Harry.
Beautiful things were meant to be destroyed.
My step-father said those words to me, after he saw my tear stained face in the greenhouse. I had watched him, helplessly crying as he caught the butterflies, destroying the freedom they had to fly by cutting their wings.
"That's why we rip out flowers, only to have them die at our hands," he had said. "That is why we hurt the ones we love. All beautiful things were meant to be destroyed. Nothing lasts forever, and nothing is meant to be cherished. Remember that."
I didn't agree with him. Beautiful things were suppose to be cherished, I had thought as a naïve child. My mother always told me my wisdom was beyond my years. Even in my manic states, she told me the world had blessed me with a mindset that would allow me to see the beauty in everything, that was why I had loved the greenhouse and loved the simple things such as bubble baths. I wished she had been right. I wished I soaked in her words and believed the lies she told me. Maybe I wouldn't of ended up like this. Maybe I would of been what society considered normal.
I cried and pleaded for him to stop that day, that the butterflies weren't meant to be destroyed. I wanted them to live, to fly, to enjoy the greenhouse as much as I did. It was their home.
He had only laughed, his dark eyes, that looked like nothing but black holes staring into my soul. He had shook his head at me, almost as if he pitied me.
"You think they're living?" He had asked me. His whole body shook with a demonic laugh. Something that had always made me feel uneasy. He didn't have a great sense of humor. He laughed at broken things, things that caused other people misery. "You've trapped them in a greenhouse, little one. They aren't living. You're destroying them."
My ten year old mind didn't understand. I shook my head fiercely, refusing to believe that I was the one destroying them when he sat there, cutting the wings of such delicate creatures.
"You're crazy!" I had bellowed, wiping my wet cheeks with the back of my hand. I had wished my mother was here, but she had gone to the farmers market, and let me alone with the devil himself. "I'm not destroying them. I was letting them be free!"
My step-dad was never kind to me, at least not when we were by ourselves. I always wondered how he was such a good actor, how he could look like such a great person around my mother, but changed into something hellish around me. It always frightened me. I always made sure to go with my mother, but unfortunately, that day, I had slept in and my mother decided to go by herself.
"Oh Harry," he had sighed. He focused on the beautiful black butterfly that he held by one wing. The powder, that I had found out was actually their scales, rubbing off on his fingers. I whimpered at the sight. If too much of their scales rubbed off, they wouldn't be able to fly at all. "If I'm crazy, than so are you, because you and I are very alike."
"No we're not," I whispered, wincing as he brought down his knife towards the butterfly. It scared me how content he looked while he did it. "I am not crazy like you."
"Oh, but we are. You and I are the exact same." The grin on his face would be something that haunted me for the rest of my miserable life. "Crazy. One hundred percent crazy. Sometimes I wonder how you aren't actually my son."
Sometimes I think back to that day, and wonder if my tiny brain didn't fully comprehend how similar we actually were. Other days, I think that day was what changed me forever.
Maybe that was why I was so determined to destroy the sanity of Sophia. She was such a beautiful thing, and yet, as I stared down at her sleeping body, my thoughts ran wild with all the ways I could destroy her.
There she was, just existing on her own. Being beautiful, and wonderful, even as she slept. She didn't need me to exist, and for some reason that sent an uncomfortable feeling to roll down my body in a shiver. The only relevance I would ever have in her existence would be to destroy it. I swallowed at the thought and allowed myself to admire her sleeping frame just for a moment longer.
She had allowed me to sleep next to her last night, though I didn't reach for the softness of her skin as much as I itched too. I didn't know why, but it didn't feel like the right moment. I didn't want to get use to feeling of touching her, of feeling her, of kissing her. I wanted it to always feel like the first time. I wanted it to always feel like I was touching a rare diamond, something that was reserved for special occasions. It made me crave her even more, in ways I couldn't quite comprehend. It felt as if I was almost torturing myself, but I probably deserved every type of torture known to man. I don't think I deserved anything lovely as Sophia when she looked as soft and as peaceful as she did when she was asleep. I only deserved her in her most feral form, when she was as wide eye and as crazy as me. Only when the sins ran off her body just as they did for me, and when she craved to tear me apart as much as I craved to tear her apart.
I didn't deserve any soft moments with her. I only wanted the moments that made her question everything, all at once. I didn't want anything remotely close to love either, that was an emotion that was tucked away in the darkest parts of my brain, never to be resurfaced again. What Sophia and I had would be nothing short of epic, though it would be fuelled by nothing but pure chaos and the venom of lust.
I couldn't help but run my hand down her arm as she slept, my whole body screaming with want as I did. She stirred underneath my touch, her mind slowly catching up to her body as she awoke from her slumber.
She blinked a couple of times, before she looked at me. I didn't miss the way her eyes travelled from my bare chest, to my neck before they met my eyes. I couldn't help but grin. She wasn't subtle at all. But it was okay, neither was I. Not anymore, at least.
"Fuck," she groaned. She pressed her head against the pillow and sighed deeply into it. I watched her in amusement. "My head is throbbing. I drank too much."
I nodded in agreement. "Hangover?" I questioned, frowning. I touched her bare shoulder, her singlet that she had changed into didn't leave much to the imagination, and I was suddenly having trouble keeping my eyes fixated on her face and not below her neckline.
She was warm to touch, and she seem to sink into my hand that brushed against the length of her arm in comfort. I liked that she was getting use to waking up to me. "Yeah," she breathed. "Do you have any painkiller?"
I nodded, and sat up almost instantly. Her eyes followed my moves, and I decided it was best to stay in just my sweats for that very reason. I was a little chilly, but I liked the hunger in her eyes when she looked at my bare chest.
"Niall's bound to have some. Are you alright to come out? We need to leave soon, but I will order you some room service before we leave."
"Fourteen hour drive, today, isn't it?" she asked, as she swung herself out of bed. She winced slightly as she did, but followed me out of the room nonetheless. "Kill me now."
Niall was sat on the couch as we walked out,a mouthful of food shoved into his mouth. The TV was on, but it seemed to be muted. "Only if you ask nicely," he said, grinning as Sophia scowled.
Believe it or not, he seemed to be in a good mood this morning. A mouthful of food and a cheeky grin, I could only assume that he had gotten some good news between when I had left him alone last night and now. Either that, or he was doped up on pain medication for his knee. Given the mouthful of food though, I didn't think it was the latter.
"You're actually a dick," Sophia hissed, taking a seat on the opposite couch. She slouched into the leather, glaring at Niall who didn't bother to look at her.
"And you're a snitch," Niall countered, not breaking his gaze from the TV. I wasn't sure why though, there was nothing fascinating about the morning TV programs. Especially when they were muted. "Glad we cleared that up."
I couldn't help but grin to myself as I dug through one of Niall's duffle bags in search of painkillers. They were warming up to each other. What a pleasant morning it was, I thought to myself.
Niall had an oddly large stack of prescription medication shoved into his bag, but I chose not to question it. I dug out an almost empty packet of painkillers before I made my way to the kitchen to get Sophia a glass of water.
As I filled the water, Sophia and Niall's bickering suddenly sounded.
"Oh my God," I heard her gasp. "Turn the TV up!"
Niall being Niall, scoffed. "Who made you the TV police?"
"I'm serious!" The panic in Sophia's voice made me turn in confusion. I made my way to the couch she sat on, standing behind it as I eyed the TV, unaware of what was so interesting. A picture of a young girl was sat in the corner of the screen. Dark hair, almost black, with bangs that covered her left eye. She didn't look any older than sixteen though. I assumed her age was what was making Sophia panic.
"Listen to her," I snapped at Niall, ushering to him to turn it up. "It's just the TV, it's not like she's asking for a bloody kidney."
Niall swallowed the mouthful of eggs he had been chewing and rolled his eyes. "But then I'm giving in," he complained in annoyance. "I don't want too."
Sophia looked as if she was about to have a meltdown and it made panic flare in my body instantly. What the hell was going on?
"Just turn the fucking thing up!" Sophia suddenly exploded, making Niall and I both freeze. She shot up from her seat, stalked over to a wary looking Niall and yanked the remote out of his grasp.
It took a second for her shaky hand to find the volume button. My gaze suddenly filtered back to Niall, watching for any signs he was about to lose it. He didn't do very well when people overruled him. Although, thankfully, he just seemed shocked by her sudden outburst.
He opened his mouth just as the TV blared at a volume that wasn't needed for this early. I winced as the news reporters voice suddenly seemed to fill every section of the apartment.
"...Thanks Rick. As I was saying, there has been breaking news at a possible kidnapping. We urge anyone who has seen anything to come forward and help assist police with their investigation," the lady said, her monotone voice making me roll my eyes.
I shot Niall a look over Sophia's shoulder, unsure of what her connection was to this story, the girl that was being shown and why she looked so horrified as she listened on. Sure, it wasn't exactly normal to have kidnappings happen around here, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it. We had other things to worry about, including getting to New York as quickly and as silently as possible. I didn't need to take any detours to help solve a bloody kidnapping case. I silently I hoped she wasn't just comparing herself to this girl, because that wasn't something I needed for the long journey ahead of us.
"I've just had word that the last sighting was a few days ago?" The man on the couch next to her said, and I almost laughed at how concerned he was pretending to look.
"Can you put it down-"
"Sh!" Sophia hissed at Niall, waving her hand in his direction to hush him. His eyes narrowed and gave me a look, ultimately telling me to deal with her before he does. I rolled my eyes, but yanked the remote out of Sophia's death grip against her protests. She almost tackled me until she realized I was just lowering the volume.
"Watch yourself," I warned her, though it was more for Niall's sake than anything. I didn't need him snapping at me that she was walking all over us, because to be fair, I think I would of let her.
And it was proven, when I just let her ignore my warning. She was to fixated on the morning news that was way to morbid for my liking. I decided to sit next to Niall and wait for it to be over. I still had her painkillers and water in my hand that she seemed to have forgotten.
"That's correct, Rick. From my understanding, her co-workers grew suspicious when she didn't come into work, and the suspicion grew around her disappearance as her last sighting was with two young men. Witnesses say she didn't look too happy to be around them on the night, and had been crying when she left her work establishment with them."
That peaked my interest, and I sat up cautiously, my mouth suddenly feeling dry as the news reporter continued. "Why did it take so long to go to the police?" the man asked, with a sympathetic shake of his head.
"The victim is said not to have any family around the area, and when her manager called her to check up on her, it had gone straight to voicemail and they decided it was best to call the police," the lady said, sighing. Her face turned back to the camera, a frown plastered on her lips.
"The police are urging for anyone who has seen this girl to call authorities immediately. The photo displayed on your screen is a few years old, but I am getting told that the victim has brown hair, and brown eyes. She is roughly 5'2, and is a slim girl."
She glanced over at her colleague, who nodded at her. I was beginning to hate how the news worked off a script, because the delay of getting information out was making my heart feel as if it was about to come out of my chest.
"Authorities have put out a red alert for this," he continued. "As it has been over forty-two hours since her last sighting. I am being told that her name is Sophia Winters. Again, if anyone has heard anything, please-"
The sound of Niall choking on his food, along with the sound of the glass I was holding smashing to the ground, drowned out the remaining of his sentence. The news switched to something else in an instant, yet I still found myself staring at the TV screen in pure disbelief.
"What the fuck?" Niall gasped, thumping on his chest. He coughed a couple of times, trying to dislodge whatever food had gotten stuck in his throat. "What the fuck did I just watch?"
''I think I'm going to be sick," Sophia muttered, ignoring the water that was making its way towards her. The water that I had dropped was now coating her bare feet as she stood, but she didn't bother to move. I think we were all frozen in shock.
"I thought you didn't have friends!" Niall suddenly snapped from his seat. "Why the fuck would anyone contact the police about you?!"
"Gee, thanks," Sophia spat, rolling her eyes. "How is this my fault?! You're the one that kidnapped me!"
"Oh here we go," Niall stood, throwing his arms up. "You're going along with the kidnapping story, aye? Gonna sound great when you talk to the police. Was that your plan all along?"
"What? No-''
''You gather all the information during your trip with Harry," he continued with a sneer. "Then run off to the closest police station?"
I got up to separate Niall from getting any closer to Sophia. I could tell by the pure horror she had on her face from seeing herself on TV, meant she had no idea what was going on. The protectiveness I had over her ran through my body when I saw how angry Niall was getting.
I shoved Niall back, glaring at him. "Relax!" I demanded, watching as his chest heaved with anger. "You need to calm down."
"She's going to get us fucking arrested!" Niall snapped, throwing his hands up again. "And this time, we won't have the fucking connections to get ourselves out of it. We aren't even in New York yet, Harry. Lou's not going to want this drama following him!"
I refused to let the panic in me show, because for once, Niall had lost his cool and I needed to be the one to calm this situation down before one of us ended up being thrown off the building. I swallowed, glancing over my shoulder at Spice who was staring at both of us in a mixture of fear and anger.
"I'm not going to the police," she said over my shoulder, though her voice softer than it was a minute ago. "I could of done that a few times now, I still have my phone on me."
Niall scoffed. "You mean the one that I removed the sim card from?"
Sophia blinked. "What?"
"You're dumber than you look," Niall hissed. "Harry blocked the signal on your phone as well."
I winced. I hadn't told her that yet. "Look," I said, pushing back on Niall's chest as he stepped closer. He glared at me, but took a few steps back, putting some distance between them both. I could still feel the anger radiant off him in waves. "Everything is going to be fine."
''No it's not. I still don't trust her."
"I don't trust you," Sophia snapped back. I reached out behind me to wrap my hand around her wrist and tug her towards my back. I didn't remove my eyes from Niall, but I hoped Sophia got my subtle warning to shut up. Niall was like a ticking time bomb. He didn't do well with stress, and she was about to find out if she kept pushing it.
I squeezed her small wrist gently. I hoped she understood I was on her side as well. I heard her sigh from behind me.
"We have fourteen more hours until we're in New York, once we're there, we'll organize Spice to give the police a call, inform them that everything is fine and she just took a few days off to go on a roadtrip," I told him, swallowing.
Niall gave me a flat look. "Because that sounds believable."
"Do you have a better idea?" I asked, trying to keep my voice gentle, though my panic was turning irritable. "Because that sounds like a decent idea to me. Once we get everything sorted with Lou, we can set up something. I'm sure he knows someone in government to make the police back off."
I could feel the sweat on my forehead the more that I spoke. The words sounded bitter as they came out of my mouth, and I knew that the plan had too many holes. Niall pressed his hand against his forehead, clearly feeling the same.
"And what if she decides to slip up and turn against us again?" he questioned. "What then?"
My hand tightened around Sophia, and she whimpered slightly. As much as I hated the idea of that happening, I knew very well it was a possibility.
Once a liar, always a liar...The devil suddenly cooed, and I visibly winced as his voice sang in my left ear.
He seemed to love betrayal, because he showed up as soon as the thought appeared in my brain.
"Leave her to me," I told Niall, tightly. My body stiffened as a new array of thoughts pumped wildly threw my brain.
To us, the devil corrected for me. We need to show her what happens if she was to disobey.
I swallowed, and Niall's anger dropped suddenly at the sight of my face. I wasn't too sure what I looked like, but I was glad my back was towards Sophia. I shook my head when he reached out to me. Sophia's wrist suddenly felt as if was burning me, and I dropped it. I spun on my heels to look down at her, and she stared up at me, her eyebrows furrowed.
The devil didn't like the sight of her looking so confident.
"I'm going to change," I heard Niall huph from behind. It was his way of leaving us alone. "Remember, H. We're high up."
With that, he left, slamming the door to the room as he did. I took a step closer to Sophia and she took one back. She knew this dance too well.
My fingertips reached for her, though unlike many times before, she didn't flinch away from my hand as they gripped her chin. She glared up at me, her hands falling on my biceps to steady herself.
"You wouldn't betray us again, would you little Spice?" I asked her, eying her carefully for any signs of deception.
"No," she answered calmly, despite the racing heart I felt under my fingertips.
"Oh yeah?" I breathed. I took the tiniest step closer. A step that allowed me to press my whole body against hers, allowing me to feel her body across every inch of my skin. I drank the sight of her in greedily. I couldn't help but brush my lips against hers, desperate to prove the devil wrong, to get him out of my head and to calm the sudden rage in my head that told me she was lying. "Prove it."
AUTHORS NOTE:
Yesss, another Harry POV. I lowkey love them because I love diving into his mind...I feel like this character just has so much depth and can sometimes think very poetically without even meaning too.
Do you guys prefer Harry's or Sophias POV chapters?!