Amen ~ Mike WILL Made It (*)
Shots ~ LMFAO ft. Lil Jon (1*)
••••••
Rayne ~~
I really don't know how I've managed to live with Arden Styles for this long.
Also, it's so weird knowing his last name now.
Anyway we've been arguing for fifteen minutes now about how I think he should start going out more. My argument is that he's left once and didn't die. So it's all good.
His counter argument goes something like, "I only left because you pissed me off so much I would've rather died out there then be stuck in this place with you."
Along with, "And even though I went out there and survived, doesn't mean I didn't want to die the whole time I was gone."
The first part of his argument left me speechless. I knew he was right but didn't want to actually admit it. The second part I knew was a bit melodramatic, but I let him state his claim anyway.
But the only reason I'm even trying to convince him in the first place is because Harry told me to ask if he wanted to come down to Aerial. I figured it was a great idea since Aerial is the dopest fucking place ever and I think Arden would love it. I told Harry I'd ask, but the only problem was that I knew Arden would say no.
I'm not too shabby at convincing though. But Arden has been the most difficult human in existence to persuade.
Giving up is not something I tend to do though, so I keep going until he at least gets too annoyed to continue fighting back.
I just genuinely think he would enjoy it. He's never experienced a scene like a nightclub or anything like that. He's spent most of his life in hiding, and several years of it alone and scared.
Alone.
It breaks my heart.
He's not alone anymore though. He's got me and now his long lost brother in his life. And I know Harry won't be going anywhere ever again. I sure as hell won't. Arden is family. He's been all I've had since I met Harry. Now I have two people I trust, which has taken a lot for me to accomplish.
It didn't take much with Arden since he saved my life the moment we met. It's taken up until the last week I should say to semi-trust Harry though. It's still iffy, but there's a lot of situations in which I know I can trust him in. But some scenarios I just can't be sure of yet.
"Just please, consider it. I'm going tonight anyway, but I really think you will enjoy yourself if you come with me. I know you're worried about a lot of shit, but Harry and I will be there by your side the whole time." I softly proclaim to him.
My persuasive techniques usually consist of torturing the fuck out of someone, but with Arden I know that's completely unnecessary. I've decided to take a nicer approach. An approach I only ever use on him.
Arden just rolls his eyes and continues flicking through files on his computer as I stand behind him perched on the back of his chair. I didn't actually see him roll his eyes, but I could hear it. Believe me.
"No thanks. Not my thing." He curtly replies.
I sigh and throw my head back, staring at the ceiling of the dark computer lab illuminated only by the bright monitors.
"How do you even know it's not your thing? You literally have never been to any place like this." I mumble out, a little annoyed that he's being so fucking stubborn.
"Nothing outside of being safe and sound inside this place is my thing Rayne. Now please, leave it alone. Go out and fuck my brother, or whatever." He sounds slightly amused and sarcastic as he says that last sentence.
It makes my thoughts run wild but I quickly end them.
"I'm not going to fuck your brother you little bitch." I lean up off of his chair so I can leave, and he just laughs at the term I've called him countless times before.
"Better not hear you ask me again by the way." He harmlessly warns as I reach the doorway.
My feet stop in their tracks and I turn by head to look at him over my shoulder. "Promise me you'll at least consider it. You're being stubborn right now, but if you be like your usual self and look into the subject maybe you'll see how much fun it can be." I throw one last persuasive sentence in there before I walk out.
Not before hearing him groan out load at my ability to never give up though.
He'll cave, he has to. I want him to get out. Now that he's done it on his own despite the fact he claims he hated it, I still think it's time. I won't let anything hurt him out there. Neither will Harry. We'll always have his back and I know Tate and Garrett would too. I truly believe he could be happier if I could just show him the exciting and good parts of the outside world.
Parts of it like Gray's Cafe, Aerial, the rooftop Harry showed me once, hell even our own goddamn rooftop. It gives a spectacular view of the city at night.
At the end of the day though, I will always understand his fear of the world. He's only ever been shown the worst parts of it. So now he believes that the world in its entirety is negative. While in most ways it is, there are still so many breathtaking variables to it. And that's saying a lot coming from someone who has lost both parents and was raped and abused by someone who she still doesn't know the fucking the name of.
I'm by no means comparing myself to him, I'm just explaining that no matter what we've gone through there is always some good in other things. The world is too fucking big of a place to be full of just evil. It's balanced, so when there's good there's bad. When there's happiness there's sadness.
When there's love there's hate.
The universe has its fair share of contradicting factors, but that's what makes it beautiful in my opinion.
I may be insane and morally fucked up, but I still have an optimistic outlook on most shit in life. That's just who I am.
Despite all of that, I just hope Arden thinks it through. He always thinks things through before making a decision, that's why it shocked all the shit out of me when he made the crass decision to leave the warehouse that evening.
But that's in the past. I want him to have a better future now. And it's not gonna be cool at all if he stays pent up inside this place. So I'm gonna go shower and get ready to meet Harry at Aerial tonight, and then I'm gonna ask Arden to go again.
That gives him about an hour to think it over. Plenty of time.
But I also know one thing, if he says no again I'll probably knock him out with some sedatives and drag him there against his will.
••••••
"It's only been two days and I already miss the fuck out of you. When will you get here?" Harry's deep accent sounds through my phone speaker.
I'm currently getting dressed as I have my phone on speaker since he called me right after my shower.
I have to laugh at his statement that I too can relate to. I always miss him when we part. "I'm getting dressed now, I should be there within the next hour. Down boy."
I hear his laugh bellow throughout my room, and I also hear faint background noises from his club.
"Did Arden decide yet?" His tone becomes more serious when he asks that.
I shake my head but forget he can't see me. "I haven't asked him again since I last spoke to him about it. I'm about to ask him when I finish getting ready though. Hopefully he's thought it through."
I'm pulling my jeans over my legs as I'm sat on my bed with the phone next to me when I hear him softly sigh on the other end. He'll be sad if Arden refuses to come, I know it.
"I hope he says yes." Is all he replies with.
I finish with my jeans and then grab my super cropped white shirt that might as well be a bra to wear with my signature jacket over it. "Me too. He needs it, he just doesn't realize it yet."
"Yea....well, I'll see you soon sweetheart. Let me know what he says will you?" I can hear the mild desperation behind his voice.
"Of course." I confirm while putting my jacket over my barely there crop-top. It's way more revealing than what I'm used to, but as long as my jacket stays on it doesn't really matter.
"Bye madwoman." His cocky tone is so blatantly obvious that I swear I can hear his smirk.
"Bye Styles baby." I tease in return and then end the call so I can start straightening my hair a little.
I don't care all too much, but I also don't want to look like a rat. My hair is already naturally straight for the most part with just a slight wave to it. So all I have to do is blow dry it and run the flat iron over it and it's good enough.
When I finish I throw some deodorant on along with perfume, brush my teeth, then I grab my black docs and lace them up.
I only slap some mascara and chapstick on because I hate the way makeup feels on my naturally greasy ass face.
Giving myself a once over in the mirror when I'm done, I shrug to myself.
Not my greatest look, but always a bad bitch at the end of the day.
And with that I grab my phone and check to see where my Uber is at.
Six minutes away it says.
Now time to talk to Arden again.
I leave my room and head to his. His door is open so I go ahead and walk in. The first thing I see is him sitting on the edge of his bed with his back facing me and himself facing the small window in front of him.
My first thought is that he's a weirdo, but then I realize that he's got a lot on his mind these days. Can't blame him for sitting and staring at walls, or windows, all day.
"Arden...." I take slow steps toward him and keep my voice calm, unknowing of exactly what he's thinking right now.
He either didn't hear me, or is choosing not to because he doesn't do anything to acknowledge my presence.
So I take the final steps over to him and sit next to him on his bed. He seems to realize I'm here now because he jumps slightly and turns to me with wide eyes.
"Damnit, you almost gave me a heart attack." He puts his hand over his chest and closes his eyes like he needs to catch his breath.
"Sorry, I said your name but you didn't hear me." I'm trying to remain as relaxed and nice as possible. The last thing I want is him to think I'm trying to bombard him or some shit.
"Yea my bad. Just lost in thought. What did you need?" He looks at me fully now.
Fuck, I was kinda hoping he'd know why I was here again so I wouldn't have to actually bring it up myself.
"Uh," I start but stop as soon as I do. I'm feeling at a loss for words. "I just wanted to, uh, you know, ask you again. About the....you know. The thing." Fucking hell, I never beat around the bush.
One of his eyebrows raises at my muttering. "About going with you tonight." He surprises me by saying bluntly.
I look at him like I'm scared of his reaction, and I kinda am. But still, I nod anyway.
I watch as he sighs and closes his eyes, head shaking as he turns it back to the window in front of us.
My gaze follows his, and it's silent for a moment as we both stare out the window. A window that only displays the brick siding of the other abandoned building next to ours.
His next words surprise me though. Just like he always does in general.
"I'll go."
At that my head snaps back to his face, only to find him still staring out the window.
"Really?" I ask just to make sure I heard him correctly.
He nods.
"Mind if I ask why you changed your mind?" I don't wanna push, him deciding to come is already a huge step for him. But I just gotta know.
His shoulders shrug but he still answers. "The outside world makes me feel vulnerable, something we both hate. I also don't know enough about it personally and I hate that too. But despite my feelings about it, it still won't change a goddamn thing that happened in the past. And I'm tired of letting that fear control me. I refuse to let vulnerability define me. I mean, we're young, our minds overflow. We're always gonna be vulnerable no matter what we do. Especially with what we've fucking been through. I guess I'm just tired of letting that be the definition of who I am and how I live. So yea, I'll go."
That reasoning has my chest tightening, but I swallow the lump and instead wrap my right arm around his shoulder. Pulling him into my side to hug him.
"You're the strongest, coolest fucking person I've ever met. And it might not mean shit but I'm still proud of you." I admit as we half embrace each other.
I hear Arden laugh softly below me, and when we pull away he has an amused smile on his face. Barely displaying the dimple on his left cheek.
There's Harry again.
"It does mean something to me." He still has a smile on his face but his tone is serious.
With that I nod in reply. "Well, do you need to get ready, or...?" I stand up and look around for no apparent reason.
"Nah, just need to brush my teeth and put smell good on." He says, and I laugh at his obnoxious need to call perfume and cologne "smell good."
It cracks me up.
"Alright, Uber is a block away now. I'll meet you downstairs." I say while checking my phone again.
I hear him say a simple "okay" before I'm leaving his room and heading downstairs. As I wait for Arden by the door, I decide to text Harry to let him know Arden is coming.
The moment I click send the three dots signaling that Harry is typing already show up.
Harry - Fuck yes! Tell him I said he won't regret it.
You - I will, see you soon ;)
Just as I'm putting my phone away I see Arden descending the stairs.
"Ready?" I ask for good measure.
"As I'll ever be." He nonchalantly says.
When he reaches my side I throw my arm over his shoulders with a cheeky grin. "You won't regret this, I promise. Harry says so too."
At that he just rolls his eyes but still smiles anyway.
••••••
When the Uber pulls up just outside of the entrance, I glance to my left at Arden next to me.
He's been quiet the whole way here, even despite my efforts to comfort and reassure him. The only reason it's bothering the fuck out of me is because quiet is the exact opposite of Arden. Especially when we're in the same vicinity.
(*)
"This is it. Come on." I grab his forearm and start tugging him out my side of the car.
He follows with no fight, and when he steps out I notice him tense up a little. Because of that I keep my arm wrapped around his as I guide us inside. I give the bouncer the code word Harry gave me after Blood Out, and we get in with no trouble.
Arden gives reluctant stares to random pedestrians walking by, but I just keep walking forward.
Before we reach the big archway that leads straight onto the main floor, I stop us in our tracks and turn to him.
"Harry, Garrett, and Tate are waiting at the bar. You okay?" I made the executive decision to check with him constantly tonight.
The moment I feel that it's too much on him we'll leave.
He looks at me with care and manages to smile at me. "Rayne, I'm gonna be fine. Coming was my choice right? If anything happens it's on me."
I hate how he said that, so I shake my head and turn forward again to guide us deeper into my newfound favorite place.
I can just make out the sound of music, and whatever song that's playing must be going slow right now because I'm waiting to feel bass in my feet like always.
Yep, there it is.
"You feel that?" I tug at Ardens arm gently after the bass drops.
"Is that from the music?" His eyes light up just slightly.
I know he loves music.
"Yep, Harry's DJ is super dope. Always plays some good shit, music of all genres. My favorite part of this place is exactly that, and the way I can always feel it throughout my body. Just wait until we get on the main floor." I happily explain.
As we finally do reach the entrance to the main floor, that's when we can really feel the bass inside of us now.
"Wow." I hear Arden say next to me as we stop to look around.
"I know right." I don't have to look at him to know his expression matches my wondrous one.
Aerial never fails to please me. It's always so amazing.
Tonight doesn't have a theme to my knowledge, but instead of the usual dim red lighting, a green tint lights the place up.
I start walking again towards the bar so I can find the guys, and it takes all but ten seconds to spot them.
Harry and Tate conversing amongst themselves while sipping on their drinks. Garrett not too far away downing shots with a woman.
Typical.
"There they are." I point swiftly to where they stand and Arden nods his head as we continue to make our way to them.
Arden definitely walks with a stiffness to him as we swerve through the dozens and dozens of sweaty bodies.
I keep glancing up at him beside me to see his emerald eyes that match the lighting open wide. His lips parted as he takes in the overwhelming surroundings he's not accustomed to at all.
Moments later we're reaching the guys, and at first none of them notice us.
So I decide to be the sarcastic douchebag that I am and tease them.
"That's them dad, those are the guys that harassed me!" I fake exclaim while pointing at them and mocking fear.
Arden looks at me weird before he catches on and ends up laughing at my idiocy.
Garrett was too preoccupied to notice us still, but Harry and Tate's heads snap in our direction with wide eyes and confused expressions.
When they see the small outburst came from me, they're shoulders relax and Tate shakes his head whereas Harry grins at both of us.
He moves away from the bar to come over to us, and he plants a kiss to my forehead before sticking his hand out to Arden.
"Glad you could make it." He simply says, the excitement he had expressed earlier clearly being for my ears only.
Arden takes his hand and shakes it twice, and then Harry places a hand on his shoulder to guide him to the bar.
"What would you like to drink?" He asks.
I follow behind them with a content smile on my face, and I walk over to stand between Tate and Arden with Harry to his left.
I hear Arden try to order some pussy wine, so I playfully shove his shoulder before ordering both of us a tequila shot.
"Excuse me? But I didn't realize that agreeing to come out meant I had to be forced to drink hard shit like you guys." Arden looks at me sternly, but I shake it off with a giggle.
"Too bad. You can drink your wine at the warehouse, but tonight you try a shot with me. It's fun I swear. Here we go." I say as the bartender gives us the shots with salt and lime slices.
"I've done this a million times, watch me." I break into my expert demonstration of doing a tequila shot, and Arden watches in disgust as Harry watches in amusement.
"Hell no!" Arden semi-shouts.
Tate chuckles to my right and when I look at him he's shaking his head as he takes a drink of his own hard liquor.
"Not a lot of women drink like this one, don't blame you for being a bit overwhelmed." He amusingly states.
Arden rolls his eyes, but I'm not having it.
"Just one. Seriously. I won't make you do another if you hate it. Just try it." I grab his hand and bring it up to his mouth so he'll lick it, and he does so reluctantly.
I then dab the salt on there and gesture for him to do the rest.
He makes me proud when he finally says "fuck it," and licks the salt before grabbing the shot and downing it.
The wince that forms on his face he can't control, but I grab the lime slice and shove it between his lips to help with the taste.
The moment he sucks the juices in his mouth the wince goes away, and when he finished he actually smiles a little.
I look at Harry who looks at Arden with a smirk, and suddenly the young man who was just feeling terrified of this world lifts both arms in the air and shouts.
"Fuck yea! Shots shots shots shots shots! Someone turn on the song by LMFAO cause we're getting fucked up tonight!"
I jump slightly at his sudden outburst. But my shocked state is soon replaced by glee as I watch Arden order another round.
"Damn boy, you surprise me every fucking day." I clap a hand on his shoulder and look back at Harry.
His grin is wide and so is mine. The look we give each other shows we were right. We knew he would enjoy himself.
"I'll go talk to the DJ, tell him to play the song. Be right back." Harry laughs again before walking away to what I assume is the music booth.
(1*)
It takes about three minutes before the song Arden requested finally comes on. The moment he hears it, he looks at me like he's learned the secret to the universe or some shit.
"Here we go! Do another one with me!" He shouts unnecessarily at me.
I just shake my head with a laugh before grabbing another shot and tipping it back fast. Arden does the same and he actually barely winces this time.
"Wait." I wipe my mouth and place a hand on his shoulder. "Does this mean I can stop getting pussy wine and just get the hard stuff?"
Ardens features drop dramatically. "Fuck you. My wine is the bomb, so no. We will continue to get wine....and hard shit."
I knew he'd say that but I just had to tease. Arden decides to order himself some random drink and I order a glass of whiskey.
When we get our new drinks Harry just returns. "So what do you think?" He asks Arden who is already working on finishing whatever exotic drink he just ordered.
"This place fucking rocks. How'd you get all this? Aren't you a gang leader too? Damn, my brother is a fucking badass." He shakes his head and downs the rest of his drink.
Harry just shrugs and laughs. "Come play a game of pool with me and I'll answer those questions."
"Never played in my life but I'll try." Arden nonchalantly says and follows Harry.
When they pass Harry gives me swift peck to the lips before going to find a pool table.
I watch them walk away for a minute, admiring the fact that this is their first time bonding since they've reunited. It's adorable.
When I turn back around I decide to converse with Tate since we barely ever speak to each other. I'm honestly closer with Garrett than with him and I kinda want to get to know Tate more if he lets me.
"Well how's your night going?" I ask him, starting off with a simple conversation starter.
He side-eyes me and part huffs, part laughs while sipping on his drink. "Can't remember the last time I've actually been able to say 'good' when asked that question."
My eyebrows raise, partly because I'm surprised he answered and also because I wasn't expecting him to say something like that.
"Why's that? If you don't mind me asking." I finally decide to take a seat on the barstool next to him so I can get comfortable.
He shrugs as if saying he doesn't mind and places his now empty glass of liquor down. "Did you know I'm divorced?"
My eyebrows shoot up again, once more being shocked by his words. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed. I mean, no offense, but you don't really seem like the type of guy to ever wanna be tied down."
"Oh believe me, I wasn't. But things change." He states.
I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly. "True. May I ask what happened?" I'm genuinely interested in this conversation with him right now and it's kinda weird.
"Well for starters I was absolutely in love with that woman. Still am actually. That's the reason I brought this up. I still love her but she's not mine anymore, so now I'm constantly pissed and acting like a prick to everyone because all I want is my wife back." His voice sounds so honest and pure as he speaks about this woman I'm now intrigued with.
I don't say anything and just wait for him to continue.
"Her name was Marie, and we divorced because I lied to her about what I do. About all the gang related shit and killing people. I never wanted to tell her because I didn't wanna scare her off. Knew she would hate it because of how innocent and kindhearted she was. This part of my life was too ugly for her and I never wanted her to have any affiliation with it. But I guess being with me meant she already was." His eyes are looking down at the countertop when I look over at him.
"Anyway, she found out because she followed me one night. Said she had some suspicions about what my job really was. She caught boss, Garrett, and I 'interrogating' someone in the room we use. Man when I tell you my heart broke and stopped all at the same time when I saw the look on her face. I remember chasing after her and trying to explain we don't do bad stuff like that to just anyone. Just the ones who were tied to you know who. She wasn't having any of it though, so she immediately kicked me out and filed for a divorce soon after."
My hand reaches out and pats his shoulder before I can stop myself. "I'm sorry Tate, that really sucks."
"Yea, it does. Really wish she would've believed me when I told her I'm not evil. We all know I'm not a good guy, but I'm not evil. Just thought that me being an angel for her only would be enough. I still talk to her via phone almost everyday, constantly trying to make plans so I can fix it. But she usually doesn't answer. Can't blame her for the way she feels though, I'd been lying to her for two years." He shrugs and lifts his hand to signal the bartender.
"I'm sorry you're going through this. I really am." I say in true genuineness.
"What can I say? It's all one big nightmare I can't escape from." He admits with a sigh.
"Well you know what they say? If you don't wake up from the nightmare, you were never asleep." I feel wise for thinking of that for some reason. "It's not a nightmare, it's just our life."
Tate nods slowly before laughing at my random fit of half wise words and I join him. But then a question I've been meaning to ask pops into my head.
"Wait, how long has Harry's gang even been a thing? We haven't really discussed many details about it." I can't help but wonder.
"Pretty sure boss won't mind if I tell you. As you already know I think, Garrett and I are cousins. When we were both nineteen we got kicked out of the house that we lived together in with his grandparents since both of our parents are dead. It was our dads who were brothers and the grandparents we stayed with were his moms parents. Anyways, we've basically been inseparable since birth because of how close our families were, and we were always trouble makers. Still are too. We've sure as hell had to pay for it though. We got in a little run in with the law and his g-parents got mad and booted us. So we lived homeless for about two years before we met boss. He was a homeless runaway though whereas we got kicked out."
I nod along as he speaks, fully engaged in learning more about the three mens' pasts.
He takes a sip of his drink that the bartender just brought to him before continuing. "At first, boss was completely reluctant to reside with us. All due respect to him, but he was fucked up. We couldn't figure out what he had been through and he definitely wasn't telling us. After weeks of trying to help him out he finally caved and let us. But little did Rett and I realize, boss would end up taking care of us more than we ever could him. He may be years younger, but we both have so much fucking respect for him. That's why when he orders us around we pretty much will do just about anything for him. Like, let you kick our asses to prove a point or whatever."
He winks at me and I roll my eyes, shoving his shoulder playfully.
"Anyway, he was homeless with us for just over a year before he started making himself known to the gang we're in now which originally had a different leader. The group was small, and not making much profit off of the narcotics they were trying to sell. Oh yea spoiler alert in case you were wondering, the gang illegally sells drugs and weapons through other gangs and cartels etcetera etcetera throughout Chicago and other major cities in Illinois. Even in a few surrounding states like Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The most profitable out-of-state city we work with is Green Bay by the way."
My eyes widen as I take in all this new information about Harry's gang. So many questions start to form in my mind, but I wait until he's done to see if he answers them himself.
"So the small gang leader who went by Draco, cliche I know, owned this place before boss and had it as just a bar. Hardly anyone knew of the place so not only was the selling of illegal products not going well, but he wasn't making money off of this place either. Anyway the three of us had stumbled across this place and boss got to looking and asking around about what he assumed went down around here. Now, one thing about boss that you should know is that he's very observant, nothing ever gets past him. And he's goddamn smart too. More than he will ever show. He immediately knew what was going on around here and stuck his nose in. That's another thing, he's fearless and ruthless. Also more than he shows. He's real good at hiding the qualities of himself that he uses to get what he wants. That's why surrounding gangs and buyers respect him. That's why he was able to talk Draco into handing this over to him. And yes, I mean talk. Boss didn't have to do anything else beside that and it worked. Draco gave it up, boss flipped the switch instantly. Made this place into what it is today, and profit is the highest in this area of the States. We don't beat the other northern states like New York and other surrounding state groups in that region, but we're close second. All because he's so persistent, persuasive, and purposeful. The three p's." Tate downs the rest of his drink and looks at me like he's gauging my reaction.
I'm assuming he's finished, so now I jump into all the questions I have. "Ok first thing, is there a name for the gang or what?"
He chuckles and shakes his head. "Of course that's the first question you have. But yes, we have a name. Try and guess what it is."
His lips turn into a smirk and I frown. "Well if I had any clue I would've already started guessing."
"Think of the boss, anything that symbolizes who he is. I'll give you a moment." At that he sits back in the stool and pretends to wait patiently.
I huff and roll my eyes but try to think about it anyway.
Things that symbolize Harry Styles.....
"Is it anything with his name in it?" I ask.
"Nope."
Another huff leaves my lips.
"Is it 'Harry's Angels,' ?" I just have to ask.
"You dumbass." Tate bellows out a laugh at my semi-joke.
Think Rayne, damnit woman.
I give up. I'm done.
"Tate I fucking suck at this shit just tell me." My voice comes out annoyed and he caves.
"Fine." His eyes squint as he laughs at me. "We're called The Fleetwood. After his favorite music group."
Are you kidding me.
"If I had tried any harder I could've guessed that. I'm an idiot." I deadpan. Now I'm kinda mad because I know I could've gotten that eventually.
Tate just laughs but is cut off when a hand claps down on his shoulder way harder than necessary. A very drunk Garrett emerges from behind him and is smiling wider than ever at the both of us.
"T-T, Rayneyyyyyy! S'Good to see you both. You more than him though." He whisper shouts to me, purposely trying to annoy Tate.
"Stop calling me that man, unless you want my fist lodged in your face." Tate warns as he gestures at Garrett with a freshly refilled drink in his hands.
"Right. Anyway, come to dance with me again psycho girl?" His usual proper sounding accent slurs as he speaks.
"See, I would, but I need to go find my best friend and his brother. And you need to meet him so come with me." I don't wait for him to respond I just grab his arm and pull him along with me.
He's too drunk to care so he just chuckles behind me and follows with no trouble. Before we get too far though I stop and shout at Tate over my shoulder.
"Thanks for talking with me, glad I got to know you a little more." I admit in all seriousness.
He smirks at me and shrugs. "You're a great listener."
At that I smirk back at him and continue my trek to find Harry and Arden.
"Ahhh yea I forgot about meeting him. Too bad I'm drunk off my ass and won't remember a thing." Garrett laughs and it sounds funny coming out of his intoxicated mouth so it makes me laugh too.
As I pull him behind me I stop for a moment to see if I can spot the brothers. It's pretty crowded tonight and I've never even noticed a pool table before. Finally I see them in the far back corner where two pool tables reside.
"There they are. Let's go." I grab Garrett's arm again and drag him the rest of the way over to the pool tables.
When I stop in front of the one Harry and Arden are playing at, neither of them notice us yet. They've got their backs facing us, Arden has the pool stick in his hand and is lining the cue ball up with whatever shot he's wanting to take. I see Harry leant over the table next to him and pointing at one of the very few balls left. He looks to be aiding Arden with this shot.
Next thing I know Arden rocks the pool stick back three times and then hits the cue ball. It knocks into what I notice is the eight ball and also the last solid meaning Arden just won. I watch as he jumps up and down and does a fist pump in the air before launching himself at Harry and giving him a big hug.
"That felt fucking nice, thanks for teaching me how to play." He laughs while sounding a little breathless.
"Anytime, pool is probably my only strong suit so it's good to share some skill with someone." Harry replies with a smirk I can just now see when they turn around.
Harry freezes whereas Arden just rests himself on the pool stick he was using that he has stood on the ground and looks at me with a soft and amused expression.
"Hey, Harry just taught me all kinds of tips and shit about pool and let me smoke him. I feel like a badass." Arden nudges Harry and places the stick down on the table behind them and then walks around to where Garrett and I are standing.
"Yea that makes sense because I know there's know way you were just magically good at pool and knocked that last shot in perfectly." I tease him and he rolls his eyes.
"Don't let the boss fool you now, I'm still way better. Nice to meet you lad, name's Garrett." A still very plastered Garrett says from my left while sticking his hand out for Arden to shake.
Arden laughs and shakes his hand while Harry huffs, flipping Garrett off.
"Nice to meet you too. You're the one that pistol whipped my best friend right?" Arden taunts.
"Oh no, I just choked her to almost death against a wall. The cousin is the one that pistol whipped her." Garrett states like it's the most normal thing in the world.
Love my peers.
Ardens mouth drops open slightly in disbelief and I have to laugh.
"But it's all good. We're a bunch of besties now." I wrap an arm over Garrett's shoulders and he wraps an arm around my waist.
"It's true. No matter what I do she can't resist my charming persona." He muses with a kiss to my cheek.
That's all it takes before Harry steps in. "Alright enough. Only lips allowed on my woman are mine." He playfully shoves at Garrett who mocks offense.
You hear that? I'm his mother fucking woman.
Harry's own arm replaces Garretts and he pulls me into his side.
His sexy self got a little jealous, hehe.
"Point taken boss. Gotta go find my own woman for the night anyway. Nice meeting ya' Aardvark." He then winks at us and walks away to go do god knows what.
"He really just called me Aardvark.....and I didn't hate it. How creative." Arden laughs and shakes his head.
"That's gonna be your new name in my phone." I point out, pretending to joke but deep down I know I'm gonna do it.
He points a finger at me and I feel Harry chuckle next to me. "You better not. I know you still have that fucking ringtone for my contact. I'm gonna kill you for that someday."
I throw my head back and cackle, not caring who hears my ugly laugh. "You can't lie and say that's not hilarious."
"It's not."
Harry clears his throat next to me and when I look up at him he's biting his lip to stifle his laughter.
"Oh come on man, not you too." Arden grabs his face with one hand and shakes his head.
"Sorry Ard, he was just there and happened to hear it. If anything it's your fault for calling." I voice to try and make things better.
"I completely ignored it. I swear." Harry amusingly states with his free hand to his chest.
"Oh shut up I know you're lying. I'm not actually upset. But I do need another drink so I'm going back to the bar. Deuces." He throws a peace sign up before walking away.
When he's out of sight, Harry turns me just enough so he can press his tender lips to mine. He wastes no time pushing his tongue past my lips and tangles it with my own.
"Mmmm." I hum into the stomach flipping connection. Next thing I know I'm smiling because of how much I've come to adore him.
When he pulls away I notice a sly smirk on his face.
"Definitely kiss me like that every time from here on out." My hands slide up his chest and wrap around his neck, teasing him a little.
He grins at me in return. "Missed you sweetheart. And these lips." He brings his mouth to mine again for a short peck.
"Missed you too. By the way, watching you and Arden bonding like that sent my ovaries into cardiac arrest. Definitely makes me want to suck the soul out of you again for some reason." My lips find his ear as I whisper the last part to him.
His body tenses and I hear his sharp intake of breath. Those wandering hands find my ass and squeeze, not gently either.
"Always such a fucking tease. You know I'll have you bent over that pool table with your pants down and my tongue buried into that sweet cunt of yours in seconds. I do not care if we are surrounded by people." He growls into my own ear and his tone sends chills down my spine because I know he's not bluffing.
I hide my flustered state with a giggle. "You play so dirty with me. I love it." My lips find his again when I stand on my tippy toes and sloppily kiss him.
His strong hands grip my ass tighter and both of my hands wrapped around his neck squeeze a little more than gently.
He pulls away just barely. Breathless as I feel mild and minty pants leave his lips and fan my face. "Ugh, I don't wanna stop but I actually have something to show you." He mumbles against my lips.
I pull away even more with an interested expression. "What is it?"
He drops his hands from my ass and grabs one of mine with one of his instead. "Something I've wanted to show you for awhile now. Feels like me not telling you is like keeping a secret from you that's not my place to keep at all. Come with me."
Instead of replying verbally I just blink and nod my head, following as he pulls me along towards the hallway of doom.
••••••
The fucking file cabinet room I snooped in the night of our first kiss.
That's where Harry brought me.
I forgot that I had stumbled upon this room and found shit about my parents. In my head I had it planned to talk to him about it but so much has happened since that night.
As I stand behind him waiting as he unlocks the door, which is weird because it was unlocked when I was last here, I nervously shift on my feet.
I have no idea why he's showing me this. I also don't know what to do about the fact that I've seen it already.
"Like I said earlier, I've been wanting to show you this for awhile. I just didn't know how to bring it up. Decided to just wing it instead of plan it out." He almost mumbles under his breath before opening the door and immediately flicking a light switch on.
I wonder if he'd be mad that I snooped?
"It's pretty self explanatory based on its appearance. Each cabinet is filled with files. Each file has something to do with any person the gang has or has wanted to be affiliated with. Any possible connection to anything we do is stored in here. Doesn't look like much, but it is." His eyes move around the medium sized room as he explains what I already know.
"Harry-,"
He cuts me off by turning to me and putting his hands on my shoulders. "I swear I wasn't trying to hide anything. I didn't purposely keep this from you. Please understand that."
"Yea I know-,"
"Don't be mad when I tell you this. But I have a file on your parents and a file on you. It's nothing personal or anything. Or maybe it is. I don't know. But your parents case relates to my gang." He blurts out over me again.
"Harry! Shut up! I know already. And I'm not mad." I rush out before he cuts me off again.
His frantic expression drops to one of concern. "What do you mean you know?"
Instead of replying I pull my bottom lip between teeth and look away. Part of me is scared he'll be upset with me. I don't know why I hate the idea of that.
"That evening when you came over to talk, you were standing outside the meeting room waiting for me. After we kissed and you left I came back down here and this room was unlocked." My eyes shift back to his to see him gazing deeply into them.
Tate was right about him being extremely observant. He just thought of all that in less than five seconds.
I still don't say anything, waiting for him to react.
What I absolutely do not expect is for his mouth to carve into an amused smirk. "Did you break in here madwoman?"
My jaw drops partially. "You're not mad?"
"Is that a yes?"
"Yes?" I say slowly like a question, still unsure of his feelings on this.
"Then no." He nonchalantly replies.
"No what?"
"No I'm not mad. I don't know why I would be. There's nothing in here I want to hide, and it's not like it was premeditated on your behalf to come snooping." He assures with a shrug of his broad shoulders.
I watch him in shock as he turns around and walks over to the file cabinet I remember having my parents file in.
"I stumbled in here on accident. I've always been curious, decided to check it out. First thing that caught my attention was the names of our two targets from back in Wilmette. I quickly put two and two together and assumed anyone relating to you know who would be in here. Found my name first. But I did have questions about why my parents' files were in here. A few questions to be exact." I cross my arms and raise my eyebrows, and he nods his head like he understands.
"That's what I wanted to talk about. Guess you finding out kinda helps me out. Just ask me anything you wanna know." He pulls out two files that I'm assuming are mine and my parents and walks over to a spot where a chair is sat. "Take a seat."
My arms uncross and I take the few steps over to the chair he's holding out for me, sitting down and folding my hands in my lap. "Feels like I'm back in school."
Harry half laughs and shakes his head. "Shut up you." He hands me the two files and I quickly find that I guessed correctly on which ones he grabbed.
I flick mine open since I didn't really look through it too much when I first came in here. "So, I get having a file on me. These pictures of my back or me with a hood on are from before we reunited. You were after me then."
He nods along as I speak. "I hadn't been able to capture a photo of your face then. Those were the best we could do. But yes, you're right."
"Ok. My main concern is why you have my parents on file? When did you decide to do this? What made you decide to do this?" The when and what are my most confusing questions as of now.
I watch him sigh and scratch the back of his neck before folding his arms across his chest. His fingers on one hand come up to tug on his eyebrow piercing I hardly ever notice.
"Remember how me, you, and Arden were talking about him and you said that you had made the inference that he could've been involved in your parents murder?" He asks me instead of answering any of my questions.
"Yea, I said it was just a hunch with zero evidence to back it up. But it made sense to me because he had been in Chicago around that same time." I admit with furrowed eyebrows.
"Exactly. You've talked with me about this twice now. But I never told you that I had the same assumption running in my thoughts before we even reunited. Before we saw each other again and before I knew they were your parents, I was already connecting their murder to other cases affiliated with him." His hands gesture in front of him like he's presenting an idea to me.
In a way he probably is. And that confession has my mind going haywire.
"Wha-, how? Why do you think that? I mean I don't really have anything to give on why I think so. Part of me is hoping I'm right so I can can kill two birds with one stone, but I don't know how to determine if that hunch is even close to being accurate." I can't help but sound very confused.
I never knew he was thinking the same thing about my parents case. He never spoke to me about it. It doesn't frustrate me or anything, but I do wonder why it was hard for him to just talk about it.
"It's fucking weird, I know. It makes sense in my head but at the same time it doesn't." He starts pacing and rubs his chin with his fingers. He looks deep in thought.
"Remember when Kara Moore told us he has been traveling the states and eventually travels to Manchester for business?" He finally stops pacing and asks me.
"Uh, yea I remember. She said he should be in Chicago within the next month and Manchester is his last stop." I recall, going over the memories in my head of the interrogation.
"Yea, well I'm pretty sure we both know why he likes to come to Chicago. But I think he goes to Manchester last because....." he pauses to clear his throat. "That's where I grew up. That's where my childhood home is."
My eyes widen at the realization. That now seems so obvious to me. Why he travels there. Or part of why. We can't know the true meaning behind why he goes there unless we asked him. That's obviously not gonna happen anytime soon either.
"That actually makes a lot of sense. He's got some kind of emotional connection to that place maybe? But why?" That's the burning question in my mind right now.
He killed Becky, and based on what I've been told he hated Harry and Arden. So why does he like to travel to the place where that all went down? He knows where all of us reside at so it can't be because he thinks the boys are still there.
Once again, we're left blind sided by his antics.
"The most logical answer is for business, like Moore said. But I have a feeling it's deeper than that. I had some of my men look into it and they found that his 'business' in Chicago and Manchester is higher than any other location he works at. The two places where he ruined both of our fucking lives, and whatever he does when he goes there he does it well. It booms in those locations. Garrett and Tate looked more into it themselves and found that part of it has to do with the sex trafficking he controls. Fucking sick bastard. But that's not the only thing he operates here, I just don't know what else it is yet. My goal right now though is to find out exactly what all goes down here and in Manchester." His eyes are focused on my face as he explains, only adding more questions into my mix of already bundled thoughts.
"Wait, so what does this have to do with my parents again? My mind is running a little behind right now. You said their case relates to your gang somehow." This is something I'm dying to hear from him.
He's probably got a more logical guess giving that he's smart and observant.
"Well, I did some digging myself and I found out that he goes on these same 'business trips' every year. Same time of the year, exact same route. He's been doing it for the last decade apparently."
"But that doesn't make sense. My parents only died a little over a year ago. He met me around that same time. Why has he been coming here for so long if that hadn't happened yet?" My mind is going nuts right now with this new information overload.
"That's exactly what I wanna know too. He's such a fucking mystery." I hear him sigh but I don't see his facial expression right now.
I have my head down looking at the ground beneath my feat.
Why is he so impossible to get close to?
••••••••••
Finally updated again.
Been busy with school and my sport (like usual).
I'll try to update more frequently, especially since things are only gonna get better and more interesting.
Also, thought of a new story idea. Super excited about it, but I need to finish this and She before starting it. Otherwise I'd be too occupied with three completely different storylines.
Anyway, thanks for reading!
<3.