After a while of riding in silence, we finally arrive back at camp, and as we are riding in past the tents, I spot a familiar little face amongst the crowd.
"Melody! It's Melody!" Carolina's sweet little voice squeals as she jumps from her position on Niall's lap to start running after our horse as it quickly trots along.
Harry pulls the horse to a stop once we are outside his tent and jumps off before holding his hands out as an unspoken offer to help me down.
Once I am down, I turn to see that Carolina has caught up to us, and without warning throws herself at my legs, crashing into me as she wraps her arms around me.
I stumble back and wince at the pain shooting from my ankle before Harry catches me, steadying my body.
"Easy girl! No hello or hug for me?" Harry questions jokingly, crossing his arms across his chest and poking his bottom lip out.
Carolina laughs and releases my legs, running past me to jump into Harry's arms.
"My god you're getting big!" Harry grumbles as he squeezes her, swaying her from side to side. My heart warms at the sight in front of me, and I find myself smiling at the both of them in their embrace. Harry's eyes land on mine and I quickly divert them, my smile almost instantly dropping out of embarrassment.
"What's Melody doing here? Is she your girlfriend?" Carolina innocently asks Harry once they pull away from their embrace, causing me to choke on air.
Harry's eyes land on mine again and he raises an eyebrow before chuckling, "No, Carol, Melody here just dropped by to visit", he lies all while holding my gaze the whole time, "She's going to be staying with us for a while until everything goes back to normal".
Carolina nods her head slowly like she is registering the information he just told her. Suddenly, she turns to face me and grips the bottom of her dress, holding it out to me. I notice it to be one of my old dresses that I brought her that day I was taken; oh how that seems like a lifetime ago now.
"Oh my goodness it looks beautiful on you! I knew it would" I gush and she smiles shyly, doing a little spin to show off the beautiful print on the skirt.
"That's one of your old dresses?" Harry asks, his tone sounding irritated all of a sudden.
"Yes" both Carolina and I answer at the same time, and we both look to each other and giggle.
"You shouldn't be wearing that" Harry narrows his eyes towards Carolina, and I frown, confused with where he's planning to go with this. "You have your own clothes".
"But Melody doesn't wear them anymore! She said I could have them. They're pretty" Carolina defends herself.
"Do you think Father would be impressed if he saw you wearing such a thing?" Harry seethes without warning, causing Carolina to stomp her foot into the ground angrily.
"Daddy's gone!" Carolina suddenly yells, "And I can wear what I want! You are not the boss of me! You're just a mean, mean brother". She looks at me with angry tears in her eyes before she turns and runs back the way she came, not looking back.
"Was that really necessary? She's a child, not to mention she's your sister" I ask him in disbelief. How did things go so pear shaped in such a short space of time? How could Harry change the mood so suddenly with his foul attitude? He barely sees his family, and when he does this is how he treats them?
"Don't you dare lecture me" He points his finger in my face, "You're the one who's poisoning my sister's mind and creating false pretences that she needs to dress the shitty way your family does, or that she needs to wear Melody Kingston's old dresses to feel worthy or beautiful! "
My mouth drops, "How stupid can you be to believe that that was my intention by giving your sister some of my old dresses? I have never once thought that anyone needed to dress like I did! She said she loved the dress I was wearing the first time I met her, so I said I had a few more back home that would most likely fit her! That's all there was to it, and now you've just upset your youngest sibling by bringing up your dead father and making her feel bad about herself. I am not the one to blame here".
Harry's face twists in anger, and before I know it he is up in my face, holding a small, sharp knife to the side of my throat. Where he pulled that from? No idea.
I hold my chin up, refusing to show that I fear him, but when the pressure becomes more on my neck, I squeeze my eyes shut, expecting to be cut.
"Harry Edward Styles!" A woman's voice calls out loudly, and Harry quickly releases his threatening hold on me, throwing his knife to the ground. I turn and see Anne rushing up to us. Here we go.
"Just what do you think you are doing?" She shouts, and my eyes widen when she presses her hands against his chest to shove him backwards.
Harry barely stumbles under her soft push, but he doesn't retaliate and just stands there, looking angrily towards me through the hair that has fallen in front of his eyes.
"I don't even recognise my son in front of me! Ridiculing your only sister and driving her to tears, holding a knife to this young woman's throat? Who even are you?" She steps back from him, shaking her head in disbelief, "You are not the boy I raised, and this is not how I raised you to be. What has gotten into you?"
I look to Harry as he clenches his jaw but doesn't say anything. Before anyone can add anything more, he picks up the knife that he dropped to the ground and stalks into his tent, roughly pulling the door down behind him without a word.
I am left in shock, embarrassed to be involved in his family drama, and even more so in love with the strong woman that is Anne.
"Are you okay, Dear?" Anne rushes to me and wraps her arms around me, engulfing me with one of the first safe feelings I've felt since being a prisoner here. I hug her back, enjoying the feeling of comfort from another woman.
I don't think I've hugged another woman in years. My Mother would never hug me as it just wasn't in her "nature" to show affection.
"I'm okay" I whisper in response, "I'm kind of used to it by now".
I pull away from her and offer her a small smile as reassurance.
"You shouldn't be used to it. No woman should be used to that. This is not acceptable behaviour. You deserve more than to be treated like a disobedient dog that won't learn simple tricks" She tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. "He is confused and troubled, I can tell, and I can see that he is trying hard to gain control of everything in his life, but something's different about him. He seems... stuck, challenged even. You seem like a strong young woman, and maybe that intimidates him".
I lightly laugh, "Intimidates him? Me? There's no way. How could a man of his stature and power be intimidated by a girl like me?"
Anne shrugs, "A woman, you mean", she corrects me with a warm smile, "I believe it's because you challenge him. Not many people do, you know. You give off this brave and strong-willed energy, which can be quite intimidating for a man wanting to control every situation".
I bite my lip as I think about her words, but before I can respond, Niall approaches us, holding my crutches in his hands.
"Here" He says as he passes them to me, "I figured you'd need these if you're planning on being able to move around independently".
I smile warmly at him as I hook the crutches underneath my arms, "Thank you Niall. It's good to see you".
"Likewise" He smiles, but I can't help but see a glimpse of... sadness...? Flash in his eyes.
I furrow my eyes towards him, almost as a silent way of asking him if he's okay, but then Anne slapping her hands together frightens me from my thoughts.
"Right" She exclaims. "It's not often that I come to these parts of the woods, so I say we all get together tonight and have a little get together around a nice warm fire. Good food and drinks around the fire is always good for the soul. Besides, this camp could do with some positive energy, right Niall?"
Niall chuckles and shakes his head, "Can never get enough positive energy when you're around, Anne".
"Then it's settled" Anne rubs her hands together excitedly. "Niall, be a good lad and go and round up some men to collect some fire wood. We want a nice big fire to warm everyone tonight. Melody, you are more than welcome to come with me".
Niall nods before walking off in the direction that he came from. I turn back to look at Harry's closed up tent and bite my lip, a bit unsure.
"Don't worry about him" Anne says reassuringly just as if she's read my thoughts. "He'll come around eventually, just as he always does. No use poking the bear when it's hungry" She jokes, giving me a small wink.
I let out a sigh before I giggle, "I suppose you're right. Lead the way then".
...
"C'mon Mel, don't be a pussy!" Niall laughs as he holds out a small cup containing a "shot" of some sort of vile alcohol. Anne laughs too and throws her drink back, letting the liquid pour down her throat with absolute ease.
It's been 4 hours, and still there is no sign of Harry. Of course, a select few of his men are still around keeping a watchful eye on me, but I think it's pretty clear right now that my plans tonight do not include trying to escape. Especially whilst I'm in the presence of Anne: the most selfless and kindest woman I've ever known.
We spent the afternoon chatting and gossiping, and not only about things to do with Harry and their family, but normal things too. Normal well needed girl discussions.
"I am not a pussy" I defend myself, a fake scowl plastered on my face as I reach out to snatch the cup from his dangling hand.
A surprised look comes across his features as I throw my head back and welcome the drink down my throat without hesitation.
I exhale loudly once it's down, and hold the cup in the air proudly. "See? Not a pussy!"
Niall, Anne and a few other men clap their hands together and cheer approvingly, causing me to mock curtesy towards them.
Another log gets thrown onto the roaring fire in front of us, and as I step back to escape the hot flames flying in different directions, I bump into a hard chest.
When my body spins around as quickly as my crutches allow to see who it is, I instantly recognise the chest in which I'm staring at. My eyes take in his outfit, a black hoodie and a pair of black jeans with... rips at the knees?
"Having a party without me? How rude" Harry muses while interrupting my thoughts, a small smirk playing on his lips.
"It was Anne's idea" I mumble, stepping away from him slightly. However, the gap between us doesn't grow, it lessens as Harry follows my step backwards with a step forwards.
"You've been drinking" He states nonchalantly, his eyes shifting to set on something behind me.
"What's it to you?" I press, testing to see how much I can push him before he breaks again.
"Nothing" He answers carelessly as he takes a cup from one of his men as they walk past, "I just hope you can handle it this time".
He pushes past me without another word and goes to sit down on the opposite side of the bonfire, my eyes following his movements as he takes a large swig from his drink.
Shaking my head, I turn away from him and take a seat next to one of Harry's men sitting on one of the logs used for seating. He greets me as I sit down and offers me a drink, which I accept politely and bring to my lips.
"I've never actually introduced myself to you" His voice cuts through the surrounding sound around us, "The name's Scenna".
"Nice to meet you", I reply with a small smile, "I would introduce myself but no doubt you already know who I am".
He chuckles, "Yeah, no doubt there, Melody. Enjoying your stay with us?".
Now is my turn to laugh, but it comes out stiff and exhausted. "It's definitely been interesting. Not exactly where I imagined myself being the night before I was taken".
"Taken" He repeats, "You make us sound horrible".
"Well some of you are horrible. You don't seem so bad though" I laugh lightly, lifting my cup to my lips again and taking a sip from it. When I pull my cup down from my mouth, my eyes land on Harry across the fire and I almost jump when I see he is already staring right at me.
"I'm not a horrible guy", Scenna's voice rips my eyes from Harry's harsh gaze. "Just sometimes have to do horrible things to stay alive, you know?"
"Right. I can't say that I understand fully but I think I'm starting to gain more of an understanding of how you men work around here".
My eyes casually flick over to Harry's direction again and to my surprise I see that he now has a girl with him. I swallow the lump in my throat as I watch him pull her onto his lap and whisper into her ear.
I use this time to take in her appearance as I've never seen this girl around here before. Her honey blonde hair falls in soft curls and lands halfway down her back, and from the looks of it she has beautiful brown eyes, which are fixated on Harry as she giggles at the things he says.
She now leans into his ear and he leans back before locking eyes with me again.
I want to look away. I want to protect my pride, but my eyes feel stuck as I see that annoying, proud smirk spread across his face as she begins whispering back to him.
Oh how I wish I could hear what she was saying.
"You're not a very good listener are you?" Scenna's voice breaks through my jealous thoughts and I blink rapidly as if I was just in a trance. I turn to see him smiling at me, but before I can reply his eyes flick over to Harry and he opens his mouth to speak.
"Wow. I haven't seen Harry with a girl in what feels like forever. He's been so busy with all this planning that I guess he just hasn't had the time for anything... Getting some tonight had better relax him though. Ever since your arrival he's been absolutely anal about everything" He jokes.
"Right" I force out a soft laugh, slowly pushing myself up to stand. "It was nice to meet you Scenna, but I think I'm going to go and get another drink".
Scenna nods his head and takes a sip of his drink before I turn and start limping off.
"Where are you off to? The party hasn't even begun! It's only 8pm" Niall runs up to me, stopping my movements.
"I'm starting to feel tired" I lie, looking past Niall's shoulder to quickly glance towards Harry.
I instantly wish I didn't, as my eyes land on his mouth planted on hers and his fingers entwined in her hair.
"Tired? As if-" Niall turns and spots what I'm looking at. "Oh" He says.
"You wouldn't happen to be trying to run away from seeing what I just saw, would you?" Niall crosses his arms across his chest with a playful smirk plastered on his face.
"What? No. I'm genuinely tired. It's been a big day" I lie again, looking away from Niall's searching eyes.
"Uh huh... And I shit rainbows" Niall's eyes dance with amusement, and I can't help but laugh at his joke, shaking my head. "C'mon Mel, come back to the fire. You can sit with me and Anne".
I sigh and nod, "Okay fine, just for a little bit".
Niall leads me back to the fire, and I keep my eyes away from Harry's direction as we make our way to where Anne is sitting, laughing with some of Harry's men.
"Oh! My favourite daughter in law!" Anne exclaims as we come closer. My face blushes a deep red with her words; how embarrassing. She's definitely drunk.
"I caught her trying to sneak off to bed" Niall teases as he sits down next to me.
"To bed?" Anne raises her eyebrows, "No daughter-in-law of mine goes to bed during a party!" She reaches past Niall and passes a bottle to me, urging me to take it.
"Thank you" I hold the bottle up to my mouth and close my eyes as it trickles down my throat. Maybe if I have enough alcohol I can forget about Harry and his confusing behaviour.
I look over to see Carol dancing as one of Harry's men plays a song on his guitar and smile. She must live such a happy, free life.
"Who is that try-hard bitch on Harry's lap?" Anne's abrupt words shock me, and I turn to face her with wide eyes. "It's not very often that I'm around and yet my son chooses to spend his time wasted on silly young girls".
"That's Billie. I must say I am quite as shocked as you are" Niall chimes in, sipping his drink. "I haven't seen him act this way in weeks".
"Something definitely has him distracted and confused" Anne hums, her eyes now landing on me. Is she insinuating that I am the one distracting and confusing him?
"Yes, something definitely does" Niall smirks and looks towards me too.
"You'd knock the socks of that girl any day of the week, dear" Anne smiles warmly at me, and as much as her words are strangely contradicting to the person I've seen her to be, I feel a sense of comfort and pride knowing that I have her and Niall both backing me.
"I don't know what you two think you are getting at, but I'm thirsty and I'd love to dance" I lift the bottle up and take a big, long drink from it. "Sadly though my ankle is injured, which deprives me from dancing".
"Nothing is impossible!" Niall quickly stands and lifts me from my seated position, causing a loud squeal to escape my lips. A few heads turn to look at me, but I don't care to check who's looking as Niall carries me over to where the music is coming from.
"Melody! Niall! Dance with me!" Carol giggles as we approach her swishing and spinning in her beautiful dress. I'm so glad she didn't take it off when Harry put her down for wearing it.
Niall securely squeezes his arms around my waist and spins around with me, causing loud laughter to escape my lips.
People around us start to clap along to the music and a few of Harry's men start dancing along too, including Anne.
After a few spins with Niall my head starts to feel a bit dizzy, and I ask him to put me down which he happily obliges to.
Niall helps me to another seat and I sit down, nodding my head to urge him to return back to the group of people dancing and stumbling around.
Once he's walked off I sigh and lean back slightly, closing my eyes as I feel my head spin around me. I can definitely feel the alcohol hitting me now.
"So" A familiar sarcastic voice fills my ears and I open my eyes to see that Harry has now taken a seat next to me. "You and Scenna, then Niall, hey? Seems you've been a very busy bee tonight."
"So" I reply back, "You and Billie, hey? Seems you've been a very busy bee tonight."
A smirk forms on his lips once again, "I see you took the liberty of learning her name".
"I see you took the liberty of watching me talk with Scenna and dance with Niall" I cross my arms across my chest and raise an eyebrow.
"Touché" Harry muses, "You're especially feisty tonight aren't you? Wouldn't happen to be that alcohol you've been drinking all night, would it?"
"I can handle myself" I snap, trying to look away from his harsh gaze. My eyes move across the fire to where Harry was sitting with that girl to see that she is nowhere to be seen. Hmm.
"So you've ever so gracefully shown me time and time again before" Harry scoffs, "Any reason why you're giving me so much attitude?"
"Any reason why you're asking so many questions?" I snark back. I am shocked by my attitude too to be honest, but I feel like this alcohol has given me a newfound confidence in myself.
"You can't answer a question with a question" He grumbles, shuffling closer to me. "It couldn't possibly be because I was enjoying the company of another girl... right?"
"No" I lie, watching as he brings his drink to his lips.
My breath hitches in my throat as he leans in, just centimetres from my face.
"It couldn't be because of the way I touched and kissed said other girl... right?"
I quickly rise to my feet, wincing when I forget about my ankle and pain shoots up my leg. I feel like this will never heal if I keep forgetting about it.
"Goodnight" I say in an attempt to end the conversation which I am anything but enjoying, not even worrying about the fact that I don't have my crutches. Harry's face scrunches up in a look I don't recognise, but without wasting any time I begin to limp away and start making my way back to Harry's tent.
His tent is the last place I want to be tonight, but where else could I possibly go? I don't even know which tent is Niall's after all this time.
"Melody" I hear Harry call out to me from back at the fire, but I ignore his voice and continue to try and distance myself from him by attempting to move quicker.
"Mel" Harry's voice is now right behind me and his hand reaches out and quickly spins me around, my body crashing into his chest. My head is already spinning enough and I can't seem to organise my thoughts as every one of them seems to crash at the front of my mind. My eyes search his face, and somehow it seems like he is doing the same with me.
"What do you wan-" I begin to say, but am silenced when Harry brings his finger up to my lips. One of the cold rings on his fingers brushes my lip, causing me to shudder, and my heart pounds in my chest as he leans in closer to me. How can something as small as this get me so worked up?
"You're driving me crazy" Harry mutters quietly, almost too quietly, and before I can reply to his confession, he slowly moves his lips to meet mine and I open my mouth slightly to let him in as he moves his hand up to cup the side of my face.
This time it feels different, with the taste of alcohol evident on our lips, the warmness of our mouths moulding together, the feeling of...relief?, the jealousy pumping through my veins as I think about Billie. Everything just feels even more heightened, and kissing Harry this time doesn't feel rushed or aggressive... it just feels right.
I gasp as Harry breaks away from our kiss momentarily to swiftly pick me up, and I welcome the gesture by wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck as he wastes no time immediately connecting our lips again before he starts walking.
Before I know it, we are in Harry's tent and the small space fills with the sounds of our heavy breathing combined in between heavy kisses.
I feel Harry lean down as he slowly lays me back onto the pillows in his bed and then ever so slowly climbs on top of me, his hands on either side of my head, and his hips in between my thighs.
"You" He breathes out as he moves his lips down to my jaw, placing a small kiss there. "Are completely irresistible. How can I deny you?".
He places another kiss along my jaw, and I roll my head to the side willingly to allow him to move down to my neck. A soft moan unwillingly escapes my lips as I feel him suck lightly on the burning skin just below my jaw, and my heat rate accelerates when he groans against my skin, sending vibrations through me.
"Do you", Harry plants another kiss on my skin, just below my ear, "Want this?"
My head is screaming at me, and the alcohol pulsing through my blood is telling me yes, yes and more yes. The responsible side of me tries to tell me no because of everything that's happened in the past 24 hours, but I push her to the back of my mind, telling myself that I may not get the chance to have Harry all to myself, so raw and transparent, ever again.
If I want it, then why should I say no to it?
I would be lying to him and myself if I said that I didn't want this.
When Harry's dark eyes meet mine again, I ever so slowly run my finger tips gently down his torso without removing eye contact until I reach the rough texture of his belt. His eyes widen ever so slightly as my fingers begin to fiddle with the buckle, but his arm quickly reaches down to stop my hand's movements, giving me a stern look.
"Mel" He says lowly. "I said, do. You. Want. This".
"Aren't my actions enough confirmation?" I ask quietly, slightly embarrassed that he stopped me.
Harry smirks, shaking his head. "I need you to say it. Consent is key sweetheart".
Looking up into his green eyes between his dark hair, I let out a sigh and gently bite the skin on my bottom lip, mentally preparing myself for what I'm about to say.
"I want it, Harry.
I want...
You".
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Hoooooly shit long chapter hahah! I hope you all liked this!
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Em xoxoxoxox