you as an adult made that choice, but our son can't make that choice. And he can't protect himself, and it's my job to protect him. It's my job to protect you both. So, if that means at some point you need to get out of town, then you'll get out of town. And you won't argue about it."

"Li –" Danielle tried to say

"No, Danielle!" Liam growled at her, turning quickly to glare at her, "This isn't something I'm willing to discuss with you. I'm just telling you because you need to know."

"When will we know if this is true?" Danielle asked

"You mean if Sikes is involved with James?" Liam asked, as he turned back to look at the road.

"Yes," Danielle said, nodding.

"If it's true, we'll know soon enough. He'll make sure to make his presence known. But, for right now we're tracking James, seeing what he's up to. Niall should have some more information tonight."

"Who knows about this, Liam?"

"Just you and the boys. We aren't telling anyone anything until we know for sure."

"What about Sofia?" Danielle asked, "She should probably know... this is pretty big and you're going to need her. She should know."

"I know," Liam said quietly, "It's just ... you know, she just got home. And she's settling finally. And ... I just... she's been through so much..."

"She would want to know, Liam," Danielle said, "I know you're still worried about her, but she would want to know."

"I know," Liam agreed, as he sighed, "And I told Harry that. I told him we needed to tell her, but he didn't want to spook her."

"I wish those two would stop keeping things from each other..." Danielle sighed, "And just get married already." Liam laughed and he nodded his head in agreement.


***


"Emily, stop!" Zayn growled, as she through her clothes into a suitcase. He took the clothes out.

"Don't do that, Zayn!" she hissed, throwing the clothes back into and pushing him away from the suitcase.

"Look I know you're upset, okay. I get it," Zayn said, his voice desperate, "But it's late, and you don't have to go tonight... you don't have to go at all."

"Yes I do," Emily said, as she went into the bathroom and started to pack up her toiletries. Zayn followed her, standing at the door.

"Emily, stop this, please," Zayn said, but she ignored him and continued to pull things down from the cabinets. He rushed to her side; grabbing her wrists and pulling things from her hands, "Stop! Just stop!"

"Zayn, let go of me..." Emily said, as she stared up at him, her face contorted in anger and in pain.

"Please stop," he hissed at her, trying to control his voice.

"I can't," Emily said, her voice cracking, and tears coming to her eyes, "I can't stop this. I can't. I'm sorry."

"Emily, I love you, I love you so much," Zayn said, holding her wrist tighter as a sob came from her mouth.

"Don't," she growled, shaking her head, "Don't do that."

"Don't do what? Tell you that I love you?" Zayn asked, "Please, Em."

"Zayn, I can't do this right now. I can't. I have to go, Katie will be here soon." She pulled away from him, wiping her face, and grabbing the things from the sink, walking back into the bedroom and putting them into a suitcase.

"You don't have to go tonight," Zayn said, as he followed her out, "Just ... it's late ... and just ... just ... stop."

"If I don't go tonight, I won't go at all," Emily said, as she zipped up the suitcase, "This is killing me, Zayn."

"Then don't go!" he cried, "If it's killing you, don't go."

"I can't do that!" she yelled, turning to face him, the tears sliding down her face, "I can't stay in an unhealthy relationship again! I can't. It's not fair to you and it's not fair to me." Her body shook as she sobbed.

"Emily, god... oh god..." Zayn hissed, as he tried to approach her, but she stepped away from him.

"I love you Zayn, I do," she said, her voice cracking again, as she tried to control her breath and her tears, "But I have to go. I have to do this."

"Emily, we can... we can work... we will... we'll work it out," Zayn said, his eyes trying to search hers, but she looked away from him, grabbing her suitcase.

"I'll be back sometime next week to pack the rest of my stuff, when I find a place to store it – or something..."

"Emily..." Zayn begged, as though he hadn't heard her.

"I'll call Sofia tomorrow, and Liam," Emily said, as walked past him, "And you know, I'll let them know ... they should know...."

"Emily wait," Zayn said, as he grabbed her arm and pulled him back to her. He kissed her hard, and he could feel the tears on her face, they were mixing with his. He put everything he was feeling into the kiss, because she wasn't listening to his words. He tried to tell her how desperately he needed her, and how much he wanted her, and he was begging her stay, and confessing his love. Everything he had went into that kiss. And she didn't pull away, she let him kiss her. But when he pulled away, and she looked up at him, he could see that it didn't change her mind. She was crying even harder, and he desperately wanted to be the one to make it stop.

"I think it's best if you don't ... don – don't call," Emily said, her voice in a broken whisper, "Just not for now."

"How will I know you're okay?" Zayn asked, his tears falling more freely now.

"I'll be at Katie and S-Sean's," Emily said, "I'll be okay. Just don't call me. I need space, and I can't hear your voice right now."

"Emily ... " Zayn whispered, both of his hands were on her shoulders, holding her in front of me, "Emily, please..."

She looked up at him again, her tears still falling, and she cocked her head to the side.

"Don't cry, baby..." he said, wiping her tears and she sobbed again, grabbing his hand and kissing it.

"I love you, Zayn," Emily said, "I just want you to know that... okay? I love you."

"Then don't leave me," Zayn begged, "Please, baby, I love you. You love me. Please don't leave me."


***


"I wanted to tell you, by taking you somewhere," Sofia said, as she looked at Harry, "I wanted to show you. You deserve to see everything. You deserve all the answers, and I can't do that here."

"Well, tell me what you can here," Harry said, his voice hard, "Because I can't wait any longer and we can't go on a trip right now. And this is killing me Sofia, do you get that? That this is fucking killing me? Do you even care?"

"Of course I care!" Sofia gasped, "Of course I care! And I don't want this to kill you, Harry!"

"Then tell me! Please!" Harry begged, his voice raising again, "Please!"

"When I left," Sofia said, watching Harry sigh in relief that she was finally going to tell him, "I was only going to go away for a few days, Haz. I wasn't leaving for good. I just needed time to breathe. Seeing you in the hospital bed and knowing that I caused it, just made me sick. And I couldn't be here anymore, so I needed a break. I needed to leave."

"Okay..." Harry said, sitting on the couch, and looking up at her. Sofia looked away from him, tears forming in her eyes.

"I was pregnant," she whispered

"What?"

"I was... I was pregnant," she said a little louder, "I didn't know it... but I was pregnant."

"What do you mean, How is that..." Harry said, his thoughts jumbled, as his face furrowed in confusion, "How? Is that even possible?"

"I guess so, I don't – I don't know," Sofia said

"You were on the pill," Harry said, as he looked up at her, his face still confused. She nodded.

"But we were being less careful, remember?" Sofia said, "Because of the wedding, we just, we weren't as careful. I wasn't as careful. And I guess, I got pregnant."

"What do you mean you didn't know?" Harry growled, as he stood up from the couch, "How do you not know?"

"I – I wasn't that far along. And I miss my periods all the time and I wasn't feeling any different. I just didn't know," Sofia said.

And then Harry looked at her as though he just figured something out; he looked at her up and down, as the realization hit him hard and fast. He looked into her eyes, his eyes wide with shock and horror.

"You said was," he whispered, Sofia let out a sob, as she nodded, "What do you mean was?"

"There was – there was an accident, Haz."

"An accident?" Harry questioned, "What – what do you – what do you mean?"

"I went out one night, and I was drinking..." Sofia said, her voice coated with tears.

"YOU WERE DRINKING WHILE YOU WERE PREGNANT?" Harry exploded, his voice loud and making her jump.

"I didn't –" Sofia tried to say but Harry interrupted as he began pacing.

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Harry yelled

"Harry you aren't listening to me – I didn't know I was pregnant!" Sofia yelled, as she watched him pace the floor.

"What happened?" he asked as he suddenly stopped, turning to face her.

"What?" Sofia asked, blinking a few times. He was so all over the place, she felt like she was on a roller coaster.

"What was the accident?" Harry asked

"I fell down some steps," Sofia whispered, "I was attacked, and I just went tumbling down the steps..."

"What?" Harry asked, his eyes wide again, and he was choking on his own words.

"I fell down some steps. I don't know what happened after that. I was bleeding and... I had hit my head. I just... everything went black. I didn't know ..."

"Didn't know what?" Harry asked

"I didn't know I had miscarriage until I came to at the hospital," Sofia said, before she broke into loud sobs. Harry stood there staring, as though trying to process the information.

"I'm so – I'm so sorry Haz," Sofia sobbed, "I just ... I'm so sorry. I lost our baby, and I'm so sorry..."

She stared at Harry as he stared at her, like she willing him to say something. She could see the pain in his eyes, as he finally began to understand what she was saying to him. And she watched as she collapsed back onto the couch, his head in his hands, clutching his hair and looking at the floor. She wanted to stop his pain, she wanted to take it away, make it better. But she knew better then anyone that it wasn't possible, nothing was going to make this better for him. Nothing was going to make this better for either of them.

"Please say something," she whispered to him, as she let the tears fall from her face.

"Did everyone else know?" Harry asked, as he looked up at her, she could see the tears.

"What?"

"Did everyone else know about our baby?!" Harry yelled, as he stood up again.

"Harry – I was trying to convince Louis at the hospital, and it just came out, and I told them..."

"SO THEY KNEW?!" Harry screamed, "THEY ALL KNEW?! BEFORE ME?!"

Sofia sobbed harder, as Harry fist flew into the wall next to him, putting a hole through it, and as she watched the wall fall apart, she felt her heart coming apart.

"I'm so sorry, baby," she said, as she reached for him.

"No. Don't!" Harry growled, "They all knew. Everyone knew about our baby before me. And they all knew what I lost before I knew."

"Harry please –" Sofia gasped, but Harry shoved past her, walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?!" She yelled, as he opened the door, "Harry please don't walk out!"

But she jumped as he slammed the door, walking out, and leaving her sobbing behind him.

"Harry!" she screamed, as she ran towards the door, but it was too late, he had already left. Just like she knew that he would.


***


"What the hell was that?" Niall asked Louis, as he watched Harry slam out the back door.

"I don't know, he didn't say anything," Louis said, his eyes worried, "I should probably go after –"

"Was that Harry that just drove out of our driveway like a lunatic?" Liam asked, as he walked into the kitchen with Danielle, "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't –" Louis started to say, but Sofia came rushing in.

"I need keys," she yelled, as she started going through drawers.

"Sofia, what's wrong?" Liam asked, noticing his sister crying, "What happened?"

"No time, I just .. I have to go after Harry," Sofia said, as she found keys, and headed for the door, pushing Liam aside.

"Sofia! You can't just go after him alone!" Liam yelled, as he followed his sister out to the back yard.

"Sof, what happened?" Louis asked,

"I TOLD HIM!" Sofia screamed, turning to face them all, "I TOLD HIM, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED! I TOLD HIM ABOUT THE BABY! AND HE WALKED OUT!"

"Sofia, it's going to be okay...." Danielle said trying to approach her.

"NO! THIS ISN'T OKAY!" Sofia screamed, "He left and he's upset and he's hurt, and he's not okay... and I have to go after him. I have to make sure that he's going to be alright. I have to bring him home."

"You can't go off by yourself – I'll go with you –" Liam said, trying to calm his sister down.

"No Liam, no. I have to this on my own. This has to be just me and Harry," Sofia said

"Sofia! It's dangerous right now, you can't just –" Liam tried to argue, but he was interrupted, by glass shattering in the pool house. Everyone looked over to see a broken window.

"What the hell?" Niall asked, running towards the pool house, everyone behind him. Niall through open the door, to see Zayn sitting on the bed, head in his hands, sobbing. The room around him was destroyed. Things knocked over, and broken.

"Oh my god..." Danielle gasped, as she looked at the mess of destruction around Zayn.

"Zayn, mate," Louis said, stepping forward, "What ... what happened?"

"Emily left me," Zayn whispered, not looking up from the floor that he was staring at.

"What?" Niall asked

"Emily broke up with me, and then she got in a car with Katie and Sean and she left. She's gone," Zayn said.

"What happened?" Liam asked, "Why would she break up with you? I'VE BEEN GONE FOR LIKE 5 HOURS, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?"

"I don't know, man!" Zayn yelled, "I don't fucking know! She's gone though, that's what happened. She left me."

Sofia watched as her best friend sat back down on the bed, crying. He put his head back in his hands, and she wanted to reach out and comfort him. She wanted to hold him and make it better. And then she wanted to do the same to Emily, who she knew was probably equally as broken. But instead, she turned away from the pool house, and walked towards the garage.

"Hey!" Liam called from behind her, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I told you, I have to find Harry!" Sofia called back, before getting into the car.


***


Sofia walked out of the third pub feeling defeated. She had gone to all of Harry's old hang out spots, and she thought for sure that he would be at one of them, drinking away his pain. But he wasn't. He hadn't been to any of the bars that she thought he would be at, and she was feeling defeated and lost. She just wanted to know that he was okay. And she cursed herself for putting him through this for months at a time, now realizing how painful it must've been for him.

"Hey lady!" someone shouted from behind her, she turned to see a big guy, with greasy hair and a cruel smile walk towards her, she turned away from him, walking faster

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" he called, and she walked faster, hoping that he would give up. But instead she felt herself being pulled and pushed up against a wall.

"Get off of me!" she growled up at him, noticing that he had two friends behind him.

"You looking for Harry Styles?" he growled down at her, "Now what's a pretty girl like you doing with someone like him?"

"That's none of your business," she hissed, trying to push him off of her, "Now get the fuck off of me you grease ball!"

"Mind your manners, bitch," he hissed, slamming her against the wall, "Just because you're one of the Payne gang whores doesn't mean you can talk to me like that."

"Fuck you!" she spat out at him, trying to push him off her, but suddenly there was metal being pushed against her and she froze.

"Shut up!" he spat out at her, "Before I blow your fucking head off. Now, you're a whore. You're looking for Styles. Which leads me to believe that you got some sort of relationship with him, which is perfect for me..."

"Why's that?" Sofia whispered, looking up at the man, and glancing at the gun that he against her head.

"Because I want to send Harry a message. I know how those boys like to keep their whores to themselves, poor girls. But the rest of the world, we like to share..." He pulled at the shirt Sofia was wearing, and the realization hit her.

"Don't! Oh god, please don't!" she begged him

"Shut up, bitch!" he growled, slapping her hard. Sofia tried to pull away, but she was terrified because of the gun so she did the only thing she could think of. She let out a blood-curdling scream.

"YOU STUPID WHORE!" he screamed, grabbing her neck, and tackling to the ground. He had dropped the gun in the process, which gave Sofia a better fighting chance.

"SOFIA!" she heard someone yell, realizing it was Liam.

"THEY'VE GOT GUN!" she screamed, as she nearly pissed a punch. Suddenly gunshots were ringing out, and Sofia was being dragged back up off the ground. But before she could run or do anything, suddenly she was being thrown on the ground again, this time a body covering her.

"Stay down!" Louis hissed in her ear, as more gunshots went off. Suddenly everything went quiet, and Louis rolled off her, Sofia sat up,
looking at him.

"Are you okay?" she asked

"Yeah, you?" he asked, she nodded looking up. She noticed Harry and
Liam were struggling with her attacker against the wall, his friends lying dead in the alleyway, as Niall checked their bodies.

"You fucking scum bag!" Harry screamed, "WHO ARE YOU?! WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR!"

"Fuck you!" he spat out at Harry. Sofia and Louis stood up, Louis grabbing her as she tried to move towards her brother and Harry. Niall now was checking the other guy.

"Liam!" Niall called, Liam looked over as Harry held the guy against the wall.

"This has Sikes on it," Niall said, Liam turned back to the guy, pulling Harry away. Without saying a word, Liam shot him in the head, and let the guy fall to ground. Sofia gasped at the sight, her eyes wide. Harry and Liam turning towards her.

Harry rushed forward, grabbing her arms and looking her over.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Harry cried, looking at her ripped clothes.

"What the hell was that?" Sofia gasped

"We'll explain later, we have to go," Liam said, nodding towards the street.

"What were you thinking coming here alone?!" Harry snapped at her, his eyes red with anger and fear, "You know it's dangerous!"

"I thought you would be here!" Sofia explained, "And clearly I was right..."

"No, you weren't," Harry said

"We have to go," Liam cried

"What do you mean I wasn't, you're here obviously," Sofia said.

"I turned around and went back to the house, Liam told me you went looking for me. I was coming back to you."

"You were?" Sofia asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah," Harry said, "5 minutes into my drive, I realized that I already lost too much tonight, I couldn't loose you too." Sofia let out a sob, collapsing into Harry's arms, as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Let's go home," he whispered, holding her up and leading her out of the alleyway.