witness || h.s.|| ON HOLD

eleven || no more games

   I slid my hands through my hair, gripping it and pulling it in frustration as I began to nervously pace around the room, my bare feet patting along the hardwood floors. 

    The door to the room opened, causing me to jump slightly. However, the person who opened it frightened me much more. 

Harry.

   My body's natural instinct had become to get as far away from Harry as possible, and so subconsciously, the sight of him caused my feet to shuffle backwards, until I felt the back of my legs hit the end of the bed.

     He just laughed as he always did whenever he saw that I was in distress, and began to walk up to me.

   "Good morning, princess," he spoke in a low voice. 

Morning? I thought to myself. I had been out that long? 

      "Where am I?" I asked although I'm not sure why I did because I knew he wouldn't tell me.

"In a safe house somewhere," he answered, and that was all he was willing to give me.

   I couldn't help myself as I chuckled at the irony. A safe house. I don't think I had ever felt more unsafe in my life.

    Harry was only a few steps away from me now, and he looked down at me intensely, and I could have sworn I felt myself shrink under his stare. 

     My breathing was getting out of control, and I could feel my hands beginning to shake. I attempted to hide this from Harry by crossing my arms over my chest and was reminded that I was still in my pajamas. They weren't immodest in any way, but for some reason, I felt naked as Harry scanned me up and down.

     It took all of my strength to make eye contact with him. "Why am I here, Harry?" I asked, my voice was steady, but quiet, laced with a hint of desperation. 

I don't know what I said wrong, but Harry suddenly looked angry, very angry. He reached up and harshly gripped the bedpost next to my head, leaning in closer to me, his nostrils flaring.

  "Tate, would you just fucking stop it already? You know why you're here! Do you really want to make this harder on yourself by keeping up the whole innocent act?" His voice was louder than it normally was, not quite a yell, but significantly louder than his normal speaking voice, causing me to cower back in fear.

      "I don't know why I am here Harry...I'm serious. I have no idea what you are-" I was suddenly cut off by Harry's hand slapping the bedpost, and I let out a scream.

      "Stop fucking lying Tate!" He yelled, and the volume of his voice that I had previously been startled by now began to seem like a whisper. 

    He was fuming mad now, and I closed my eyes tightly, wanting to just pretend that I wasn't here, even if for only a moment. 

"Open your damn eyes Tate. Look at me," he demanded, gripping my chin with his free hand.

    My eyes slowly opened again, and I was out of the world of make believe, and back in the nightmare that I couldn't seem to wake up from.

  I breathed in and out a few times, trying to compose myself, and Harry released his grip on my chin.

"What is it that you think I know Harry? That you think I've done?" I asked as calmly as I could manage.

"I know that you lied to me when you said James was just your neighbor. I know that you know what line of work he is in, and I know that somehow you are involved in it. I know that you know who I am, I know that you know about the software, and I know that you know the password for it," he listed off, only leaving me more confused and helpless than I had been before.

"No I-" I started, but Harry interrupted me, reaching up to run his hands through his hair. 

"Damnit Tate, you do realize you could be dead at any minute, right?" He asked.

My heartbeat was pounding in my head, I looked down and saw a gun strapped to his belt.

"Please Harry. Let me go. I can't help you," I begged, sounding completely pathetic. 

He shook his head in refusal. "I can't do that, princess. You have something that I need, and I will get it out of that pretty little head of yours one way or another. Soon enough I'll know exactly who you really are, no matter how hard you try to hide it."

     "Who I am?" I chuckled in disbelief. "Let me tell you. I am a twenty-year-old girl. I work at a restaraunt, I like art and reading. I made straight A's all through school because I worked my ass off to earn my grades. I play the cello, I was the first chair in my school orchestra. I only have a few friends because I am so busy with work. I've never gotten in trouble in school, or been a trouble maker at home, and that is a brief synopsis of my life. Notice how none of it had anything to do with you or whatever the hell you're talking about?" I snapped.

   He eyed me up and down, looking annoyed.

"Now you know who I am, so tell me, Harry...who the fuck are you?"

   He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at me. 

"Fine, smartass. You want to keep pretending, that's fine by me, it just means more trouble for you. I am Harry Edward Styles. I am one of the right hand men to the leader of one of the largest organized crime groups in the world. I have killed more people than you could even begin to imagine, and I am a very impatient man," he answered, emphasizing the last part. 

    "What the fuck does an organized crime group want with me? And what does James have to do with this? He's just a business man!" I cried out, throwing my hands up in frustration.

   "Yeah right, Tate. You know very well that James is second in command to another large organized crime group. And I know that you are also aware of our recent alliance with them. And that we need you in order to access the software."

Chills ran up and down my spine at his words. 

I couldn't believe how stupid I had been, to think that I was so safe walking home with James that night, when he was just as bad as Harry, maybe even worse for all I knew. 

And what was the deal with this fucking software he kept talking about? I could barely remember my email password, and here he was accusing me of being the key to some software that a group of the most dangerous people in the world had gotten their hands on.

I just stood there with my mouth open.

Harry huffed in annoyance, before turning on his heel and heading toward the door, pausing as he reached it and facing me.

   "When you're ready to tell the truth, come downstairs. We will be waiting for you."

"Who's we?" I asked in a small voice.

He just smirked at me, giving me a sarcastic wave goodbye, before slamming the door shut.

AN: HI GUYS! I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER! UGH I FEEL SO BAD FOR TATE! I WILL TRY TO HAVE CHAPTER 12 UP TONIGHT BUT IF NOT IT WILL BE UP TOMORROW! I WILL KEEP YOU POSTED! DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT! ILY ALL! xx