The room was dark and cold and my breath was visible. I could physically feel the dirt invading my lungs and making it difficult for me the breathe. The locks around my wrist dug into my skin, no doubt causing it to bruise. Blood tricked down my cheek from an exposed cut above my brow. The air stunk. I was in a compressed chamber with about ten other young teenage girls, somewhere in the middle of Ireland.
I struggled with my locks. Every time I tried pulling on them they only seemed to get tighter. My headache grew worse every time I exerted some force.
"Stop that. You're gonna make them come back in here. You're being too loud." One of them said. Her voice was horsed from dehydration.
"We've got to get out here." I told them. I tried looking for Anna, Emily, and Rachel. Three of the girls I was sent on this mission with. But none of them were with me. I was sixteen and alone in the middle of Ireland with a group of girls who are being sold for sex trafficking.
"We can't get out." Another one hissed at me. Her face was so dirty, I couldn't even make out her facial features. "I've read about these people before. They never mess up."
"They already have." I told her. I couldn't see her reaction. It was too dark.
Just like they warned me, the metal door was ripped open. The light behind the shadow of a man was blinding. Some girls squealed, others turned their head to hide from the light.
"You." He pointed at me. His face was pressed into a scowl, scarred and dirty. His brown eyes were as dark as his heart and he smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. "Come with me."
He yanked on my arm to stand me upright. I stumbled on my feet - my legs felt like jelly and my head felt weightless. I even had to blink away the dots that formed in my vision.
"No." I tried punching him, fighting him off so I could escape. But I was too young, too weak. He overpowered me. I was so light, he could flick me in the forehead with his thumb and I'd probably fall over. When was the last time that I ate?
He punched me in the face, right under my eye. Not only was the impact hard, but the ring he was wearing scraped me up pretty good too. My vision blurred. I was so out of it, I can't even remember hitting the floor.
"No." I said again. I was trying to fight off unconsciousness. I felt it approaching and my stomach twisted in knots. Sick. I was going to be sick.
Suddenly the room around me froze. My peripheral vision slurred together and became blurry. The only thing I could see was the man standing above me. But he was different now. He changed into a suit and had his hair gelled back. He twisted the buttons on the collar of his sleeves and smirked down at me. This man was now my father.
"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid little girl." He said. He bent down to come closer to my face. I cringed underneath him. My heart picked up its pace and my mouth became dry. What was happening? "You expect to save all these people when you can't even save yourself? And you blame that on me?"
"This is all y-your fault." I croaked and then went off in a coughing fit.
"No," he shook his head. "My only fault is letting you join the agency and not making Louis do it first. Maybe if you were a better agent, your life would be different."
The girl from the chamber was suddenly standing next to my dad. Her wrists were unbound and her head was tilted to look down at me.
"I told you to stop making noise." She said. Her voice was monotoned. "You didn't listen. You got us killed!"
"No-"
"Why didn't you listen?" The second girl appeared and looked at me with the same accusing expression. "You never listen!"
"Stop!"
My body jumped forward as I gasped for breath. My chest felt like it was caving in on me and I was drenched in sweat. My mouth was dry and I was parched. My heart was jumping wildly in my chest as if I had just out ran a cheetah and my eyes were pooling with tears.
"It was just a dream." I told myself.
My hands felt the covers underneath me. Soft fabric has never felt so comforting. I was still dressed in my sweatshirt and leggings from last night. I glanced at the clock. 1:21 p.m.
"What's wrong!" Louis ran into the room with a wooden baseball bat. He was holding it up, wiggling it threateningly as if that was supposed to scare an intruder. Louis was shirtless and wore a pair of red running shorts. He eyed me like a crazy person. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah sorry." I stood up from the bed. Just like my dream, my legs were wobbly and I had to clutch on to the mattress to steady myself. "Bad dream."
"Oh." Louis slowly dropped the bat to his side. "Sorry I thought you were being attacked or something."
I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and did a double take. I looked horrific.
"Oh my god I look like a walking disaster." I said. My hands slapped against my cheek and I pulled down on my skin. "Wait." I turned to Louis. "How did I get to my room last night? I thought I dozed off on the couch around 6 this morning..."
"Harry found you in the living room around 9. He carried you upstairs. You were assed out asleep." Louis explained.
"Wow." Usually I was a very light sleeper so I was surprised to hear I was carried back to my room and didn't wake up to it. "Where is he now?"
"Getting lunch I think. I was about to jump in the shower when I heard you."
"Shower sounds good right about now." I said but more to myself. I felt gross.
"So what did you think of Eleanor? She really liked you."
"She's great!" I told him. "You did good big - Louis." I stopped myself from calling him brother. I didn't know who else was in the house and didn't want to risk it. I coughed to regain myself. "She's so out of your league though."
"Shut up." He smiled. "So. Uh did you want to talk about your dream?"
"No. It's okay." I shook my head. "Comes with the job I guess."
"Okay. Party starts at 11:00 tonight at Club X. Can you come with us tonight?"
Originally I wasn't supposed to go with them. I would fall behind and check out the outside surroundings before walking in. But I guess I could have Ryan and Ian do that. It would be hard to make up a lie to the others about why I was busy at 11:00 at night.
"Yeah I can."
"Great! Everyone's coming over here for another little pregame and then we'll all drive together."
"Sounds good." I nodded along with the plan.
"Okay great. And don't worry I put you down as Kelly Summers on the list."
"Sawyer, Louis!" I corrected him. I felt a little jolt in my head. Thank god we were alone so I could correct him. That could have been a mess.
"Oh shit! Sorry. I always get them mixed up. I'll change that right away."
"Thank you."
Louis left me to shower and I stared blankly at the vacant doorway thinking about how far we've come. This time last week, I never would have thought that I would be talking to Louis - let alone be living with him. The current circumstances suck, yet I was grateful for the opportunity and it was working out well. Louis was being way nicer to me than I deserved. It was like all the past issues he had with me before had vanished. He was always smiling at me, offering to help me with things, and constantly checking up on me. Hell, he was nicer to me now than he was when we were kids. I loved it. I loved our new relationship and hated that it was prolonged for so long. But we were in the right place now.
I went for a run, showered, and called my agency to make sure I had enough agents working at the party tonight just in case. Then I made Ryan go check out the venue early and set up any cameras that seemed necessary.
Before I knew it, it was 9:00 and I was nowhere near ready. I was in the kitchen eating a bowl of fruit salad in a pair of plaid pajama pants and a tank when the doorbell rang. I waited for a couple seconds for either Harry or Louis to answer it, but I was met with silence. Both boys were stuck in their room, probably overapplying some hair product or cologne.
So I went to the door and stood there looking like a weirdo. My mouth dropped open and my eyes widened. Eleanor was standing in front of me with a bottle of rosé champagne. Her makeup was much heavier than last night but it was done beautifully. She was wearing a thin black and gold sequenced dress which showed off her legs perfectly. The neckline hung low and was wrapped in a gold chain chocker with a black jewel in the middle. Her hair was perfectly quaffed and wavy like last night and she smelled strongly of a perfume I sure as hell could probably not afford.
"Close your mouth honey or you'll catch some flies." She smirked and brushed beside me to step into the house. Her black strappy heels clacked against the marble floor.
"You look incredible, Eleanor."
"Thank you." She beamed at the compliment. "Oh, and call me El. Eleanor sounds so classy and tonight is no classy night." She stopped and stared down my outfit. Standing next to her, I suddenly felt like a fat ugly witch. I had no makeup on, my pajamas on, and my hair was ratted together in a pony tail. "Are you not coming?"
"No I am. I just was eating some dinner..."
Someone whistled some kind of cat-call behind me. We turned around. Louis and Harry were walking down dressed in some tight pants and t shirts. Harry was a plain Jane and wore a white t shirt while Louis dressed up in blazer under a boring navy blue t shirt.
Louis was smiling wide at his girlfriend and even nudged Harry to take a look at what he got to call his. Like I said, she was so out of his league.
"Damn, baby you look hot!"
"Thank you." She leaned in to kiss him. Harry and I stood there awkwardly when the kiss lasted too long. Luckily, Harry coughed to distract them and separate them. "Oh! Sorry." Eleanor touched her lips and giggled. "Hi Harry."
"Hi El. You're looking great like always."
"Oh Harry. Always the charmer." She giggled and stepped closer to Louis. His arms snaked around her waist.
Harry turned to me. He also studied my outfit choice and tilted his head. "Did you change your mind about coming tonight?"
"For gods sake people it's only 9 o'clock. I didn't know you guys would be ready so early." I said.
"I told you people were coming over to pregame." Louis said.
"You never gave me a definitive time." I sighed and pulled my hair out of the pony tail. "I'll go change now. I'll be down in like twenty minutes."
"Twenty minutes?" Now Eleanor gaped at me. "If you get ready in twenty minutes that will be like a world record."
I laughed. "Then call the Guinness Book of World Records because I've got this timed to perfection."
"I have to see this." Eleanor stepped away from Louis. "Do you mind if I come up with you and help you get ready? Besides, we can have our girls talk like we discussed last night."
"I'm surprise you remember last night." I smirked at her already moving towards the stairs and letting her follow me.
"Shut up!" She playfully pushed me. We walked into my room and she plopped herself on my bed. "What are you wearing?"
"I was thinking this."
I walked into my closet and pulled out a black silk dress. It had spaghetti straps and white lace around the edge of the deep v-neckline. In all honesty, it could be mistaken for lingerie, but Marco swore it was trending in the fashion world and even worth a lot of money.
"Shut up that's beautiful!" She walked closer so her hand could run over the silk fabric. "I literally saw someone wearing this in the latest issue of Vogue and thought I had to have it. Ugh you're going to look great and tasteful." She winked and stuck out her tongue.
For someone as sporty and fit as myself and one to not be the dressy kind of person - I loved wearing clothes like this and getting all dolled up. I liked the attention I got from people - both boys and girls. It made me feel like I was normal and that these looks were the looks other people my age were receiving. Every time, even just for a little bit, I forgot who I really was.
I slipped into the dress and brushed out my hair. I decide to throw my hair into a messy high pony tail and then I softly curled it to make it just as wavy as El's. Marco forced me to watch makeup tutorials on YouTube a couple of years ago so I could look at lot older than a teenager. And because of that, doing my makeup was fast and easy. I used black eyeliner and a mixture of dark and light eyeshadows to create a smoky eye. Luckily, my eyelashes were long enough to look like fakes and I wouldn't actually need to waste the money on those.
Okay, this time it took me about fifty minutes to get ready because I would constantly stop to talk to Eleanor about boys, her work, or just life in general.
"Okay I'm done." I said, turning around in my chair to face her.
Her mouth dropped, similar to how I looked when I first saw her. "Holy shit. You look amazing."
"Really?" I asked. I wasn't use to getting complimented by a woman other than Monique, yet her words meant more from her than coming out of a man whose goal was to get in my pants.
"Yes! Here." She tossed me my shoes. They were plain black with one strap around the toes and another around the ankle. "Don't worry, once we get enough alcohol in you, your feet won't hurt a bit."
I glanced up at her and noticed her champagne bottle was half way empty. Her and I kept passing it back and forth and taking swigs from the bottle. We were both too lazy to go back downstairs to grab a couple of glasses.
"Okay let's go!" She hopped off my bed and checked herself one last time in my mirror.
"I'll meet you down there. I just have to run to the bathroom really quick."
"Okay but hurry up!" She pointed at me.
When she was gone I closed the door and knelt down next to my work bag. I pulled out a thin black strap that looked similar to a garter and wrapped it around my thigh. Then I rummaged through my small weapons and slipped a small dagger into the strap. Just in case.
I closed everything up and placed it back in its original hiding spot. I looked at myself one last time in the mirror and nodded to myself. I did look hot. I decided against wearing the ear and eye pieces because I knew there was no way I would be able to hear Ian over the loud music.
I walked down stairs to find everyone from last night already here with all different kinds of drinks in their hands. When they heard my heels clicking, everyone turned to greet me and I felt as if a spot light had been shined down on me.
I smiled and greeted everyone. Eleanor watched me like a proud mother as if she was the reason that I looked so good.
But my attention got caught on Harry's expression. He was staring at me unashamed. His bottom lip was caught between his teeth and his eyes... those piercing green eyes. In that moment, something new was charged within them. Whatever it was, it made my tummy swirl and my heart race.
"You look great Kelly." Zayn said. He held up his glass as if to say cheers. Perrie lightly elbowed him in his side and laughed alongside everyone else. There was no harm in his comment.
Louis's expression was different than everybody else's. His eyes were narrowed and his jawline was prominent, meaning he must be clenching his teeth. I guess big brother didn't like this other side of little sister.
When everyone went back to drinking, Louis was able to discreetly whisper in my ear.
"Are you sure that's what you want to be wearing tonight?" He asked. He was being polite about it but I knew what he really wanted to say was, "Go upstairs and change now."
I nodded and smirked at him. "I'm not a kid anymore Louis."
"You still are to me. Men are going to be looking at you like a piece of meat." His hands clenched around his glass of vodka mixed with Sprite. "I swear to god if someone tries anything -"
"Louis." I stopped him. Usually I would be annoyed and think he thought I wouldn't be able to handle it myself. But for the first time, I knew where he was coming from. When I first found out about Eleanor I felt instantly protective of Louis and told myself I didn't like her. But now I loved her and I loved them together. "I'll be okay. Don't worry. Besides." I leaned forward to make sure no one else could hear me. "I'm packing tonight."
"Pack-packing?" Louis stuttered and looked at my outfit again. "What do you mean your packing? How can you hide anything under that small dress?"
"Sh," I shushed him. "I'm a professional."
"I'm gonna be sick."
"Shit. It's already 10:30. We should go!" Eleanor clapped and disposed of the now empty champagne bottle. She skipped over to where Louis and I were standing and wrapped her arm around Louis's. "Come on!"
"We're coming," Louis rolled his eyes playfully and walked Eleanor out the door first. I watched them giggle with one another. Louis's previous thoughts about me were washed away at the sight of Eleanor. I hoped that one day, I would be able to have what they have.
Everyone was already out the door when I put the last glass in the sink. I brushed my hands on my dress and walked into the lobby area and was surprised to see Harry standing by the door waiting for me.
"Oh." I said awkwardly. Although his look was so simple, he looked amazing. My head rushed back to last night when I caught him in my room, the provocative stuff he said to me and how I reacted towards it. How I wanted it. "You didn't have to wait for me."
"I wanted to so I could tell you how great you look tonight." There was that glint in his eyes from last time. What was it? "I didn't want to say anything in front of Louis, afraid that he would kill me."
"Thank you." I said breathlessly. I wasn't expecting a compliment from Harry let alone for his words to make such an impact. Why was this happening to me? What was happening to me?!
We stood there for a couple of seconds. Both just staring at each other. I wanted to run into him, kiss him, and rip his clothes off. Fuck. I shook the thought from my head. No, Kelly. I told myself. Remember the mission. Remember the mission.
The horn of the limo honked from the driveway, indicating the impatience the rest of them were feeling towards Harry and I at the moment.
"We should go." I said.
"Yeah." Harry said. He seemed to be in a daze too. "Let's go."
I had no idea what to expect tonight.