Disclaimer: Reminder, this is a work of pure fiction. The usual rules of law & procedures are adjusted to suit the plot of Masked.

Trigger Warning: Violence.

"Tell me, how did you spend your Christmas night, Harry."

The officer's bland dark brown eyes bore into my guarded green pair. Behind my eyes, I replayed when he strutted in a few minutes ago. His eyes fell on me as if it were an ordinary sight, sitting on the metal chair, the handcuffs trapped around my wrists chained to the metal table that was currently between us.

His commanding form, wrapped in his darkened skin tone and worn in a light grey suit with a white shirt revealed through the unbuttoned blazer, strolls into the room and asks the blunt question of whether or not I'd like a lawyer.

With my elbows propped on the table, I assured him that I didn't need one. He nods his head, running the back of a finger across his sharp and clean trimmed beard framing his mouth. His large build sinks into his leather chair with cushions of softness offered to him.

"Which Christmas night? I've had twenty-five of them though, I have to tell you, the first five are a little foggy," I answered his question. "Cut out the smart shot," he flatly tells me, only making my smile widen.

"Last year Christmas," he explains himself. "I spent it at home with my girlfriend, it was quite special," I gave in. "Can she verify that?" An eyebrow lifts, awaiting my response. "Yes, she can," I assured him.

"Hmm," he hums, tilting his head with curiosity, the knife edge of his jaw emphasising. "Then how come eyewitnesses are claiming you as the last person to see Lucy Hoax alive at an art museum on Christmas night?" Oh shit.

"I don't know..." My eyes glanced at the badge clipped to his lapels, revealing his name to be Nicolas Rez. "...Sir Rez, my girlfriend and I spent the entire day and night at my place, we were a little short on family," I stuck to my story.

His reaction remains guarded, not a single hum or even a nod given so it's hard to gauge him. His dark eyes lowered to the papers laid out in front of him and my eyes aren't good enough to see what's printed on it.

"You own a Halloween shop, isn't that right?" he questions. "Yes," my head nodded. "Do you do customised face masks for...anyone in particular, including yourself?" he wonders, eyes glancing at me again. "No, I don't," I answered confidently.

"Can you tell me what this means, Mister Styles?" His request comes with sharing one of the documents he possesses. He slides the sheet of paper across the metal table and my eyes break his gaze, lowering to the paper.

The document reveals the shipping address of a mask to Spooky Silhouettes' location. There's a digital version of the mask attached to the delivery bill and it's identical to Death Hood's mask. That, for sure is faked evidence seeing as I'd never be so fucking stupid to be so obvious about something like that.

"It says that I received this mask at my shop but...I didn't," I swallowed, my eyes insistent with his, unwavering as he measured me. "I don't know anything about this," I admitted.

"Okay," his tone remains vague and I have to stop myself from demanding more information but that isn't my place to do so here. Nicolas extends his hand, laying his palm flatly over the paper and slides it over to himself.

"Do you have any relations with Carl Jenson?" He lays out his next question. At the front of my mind from all that time ago when Death Hood strapped his flailing and dying body onto his family home's dining table. Carl was one of the men who sought it right to beat up my family, including myself whilst the others went off with my dad.

"Never really heard of him," I responded with ease. "Is that so? I thought he was good friends with your father?" The fucker recalls. "I'd more call them acquaintances," I corrected him, successful in not reacting.

"Look, I'm not your guy," I shrugged my shoulders, sitting back where the bars of the backrest dug into my skin. "I didn't do what people say this serial killer did, I'd never do something like that. For some reason, he may be framing me for this," I shared the opposite of the truth.

Nicolas simply blinked. "We're done here for now. We'll get you when we're ready for further questions," he suddenly dismissed and I'm well with hiding my shock.

The officer's metal chair painfully aches my ears when it drags against the floor, and he pushes it back to stand. He stalks out of the room with much less of another word spoken.

Directly after, two men filed into the room, bodies covered in guard uniforms. I sighed, already knowing what was about to take place. They crowded my personal space, one of them unlocked the handcuffs from the chain attached to the table and my hands dropped to my lap.

"Let's go," he gruffly commands. Each one of them took a grasp of one of my arms, then at either side of me. Their grips were like heated steel, wrapped tightly to the point it burnt my skin in the worst way imaginable.

I never thought I'd be filled to the brim with fear as I currently am despite what my physical being may tell.

Well into being Death Hood, I knew realistically, I'd get caught one day. I was ready for it, I never feared it under the only exception that I had granted justice for my father. That's why Remi and Lilith were in my corner with me, assuring me I wouldn't be thrown behind bars far too soon, keeping the authorities on the wrong track.

Now, it's no longer that I'm thrown behind bars too soon to get justice for my family. Now it's because I didn't get to live my life with Rin- fulfil our future.

I've been such a confident bastard, never doubting that I won't spend the rest of my life with Rin and the two police officers who sprinted out of the vehicle not too long ago, shoved me harshly to the floor and painfully grabbed my arms behind my back to trap my wrists in handcuffs vanished the clouds that my head was in.

I was dragged off the ground and pushed into the barricaded back of the cop car, the final sounds heard were the loud and angry shouts of my father before they slammed the car door shut.

The guards guided me out of the interrogation room, through the police station. My eyes locked onto every officer I passed, with calm and collected eyes, almost as if I had the upper hand even though not even a brand new deck of cards can help me right now.

Eventually, I'm being shoved through a door. There are three jail cells lined up against each other. The first one being empty, we strolled past it and their fingers around my biceps tightened, halting at the middle cell. One of them contained their hold on me whilst the other freed my wrists from the handcuffs and unlocked the gate.

Once my hands were free and dropped to my sides, the skin throbbing with an ache, a nudge at my back had me stepping inside the cell. The loud slam of the gate behind me nearly makes me flinch on the spot. If it weren't for my guard automatically being thrown up, I would have.

There's a long metal bench across the length of the jail cell. Luckily for me, I'm not here alone. Two men occupy the benches, in mirroring positions leaning forward with their elbows propped on their legs, head hanging between their shoulders and cryptic eyes pinned on me.

The final person, my eyes dragged off the other two and to the woman. She leans her back against the railings of the jail cell, arms folded across her chest with her head tipped back yet like the other two, her eyes are concentrated on me.

"No funny business," the officer gruffly tells us. I hear their retreating steps, stalking back outside of the door where they'll be guarding the entrance to the holding cells but not the cell itself. I'm left all alone with these three.

"Never thought I'd be sharing a jail cell with Harry Styles," one of the men muses with a thick voice, a grin worn across his lips. I blinked, registering that they knew who I was, surprised that he managed to even say something.

"What does it feel like being like everyone else, pretty boy?" The other man grasps my attention, sitting up from the bench as his large build stalks closer.

The other man and woman follow behind him, not taking much to minimise the space between us. "Did you think you were so powerful you wouldn't get caught?" She follows up and I can hear it in the lack of question in her tone that it was meant to be rhetorical.

The zipper sealing my lips remained shut tight just like I planned for it to stay. Once again, my personal space becomes obliterated but this time, I don't see it coming as well as I should've.

"Liam says hi," the middle man mentioned and next, it happened too fast. My jaw rocks upon the harsh contact of skin on skin, the heavy fist colliding with the side of my face.

My feet stumbled back, hand extending to grab hold of the iron bars barricading the holding cell for stability. They are more than happy to deliver more, bursting bubbles of pain beneath my skin in every wake of their brutal attacks.

The once familiar feeling of blood streaming down the sides of my face returns. "Fucking hell," I muttered, wiping my eyebrow where the red began to pool above.

Before I knew it, my body was being tugged to the floor, the harsh bang of my head tumbling pain across my skull, much worse than the pain from my back unexpectedly hitting the hard ground.

Instincts are registering, my arms lifting to block over my head. Instead, my body receives a harsh blow. I groaned, unwantedly collecting a few kicks to the side of my rib cage.

Having enough of this, mentally I grasped onto the ropes, snatching control away from them. The second blow was about to be delivered, and the woman kicked his foot forward, ready to delve into my already aching side, over the exact spot I'm sure there's a nice bruise forming.

My mind was working ahead. I grasped her ankle forcefully, stopping her before the collision into my side. Instead, I yanked her foot forward, disabling her stability and she fell onto her ass with a harsh thud.

Dismissing any of them from an opportunity of an opening, I quickly rose to my feet, shaking off the pain in a matter of a second. My eyes are sharp glares when they're pinned on them both. Their brutal deaths flashed before my eyes, playing through my mind and I couldn't stop the corner of my mouth from tugging upwards.

"You don't know who you're messing with," I stated because I'm sure they have not heard anything more accurate in their pathetic lives. They are barely phased, despite the fleeting gaze of worry across their eyes. The fact that I caught it made my smile grow even more.

Not another thought passes, I'm launching myself at one of the guys, sinking my hand into his flimsy white shirt for the perfect grasp between my knuckles. As if it's in slow motion, the collision of my fist with his skin allows me to see the ripples of his skin upon the harsh contact. The most satisfying sound currently is the snapping sound of bones beneath my hand.

What's said next isn't the greatest thing to ever leave my mouth but it will have to do. "I'll tell Liam you said bye."

"It's Harry. He's been arrested."

"They know he's Death Hood."

My eyes fluttered shut, blinking.

Their words were stones thrown to the glass of my mind, shattering my thoughts entirely, and leaving them in incomprehensible pieces.

"What?" The word is flatly spoken, in the need for repetition of what she said because there's no way. The depth of Gemma's eyes, so raw and vulnerable...it's true.

How fast the connection is made in my mind mentally stumbles me aback. The news article my eyes had just grazed upon a minute ago and Gemma just didn't know what it was about.

"How?" I asked. "You should come in, we shouldn't have this conversation outside," I caught up to myself, feet stepping back a few times until they were strolling in through the wide gap of the door.

"Apparently, someone exposed him," Gemma says once the door is shut behind them. "From what we can tell, someone went into a station and fessed up...a lot. Enough to have him searched for and taken into questioning...and arrested."

My eyes widened, taking in her words. "Who..."

"I wish we fucking know- pardon my language," his dad blurts out. With assuring eyes of mine, he continued," They better start counting their final hours." His tone is frozen cold, holding promise to his warning.

"How do we get him out of there?" Arrives the question I'm sure we're all eager to know.

"They refused to give us any information, any opportunities or- nothing. We know nothing," he fumbles to explain, infuriated. "Apparently, this is delicate given what he's done as Death Hood," his eyes flickered off me, switching with the ground.

"He's done all of this because of me, we need to get him out as soon as possible and unfortunately, I can't bend any rules with this one. None that I can think of, I feel helpless here until they're willing to give us some sort of information..."

As he speaks, every door of my brain is thrown open and sped into, searching through every crevice for a solution. My lips parted, uttering a single word- a name.

"Lilith."

"What?"

The furrows ploughed between his eyebrows even out, the passing cloud of confusion evaporating. Douglas stares at me with a blank expression, seemingly lost in his thoughts, dawned upon a thought.

"Is that our Lilith?" The question is directed to Gemma and she lifts her shoulders in a dramatic shrug. Having the answers, I spoke up.

"Yes. She became an FBI detective and has been helping Harry for the past few years. She can help us," I explained, rushing to the countertop where my phone was left. "Her dad would be so proud..." I heard Douglas murmuring behind me as I took it into my hands.

A thick wall stomps up from nowhere, stopping me dead in my tracks when I enter my contacts. "I don't have her contact information," the fact settles in, dread filling me to the brim. I searched through every crevice of my mind, not having to do that for much longer because the solution presented itself.

"But I know who does," I stated and relief sags three shoulders. Quickly, my fingers manoeuvred around the screen, finding his contact and pressing it without another thought crossing my mind. I'm beyond relieved- so filled with it when he picks up at the first ring.

"Niall," I uttered his name. "I know, I'm in the elevator with Remi right now," is all he says. The call is dismissed immediately after, ending just like that. I'm left confused, peering down at my phone screen. Douglas and Gemma are peering at me with mirrored gazes, an eyebrow lifted with slightly pursed lips, silently asking what just happened.

A few seconds later, there was knocking on my door. Then it hits me- Oh. That elevator. Feet and mind working in correlation, I rushed to the door to let them in.

Entering my penthouse a second later is a panicked pair consisting of Remi and Niall. I never thought I'd be so relieved just by the sight of them. "We need to contact Lilith. She will help us," I stated before the door could shut properly. Well on board already, Niall nods his head. "I'm gonna tell her to come over here," he explains, phone already in hand.

He walks off a few steps, sliding the phone beside his ear. Unaware of where he's walking, he accidentally knocks into Douglas' side. "Oh, sorry," Niall mumbles, tipping his head up for his gaze to lock on Harry's dad. He stares at Niall with such amused curiosity. "You're-" his eyebrows darted up his forehead, his body stiffening with shock, the colour vanishing from his face.

"Lilith," Niall changes the direction of his words, walking past Douglas where he speaks on the phone. Since I can't hear a word he utters, only the light sound of him responding, I'm left a nervous mess.

"It was Liam," Remi states. "I saw him leaving the police station through the back entrance. Other than that, maintaining his identity has been the officer's priority but... I saw him," she blurts out, grasping both of my forearms for my undivided attention. At the registration of her words, my mind spun back to when Harry told me Liam knew he was Death Hood. It makes sense.

"Who is that?" Douglas impatiently asks, not bothering about eavesdropping. "Whoever it is, they'll be lucky if any part of their body is found when I'm done with him," he darkly comments.

"Liam Payne. He's my ex-boyfriend and has been tormenting me for a long time. I didn't know it was him but recently I found out and he's been going after people around me, Harry included," I softly explained to Gemma and Harry.

"If Gemma is right with how much you mean to Harry..." He trails off, searching for admission and with a nod of my head, he has it. "Then you're family too now and no one gets away with messing with my family."

Niall joins us once more, his eyes trained on Douglas while his phone slides into his back pocket again. "Lilith is already on her way. She was heading to Harry's and now she's coming here," he fills us in with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"No, sir. But I know you, I'm Niall. I've helped Harry the past few years try to- everything with Death Hood- I've been-" Niall struggles to find the words to explain. Douglas' eyes remained soft with amusement and he placed a hand on Niall's shoulder, silencing him.

"Thank you for being there for my son, Niall," he expresses. Niall gulps with wide eyes, nodding his head dramatically. "I'm happy you're back. This is my...uhm, this is Remi," he introduces her.

"It's nice to meet you both, sorry it's under these circumstances," Douglas shares, his eyes meeting mine too as he did. "And please, Call me Douglas, or Doug- never Dougie," he adds and at that, I genuinely laughed for the first time in a while.

It takes a few minutes far too long for Lilith to actually get here. I wished the roads were shorter, the traffic lights were more in her favour and the ruthless traffic would dissipate just this one time. Of course, it never does and when she finally knocked her fist at my door, I flung the thing open less than a second later, pacing in front of the door waiting for her all this time.

Her wide eyes are taken aback at my act yet she doesn't mention it, only offers a weak smile in greeting. Lilith strides into my penthouse with her navy blue pantsuit unbuttoned, revealing the white blouse below it. Her frizzy hair was temporarily tamed into a ponytail and now pieces are framing down her face, escaping from the hair tie's hold.

"Lilith," Douglas whispers her name as if it were the name of a ghost that currently stood before him. She falters in her step, eyes widened as she drinks at the sight of him, her muscles locked together. "Douglas?" She voiced and he nodded his head.

"You've grown up so much since the last time..." he's emotional already just by his eyes gracing her. "So have you, old man," she jokes, nudging his shoulder before he wraps his arms around her shoulder in a much needed hug.

"He's so proud of you, so so proud," Douglas whispers into her as they hug and it's easy to understand that he's referring to her father. "I'm so sorry for what happened, I wished-" he begins to apologise and Lilith clips the rest of his words off. "None of that. It wasn't your fault and the ones responsible already got what they deserved."

Douglas nods his head softly, agreeing with her. "Please, give me some good news about Harry," he's desperate when he asks. Lilith lets out a soft sigh and paired with the current saddened eyes she peers at him with- no, please no. She turns to face everyone and I hear her next words before her lips parted to say them.

"I can't do anything about the case," She sighed, pools of regret captured in her eyes as she gazed upon all of us. "What?" I gasped, heart, clenching within my chest- that was the last thing I wanted to hear. I was so hopeful and it shattered just like that, like a heavy hammer to a flimsy piece of glass.

"There must be something you can do," Gemma inputs. Lilith nods her head. "There is but for this, I'll need to put my badge down for this one. Not that it's very useful in this case," she huffs. Easily, I understood that there was nothing lawfully correct about the route we were about to take. At least, the standard of lawfully correct was about to be manipulated. "We're in a shit load of trouble," she sighs.

"They have theories that connect some of Douglas' associates' murders to Death Hood. I know they've connected some things from past cases because I saw them recovering old cases before I left," Remi shares.

"They know that Harry Styles was the last one to see Lucy Hoax alive," Lilith sighs. Niall inhales sharply, his shoulders tensing at the mention of that name. We haven't heard of that name since our little museum adventure.

"I wish I could know more but it's so tight in there, not even I could get through," Remi mutters. "Or me," Lilith huffs, clearly hating that her badge doesn't get her much in this situation but fortunately, it may help us.

"We need to get him back- as soon as possible," I hate that they can hear the desperation and impatience behind my words, I hate that people are seeing me so pathetically vulnerable but when it comes to Harry, I'd do anything.

"I think I have an idea of something that may help," Niall murmurs, his eyes on Douglas. "Do you have Death Hood's clothes?" Niall rips his gaze off him and it travels to me. "Yes," I answered, unsure where we were going with this yet I still nodded my head.

"Good. We're going to need it."

Not long after, I began to understand where Niall was going with this, why his eyes were on Douglas and why he asked about Death Hood. The plan is borderline illegally crazy, no doubt about that. Yet, it felt solid, dare I admit.

Proceeding, Niall shares his plan with Lilith hot on his heel, a joint connection of thoughts between them. It takes a quick drive to Harry's house to acquire what we need and then, to plan, settling into action.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Niall comments, sliding his arms through the coat. "I mean, this is very sidekick of you," Lilith murmurs with amusement plaguing her eyes. He rolled his eyes, huffing in response. "I don't think Harry would appreciate me as his sidekick right now," he scoffs.

Remi and I fell quiet, mirroring my reaction of understanding so easily what he meant. Does she know?

"Trouble in paradise," Lilith sings. Niall lowers slightly, allowing her to slick his hair back, concealing the thick brown strands. "Something like that," he vaguely mumbles. Once they're done, he stands properly and fixes the hood on top of his head, adjusting it for proper concealing.

The last thing Niall was missing was Death Hood's mask that Gemma currently holds. Lilith captures them in a conversation, going over the procedure that my mind completely blanks out, already having all of this written and narrowed down in my mind. Niall fidgets from one foot to the other, the fact that he's wearing boots with thick soles, needing to meet Harry's height as much as possible.

"You two go ahead, I'll take care of the security cameras. Gemma, call me on your way back," are the final instructions from Lilith, her stern eyes driven towards the both of them so they're clear on this.

They leave, and my heart is dangerously clattering in my chest as I watch them. This emphasises the plan. It's no longer chains of thoughts being voiced through our mouths, it will be set in motion with actions.

They're long gone by the time my eyes finally break off from my staring competition with the door that they disappeared behind. Remi is still standing next to me, gazing at her phone in her hand with a frown.

"Fin and Eddie have been ringing my phone," she reveals. "They must be so confused," I groaned, shoving my hand through my hair as if it would relieve some of the frustration trapped inside of my skull but unfortunately, it did not.

"They are. They're demanding answers I can't give," she sighs, turning off her phone and sliding it onto the table. I'm glad I haven't lifted my phone since they got here. "They'll find out our twisted truth when it's all over," I replied.

"So..." I began to change the topic, weighing the options on how exactly to start this topic. Remi stares at me expectantly, a lifted eyebrow raising when she watches me struggle to sort through the words sitting on my tongue. "You noticed something is up between Niall and I, didn't you?" She assumes, realisation flashing across her face.

My head nods immediately. "Do you know?" I softly and cautiously asked. Her eyes softened and she too nodded her head. "I'm so sorry, Es. I wish I had known sooner- I wish I had known when it happened," with a pained expression, she apologises.

"I didn't tell you, you couldn't have," I whispered, shaking my head. I should have told her, especially when she and Niall got together but I was so angry at the betrayal from her and Harry and I just wasn't ready to unwrap that hefty package from the past.

"Niall asked me to marry him," she admits the words as if they're painful for her to utter, her eyes darting to admire the floor. "I don't think I can say yes, not with this..." she trails off and my heart aches for her. There's too much that needs to be rewritten in the past with no way of actually changing it.

"You've never been so serious about someone before," Immediately as I uttered, I wished to take them back. She flinches at the fact as if they hurt to hear. "I think I just need time," she sighs, brushing a polished nailed hand through her short dark hair. "And he's giving me time, we just had to come together to help out here," she explains with a shrug.

"Well, whatever you decide I hope it's best for you," after all, the decisions I made were done in that matter, the right matter. Remi smiles, wrapping an arm across both of my shoulders and pulling me in for a sideways hug.

I was sitting at the edge of my seat.

Literally. It allows the constant bounce of my knee, powered by the anxiety gushing through my body. My eyes struggled to remain solely on one particular object or person, flicking and darting off everything after a maximum of two seconds. My thoughts were being whipped around in all sorts of directions.

"Is this actually going to work?" Remi wondered and at that point, I realised I'm royally fucked. She has been the most confident one in Niall's plan, from the moment he told us a few hours ago to when it was executed.

Now, is the dreadful process of waiting. The test of my patience lies currently. It has been three hours since Douglas left us all at the penthouse. Niall and Gemma are back, everything they needed to do is planted into place- literally.

The introduction fades away and now occupying the screen is the newscaster sitting behind her wide desk. She appears so pleasantly put together, the way I wished to be with not even a strand of hair out of place. Prepared, a welcoming smile is worn across her face. Nervousness swirls in my stomach, not settling right and flashes of throwing up warn me yet I try to bear it down as much as I can.

"This is your 6 pm news, I am Sarah Wintely. In the headlines for today is a message from the Precinct, being broadcast right now. Take a listen," she announces at such a steady pace.

The newscaster fades away after that. My heart erratically beats within my chest when the familiar face fills the screen instead. "Turn up the volume!" Lilith shouts, granting us a fraction of a second until she lunges off the couch to grab the remote herself. Her thumb pushes the volume button just as the announcement begins.

Douglas Styles' face fills the screen, his lower body disappearing out of the shot. He sits with proper posture in front of a navy blue wall. His face is well composed, his features hardened with seriousness.

"As some of you may know, I'm Douglas Styles and five years ago, I was found dead," he begins. "My death had been faked but in reality, I have been held captive for the past nearly four years by Liam Payne."

The bouncing of my leg finally stopped once he started speaking. My heart was thrashing around in my chest but I be damned, no matter the tight barbed wires wrenches around the organ, my attention remains solely on the screen.

"In his captivity, Liam Payne has admitted to me about every single cruel act he has done as the serial killer, Death Hood," Douglas admitted and the corner of my mouth tugged up, knowing that in order for him to share this, our plan would have worked with the cops. "And now...my son is being framed for all of his doings in retaliation for me finally escaping from him yesterday but the strong proof has already been found by the investigators in charge."

"This message has been approved by the police officers in charge, their main priority is to find Liam Payne and put an end to Death Hood. We empathise with the public on how serious this matter is. Anyone and everyone around him can be at risk. Please, if anyone has seen or heard of Liam Payne within the last 24 hours and onwards, contact the nearest police station," he ends.

Douglas shortly nods and then his face fades away, blending into the newscaster's. "Now we wait," Lilith sighs, emphasising the point. "I need a fucking drink," Remi murmurs, leaning back until she sags against the backseat of the couch. My eyes remained on the darkness shown through the TV screen, wishing it could display what happens next.

"Does this mean that they found the pictures?" Remi asked, leaning forward so she could see Lilith since I sat between them both. "Yeah," she shrugs," they have to. The pictures of Niall pretending to be Death Hood are dated back to earlier this week when Harry was proven to be out of town. We planned the scythe Death Hood has used in Liam's closet at his house, I'm sure they found it when they searched this evening," she explains.

Right according to plan, can this really be? "Wait, why did you need to know about Liam's coffee shop?" Remi blurted out, recalling the conversation she and she had earlier. "Well, Niall gave me the footage he had of Death Hood trashing the place. When the cops go digging, they'll find reports that Liam's landlord wanted him evicted and in retaliation, he did that."

For some reason, none of this places me at ease. My head robotically remains straight ahead, eyes drilling aimlessly into the TV screen. "It's undeniable, Esrin. This will get him back and it's two birds with one stone because now everyone knows how sick Liam is," Remi faint whispers yet her words mean nothing. She's not who I want to hear them from. None of them are because Harry is trapped behind jail cells.

The headache throbs within my head, torturing me. The wires of my eyes hurt, making a struggle to even keep my eyes open. I couldn't look away though, caught in an unbreakable trance.

My shoulder shakes, I know it happens but I don't necessarily feel it, not when my sense of processing touch is muted so that my sense of sight can be overworked.

"Esrin," I hear the distant call of my name, someone standing in the kitchen perhaps. My mind strays to Harry and my aching heart thumps abnormally. The corners of my eyes burned with the signal of surfacing tears.

"Esrin!" The shout of my name comes from the kitchen again and a hand swipes over my vision, severing the contact. Oh. Remi isn't calling me from the kitchen, she's still sitting right beside me.

"Hm?" I offered, staring into her awaited. "Do you want something to eat? You should have something..." she whispers her diagnosis, her eyes ghosting across my face. "No, I'm going to take a nap," the words are spoken for me, no debate between my mind and mouth.

Remi's eyebrows that were previously pinched rise above her forehead and that's the last thing my eyes caught onto before my feet are standing and walking me to the steps.

Right foot following the right, I felt all of their eyes attempting to pierce through the bubble I was secured inside, all of it futile and ignored. At the top of the stairs, the world begins to fade away and by the time I'm inside of my room, there's nothing left besides me and my thoughts of Harry.

Do you think I really wanted to sleep? Do you think I can even have that luxury right now? My legs are pressed together whilst I lay on my back above my sheets, both hands resting over my stomach with my head lying on the pillow, staring at the high ceiling.

The only movements made were from the steady rise and fall of my chest, so delicately as if I had disappeared into the darkness of my dreams. The ceiling my eyes were trained on soon fades away, granting me horrid displays of my nightmares with Harry, sprouting of the possibility of never seeing him again. I was wide awake, caught in a daymare, the ceiling was a window to my dreams.

That gut wrenching feeling has made itself home, settling in my stomach. It never leaves me, snatching me away from even the slightest of positive thoughts shining through the darkness of having Harry with me again soon. There's only one dreadful possibility of what that may mean. This is the end, isn't it?

I don't know how long my body remained lying there on the mattress, unmoved. The events of this daydream of a nightmare play before my eyes with no other options to pause, rewind or replay.

It wasn't until my bedroom door was abruptly shoved open that I came crashing down into reality again. Especially when a hurried Gemma Styles stumbles inside. Her alert eyes scanned my bedroom, landing on me a second later. The edge of her mouth struggles to remain tamed, threatening a smile, while she breaks the news.

"Harry's being released."

Her words, it's the taste of relief after shuddering away those awful visions. It worked. Our plan worked. Without another thought, I shoved myself off the bed and onto my feet so fast that stars were hazily littering my vision, my head feeling fuzzy yet I paid through, nearly collapsing to the floor as I kept walking to Gemma.

The both of us bolted out of my bedroom. I eased back into my skin, those feelings wearing off by the time we descended the staircase. Douglas is impatiently awaiting us at the door, the others sitting around in my living room and I barely grazed their happy, hopeful faces. I wasn't even aware he had returned from the station yet here he is, looking much better than when he left.

"Let's go."

There's a buzzing of impatience wavering through us all. We strode side by side down the hallway after leaving the Penthouse. I glared at the elevator, silently commanding it to be available and luckily, we didn't have to wait much for it to arrive. The second the door parts wide enough, we're filing in. It takes us down to the underground car park where Douglas has his vehicle parked.

He unlocks the car a few steps before we arrive at it, allowing us to slide in without a wait, Gemma sitting beside her father in the front seat and the backseats are for me and my bubbling anxiety.

The wheels screech as Douglas immediately takes off after reversing out of the parking space. He swerves in and out through the roads, leaving the busy roads with traffic and entering the back roads so that we may reach there faster.

Once again, my knee refused to sit still, bouncing so annoyingly and uncontrollably fast. It's somewhat relieving to know that I don't appear to be the only one with Gemma constantly shifting around in her seat and glancing at the GPS screen.

The cloud of silence is hard to get rid of despite the moving cars speeding along the nation's roadways. Douglas is the one that shatters the cloud though, with his hesitant yet curious tone paired with his indulging eyes seeking out mine through the rearview mirror.

"You know, Esrin...I shouldn't really be speaking about this but I want to give you time to think about it," he briefs me. "When all of this is said and done, I will be taking back Malik Creations and turning it into whatever I want it to be. I'm in search of a manager to assist me in the process from early on and the possibility of that position being yours is there."

What? My jaw unhinged, peering at him with disbelief eyes. Did I hear that correctly? "What about Gemma or Harry?" I blurted out and Gemma grimaced at the idea I planted into her head. "Neither of my children is interested in that. But I've been told that you may be so, think about it. There's no pressure at all," he responds with a light tone.

I closed my mouth, controlling myself and sank into the leather seat. "I will," is all I say and it's easy to push the idea away for now. Despite that opportunity being like a gift from heaven, purely irresistible, absolutely nothing can hold a candle to how much Harry happily plagues my thoughts now, yesterday and every day after today.

Thankfully, the wait didn't win the battle and we arrived at the police station. Already, climbing up the concrete steps, I can feel the wave of intensity oozing off the building. My muscles are tight and locked, entering through the glass door that Douglas held open for me.

Instantly, I gasped. The first sight glimpsed was Harry scribbling on a sheet of paper at the sign-out desk. The station is so occupied, men and women in uniform strolling around yet all I could see is him. Somehow, my feet appeared to be sunken into the concrete but Douglas and Gemma weren't striding to meet him.

As relief peaked, so did worry because when Harry's head turned, his slightly swollen eyes widened when they landed on his father. There were a few cuts and faint bruises accompanying the setting and suddenly, my rage was fueled and I wanted to know who was responsible.

"Dad," Harry whispers, both men wrapping their arms around each other in a tight hug. Gemma is next and only then, his eyes found mine through the sea of people. That weighted gaze was exactly what I needed for my feet to be unrooted from the floor, it was the push that I needed. He released Gemma and took his first step towards me as I took mine towards him.

Once he's close enough, I don't know who reaches out first but we're both wrapping our arms around the other, tugging closer in a tight hug. Harry lets out a soft groan, one I'm sure the reason is connected to the bruises littering his face.

"You scared me," I whispered, my lips brushing against the crook of my neck where my head is tucked in. Harry clutches me tighter to him at the sound of my words. "I was scared too, Rin," his voice breaks, breathing his exhales unevenly. "So scared," his voice is painfully soft. There isn't any room for space between us, only the emotions pouring out of me and connecting with the ones pouring out of him.

"Come on lovebirds," Douglas' voice shatters through us. I sniffled, unwinding my arms from around Harry because he was right, we needed to get going. I don't like being here more than we have to be. He and Gemma are now standing behind us at the exit door.

"You two met," Harry notes with distaste, probably wanting to do the introduction himself. "It's okay, I just wish this was under better circumstances," he assures, blowing out a sigh after noting the apologetic look crossing his dad's face.

That reinforces the reminder of why we were here in the first place. It pushes us along, swinging the door open and steadily thumping down the concrete steps.

The drive home is spent with Harry and me sitting side by side with our hands interlocked and on my lap and with his head resting on my shoulder comfortably.
"They hurt you," I whispered, brushing the back of my knuckles carefully over the bruise on his eyebrow. Harry nods his head. "Was a gift from Liam, made sure to return one with much more than what they have me," he smiles against my shoulder.

From the front seat, Douglas' palms around the steering wheel tightened. "Need to find that sick son of a bitch," He spits and that was an understanding through us all.

When we arrived at the penthouse, not even then did Harry desire to be away from me. He stays close and not even that is enough, our hands remain laced together. I welcomed it all, needing his warmth, closeness and safety.

I unlocked the penthouse once we arrived at my door. Gemma is the first to stroll in and next is meant to be Douglas but the blaring noise of his ringtone suddenly fills the hallway. "One second," Douglas dismisses himself, his attention occupied on the incoming phone call he just received.

Harry and I went inside. He releases my hand for the first time to return the tight hug that Lilith nearly topples him over in. He lets out a groan, returning the act.

"Good to have you back, Harry," Remi smiles once he's out of it. "Good to be back," Harry returns with a nod and a small smile. Beside her, Niall stands and the friendly features soon evaporate, his features freezing with coldness.

"Happy you're okay," Niall nervously tells Harry, which he barely holds a reaction to. "Can't say the same about you," he coldly mutters. I nudged his side and he sighed, rolling his eyes. "But thank you for helping out," Harry adds with a nicer tone.

Niall can barely contain his smile, his cheeks heating with the struggle to prevent himself from grinning. Harry flicks his eyes off him, settling on me where all the coldness melts away and there's only loving warmth. He left a kiss on my forehead and I slid my arm around his back, keeping him close to me.

Just then, the door behind us shuts in place, and Douglas returns to us. We all turned to look at him and when my eyes fell on his troubled expression, I knew something was coming, something that bothered him.

"I hired a PI to find Liam, they can do much more than the cops can and I told them to call me if they find anything solid," he explains. "He just found out the last place Liam was seen going into was a few days ago at a club, Rum Reservoir."

Oh God. A break for us was damned.

"We need to go," Gemma reads her dad's mind. I pondered upon it, attempting to discover what would be the significance of Liam going there but nothing surfaced at the front of my mind.

"That actually works out," Remi states, attracting all eyes on her. "I could do with a drink," she shrugs her shoulders," sure as hell I'm not the only one."

"It doesn't have to mean anything. Liam probably just wanted a drink too," I lifted the logical possibility. Douglas shakes his head, ruling it out. "He's been there during the day, a few times during the week and it's the only obvious place he's been."

"Maybe he just really wanted those drinks," I shrugged. "We should still check it out tonight, the possibility is still there," Gemma insists and she's right.

"I don't think we should be going anywhere tonight..." Harry murmurs, probably still exhausted from the past 24 hours. "Esrin needs to go, she may see something the rest of us may not," Niall comments and I mentally groan, not wanting a reminder of my past with Liam. "Okay, we should go," Harry changes his mind, no room for a discussion of us going without him.

The plan is set in place between us, timed to begin later tonight since our destination will be a club, it allows time for everyone to somewhat recover from the events today, especially Harry.

Douglas decides he would sit this one out, someone needing to be with Alice and he happily takes the role so he returns to her. Gemma and Harry promised to fill him in on anything that happens tonight and he would only be one call away.

Everyone else lingers downstairs as Harry climbs up the staircase, needing to head into the shower to refresh himself after spending so many hours at the station. I fixed him up something quick to eat, adding the plate and drinks to a tray with Reese's chocolates at the side.

Remi assured me that she had everything handled downstairs and that it would be okay to join Harry upstairs so we could be together because it was the remedy that we both needed. Without any questions asked and my trust in her, left everyone downstairs and made my way to my bedroom with my tray.

The door was partly open and it worked to my advantage since I simply kicked the door open. The sound of the water pouring in loud, never ending sprinkles fills the background, telling me that Harry is still showering.

I slid the tray onto the bedside table and a few seconds later, the shower turned off. The door pushes open a few seconds later, revealing Harry.

He's fresh out of the shower with droplets lingering here and there on his chest, the towel occupied in his hands where he shakes through his damp curls into the material.

Electricity zaps through his eyes when they fall on me. Dropping the towel, he hangs it on a hook, abandoning everything else and making his way to me.

"Made you something to eat," I murmured, my eyes glancing around the way his cuts were cleaned, rid of the dried blood. My mind recalls some ointment in the bathroom cabinet, I'll rub some on him after he eats.

"Don't mind if I do," he smiles, plopping down beside me on the mattress. I sat watching him with pleased eyes as he spooned his way through his fruits before he made his way through half of the sandwich.

He so innocently reaches for the Reese's been eyeing it the entire time he's had the tray. His hand brushed the packaging and I acted faster, snatching it away from him.

"Rin!" Harry whines, pouting at me. Despite the blossoming flowers in my chest and fluttering butterflies in my belly, my facial expression remains stern. "Sandwich first," I insisted. He huffs, dramatically rolls his eyes and finishes the other half.

When he's done, he's given the Reese's and happily unwraps it. "My second favourite thing to eat," he grins, a vice twinkling in his eyes, right before he pops the cup into his mouth.

My lips parted, staring at him in disbelief that he just said that but his grin remained worn proudly. I whacked him with the pillow in response though, of course.

When his glass of orange juice was consumed and half of the water, I retrieved the ointment, meant to urge along healing, and gently rubbed it along the faint bruises on his face and the deeper one at the side of his waist.

"Take a nap with me, Gemma will wake us when it's time to go," He requests when I'm done and it's hard for me to say no. I shimmied out of my jeans, leaving me in one of his t-shirts. Harry observes me from where he's already lying on the bed with both arms folded behind his head, tattooed biceps bulging deliciously.

"My pretty girl," he commented as I crawled to him. His arms wrapped around me so tightly that I could never escape, practically tugging my body over his. "Never wanna let you go," he mumbles, inhaling my scent when he tucked his head into the crook of my neck. Good, because I never wanted to.

"Wanna hold you and love you for the rest of my life," he continued. "Who says you won't?" I finally replied, meaning every word when I said," You and me and forever, Harry." A fleeting look crosses through his eyes like a shooting star.

"Would it only ever be you and I?" he softly asks, nervousness lying beneath the vulnerability. My eyes lit up, instantly understanding what he was asking and fuck, the sheer idea of us having a family- God, I wanted it. Especially, if he does too and I'd do anything to make it possible.

"If it's something we both want-" I begin to speak. "I want it," Harry blurts out, cutting me off and I am beaming with a smile, especially when his cheeks heat with blush. "And I want that too, so one day," I admitted. Me, Harry and our family.

"Heart promise?" his voice is nervously hopeful.

"Heart promise."

Sighing with satisfaction, so contented, Harry releases me so that we fit into a more comfortable position. He lays on his back and I am on my side, snuggled into him with my head resting on his chest. I'll forever love the position, or any position when we lay together and I can listen to the most peaceful sound of his heart thumping.

A leg is thrown over both of his, Harry's hand running up and down it. His eyes are caught on the ceiling meanwhile, I'm busy staring at that beautiful face of his, my eyes lingering on his nose and I grin.

"You have big nostrils," I pointed out, about to poke him with my index finger when his arm snapped up from my thigh to catch my wrist. "I do not!" He denies it, brows so furrowed that the hood over his eyes. "They're normal-sized nostrils," he states with confidence.

"Mhm, yeah. Whatever you say," I play along, watching as the lines between his brows vanish, his grip on my wrist shifting so he holds my hands instead with our fingers interlocked. A silent moment passes by. "You must need an entire napkin when you sneeze, huh?" I speak again, a silly smile on my face as I teased him.

"That's it! You're on time out!" Harry shouts, rolling away so he's no longer holding me and his front is hidden with his back facing me. "Okay," I say and it's followed by another moment of silence.

Less than a minute passes before he flips around and yanks me back.

"I don't need an entire napkin when I sneeze," Harry huffs, mocking my voice as he pulls me into his chest with his head dipped to the side of my neck.

His declaration is the final moment of a conversation we have since Harry finds most comfort with us like this and in a few short minutes, soft puffs of air hit my neck as he snores softly, so heavenly pliant next to me. I littered kisses onto his skin wherever I could and pleased, snuggling into him and allowing the comforting darkness to take me to Harry.

I expected to be woken up by the gentle knocking on my bedroom door or even the shouts of Gemma, alerting us that it was time to get going. When my phone began ringing, I assumed in my disoriented mind that it was an alarm that Harry had set.

I managed to stretch over to retrieve my phone from the bedside table, blinking away the blurry vision of my eyes to reveal that I was receiving a call.

Zayn.

My thumb swipes across the screen and before I can even utter the groggy words of a hello, Zayn is screaming into my ear," This is all of your fucking fault!"

Thank you for reading, I love you so much. Feel free to share your thoughts! Part 2 will be yours in a few days<3