witness || h.s.|| ON HOLD

thirty-six || through the dark

"Patience, darling. Let's get in the car first," he replied, gesturing to the black SUV parked in the middle of a field.

"Nice parking job," I scoffed, walking over to the car.

"So, do you want shotgun, or what?" I sighed, gesturing towards the car.

His eyes twinkled in amusement. "That's all you. I'll drive," he answered, walking to the driver's side door and opening it, before climbing in.

I made my way over to the passenger side and got in the car, buckling my seatbelt and slumping down in the seat.

The man glanced over at me and let out a breathy laugh.

"Tom's not gonna be happy that you took his seat," he laughed.

"Tom? Oh! You mean Tiny Tom!" I replied.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh come on! You know! Tiny Tom from A Christmas Carol! The one with the little crutch! Get it? Because he's gonna need a crutch?" I explained, and the man burst out in laughter.

"I can see why Styles likes you so much," he replied, causing me to freeze in my seat.

I quickly relaxed my muscles, not wanting to confirm or deny his statement.

"I tend to be liked by the general public, you're just new here," I mumbled, desperately wanting to change the subject.

"Ah, I see we have hit a touchy subject," he smirked, putting the car in drive and beginning to travel through the field and back towards the path.

"Nope," I replied calmly, keeping my voice at an even tone.

"Oh really? I beg to differ. I saw how he completely mutilated Maddox," he answered.

I turned my head to face him, but he kept his eyes on the road.

"Maddox?" I asked, feeling a little lost.

"Oh come on! You know Maddox! He was that nice young man who you met in the park!" He replied, and even though I kept my facial expressions neutral, I couldn't stop the involuntary goosebumps that were beginning to rise on my skin as I recalled that horrible experience.

The man glanced over at me quickly, flicking his eyes down and observing the bumps scattered across my skin, a satisfied grin tugging at his lips.

"Yeah! See? You remember!" He taunted, finally getting back onto the path and beginning the drive back towards the other men.

I didn't reply, and he took my silence as a signal to keep talking.

"Yeah, Styles completely tore him apart! I wouldn't have thought anything of it if he had just simply shot him in the head, but when we went to find him to see what was taking so long, I mean, fuck!" He chuckled.

He reached over and lightly nudged me with his arm, but suddenly, I wasn't in much of a joking mood.

"Admit it! Styles totally has a thing for you! I mean, the man is an absolute legend, and I've heard stories of some pretty nasty ways that he's killed people before, but they were nothing compared to what I saw. I know he is obligated to keep you safe because that's his job right now, but clearly, something struck a nerve when he saw that you were in danger," he continued, and I wished so badly that he would just shut the fuck up.

Images of Maddox's face bashed in flashed in my mind, followed by glimpses of Harry's blood-covered face as he beat the already dead man into oblivion, as though he had completely lost all control.