Okay so this wattpad update is a total ass hole that I don't understand (it's been too fucking long since I've written in this bitch) so the format of this is weird and 1. I'm too lazy to fix it and 2. I'm too excited to update and tired to edit this, so bear with me. Comment if you think you see errors and I'll take care of them (like, yes, be my editor in the comms) and also please just comment in general, more readers will create more motivation (tbh bc my life is gonna become really active and hectic, so you guys would give me more purpose yanno). Enjoy! (Song on the side is included in story).
Chapter 22
The drive home was quiet. Not an awkward quiet. I felt completely comfortable and I felt as though the smile on my face made it clear I was caught up in the feeling of being content. So far the night was going... amazing. Was that word too good? Did I jinx the rest of it?
Maybe I did.
The music that played caught my attention. Whoever sang the song held a quality to their voice that made them sound almost as if they were on the verge of tears throughout the song. She was singing about angels and I guess the tragedy of love. At least that's how I heard it.
Once the song ended I shared my thoughts with Harry. "That was beautiful," I said, looking over at him.
He took his eyes off the road a brief moment to meet mine and smiled at me. In agreement, he nodded. "It was." It seemed as though that was all he had to say on the subject so I turned my head back to the window to watch the scenery we passed. But he added after a moment of silence, "It made me think of you."
This statement made me look back at him with a semi-shocked expression. "What? Really?" I questioned with a small smile. "Why is that?"
His mouth opened and his eyes stayed trained on the road ahead. He bit his lip and finally elaborated. "Well, she mentions angels." I tilted my head to the side. "So naturally, I thought of you. My angel," he added softly at the end.
Dumbly, I blinked at him as his words set in. A new smile spread across my face and I think I even blushed a bit. I looked back out the window at all the snow and the trees. Soon I was able to tell we were close to the mansion, because we looked to be in the middle of nowhere.
When we reached the place, we saw a car in the driveway. I furrowed my eyebrow in curiosity and saw Harry's eyes squint. After a second I sucked in air and my face brightened. "Do you think everyone's home?" I asked.
Harry's expression slowly changed. His mouth set in a taut line and he clenched his jaw, which made me wonder what he was thinking. He shook his head. "There aren't enough cars," he stated in a gruff voice, getting out the car.
My eyes followed Harry and I think I heard him say, "Stay in the car." So I sat there and watched him enter the house and then I looked around. I was thankful for the few Christmas lights hanging on the lowest targets of the place, because they acted as my only source of light. We weren't in a neighborhood with street lights.
I felt uneasy, so after a few minutes I opened the car door and walked towards the house, opening the door. I didn't even care if I walked into a life endangering situation in that moment. I simply wanted to be with Harry. Only then would I feel safe.
I wouldn't say I walked into a life endangering situation, but I sure did feel like dying in that moment. I saw Harry's back to the door and I could see his muscles were tense. He even had his fists balled up at his sides as if he were ready to start a fight. And my first guess as to who his opponent would be was the blonde man in front of him.
The stranger had cropped hair that wasn't long like Harry's. But even then I could see that his hair was a bit curly. His cheekbones had their own unique angle to them, and the bright light of the chandelier above us illuminated the blue in his eyes.
Those eyes were on me.
And suddenly Harry's were, too.
What about my eyes? They widened in response to the look on his face. There was a disbelief, but a certain amount of anger in them as well... and it felt directed at me. I opened my mouth ready to say something in my defense, since I was certain that he was upset about me disobeying him, but the stranger spoke before me.
"Speak of the devil," he smiled, revealing dimples that oddly reminded me of Harry. "Or should I say..." He craned his neck to the side and his eyes looked me up and down. "Angel." He spoke the word softly, as though it were a prayer on its own. His voice was husky and styled by a posh English accent. "I've been waiting to meet this brand new addition to your household, Harry."
I began to feel as though I'd heard his voice some place else before, but I couldn't quite put my finger on where.
My eyes looked to Harry for his reaction and he seemed very upset. "Lanaura. What are you doing down here, I thought I told you to stay in the car?"
His voice was patronizing and I felt like sticking up against him, but I wasn't sure if that was a good idea. From what I could tell this dude just really hit him in the nerves somehow.
"I-I just-"
"Oh, please, Harry. I'm asking to introduce myself, that's all. I'm not taking her out for dinner," he joked, but neither me or Harry laughed as he approached us.
Slightly flustered, I closed the door behind me and took place next to Harry.
I watched his gaze fall to the ground and then he faced the man. "She's of no importance, Tristian. I'm sure she's tired. We've had a long night," he said.
Tristian stopped in front of us, but turned his eyes to me, as if Harry hadn't just spoken while I tried not to let Harry's words offend me. I felt myself grow nervous at his close proximity. There wasn't anything exactly unfriendly about him, but the smile he wore had a mischief about it. And no matter how handsome he was, there was something about him that was intimidating. Or maybe that was just me, since Harry didn't look afraid. He looked angry, still.
I stared up at Tristian, noticing how he looked at me. That blue eyed gaze was so oddly familiar. "Lanaura," he spoke. "I've heard so much about you from many parties. All good." The smirk on his face wasn't very inviting, but he continued. "Anyways. I'm Tristian Stark. Your..." he trailed off and glanced back at Harry, whose expression seemed to only get darker, "friend's," he said looking at me as though we had an inside joke about that, "... boss to say the least. But you can call me Tris."
Something about his smile put me off, so when he put his hand out I put mine in it thoughtlessly. He kissed it gently and I stared down at him in astonishment.
So he was one of those men.
"Pleasure to meet you," he said sweetly.
I looked at Harry next to me and saw his expression had somehow become even more dark. Was he jealous? Of course he was.
"You, too," I politely answered, giving him a sarcastic smile. Next I pulled my hand back from his grip. Worried, I placed my hand on Harry's tense bicep.
He tensed even more at first, but when I moved my fingers against him gently, I felt him relax. Meanwhile, when Tris turned back to Harry as though I wasn't there, I suddenly realized why I recognized his voice. He was the Tris from that phone call.
"Now that that part is over and everyone knows everyone, I would like to ask where my favorite is," he said. I noticed his hands were behind his back and even then so he seemed as though he could tear the world apart or something.
Harry sighed. "You know Sasha is on the mission," he grumbled.
It was as though a light bulb had gone off in my head. His gaze reminded me of how Sasha had looked at me when I first came here. That's actually really disturbing.
"Ah, yes. The mission that the two of you were expected to accompany also," he clarified.
I looked up at Harry briefly and I could practically feel his blood simmering beneath his tan skin. He released another breath of air. "I was hoping I could give Laney a break. The last mission she went on and recent events have had a great effect on her and so-"
"I was expecting she would have already gained a hand on things since from what I know she's been here at least a month." He turned his gaze back to me and looked me up and down. "Judging by her appearance she would make a fine asset; that is if she were trained properly." I noticed the lighting made his eyes turn grayish almost like Sasha's. Were Sasha and he related? That would explain why he's so eager to see her? And why they eerily remind me somewhat of each other.
I looked back up at Harry and now his lip was in his mouth. He was biting down at it and I was beginning to question the relationship between the two.
"Harry," I said softly to him. He glanced over at me and I saw more of his tension go away, but he was still very much on edge.
"Or perhaps the two of you stayed behind so you may give her some private lessons yourself," Tris grinned.
"Fuck off, Tris," Harry finally spat.
"Harry," I said again, moving my hand to touch his arm. "Calm down," I tried to soothe.
"Don't be so sensitive, little brother," he commented.
I blinked in astonishment at the revelation. "Woah. Wait, 'little brother?'" I repeated, astounded. These two are siblings?
"Half-brother," Harry corrected coldly.
Still hasn't been explained why there is such a tension between the half-brothers.
Tris rolled his eyes. "We have the same mother, but my dead father is different from his. Des was his name, am I correct? By the way I'll have to contact our dearest sister, Gemma sometime soon, right?"
Harry scoffed and shook his head, turning away from the both of us. I felt my own self become upset too at seeing Harry so distraught. I scowled and looked at Tristian. "Now that you've met me and we've covered everything else I think it's time you leave," I suggested harshly.
He didn't look intimidated in one bit. His eyebrows raised and he looked humored. "Oh, really?"
"Yes," I hissed. "I'm sure Harry will give you a call when the Russian returns and I promise we won't miss out on the next mission. Now, would you appreciate me escorting you myself, sir?" I glowered at him and he responded with a poker-faced but equally strong stare.
After a moment, that blank face broke into another smirk. "That won't be necessary, love. I guess it is time for me to go. I have my own personal business. Oh and by the way, Harold." He smiled and pulled a little present from his pocket. "I brought you a bit of a gift." His eyes turned to me. "And even one for the little lady." With that he pulled another gift out of the pockets of his trench coat. Harry didn't look over when the gift was for him, but he had suddenly taken an interest in what we were saying as he glared down at the rectangular jewelry box with the white bow on it. I pressed my lips into a thin line and took it into my grip.
"Thank you," I mumbled quietly and half-heartedly. I walked towards the door and opened it. "You're excused now, Tristian."
He smirked and had his hands behind his back again when he walked over to me. "You know you're welcome to call me Tris if you want," he informed me as he stepped out.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Thanks for the gifts, Santa, have a Merry Christmas," I smart assed before I shut the door in his face. I heard him laugh and all, but I ignored him. I sighed and turned around, finding myself pressed against the door. Harry's eyes were wide with a mix of incredulousness and anger.
"Why didn't you stay in the car?" he demanded. "I told you to stay in! It could've been worse than my wicked half brother. It could've been an enemy or another man here to prey on you. In fact, Tris is just as bad as the latter, because he wants to feed you to men like that for his benefit!"
I stared at him and I should have seen this, but I didn't expect him to be so worried. "I-"
"Why, Lanaura, why?" Him using my full name rather than Angel showed how serious this was to him. I could see his breathing was rapid, and I got a sense that all those emotions he bottled up for his brother were spilling out at me. I wanted to be mad at him, but I understood his point. I even knew when I walked in here that I might endanger myself, but I was thinking of myself. Not him.
I swallowed. "I didn't care about what I walked into. Even if a bomb was going off, I would've felt more safe I were with you," I admitted in a shaky whisper.
At first, those wide frantic eyes stared at me more before he closed them and released a deep breath of air. It seems as though he'd gathered his emotions and reigned them in more. "But you wouldn't be safe," he reminded me. When he opened his eyes they seemed moist, as if he was about to cry. My eyes widened at the show of emotion. "And I," he stopped, looking away. "I need you safe. Truly." He bit is lip. "Because even if you felt safe with a bomb going off... I'd die, knowing I failed you."
I felt my own eyes water. Is that really how he felt. I reached my hand up to his face and he put his hand over it. I looked up at him and shook my head. "You could never fail me," I assured him.
He was quiet and then he said, "I already did the night I stole you away from your family." He let go of my hand and turned around, walking upstairs, leaving me to think about the severity of our deeply complicated relationship.
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So I was going to make this chapter longer, but, uh, I want to update in case any of my readers still exist, um yeah, hi, I is back ahaha. Btw I changed Laney's age from 15 to 16, because now that I'm more mature, Laney's age was a bit disturbing for all the sexual shit that happens between them. Pleeaasee, vote or comment to let me know you guys are still here and still have an interest in this story, because I mostly wanted to update for you, but if you aren't there, I'll dedicate myself to different works.
Look at my message board because it says important stuff and tbh this update is sooner than I was expecting/hoping (since, I've shortened it) sooo yeah. I'm on a roll. Wattpad's been an ass so I'm gonna edit this and hopefully it won't fuck things up like with Hunter (WHICH YOU SHOULD READ. ITS A MYSTERY ABOUT DARK HARRY AND MARCEL'S IN THERE SO GO DO IT). Like I said in my note I want you to read, i'll probably update Hunter most (maybe).
Bye guuyyss. I love you lil cubs.
- Angie Bear