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Idek some weird shit happens here lol. Also the song Float by the Neighbourhood is on the side because it kind of matches Laney's situation (and what she talks about with Sasha)
Chapter 15
I hated secrets. Especially since there seemed to be so many going on in this damn house I was trapped in. It seemed as though there would always be something that I didn't know and it was unfair if you ask me. The entire situation with me being here was unfair in general, honestly.
I was moping around when I heard voices floating down the halls to me. I frowned and walked towards where they were so I could hear what was going on.
"-herself," I heard one voice say.
A distinctively lower one continued the conversation. I reached the room and pressed against the door slightly so I could peek inside, nosily. "She doesn't need to be going on another trip, Zayn." I recognized it as Harry and had an itch that they were talking about me.
"Why not? For all you know she'll love Russia," Louis spoke. I saw his figure through the door and he was standing with his hands in his pockets, taking them out to pointedly throw his hands in the air.
"It's too soon," he fought in a firm voice.
"Haz, we can't just leave her here by herself," Liam insisted. "We'll be gone at least until Christmas day and she could get away; see how that's a problem?"
I moved and saw Harry, dragging his hand down his face. "She can't go," he argued. "She's not ready, guys, come on." After a moment Harry used the mention of my age as a plea. "She's sixteen."
I gulped as I remembered that my birthday was soon. It was little over a week away.
"Okay, then, why don't you stay with her?" Louis proposed.
I could see heads moving to look at Louis who appeared quite smug. He shrugged. "I reckon the two of you have some strange complicated friendship and since she's so important to you I think if anyone should be here looking after her, why not you?"
I wanted to stick around, but I decided that I should get moving in case their little meeting was reaching a conclusion. I'll find out the conclusion soon, anyways.
I turned my back to the door and began to move back to my room. I wanted to turn on some music and just stare at the wall, because that's my most popular hobby now a days. I was almost there when a figure stepped out in front of me. I stopped clumsily and they went, "Oh! Sorry!"
I looked up and saw that it was Sasha. After what had happened my first night here I just found her presence uncomfortable and that hadn't changed. In fact, if anything, it had amplified. What if Sasha in some way had tried to take things as far as Jake? I backed away from her quickly, putting distance between us. I looked behind me, seeing that where the boys still seemed to be wasn't so far. I pursed my lips and said, "Excuse me."
I tried to move around her, but she stepped in front of me. "Wait," she said, putting her hands up harmlessly. "I just want to say something," she tried to comfort as I stepped back guardedly.
I narrowed my eyes at her and looked back once more. I crossed my arms over my chest and pressed my lips together. "Go on."
She sighed and looked around with an unknown emotion. "I'm sorry." She played with her fingers and I frowned in slight shock. "I was inappropriate that first night," she admitted, twirling a piece of hair in her fingers. "I told myself that it was for your own good, honestly," she said so quietly. She shook her head. "And I'm sorry about Jake, too."
I flinched at the mention of him and immediately grew even more uncomfortable.
"I grew up with him and I never thought he was capable of something like that," she continued. "He's always been sort of a family kind of guy, I guess." She shrugged. "But what he did was wrong. Trust me, I thought he would've known better since he knew what..." She trailed off and didn't finish as her gaze focused on something behind me. "Hello, Harry."
I turned around and saw Harry approaching us, coming up behind me. He set a hand on my shoulder and smiled a little. "Sasha," he greeted.
She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't being mean," she immediately defended. "I was giving her my condolences." She glared at him. "So don't look at me like that." I looked back and forth between the two and saw Harry was trying to resist a grin while she pointed a finger at him.
"I wasn't-"
"Later, guys," she dismissed, poking her tongue out at Harry before disappearing down the stairs.
I watched her in slight awe. I looked back at Harry who was shaking his head fondly. He looked down at me and said, "Come on. We need to talk."
-
"I can't believe I'm gonna spend a week with him alone!"
Harry's news that he revealed was related to what I'd been eavesdropping on. They'd decided that Harry was going to stay behind and babysit me, but he would be the only one here to watch me.
Perfect.
The girls laughed at my petty troubles and Perrie said, "I wouldn't let it bother you, babe. Harry's pretty harmless when you don't piss him off."
"Yeah," Eleanor joined. "Unless he tries to murder you with his humor," she giggled making the others laugh. They'd invited over three other ladies that I was just meeting for the first time, but one of them, Jesy, had this distinct motherly cackle that made you roll over laughing too.
Jesy was the oldest one of them, I think and she was gorgeous. She had tan skin and these thick red lips with green eyes that were winged with eyeliner. Her hair appeared to be a very deep red that appeared brown, too, and her figure was gorgeously curvy.
Jade was a bit of the opposite of Jesy. She was tiny and quiet, with blue hair and adorable, brown, Bambi eyes. She doesn't say very much from what I've seen so far, but she is quite goofy.
Leigh Anne was definitely a clown. She knew how to make us all laugh with her silly faces and strange accents. She had light brown skin and a cloud of dark, curly hair. Her eyes were brown and she had a lovely figure, too, being thin, but still curvy.
Perrie told me that they were in sort of a girl group, that was co-owned (yeah, owned) not by themselves, but the boys here and the other weird ones. I think I've met all of them, there were three if I recall. Luke, Michael, and... no there were two more, I just don't remember them.
I put my face in my hands and groaned. "Can't one of you guys stay behind and keep him from driving me insane?" I pleaded as they all continued to mock my situation. I pulled at my hair, dramatically.
"You know, Laney, I think theres actually a chance that you like Harry a lot more than you're letting on," Sophia critiqued.
I straightened my back and looked at her with a frown. "What do you mean?" I questioned. Then most of them all began to share looks together and then I processed it for myself. "Ohh. You mean you think I might like, like him?" I demanded. Their silence was enough of an answer and I very maturely went, "Gross!"
Maybe it wasn't actually that gross imagining liking him, but it felt weird. Yes, I'd grown to like him in the sense of maybe a friend since he's been kind to me over all recently and no, he wasn't ugly or unattractive—the opposite, quite frankly. It was just simply weird if I liked him
"Well, if it changes your opinion I think he might like, like you," Jade intervened.
I was shocked by her saying that. The idea sounded absurd to me. Yet, I still felt my cheeks heat up as I pursed my lips together. I was disappointed to hear a bunch of the girls coo and giggle like a group of school girls making fun of their friend together.
I pressed a hand to my temple and shook my head. "Oh my god," I murmured miserably.
"Harry and Laney sitting in a tree," Leigh Anne sang. The rest of them all joined her in song. "K-I-S-S-I-N-." I picked up a pillow off one of the couched and threw it at her to shut her up. She only laughed loudly as she caught it. She probably saw it coming.
I shook my head and brought my knees up to chest so I can hide my own laughing face.
Harry and I aren't anything more than what we already are, I thought. But that led me to wonder what exactly we were.
-
The night before the trip was supposed to ensue I had troubles getting to sleep. Harry was sound asleep behind me while I found comfort in his arms, but still I couldn't sleep. I was up awake still thinking about what they said.
Do I like, like Harry?
Harry's arms tightened around me and I tensed in consideration. I liked Harry. When he wasn't being irritating and aggravating and just bothering me. I don't think I have a crush on him or anything. That's ridiculous.
I fidgeted with his breath hitting against my neck and I realized that I couldn't think properly. I shook my head and managed to slip out of his grip. It was sort of tricky and he was very clearly perturbed by no longer having something to snuggle, so I grabbed the pillow I had been using and put it between his arms, watching critically through the darkness of the room to see if it worked or not. He relaxed just a little and I smirked.
"It worked," I said out loud. I realized I should just shut up and get out of there. I knew there was some tea out in the kitchen that I could maybe use to relax and think properly. I padded out of his room, relaxing as I felt just a little less hot. I looked through the cabinets and found the pack of tea and swore when I remembered tea can have caffeine and this tea did. I shook my head and opted for some milk instead.
When I opened the refrigerator a reign of light greeted my sensitive eyes. I squinted in irritation and reached for the carton. Before the refrigerator had closed I heard the voice of the same person from earlier.
"What are you doing up past your bed time, little one?"
I whirled around, swiftly, having been shocked at first by her appearance. There was Sasha leaning against one of the counters on the other side of the kitchen. She tilted her head to the right with a smug smirk as her gray eyes seemed to glint teasingly under the low amount off light the fridge provided.
I released a breath of air in relief, but then grew irritated as I had to pick up the milk that I dropped.
Fuck you, too.
"I couldn't sleep," I admitted, regarding her cautiously. I could make her shape out in the unlit room. "What are you even doing up here?" I asked maybe a bit too rudely. "I mean, there's a kitchen downstairs where you sleep," I added tensely. I began to pour the milk into the mug I had picked out originally for tea.
She shrugged and reached up to open one of the cabinets by her. She pulled a glass bottle out and shook it at me. "This is where the best liquor is kept."
Of course.
I nodded while she unscrewed the cap off. "Hmm. That's cool." I began to close the fridge and couldn't help being a little nervous as I realized closing it would end my light supply. I certainly didn't want to be in the dark with a cat like Sasha. I boldly swallowed my fear and closed the door, knowing her eyes were watching me critically as she downed from the bottle, rapidly.
I drummed my finger against the mug nervously. My eyes could barely make out her figure in the dark so I knew she hadn't moved towards me yet. If she does I determined a great escape route.
"I kind of knew something like that would happen," she blurted randomly.
I straightened out and gulped at her voice. The way her accent stretched words often caused me to shiver. Her words alone, though made my skin crawl apprehensively. I could already tell this conversation couldn't be good news. "What are you talking about?" I watched her closely— as close as I could in the dark and her low chuckle made goose bumps break out on my skin.
"Jake."
The sound of his name made me jumpy. I didn't need to be here to hear anymore. I scoffed. "I'd really rather not talk about him."
"But you see, the reason I came at you that first night was to prepare you for that."
As her words revolved around in my mind I felt myself fluster with anger. "Excuse me?" I demanded.
She sighed and whined a little. I began to wonder if alcohol was taking its control by making her say these things out loud to me, because she'd seemed pretty chill earlier. But this was really how she felt wasn't it?
"No one understands, Laney. No one understands better than I do how much this house is a doomsday for anyone with a shred of innocence," she began. There was a moment of silence before she added. "The ones you call your friends? They'd already experienced their hell before they came here. This is their sanctuary," she ranted. "But me? This is where every good part of me has died."
It felt wrong listening to her tell me all of this while she was drunk. I tightened my grip on the mug. "You should just go to bed, Sasha," I suggested, soberly. I was beginning to try and leave, but then I heard her feet hit the floor after she hopped down from the counter.
"You need to hear this from someone who can tell the truth that everyone ignores. And the truth is that you, little one, have only just begun your experience of terrors that come from being here. Don't want to take my word for it?" she challenged, soon having made her way towards me already. I stepped back cautiously. "Ask Harry himself," she whispered. "He won't tell you, but..." I could see her eyes shining with tears. "We were both screwed over here." She looked down and shook her head. "We were both hurt by the ones we loved. And I was sent here afterwards." She wiped her eyes and exhaled deeply.
I could only think of Harry after that. What had happened to Harry? I couldn't simply ask about Harry, though. "What happened to you?" I asked softly.
She laughed. "Well, Lanaura, we're more alike than you think," she said very quietly. She paused and I waited for her to elaborate, guessing what she could've meant. She sighed. "I was Papa Styles's little slave," she said in such a hushed voice I didn't believe it at first.
As I thought of her sentence before that I shuddered. I gulped. "What do you mean by slave?" I didn't want to hear her response at first, but she took one more swig from the bottle.
She finally broke the heavy silence after a second, her tears dried up and her expression dry. "I was sold into the whore trafficking system by my father when I was twelve." There was a moment before she added, "and Harry's father had been my buyer." I covered my mouth with wide eyes and she continued. "I do not want to return to Russia, because, honestly, even though this house has some equally awful memories it at least has some sort of positivity; and sadly he will not be joining me on our trip considering he will be here sheltering you much like he used to with me. It happens quickly. You are already growing up more than is fair, but just remember that you are most definitely still a child."
She put down the bottle and left before I could protest and interrogate her further about her and Harry's relationship. The only thing I could do was stand there with a dumbfounded expression. I came out here to relax and think about my feelings for Harry, but I was currently here trying to process everything I was told.
What could've happened to Harry here that was so bad?
-
When Harry woke up he was shocked to discover that the soft blonde he went to sleep holding was no longer in his arms. Instead he found a pillow that smelt like her shampoo.
Clever.
Harry sat up, running his fingers through his hair. The dream he awoke from was actually about Lanaura. It was terrifying, really. He remembered it too vividly. Laney had been more than Laney. She had the wings of an angel that matched her angelic smile. Without control of himself Harry held her in his arms and kissed her; but that's when it became a nightmare.
Harry's stomach churned as he hopped out of his bed to go find Laney, the nightmare bringing him paranoia. The sixteen year old's name escaped Harry's lips multiple times in a soft voice as he searched for her. She wasn't in the bathroom. The second place he checked happened to be where he found her.
"Laney?" he called, quietly, looking around in the kitchen. His senses seemed to be awaken from their slumber in high alert all because that dream had torn at his nerves badly. He was on the absolute edge as he searched for her.
"Yeah?"
Harry released a breath of relief at the sound of her tender voice. He swallowed and then laughed quietly at himself. She's here and she's safe, he rejoiced mentally. He ruffled his own hair as he stepped farther into the kitchen. "For a second I was scared that my Angel had disappeared," he accidentally said aloud. He regretted it the moment he knew he'd voiced it.
"Angel?" she repeated.
Harry looked down in slight embarrassment and awkwardly laughed. "Sorry. I-I hadn't meant to-to call you that. Is that a weird nick name?" he questioned, nervously.
Laney dismissed that quickly, saying with urgency, "No, no! It's..." Harry waited for her to finish and soon heard her admit, "I like it." A smile was resistant on Laney's face, but Harry couldn't stop his own. "It's definitely not as creepy as little one," she cracked.
Harry stepped into the kitchen. "Where are you?" he asked in a thoughtful murmur, trying to navigate his way through the darkness of the room.
"Oh," Laney spoke. "I suggest just keep walking straight in the direction of my voice. At least I think that might-oh!"
Harry accidentally walked right into her, pressing her back against the counter. Laney was now pressed right up against him and Harry naturally had this instinct telling him he should back up, but some other part of him told him not to move. Laney was gaping and flustered since she had trouble thinking straight. Despite the fact they were constantly molded against each other at night in bed, this was just a bit different. Especially now that Laney was beginning to question how she felt about him.
She released a breath and said, "Uh, Harry." Her voice was soft and breathy and Harry felt her heartbeat against his bare chest. He just wanted to bring her even closer to him. His heated skin felt cold as he brought himself to step back. He also was blushing at his behavior. "Oh. Sorry," he apologized for his actions. H had hesitated too long in backing away from her. He licked his dry lips and realized his throat was also a bit tight, but he ignored it. "Are you ready to go back to bed?" Harry just wanted to pretend that that moment hadn't happened between the two. Laney was still trying to understand how she felt in reaction to it. She had liked it in the sense of it giving her a terrifying thrill. But she wasn't ready to admit it.
"Yeah," she responded, moving past him a bit quickly. She was shaking and Harry couldn't see, but he knew that what just happened probably wasn't appropriate as he felt tense all over for a reason he didn't want to consider.
When Harry caught up to Laney she was already burrowing herself within the covers to try and pretend to sleep, but she was too obviously biting her lip for reasons Harry knew nothing of. He got in on the other side beside her and held her close to him. She looked so peaceful.
She looked like an angel.
As the nightmare returned to his mind he tried to forget it before going to bed; but even after he'd dreamed a second time, in the morning he couldn't shake off the image of his angel's wings being torn off before an inevitable darkness snatched her from his arms.
-
It's been over a month since I updated and I just wanna say I'm sorry guys. I'm gonna try and keep updating regularly akjgfnklg again so please keep an eye out for more of me and this story aha.
I love you guys. Comment, vote, fan, and promote. (But seriously I wanna hear how you feel about this chapter.)
YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL.
- Angie Bear
BONUS: Do you know any of the Cab or Jhene Aiko's music? (They're my current obsessions)
Oh yeah. Byeeeee.