Chapter 18: Here for Good
It's quiet when Harry wakes up the next day. Well, except for the soft, even breaths coming from Liam, who happens to be spooning him from behind. Harry avoids stiffening and possibly waking Liam, so he evens his breathing to calm the fast beating of his heart. It almost feels like it's just about ready to beat out of his chest.
But it makes sense. He does plan on possibly escaping right now. He just needs to get out of bed without Liam waking up and get dressed with his body being sore.
Which reminds him of last night. That wasn't... horrible, per se. He didn't expect Liam to easily give in to Harry's "desire" to have sex all of a sudden, but Harry clearly underestimated Liam's feelings for him. He thought maybe Liam may have an idea of what he was really planning all along.
Then again, Liam went along with it pretty happily. Like it was the best thing that could've happened between them.
And that's enough thinking about that, he scolds himself in his thoughts as he slowly and cautiously slips out of bed from under Liam's arm. He hopes that Liam doesn't wake up at the moment and catch him trying to find a way out of his house like this.
Once he manages to get off the bed with only Liam snuffling a bit into his own hand, Harry lets out a soft breath and looks for his clothes. It's easy enough to find, as they are still on the floor after Liam threw them there, leading up to them having sex - And he can't think about that now. Because for some reason, his chest tightens from what he thinks is guilt, of all things. Which just shouldn't be happening.
This is probably one of the only chances he'll get at escaping, so he knows he has to move quickly.
Getting his skinny jeans back on in silence is just realistically not going to happen, so he picks it up off the floor and decides to hold it after pulling his shirt on. At least, he thinks it's his shirt, but the room is still pretty dark from the little light coming through the windows.
Probably around 4 or 5 in the morning then. I can work with that, he thinks and tiptoes towards the door. This could be the hard part, especially if the door squeaks and Liam wakes up from it.
He just can't risk that happening, so this door better not squeak when he opens it. Letting out a shaky breath and pushing his hair back from his face, Harry reaches out and holds the doorknob. He twists it open, then looks back at Liam still sleeping on the bed. The good thing is that the door doesn't make a noise, so Liam doesn't wake up.
Oh, thank heavens.
With one last reassuring glance back at Liam, Harry pulls the door open just wide enough to fit through and closes it behind him quietly. Once it is firmly shut behind him, he leans against the wall and lets out a breath of relief.
Now, the next part is to find an exit out of here. Which, should be easy enough as long as Liam doesn't suddenly come looking for him. So he has to work fast.
He heads for the stairs just down the hall and quickly makes his way down without making a sound. Again, thank goodness that the stairs didn't creak, or else who knows what Liam would do to him. When he finally reaches the bottom on the stairs, he makes his way to the living room again before pulling out his phone.
The bad thing is that his phone is low on battery. However, at least it's enough to make a very important phone call as he keeps looking for a way out without alarming Liam of his escape. He makes quick work to dial Zayn's number, hoping that he answers at once.
"Hello? Harry?"
"Zayn! Oh god. Thanks for picking up."
"Thanks for - Where the hell have you been?! We're all at the hospital worried about you."
"I know, and I'm sorry about that. I should've called sooner, but now is the only time I have. Liam is still sleeping, but who knows how long that will last? I need to get out of here."
Zayn sighs, then asks, "Okay. But you're fine? Like, he didn't hurt you or anything?"
"No, nothing like that. I just really wanna get out of here before he wakes up. I'm looking for a way out now, but it's probably best that I get the hell away from here. I don't want him to come looking for me in my house or something. Can one of the girls come pick me up?
"Yeah. They can do that. Just tell us where you are."
"Sure. But hold on a sec," Harry responds, before he places his phone and jeans on the table in the kitchen.
He made his way over here while he was talking to Zayn, hoping to get the sliding door to the backyard to open. Unfortunately, when he tries to pull it open, it won't budge. He tries again, but it still won't open. He curses under his breath and looks to the windows as he picks his phone back up to keep talking to Zayn.
"S***. Zayn, the back door is locked, and so are the windows in the kitchen."
"Did you try the other windows?"
"I am now, but none of them are opening. Oh god. What if I really can't get out like Liam said? What if I'm trapped here forever?"
"Calm down, Harry. Just try the front door. And by the way, you still haven't told us where you are. El and Perrie are ready to come pick you up. We just need to know where."
"It wouldn't really matter if they come, though! If I can't find a way out, it's pointless, Zayn!"
"You're right about that."
Harry freezes from where he's trying to unlock the front door, which happens to have a lot of complicated locks on it. It would take forever to even try to find all the keys for them, making this attempt hopeless. He drops his phone and turns around with wide eyes, seeing Liam standing there in just a pair of gray joggers that are hanging loosely on his hips and his arms crossed over his chest.
"L- Liam... I thought you were still asleep."
"Clearly I'm not anymore," Liam replies sharply, making Harry flinch from his tone. "Tell me, Harry. What exactly were you doing, huh? Trying to escape?"
"N- no, no. Nothing like that, Li. I was just... trying to make you breakfast, but then I realized you were out of... eggs, so I thought I would go and buy some for you. I - I didn't wanna wake you up, since you were sleeping so well."
"Right. Because I completely 'believe' you. But how can I, when it's so obvious what you were really doing?"
Gulping and stepping back until his back is against the door, Harry gives Liam a pleading look. "That's not what it looks like. Li, I was just - "
"And there you go, trying to lie to me again. Don't you know better by now, Hazza? Don't you already know that I've done this plenty of times? That I've heard just about every excuse you can say to try and escape from here? I mean, really. I would think that you would know so much better than that. But you don't, which is very sad."
"I - I'm sorry, Li. I promise I won't - "
"Stop lying to me!" Liam shouts, slamming his hands against the door beside Harry's head.
The curly-haired lad whimpers and looks down, tears filling his eyes and blurring his vision. Liam is seething in front of him, having a hard time controlling his anger knowing that Harry lied to him. Not only about this, but probably also last night.
"Isn't it bad enough that you lied to me last night? That you - you deceived me about wanting to have sex just so you could try to escape as soon as you woke up? Then you dared to say those words to me."
"What - what words?"
"... You don't remember? You don't recall the words that I've wanted to hear since I first met you? The words you had to have known have such an effect on me?"
"What are you talking about? What words? What did I say? I was tired last night. We just had sex, Liam."
"'Cause that's all it was to you. 'Just sex', and nothing else. It meant absolutely nothing to you, when it meant everything to m- You know what? Forget about it. Forget I even brought it up. But you need to hang up your phone, then go back in my room right now."
Scoffing at that command and having enough of it, Harry stands his ground and glares up at Liam.
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. I said no, Liam. What are you gonna do about it?"
"Are you actually challenging me right now?"
"Maybe I am. So what?"
Liam narrows his eyes back at Harry, then starts chuckling and shaking his head. "You know, you really are quite something. You are definitely not like the others."
"Did you really expect me to be like them?"
"No, not really. Although, I probably should've expected that you would be the first one to defy me after everything you already know about me. But I think you underestimate me too, young Harry. And that's gonna cost you."
"W- What do you mean? Like, my life?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Then - "
Cupping Harry's face with a hand, Liam leans down and gets right into his face to emphasize his point. "You don't think I'll do just about anything to keep you with me. You doubt that I'll go through extreme measures to keep you by my side. But that's your mistake, Harry. You should know a lot better than to even think you can outsmart me. You don't even know half of what I'm capable of."
"Then what's it gonna cost me? My body for sex?" Harry spits, trying to pull his face out of Liam's grip, which only tightens painfully.
"Not that, no. But I will let you know that we aren't gonna be here very long."
"You mean - "
"I'm not letting you go, exactly. Although I will let you choose what you wish to happen when I give you your options. And I would choose wisely, considering it'll not only affect you, but also your dear friends at the hospital."
Eyes widening in realization, Harry pushes Liam away from him and shouts, "You promised you'd stay away from them once you have me! Well, here I am! Keep your word."
"And I will, as long as you keep yours."
"What are my options then?"
"Well, I have another house in Italy; one of my many houses, really. It's quite lovely there. A real beautiful site, and I know you'll agree once you see it. It's a lot better than this one - if you catch my drift."
"So, what? You want me to move to Italy with you? You're even crazier than I thought."
Liam smirks at him, crossing his arms over his chest again. "That's one of your options. The other one is to stay here, in this house and watch as I slowly kill off each and every one of your friends at the hospital. I mean, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't wanna have to watch that of all things."
"You wouldn't."
"Do you really think I won't? You still doubt me, of all things? After my long speech a few minutes ago?"
"But you promised you'd leave them alone! I'm still here with you!"
"Then come and live in Italy with me. We can start a new life there, Harry. A life that doesn't involve you having to worry about you or your friends' safety. You'll be free there; with me, of course."
"How would I be 'free' if I'm still stuck with you?" Harry demands.
"Because I'll let you go out whenever you want without me. I mean, by then, I know you'll come back to me. You don't know anyone there, so who would you even go to? I would treat you like a king there, too. You'll always come back to me for sure."
Rolling his eyes at that, Harry retorts with, "Just because you'll treat me like royalty, doesn't mean I'll want to go and stay there with you; let alone come back to you."
"You say that now, but I know you'll change your mind."
"I won't; trust me. And besides, what if I look for someone else there? Someone better than you?"
"Oh, you won't."
"And how would you know that for sure?"
"'Cause I know you wouldn't want me to kill that other person," Liam whispers in his ear, making Harry shudder in fear. "I don't handle possible 'competition' for you well, per se. And what more would you want than me giving you the world; absolutely anything you want?"
Harry sighs and looks up at Liam again. "I want my friends with me, Liam. I don't wanna leave them."
"So you're willing to risk their lives just so you can stay with them?"
"Please don't kill them. They're important to me," Harry begs, grabbing hold of Liam's arm.
"Come with me," Liam says abruptly, pulling his arm away from Harry's hand.
That shocks the younger lad, because Liam has never pulled away from his touch. Like, ever. It worries Harry to think that maybe Liam might actually be done with him if he makes the wrong decision. Which is just frightening.
"Where are we going?"
"To my office."
"Why?"
"Because I wanna show you something. I hope you make the right decision after you see it."
"What could you possibly have to show me that will make me choose going to Italy with you? My friends are more important to me than - Woah."
When they walk into Liam's office, Harry stops at the door as he sees all the screens filled with images from what must be hidden cameras. He notices that some are from inside his house next door, making him shudder at what Liam could've seen him doing in his home after all this time. He feels completely invaded of any privacy he thought he had for those few days he's been living there.
But then he sees a screen showing his friends at the hospital in Louis' room, seemingly having a deep conversation about whatever. Zayn is waving his phone around, so Harry guesses it's about his phone call that abruptly ended some time ago.
"How did you - "
"Not important. What is important at the moment is knowing that I could have your friends killed right now if I make a quick call."
"No, no! Don't! But, how did you get all those cameras in my house and in Louis' hospital room?"
"I have them everywhere. Anyway, what's your decision?"
"You can't kill them! Please! I know you can't be that heartless! They're my friends! They're like family to me. Don't you know the meaning of family? I can't live without them," Harry begs.
Liam rolls his eyes, then takes a seat in his office chair, still facing Harry. "If they really mean so much to you, then you know which one is the right decision. Of course, I will let you say goodbye to them right before we leave. All you have to do is tell me you'll leave with me, then you can talk to them. But, it's your decision overall. No pressure."
"Yeah, right," Harry says under his breath, looking at that one screen.
"If this makes things easier for you, I promise your friends will be safe. I won't ever try anything harmful on them again. Only if you make the right decision, of course."
"H- How do I know you won't go back on your word? I mean, you're doing it right now."
"Because I won't have a reason to hurt them again. Once you and I are away from here and alone together, what good would it do me if your friends are dead? And I wouldn't wanna see you upset about their deaths when we're together in Italy."
The green-eyed lad continues looking into Liam's eyes, trying to detect whether he's lying or not. When he doesn't see anything false about what he said, he sighs and looks back at the screen.
"I've made my decision."
*Ooh! Complications thanks to - of course - Liam!
What do you think is Harry's decision? - Will he choose to stay with his friends and risk losing them in front of his eyes? Or will he choose to leave with Liam to keep them safe and out of harm's way? Which would YOU choose? ;)
Do you think Liam will really keep his word about never hurting Harry's friends again?
Will Harry make the right decision?
Can this be the beginning of Lirry finally getting together?
PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THIS CHAPTER AND THE STORY SO FAR!
What will happen next?* x