Give Me Hope (h.s)

20

I take a deep breath, walking up to the podium. My life is on the line speaking against Sacho, but he's caused me pain and suffering for years. Now I'm free, and his daughter is coming with me.

"I'm Harry Styles, 23," I say in the microphone, the judge nodding her head.

"My father passed away when I was young, and Sacho was the one to take me in. Kidnap, was more like it, for I haven't seen my mom or sister since. He forced me into his business, and I never wanted to do such things," I explain, more questions asked and answers are given.

"I-I have scars, from my punishments. Whenever something didn't go his way, we were whipped. Lashes are all along my back," I say, pictures coming up on the TV to show the evidence.

"You were always the weakest," I hear Sacho say, my eyes diverting to him.

"Mr. Sanchez, please," the judge says, hitting the gavel.

"When I was introduced to his daughter, Arabella, I was her bodyguard. I was told to protect her with my life. When I got the job, I didn't know I'd end up...in a relationship with her," I explain, Sacho red with anger.

"So I wanted to keep her safe, not only from the threat of the rival gang, but of her father as well. He treated her mother, and many other women, as if they were nothing and Arabella was forced to remain in the house. She used college as an outlet and I wanted her to live, so I kept watch and made sure she had the same experience normal girls should. All this, but at the same time I wasn't granted those experiences, because her father held me captive."

"Bullshit! I did your father a service!" Sacho yells, but another order is yelled. He's fuming, but I don't care. I'm going to be out perfectly fine.

"Thank you, your honor," someone says, my body allowed to move from the stand. I sit down and then wait, my eyes watching as they bring Arabella in. My heart pounds and I watch her sit down, my lips pressing together when I see her father clenching his jaw.

"Please, start from the beginning," someone says, and I watch her glance at me. She looks at me when she wants the strength and I nod, her lips puffing out as she releases a deep breath.

"I was an accident. And he threw my mom away when I was born," she starts, my leg bouncing in anxiousness. "He, um, would slap me if I went against him. It was his way of scolding people. I, um, was unable to leave the house because it was dangerous for me and for him. If I was out, his gang would be threatened by the other gang, and it would cause a fight. I was locked in the house for 18 years, and now I wanted to get a degree."

She takes a deep breath again, and I can't believe what she's feeling. She's going against her dad to run away with me. It's scary stuff.

"So when Harry was introduced to me, I, um, immediately felt this could be different. I could finally see the world, but then he started to become a friend rather than one of my dad's workers."

"He was supposed to make sure no one hurt you! You're fucking ridiculous!" Sacho yells, my eyes widening in his direction.

"You're the only one that hurt me," she says, but Sacho stands and keeps going.

"You're a naive little girl, Arabella. And I just needed to protect you, but he tainted your mind, you little b-"

"But I fell in love with him!" Arabella yells, my heart stopping. I look up at her, and she looks scared. I think the entire courtroom just went silent. But my mind is racing with her words because I've never heard a girl I genuinely have feelings for say they love me.

Arabella loves me.

"Because he's the only thing that makes me feel safe anymore," she whispers, and I feel like I need to run to her. My body stands up, but I'm shoved down. Her father is ready to murder someone and that person would more than likely be me.

"You!" he yells, pointing to me. The judge yells order but Sacho is on the move. Before he reaches me, he's restrained and I stand. All I'm looking at is Arabella, and I just want to be with her.

Order is called and Sacho is forced to sit down, my breathing speeding up because I can't stop thinking about the love Arabella feels for me. I watch as they take her back to her seat and I just stare at her, unable to formulate any other thoughts than the fact that I know what I feel. I'm in love with Arabella.

The judge starts speaking and then I look up, turning my attention to her. "Francisco Sanchez, twenty years prison, no parole," she says, hitting the gavel.

My feet jump up and I bolt to Arabella, her body moving away from me. "Bella," I call, her body moving faster. It makes me nervous that because she admitted that, she doesn't think I feel the same.

"Bella, wait," I call again, and then we get to the hall. I reach out and grab her arm, tugging her back into me. Tears are streaming down her face, but my hand grabs her chin. I press my lips on hers and hold her close, her hands grabbing my shirt.

"I love you, Bella. Fuck I love you," I breathe out on her lips, my hand holding her cheek. She looks at me and I kiss her forehead, hugging her to a point where even if she tried, she couldn't even move.

"I love you too Harry," she cries, my arms tightening. I lift her up and I carry her over to the entrance of the courthouse, sitting on the bench with her in my lap.

"We're out baby. Just you and me now," I whisper in her ear, her hands tightening around my shirt. I hold her, knowing she must be dealing with an insane amount of emotions.

She lifts her head and I wipe her cheeks, taking her face in my hands. Her smile makes me smile and she grabs my wrists, knowing she's staying with me.

"When we get to the hotel, we're gonna look for an apartment," I tell her, her head nodding.

"I get you," she beams, and then hugs me close again. I hug her, kissing her hair.

She climbs off me and we walk towards our hotel, my hand not letting hers go. We relax in the hotel and I take out my phone, looking through the available apartments. The next few days, we're looking through apartments and there's barely any we can afford.

But there's one. And we end up signing.

It's a studio apartment and it only has one room, a bathroom, and a room that connects directly to the kitchen. It's small but will be perfect for us.

I turn over, laying on the floor beside Arabella. Since we didn't have much money for furniture, we've resorted to laying on the floor. Pillows were purchased as well as blankets, but we're still getting there.

"Bella, you need to get to work," I whisper, her interview this morning. She's applied for a job as a baker at the bakery in town. I applied to work in a music store because I love to play guitar before my dad passed away

She curls into me and I kiss her forehead, hugging her close. Then she gets up and I follow, going to the kitchen. I make some toast and coffee, standing across from her.

"You good?" I ask, her head nodding.

"We got this," she grins, and I smile down at her. We've got this, especially because we're together.

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