"Whoa! You look good, girl!" Liam exclaimed as he stared at Selena.
She had locked herself in the bathroom for hours - cutting her hair to shoulder-length and bleaching it.
After almost running into someone who recognized her, Selena knew she had to change her appearance to at least make it harder for people to recognize her.
She didn't recognize the voice. Niall's description didn't help either. She just assumed the person was a previous classmate. At least, she hoped it was.
"Come eat dinner," Niall said.
"Thanks," she said, sitting down and taking bites off the food Niall had cooked earlier.
"Harry's not here yet?" Selena asked.
"Miss him already?" Liam teased.
Selena ignored him and just pointedly looked at Niall's direction. He shook his head.
It had already gotten dark. It wasn't like Harry to be out this late. He was usually already by her side when the sun had set.
"Did you find out anything today?" Selena asked.
"You think I wouldn't have told you first thing?" Liam raised an eyebrow.
Selena shrugged.
"Well, no. But I heard you guys had a fun afternoon."
"I got our IDs. You think it's a good idea to go there together?"
"Maybe the first few times we should so you can tour us around then we can go whenever each of us can after that," Niall suggested. "Of course you shouldn't go alone."
Selena nodded just as they heard the front door open and close. Harry walked in the kitchen a few seconds later.
"Hey, I found us a new-" Harry began to say but stopped and gaped when he laid eyes on Selena's new look.
He only recovered when he heard Liam's snickering beside Selena.
"Found what?" Selena asked, ignoring Harry's burning stare.
"Uh- I... I found a new place."
"You did?" Niall's eyes perked up.
"We can move in two days, I already made arrangements."
"Wait, we're moving?" Selena said.
"Good idea. This place is a dump. I mean, no offense, Sel, but it is shitty." Liam commented.
"Where'd you even-"
Harry cut her off, "This dude I work with knew this place so I went there today to check it out. It's better we keep changing houses while we're here so it's harder to find us anyway."
Selena pursed her lips but accepted Harry's reason. It's not like she had any attachment to this house. She hated being there and she was glad they were moving out.
She took another bite of her food instead of pushing them around her plate like she usually did.
"So..." Liam began, a grin already on his lips. "What do you think of-"
"I'm going to sleep," Selena announced as she placed her plate on the sink.
She passed by Harry, who was still by the kitchen door, without another peep.
However, the sound of gunshots suddenly pierced through the room. Harry immediately pulled Selena to him and pushed her down, covering her with his body.
Liam and Niall ducked at the same time.
One of the nearby windows shattered as a bullet hit it, showering the floor nearby with broken glass.
The sound was over as soon as it came and the dead of the night was back. Tires squealed outside and it faded into silence once again. At least, as silent as the neighborhood allowed.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked Selena. Her ears were still ringing from the multiple gunshots. She nodded her head.
As far as she could tell, the shots weren't aimed at them.
"Shit, we need to get out of here!" Liam exclaimed. "This place will be brimming with cops. We can't get mixed up to that."
"Grab everything we need," Harry instructed. They had prepared to leave at a moment's notice. They didn't even really unpack and only had a few perishables in stock. They were always careful not to leave any traces behind. It took some time for Niall and Selena to get used to but they picked up on what to do quickly.
They were inside their cars before the police came and were zooming out of the scene. Selena barely even glanced at the house next door. She couldn't believe her first instinct now wasn't to call for help or even actually help others herself.
But she needed to flee. Survive - that was her mantra now.
"Where do we go?" Niall asked over the speaker phone. He was on another car with Liam.
They needed to get out of the dark streets quick. Harry could already spot a few Damned but they hadn't noticed the Golden's presence yet.
"Drive to the shop we went to earlier," Selena dictated. "We'll meet you there. Stay safe."
"You too," Niall said before he hung up.
It was a good thing she was already behind the wheel in Harry's car. She sped towards Zayn's auto shop, with Harry keeping a lookout for any tails.
The tires screeched when she parked in front of Zayn's shop. Liam's car was behind Harry's minutes later.
She grabbed her phone to call Zayn. He had slipped his phone number on the files he gave her. She didn't think she'd need to call him this soon.
She didn't think she'd be back this soon.
Before the first ring even finished, the front was flooded with lights and a door opened.
Zayn was there and signaled for her. "Come on!"
"Go!" Harry said, his gun on his hand. The longer Selena was in the dark, the more the Damned could sense her presence.
She took a deep breath and ran towards Zayn. He enveloped her in his arms as he pulled her inside.
The three other boys were hot in her heels and they all trooped inside Zayn's well-lit shop.
Selena remained in Zayn's arms, her heart pounding with adrenaline.
"Shhh, you're fine, yeah?" Zayn said as he patted her back gently.
"Thanks, Zayn."
Niall cleared his throat. He had placed himself between Zayn and Harry as the latter was glaring at Zayn.
Selena took a deep breath before she detached herself from Zayn's comforting arms. She took one look at Liam's smirking expression and she suddenly felt embarrassed.
"Uhm, this is Zayn. He's, uhm, he's my friend."
"Hey, dude. Name's Liam."
"Niall. Nice to meet you."
Zayn looked a little surprised to see Harry. It was like he had known him before. But Zayn quickly masked his surprise. Everyone waited for Harry to say something.
"Harry."
"He's Sel's friend too!" Liam quipped.
Selena did her best to ignore Liam and what he was insinuating. "Anyway, Zayn, can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Sure. Come on, why don't you go with me inside to sit down?"
"Uhm, it's okay. We can stay here." It was useless anyway. Liam would hear what they'd talk about either way.
"Can I talk to you first?" Harry interjected.
Selena's eyebrows raised in surprise. She glanced at Zayn who only smiled and said, "I'll wait for you guys inside then."
They watched until Zayn disappeared behind a door. Selena turned to Harry and said, "It's okay, Harry. He won't hurt us."
"You don't know that. What if he's part of The Family?"
Selena shook her head. "I trust him."
Harry's shoulders slumped. He couldn't hide his dismay and disappointment at Selena's seemingly unwavering trust to another man. It was very unlike how she was when she first saw him again.
"And he can help us right now."
Liam suddenly frowned as his gaze turned toward the door where Zayn disappeared to. "I think we should head inside."
"Trouble?" Niall asked.
"Maybe."
Liam led the way, his eyes curious and confused. They entered and in it was a small dorm-like space. There was a table and chair and two double deck beds. The space was generally neat and it didn't look occupied.
Zayn was on the phone and he looked piss. "Clean it up tonight or else."
He hung up the call and made a beeline towards Selena. "You were staying at Roy's party house?!"
Selena's gaze fell to the floor. She nodded.
"What the- why would you even live in that shithole? Are you fucking serious?!"
"Hey!" Harry interjected. "Watch your fucking mouth!"
Zayn glared at Harry. Then at Niall and Liam. "Well, shit. Of course, you guys don't know. You didn't tell them? For fuck's sake, Sel. You could've asked me for help but you decide to go to fucking Roy and that house."
"Know what? What the hell is he talking about, Selena?" Harry asked, exasperated. He didn't like how Zayn knew something about Selena that he didn't. He knew it was an irrational thought since they haven't even been in contact before theu met again back in Triton.
But Harry couldn't help it. Selena had been so secretive about her college life and he just wanted to know why she was so agitated and depressed. He wanted to know what exactly happened in that house that made her like that.
Everyone waited for Selena to say something but she only stood there - unmoving and making herself smaller.
It didn't surprise her that Zayn knew. It was big news in their crowd after all.
"It doesn't matter. We already left," she finally said.
Zayn was so angry that he whipped out his phone and called one of his lackeys, "Burn it."
Selena's eyes snapped at Zayn's. Her eyes grew wide in disbelief.
Zayn threw his phone on one of the beds. "I should've done that a long time ago."
"Zayn..."
"Really wish you two would stop acting as if you're the only ones in the room," Liam said as he sat down on one of the lower bunk beds. "Who's Drew anyway?"
Selena's face went pale.
Niall approached her slowly, afraid she might suddenly faint. "Stop it, Liam. Don't force her if she doesn't want to tell us."
"Shit, I'm just saying, y'know, no secret can be kept forever." Liam shrugged.
Everything was catching up to her one by one.
Back to you, huh? I still can't escape you even when...
"You're... the house... it's really gonna be gone?" Selena's voice was barely above a whisper but you could hear the relief laced in with it.
"Yes," Zayn's resolute voice replied.
Selena tried her best to rein in her tears. She knew the boys knew that someone was wrong with her being in that house. She was relieved they never pressed her about it. She thought that maybe they didn't notice that the house was the reason.
At least, it was the memories she had in it.
But now that they had a clue, she'd rather they heard it from her. Let them hear her side of the story and hope they didn't judge her too much. Especially Harry.
She was scared. But they were at a no turning back point now.
She tried to compose herself but her voice was shaking when she said, "D-Drew... was... he was m-my ex. He-he... in that house was...he d-died because of me."
Her eyes met Harry's, "I killed him."