"See it wasn't that bad" I said, walking back in to his office and setting down the papers he shoved into my hands when we were walking back.
"Yes well that is because all of those men know what to say and what now to say when you're around" he growled throwing the papers on his desk. "We got absolute shit done today" he said shaking his head.
"Please" I rolled my eyes sitting back down as he snapped his head up at me once more.
"Arabella I swear to fücking god, I know this is a test for me but you are still required to follow all the rules that I have given you" he snapped clenching his jaw. "Do you understand?"
I nodded slowly, confused as to why he suddenly snapped so quickly. He sat back down in his chair and began scribbling thighs down on the few sheets of paper in front of him. It was so odd to see Harry as tough as he is, working in such a nice clean office around men in expensive suits. Although it was obvious that there was no way to get Harry in a suit, it was nice to dream that maybe one day I'll see it.
As the minutes went by, boredom stuck and my impatience began to grow. The office had been expensive but sleek and basic. It was mainly white with a few pieces of mahogany furniture giving it a little pop of color. File cabinets had been shoved into corners and collecting dust. Harry probably hasn't been here enough to clean it or maybe he just doesn't clean in general. Before I even realized what I was doing, I was already up to get a closer look at the office.
There was a single picture frame sitting on top o the filing cabinet with a metal frame around the sides. The picture was of all of the boys, all clad in their Savage leather jackets. Their eyes were completely bloodshot and none of them held a smile, just cold hard faces. Harry was easiest to pick out considering his height and curly hair. Like usual his jaw was clenched in the picture just like it was everyday
"That is one of the very few pictures I have of me and the boys" I heard a rough voice call from behind me. I turned to see the same face from the picture sitting in front of me.
"When was this take?" I asked, picking up the frame and holding the cold metal in my hands.
"Couple years ago. We were so fücking drunk and high I barely even remember allowing that picture to be taken" he said shaking his head at the memory. "Crazy night" he mumbled rubbing his temples.
"Do you still take pot?" I asked making the corners of his lips turn upward. He bit his lip before releasing a quick laugh.
"It's smoke pot, baby. You don't take pot, you smoke it" he chuckled shaking his head and popping his dimples. Here go the mood changes "And for the record, yes I still smoke pot. Not like I used to, but every once In a while" he said. I pouted and looked back at the picture.
"Where do you get it?" I asked making him shrug and lean back in the chair.
"That's for me to know and you to find out" he said folding his hands behind his head.
"Never" I said looking at him with a serious expression. Never will I ever take drugs of any sort. Although I smoked a cigarette with Harry, I absolutely hated it and will never do it again.
"Good girl" he mumbled under his breath returning back to his paperwork.
Looking back at the picture I began to imagine what 20-year old Harry was like. He must have been ruthless considering he raised an entire gang with the help of the boys, but there must have been something about him that made everyone so frightened of him, even those in his gang. The people from Ferocious were never afraid of my brothers and always were able to keep a civil conversation with them without shying away in fear.
Maybe he threatens people, he has done it plenty of times to me so maybe that's what he does to keep everyone in line. Although it seems much more than just threats. I wonder what Harry does that keeps people so afraid and intimidated by him? Maybe that's just the way it is over here in Europe, maybe Savage just has a better grip on the people that live here then Ferocious does.
I sighed and placed the picture back down on the dusty cabinet. There was nothing else to look at in this big boring office and there was absolutely no way I was going to sit back down for an hour and do nothing, so instead I just decided to see what Harry was doing and possibly annoy him a bit for fun. Before I could eve move a single inch from my spot, the door busted open and none other than the obnoxious Irish man had been the cause of it.
"They agreed!" he screamed through the office not bothering to check who else was in here. He walked in another step looking right at Harry before yelling again, "They fücking said yes! They're coming Harry!" he yelled throwing his hands in the air.
Harry looked at him with wide eyes as he basically watched Niall dance in excitement, "Niall" he growled quietly clenching his jaw tightly.
"Why aren't you fücking happy?" he yelled staring Harry down like a hawk. "For months we have been waiting for them to agree to this plan and all you can do is scowl! What the fück Harry?" Niall yelled clearly upset at Harry's reaction.
"Who agreed?" I asked quietly making Harry hold his breath.
"Seth and Elli-" Niall began but immediately stop once he realized it was me he was talking to. His eyes widened as his jaw practically dropped to the floor.
"What?" I asked, my brain not even forming coherent thoughts. Niall looked back at Harry with an open jaw and began stuttering out apologies.
"H, I'm sorry. I thought I heard someone say you were watching Soph for Liam today" Niall said, looking at where Harry sat frozen in his chair.
"Niall please get out" Harry said sighing and shaking his head.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to tell her" he said, his eyebrows furrowed in irritation.
After that, I blocked out everything they said. My brain had completely stopped functioning as the thought of my brothers ran through my head. What could they possibly agreed to with Savage and whatever it was why did it make everyone seem so happy? Maybe it had something to do with me, although it doesn't seem that people would be so excited to have a deal go through with my brothers about me.
Did my brothers give in to them? Highly unlikely but it's possible. Maybe they thought that was the only way for me to be brought back. By making a deal with Savage that consists of god knows what, it will bring me back home and away from Harry. Although Sophia had told me the only way out of here was death, was she talking about getting away from Europe or away from Harry?
Maybe this was the last straw for me. Although I do intend to find out what it is that my brothers agree to, I have a feeling that this will be the end for me. If I know Harry, he is venomous and will stop at nothing to get what he wants when he wants it. Whatever deal that he had pushed through to my brothers without a doubt in my head cannot be good what so ever.
Pushing all thoughts to the back of my head, I heard the door close for the second time leaving me and Harry alone once again in the office. His ragged breathing was the only sound in the room as his hands were pressed against his desk with his head dropped forward. The veins in his forearms had been bulging out as his body was obviously tense with anger. I began walking towards him slowly afraid of over stepping my boundaries.
"Don't" his raspy voice projected through the room, halting my steps immediately.
"What was that?" I asked quietly trying to keep myself as calm as possibly could.
"Arabella, please" he said closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose
"Oh no, no way are you going to get to sit there and get away with not tell me. Not this time, especially not this time. This is my family we are talking about and whatever is going on between you and my family is completely my business if anything it shouldn't be yours at all" I growled making him huff out a breath.
"This is serious, Arabella, serious business and it has nothing to do with you at all. Your brothers are barely even a part of this it's not even anything to do with them" he spit through gritted teeth. His jaw clenched as well as his fists.
"It doesn't matter! They are still my brothers and if it took them to agree then it has to do with them!" I said, raising my voice a few octaves.
"It's none of your concern!" he said, his cold hard voice completely dominating mine.
"Yes it does! They are my family and I deserve to know! I told you about your mother because she was your family and you deserved to know! Don't you think I deserve to know what's going on with mine?" I asked making him slam his fists down and stand up.
"You know damn fücking well that I wanted no part in whether or not my mother was alive or dead! You just said it because you didn't want Luchesi tell me something! You only said it because you believe I won't hurt you like I hurt Luchesi!" he screamed making me gasp and cover my mouth.
"You wouldn't dare put your hands on a women!" I said pointing my small finger at him.
"Fück no I wouldn't! But trust me sweetheart there are plenty of other ways to hurt someone without laying a finger on them!" he said leaning his fists on his desk.
"Oh like telling someone's family that their loved one is dead when she's being kept hostage by a murderer? Or like keeping important family information from said loved one? Because please you've done both!" I screamed making Harry bare his teeth in front of me like a caged animal.
"Why do you think I will tell you every single fücking thing about your brothers?" he growled looking at me as if I was his next prey.
"Because that's what a good person would do!" I screamed balling my hands into small fists.
"Well if you can't fücking tell, Arabella, I'm not a good person!" he screamed making me pull my head back and look at him with a raised eyebrow.
I sighed and let my shoulders slump. Since the moment I met him, I always knew Harry Styles was a force to be reckoned with. I knew exactly what he is capable of and I knew what he would do to me if I let him. Although he didn't completely engulf me in madness, I am happy that I caught myself and the actions that I was beginning to bring to him before he was able to go deeper.
He is a lost cause. A broken boy that just cannot be fixed in anyway. He was an angry boy that turned into an angry teen which created a beast of a man. He has his spur of the moment blissfulness where undeniable chare shines through but his mood swings overpower them to the point where instead of wishing for happiness, you fear his wrath. I was able to get out easy, but I knew it would be hard to stay away forever.
"Then it's settled" I said calmly making his eyebrows furrow.
"What's settled?" he asked, lowering his voice slightly and looking at me with harsh eyes.
"I refuse to stay with someone who was such negativity about themselves. You said it yourself, you are not a good person so in that case, I am not going to keep someone bad around myself" I said making his jaw drop.
"Fück! Arabella that's not what I meant!" he said bringing his hands to his hair to tug harshly.
"It is and I know it" I said quietly, barely audible for some to hear. Except him.
"You aren't fücking leaving me, I won't allow it!" he yelled tugging his roots harder. I shuffled my feet back, to the point where my back was to the door and my hand was on the handle.
"I'm not asking for permission" I said pursing my lips watching him physically loose all of his control.
"You won't leave! Maybe I can't make you stay but you won't be able to keep away! You know what you do to me Arabella!" he yelled pulling his hands from his hair to rest back on the desk.
"What do I do to you?" I asked making him breath harshly from his nose.
"You make me sane!" he screamed making me flinch from the powerful words. Did I? Did I really make him so sane? He hasn't seemed to make any change in my eyes. No, I thought to myself, stop giving into him.
"Not enough to make me stay" I said, twisting the door handle and opening the door.
"Please" I heard him beg one last time before I exited the room.
"Goodbye" I whispered before shutting the door and leaving the broken man inside.
The rest was a blur. My eyes were filled with tears as I walked through the big and confusing office by myself. Nobody dared to look at me considering they probably thought they knew why I was crying. They probably think Harry had punished me and now I'm paying the price, but they are so wrong. It is I who is punishing Harry and surprisingly I'm doing quite the same to myself.
The elevator was hard to keep quiet in as people had been coming on and off the entire time. Every time the door opened and a new person came on, my composure was lost a bit more. The rest of the ride down was filled with small talk from people on the lift, the sound of people barking at others through cell-phones and the sniffles that had escaped. What have I done?
Although I made it pretty clear I wanted out of this lifestyle with Harry, in a way I wish he came after me, telling me everything will be okay and the plan with my brothers was no big deal. But I know it will never happen. He may say he is upset, but I know he will never be the man to chase after a women, especially me. It hurts to know that I have wasted so much time trying to help him, when all he did was slap me in the face at the end.
I didn't even realize that I was already standing outside in front of the big building. I have no way of getting home, no idea what street I was on, and knew zero Italian. My chances of making it back to the house we were staying at were slim to none and I knew for a fact that chances of getting back home to America were unimaginable. As I began to regret my decision, a figure across the street caught my eyes.
There was a cafe across the street where a man had been standing in front of the outdoor patio. His tall, familiar figure gave me a sense of relief. He watched my nervous body as he walked forward and began to cross the street. As cars recognized the face, they all hit the brakes and allowed the man to cross the street with ease. Once he had stepped up on the sidewalk, did I feel my feet move closer towards him.
"I knew you wouldn't last in there" Luchesi said, pulling me into his chest. I didn't pull away from his embrace but I didn't wrap my arms around him either.
"That's the real him" I said repeating the words from the broken record of my mind.
Luchesi kept his arms wrapped around me as he slowly rocked us both back and forth on the bust sidewalk. I know people were probably staring at us and wondering what we were doing, but at this point I didn't even care. All I wanted to think about was getting out of Europe and away from all this. My brother, Harry, Savage, Ferocious, everything, I just wanted out.
"That's not the real him, I promise sweet girl" Luchesi whispered, rubbing my back in small circles.
"Yes it is" I replied keeping my face tucked into his button up shirt.
He sighed and pulled me away from his chest and keeping my body at arm's length in front of him. Looking down at me he shook his head and closed his eyes right before opening them. He wrapped his strong arm around my shoulders and began walking in the opposite direction me and Harry had come this morning.
"Let's take a drive and I'll tell you about the real Harry Styles" Luchesi said pulling me into his side.