Trigger Warnings: Violence & Death. Read with caution, my loves<3

The gun clicks.

It's not Liam's gun.

Just then, I noticed the familiar body hovering over Liam's.

Harry got here in time.

"If you know what's good for you, lower the fucking gun," Harry spits with venom, shoving his own gun deep into Liam's temple. I gasped, air flooding into my lungs, feeling as if the disruption of Liam's attention finally resumed my proper body function.

"Take a look around before you decide to do anything else," He darkly adds. Liam obeys reluctantly, his dark eyes scanning around him. Harry isn't here alone, somehow, he managed to tag along with friends. Behind them, I see men in thick, black uniforms rushing towards us.

My eyes ripped off them, frantically searching around whilst my thoughts seemed further and further away, my mind fogging over. My body was trapped in an awkwardly uncomfortable position, one I couldn't stay in much longer since the car was tipped over. I closed my eyes tightly hoping to clear the haze but it only intensified the lightheadedness in my body.

I forced my eyes open, heart erratically thumping and thrashing around in my chest, so much it felt as if it was about to explode. Next to me, I hear the sound of Liam being tackled by three of the men, shoved into their tight grasp and taken away. The gun he once possessed was flung across from the car. The space around me felt much smaller than it did three seconds ago, suddenly experienced such confinement as panic began to seep into my bones.

"Rin, baby," Harry's soft voice splinters bright stars across my dark sky and I clung to the sound of him, giving into him instead of the dark. I felt his arms around me, hooking hard onto my limbs as he carefully pulled me out of the car after releasing my seatbelt.

We stumbled to the grass, a few steps away from my flipped over Jeep yet I couldn't care less. The grass tickles my feet, and Harry pulls me onto his lap. I'm gasping for air, greedily taking as much as I am allowed.

My arms are thrown around him, trembling in his hold yet I dare not let go, anchoring myself to him. The constant rise and fall of his shoulders, the sink and inflation of his chest pressed against mine, coaxed my breathing to be the same as his. Harry layers kiss over my hair, soothing hand drifting across my body, assuring whispers meeting my ears.

"You don't know what you're doing," Liam chuckles, his delirious and warning eyes flicking intently back and forth between Harry and me from where he stands a few feet away. "You'll regret this!" he shouts and then he's practically thrown into the back of the moving van. The back exit is slammed shut, and the men dressed in black pile into the van.

Harry crushes me to his chest as if to encourage our bodies to become one. The van screeches as it rapidly sped off, making me flinch in his arms and he holds me impossibly tighter. "I'm here, I'm here, you're safe," He whispers, his calming voice pairs so well with the steady beating of his heart my ear is pressed over and it assists in the frantic best of mine becoming stable.

I don't know how long Harry held me there for. My arms slackened around him the slightest, allowing me room to no longer press my head against his chest and peer up into those eyes of his. They're already on me, so much love and concern swimming through the glossed over layer, his eyelashes sticking together from the shed tears.

"Pretty tears," I whispered, unlinking an arm to drag my fingertip across his cheek where a lone tear was stranded. Harry smiles softly, kissing the pad of my finger.

"Take me to him," I told him, swallowing through the tight struggle in my throat. His eyes softened and I knew, he was instantly preparing himself to deny my request. "Rin, baby...I can't do that- I don't think I can," Harry denies with regret captured in the waters of his eyes.

"Harry, it's way too late to hold me away from this. Let me see through the end, please," my chin trembles as I speak, so many emotions driving into me, over and over again. I just want this to end, please be the end.

His lips pressed together, at rest as he considered me for a moment. "Okay, let's go," he decides, just like that. I sighed, shoulders sagging with relief. "But you have to let me take you to the hospital," Harry stated and I immediately froze.

"A hospital?" I repeated and he nodded his head. "I'm fine," I insisted, eyebrows scrunched together. There's not a scratch or dent found on my body. He tilts his head, giving me an 'Are you serious, babe?' look, which I didn't appreciate. "You were in a car accident, Rin," he states the obvious.

"I'm not going into a hospital just for them to say I'm fine," I replied. Harry sighs, lifting his hands to run them dramatically down his face. "How about Doctor Horan?" He suggests, peeking at me through his eyes and my face scrunches in complaint.

"I don't need Niall to tell me I'm fine either," at my denial, he slams his fingers shut over his eyes once more. "Love, it's between the hospital or Niall. Please, do this for me and my peace of mind?" He pleads at this point, dropping his eyes to stare at me with those longing, puppy eyes that he knows I'll give into. It's just a certain amount of time and that time is now.

"Niall," I huffed. His face lights up so beautifully, he wraps his hand around my waist and tugs me into a hug, planting a sloppy kiss over my cheek. "Thank you, darling. Now let's go," he gives in.

Harry helped me into his car, not because I needed it but because he wanted to. I don't know where we're going but as long as he's taking me there, I'll forever blindly go. The location isn't even inputted into the GPS, he is on his way to finding the place perfectly fine.

He hands me a bottle of water, one of the ones that's always in his car and it's not up for debate whether I downed nearly the entire thing. My focus drifts ahead the windscreen, eyes finding interest in the clouds, slowly swimming through the vast blue sky. My chest tightens. Will it ever end?

My thoughts ventured too deep into the darkness, it's where I can easily become spiralled into the endless swirls of tormenting thoughts. As if he read my mind, Harry's hand found mine on my thigh, sliding his slender fingers through mine, clasping our hands together. Just like that, the pressure on my chest weakens and I'm further away from the spirals.

The entire drive, every few minutes, his worried eyes would flick over my figure as if I would disappear at any given moment.

"I'm fine, Harry," I stated once his longing eyes got annoying. His spare hand tightens slightly around the steering wheel, his wide shoulders lifting in a shrug. "I can't help it, babe," he huffs, defending and his face morphs into a contented one, with a soft smile.

Our destination arrives soon apparently since Harry rolls the car through an empty, wide parking lot that borders thickly around a large square building. I don't know where I was expecting him to take me but this definitely was not what my mind would have conjured up.

"What is this place?" My eyes squinted at the building that gave nothing away about what was inside and neither did Harry. Currently, we're out of the car and the shine of the blazing sun beams over us as we stroll to the entrance of this mysterious building. "You'll see," He comments vaguely. My eyes rolled and picked up my pace walking towards the wide steel metal double doors.

I sighed, stepping through first and he slammed the door shut, locking it from the inside behind me. "Are you sure about this? Things can get...uhm, bloody," he struggles to find a polite word for it, eyebrows scrunched. We're talking about deadly violence and here I am thinking he's adorable.

"Yes, I'm fine. Once you're there with me," I assured him with a nod. Harry's satisfied with that, taking the lead with me beside him. Entering through those steel doors, we're automatically torn apart between four wooden doors, two on either side. The floor is tiled with simple white tiles, and the walls that share nothing about what's on the other side are painted in the same dark grey colour that covers the exterior of this building.

"Would you like to watch only? Liam won't know you're there," Harry questions, his eyes dancing around my face for any revelation that my words won't speak yet nothing he finds worries him. "No, I want him to see me, to know that the person he tried to destroy is the last face he'll probably ever see," I answered without a crevice of hesitation.

"Your wish is my command," Harry smiles, with a look that screams 'that's my girl.' He kisses my forehead and finally wraps his arm around the long handle, veins prominently running along it as he tugs the door open.

I gasped upon the first glance, instantly recognising what this room was. An unkempt room with bland, unpainted walls caging around whatever is meant to be kept inside. On one of the walls, however, there's a wide mirror attached but I knew it was a double sided version.

The smooth, concrete floor remains cracked in certain areas. The once metal table that was stationed in front of the mirror is removed. My head darts to Harry who now stands beside me, gauging me for my reaction.

"This...this is the same place where you had me," I whispered, glancing up at Harry for confirmation and he nodded his head. Back when he had Niall interrogated me while he watched. "Liam thought it would be nice to try to send me to jail, and put me through an interrogation with those fancy detectives so I thought it was fitting for him to get a taste of my investigation room," the look on his face is absolutely sinister.

For the first time, my eyes peeled off Harry and shifted forward. The sight in front of me was one that absolutely vanished the breath in my chest. Liam hangs from the roof of this place, chains drilled into the ceiling that allows Liam to dangle, his arms stretched above his head and bound by the ropes that are connected to the chains, tightly wrapped around his reddened wrists.

He's naked with swollen bruises across his skin, hues of purple and red accompanying them, cuts and gashes slicing through his skin, being the cause of the layers of blood that nearly covered his tacky skin. His dripping wet hair covers his face, head bowed between his shoulders. Bile rose to the back of my throat, my eyes lowering to a certain...body organ that was at his feet. My eyes darted up Liam's body and there were profuse streams of blood down his legs...emanating from between his legs.

My head snapped towards Harry, scrunching my eyes while the realisation dawned upon me. "Is...Is that his dick on the floor?" I cleared my throat, fluttering my eyes open to notice that Harry's loving and amused gaze was already on me. "He thought it was okay to put that inside you without your permission so we cut it off," he shrugs his shoulders, a mischievous intent behind that grin of his, bracketed by beautiful dimples.

My head nodded, wrapping itself around the information that was told to me as casually as ever. Hesitantly, my eyes darted back to the man dangling from the roof. At the sound of me, his head whips forward, eyes boring into mine, a gasp leaving his busted lips as if he's witnessing a ghost before him.

"Esrin," Liam blurts out my name, widening his fear filled eyes. "Esrin, please! Get me away from here, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Goodness, his eyes were so harshly pleading with mine, his pained body pushing forward in an attempt to be closer to me and all the words vanished past the tip of my tongue.

"Your bed is already made, quite much at that," Harry hums. Liam's eyes don't turn cold when they drift to Harry, surprisingly. "I wanted revenge too!" he shouted at Harry, begging him to understand. "Revenge for what, you sick bastard?" Harry chuckles, his head daringly tilting to the side.

"You have an obsession with ruining her life, that's what it is you live and crave for," He spits, instilling more fear into the veins of Liam. "Now quit talking before your tongue is next," Harry smirks, his eyes flicking to the body part dropped to the floor that he's been severed away from.

"He's fucked with the wrong people," Douglas hums. Harry's dad stands across the room, swinging a knife with his eyes pinned on his victim. The long sleeves of his white shirt are rolled up to his elbows, splatters of blood staining the front of it. Across his cheeks as well, blood was smeared, features hardened and cold, suiting perfectly for the murderous gaze he traps Liam with.

"Are you ready?" his question is intended for Harry and I yet Liam's face pales, fear stiffening his weak muscles and he pushes his body to the side, further away from Douglas but attempts are all futile due to the chains.  "Please, I'd do anything! Don't kill me, please, please- Look, I'd do anything you want! I'm so sorry for whatever I did!" He pleads with his final set of words.

Douglas' awaiting eyes are on me now from where he still stands at the end of the room and beside me, Harry stares at me with care and patience. "Hurry it up, he's annoying me already," I dismissed, feeling the boulders taming me down by the chest breaking down into nothing with each word.

Douglas is absolutely beaming with new excitement pushing off the wall he leaned on, striding towards his prey. Harry encircles my waist with his hand, pressing a soft kiss to my temple, grounding me here and near to him. My hand covers his over my waist, holding onto him.

Douglas stands behind Liam now, the sharp tipped knife trapped in the grasp of his hand lifting. He moves about frantically, attempting to avoid the knife as much as possible but once more, all of his attempts remain futile.

The knife digs into the side of his neck and his ear piercing scream is enough to shatter through glass. The blade sinks further into his skin just as Douglas begins to drag it across his throat, slicing it open.

Blood spits out, gushes of fear flooding into Liam's eyes where it freezes over. The blood streams down his skin, expanding the puddle at his feet. With every added ounce of blood that seeps out of his throat, the life drains out of him. Just like that, Liam's body becomes another corpse.

My eyes peered into his lifeless stare, the fact that he was dead and gone knocked me over mentally. The fear and the regret are permanently trapped in his gaze until Douglas slides the side of the blade down his face. When they are touched over his eyelids, they shut and no one will ever stare into those dark honey eyes ever again.

I felt nothing.

Not because I was numb. Well, maybe a little bit of that but the majority because he deserved this. Liam built his house, brick by brick with every sin and crime he's ever committed, every torture, harassment, and cruelty he's forced upon me and furthermore, the ones most dear to me. Now, he's been granted what he's deserved, his house burning. Again.

He deserved it and admitting that to myself was as easy as it was to slide the blade across his throat. Bursts of relief bloomed across every crevice of the fields of my being so much that I felt as if I could taste it on my tongue.

Liam's body sagged, not a single ounce of tension trapped in his muscles any more. Douglas' face is scrunched with disgust when he walks out from behind Liam. "He got his blood on my shoes," He annoyingly admitted.

The high scent of blood wavers into my nose, heavily metallic and my nose scrunched, no longer wanting to be in an atmosphere like this one. "Let's get out of here," Harry whispers, reading my mind. "Go. The crew is on their way, no one will ever find his pathetic body, I'll make sure of that," Douglas nods his head once as if to seal the promise.

"By the way, Liam's mother has been dead for the past seven years, they assume. Her body was found at the back of the house that they used to live at," Douglas shares. My lips parted with shock. Liam had blamed his mother for everything while he had me under his spell and meanwhile, she's been dead all along. "Do you think he did it?" Harry asks, referring to Liam. Douglas scoffs, nodding his head. "I'd say so, thank God that fucker is dead." Couldn't agree more.

With that, I'm clinging to Harry as he guides us out of that investigation room and within a few steps along the white tiled hallway between the four rooms, we're reaching the large metal doors once more. He easily unlocks it and shoves it open, setting sunlight from outside pooling into the building.

Clean oxygen flooded into my nostrils and I greedily took a deep breath, allowing the soft wind to welcome me outside with brushes to my skin. Harry and I kept walking until we were parallel to his car.

For a moment, we just stood there holding onto each other, taking the comfort we both needed and giving back just as much. I'll never get tired of hugging him, especially when he has the ability to know when I need it the most. Sometimes, I wish his chest would open up so I could fit myself inside there and stay with him forever.

Each time I am in his arms, I never want to be let go and the only reason I'm okay when it inevitably happens is because I know I'll never not be out of opportunities to hug him, to cherish him, to love him again.

"Let's go home," He separates after a long, long moment. I blinked away the burning around my eyes and nodded my head. He unlocks and opens my door, ensuring I am properly settled inside before he carefully closes it and strides across to his side.

"Do you need anything?" Harry wonders on the drive there. My head shook because everything I needed was already sitting across from me. A sigh left my lips, back sliding down the seat comfortably until my knees hit the glove compartment.

"We're almost there," He assured me, probably noticing how restless I was becoming. Liam was dead, I watched the life drain out from his eyes, his entire body shutting down. He can't taunt me or anyone else I care about, ever again.

The relentless waves of tiredness seem to subside when the familiar street of Harry's House appears, driving closer and closer until finally, his house comes into clear view. My finger was already pushing down at the seat belt lock to release it before the car even swung into the driveway properly.

The front door was thrown open as Harry killed the engine of the car, steps hitting down his porch and onto his driveway while he and I got out of the car. The door is barely shut properly when Gemma crushes me in a hug.

She traps me to her chest, wrapping her arms tightly around my shoulders and my head aligns with hers. "It's over, it's so over," she whispers, her words hitting my ears and I clung to her harder for a few seconds. I'd admit, I was so taken aback by the sudden act, especially by someone like Gemma who has never been a fan of mine yet in recent times, all that had changed and I couldn't be more grateful to have her here.

Sliding out of a much appreciated hug and into another, the soft eyes of Alice beckoned me into her arms without hesitation. "I'm so happy you're okay," she whispers, rubbing her palm soothingly down my back. "You have nothing to worry about, okay? We're all going to take care of you, of each other now."

"Mum, don't make her cry!" Harry whines, noticing the tears glossing over my vision and I quickly blinked them away. "Thank you," I tell her, laughing slightly due to Harry's comment. When we're out of the hug, he wipes away the unshod tears, playfully glaring at his mother. "It's happy tears," I assured him but he knew that already.

The four of us piled inside and my steps come to a sudden halt once I'm inside of Harry's House. I groaned upon seeing Niall, forcing my furious and slightly narrowed eyes at Harry who grins at me sheepishly with innocence. "Always love it when people react that way to seeing me," Niall mutters sarcastically below his breath.

"We had a deal!" he defended and I huffed, reluctantly admitting that he was correct. "Harry, I'm fine," I whispered. "I know, babe but let's just prove that, yeah?" He bargains.

I sighed, giving in to him because God, I love him so eternally. I sank into the chair beside Niall and he wasted no time getting to work, politely working with me to ensure there was nothing wrong. Harry lingers beside us, waiting for Niall's verdict.

He's put to ease when Niall assures him that everything is fine and I would be even more so, perfectly fine after a good night's rest or two. He bandages up a few bruises and cuts on my arms and even one of the little cuts on my forehead. I didn't even know it existed. Niall hands Harry the name of an ointment cream for me to apply to the cuts every night and then he's led outside, his work here being done.

Unliking the feelings attached to my skin, I needed to wash it all off so I disappeared behind Harry's bedroom door, stripping my dirty clothes off my body and abandoning them inside of his basket. A towel accompanies me into his bathroom where it is left on the hook.

A few short minutes later, my eyes sank into the sound of movement around me and not long after that, my body was engulfed by the larger build of Harry underneath the heat of the soothing shower spray. We showered together, washing away as much of the day as we could have.

Several minutes later, we're freshly clean and outside of his room once more. He holds me to his chest, practically cuddling on the couch, simply being in each other's presence. Gemma and Alice were mostly finishing up a meal they wanted to feed us with and Harry swooned me away with his hugs so I could rest a bit instead of helping them in the kitchen.

When they were finished, the four of us gathered around Harry's dining table. Douglas was still away, dealing with Liam's corpse but Alice tucked away a plate for him. The reason I shuffled the majority of the food down my throat was because I didn't want Alice and Gemma's work to go down the drain but besides that, my appetite for anything wasn't present.

Harry and I did the dishes after we said goodbye to them. They aren't staying the night despite Harry's offers, Gemma has to drive Alice to their home and from my understanding, it's more than an hour's drive away but that's the place Douglas will be returning to so of course, Alice wanted to be there.

The house is basically spotless and there were zero complaints from either of us when we decided to head to bed. I lay on my side with my head resting on Harry's chest, a palm splayed over his abs with one of his arms wrapped protectively around me, his head laying on the pillow with our blanket thrown over our bodies. In less than five minutes of being in that position, my body gives out and I slip into slumber.

Many times during the morning, my eyes fluttered open for a maximum of five seconds and then I'd return to Harry in my dreams. The dipping in and out of sleep takes us through the entire morning period and when my body decided I had enough sleep, it was well past mid-day.

I attempted to wake Harry, showering him with kisses but despite stirring a little in his sleep, he refused to wake up. So, I took a trip to the bathroom to start my day. After changing my clothes from another shower, I had finished everything I could've done to wait for Harry to wake up but he hadn't and I had a plan that needed to be fulfilled for the rest of the day.

I crawled onto the bed, beside him, softly carding my fingers through his messy curls. "Good morning, babe. It's time to wake up," I softly tell him, grazing my lips across his face, leaving small kisses along the way.

Harry whines, his bottom lip jutting out in an argument about being awakened. "Not yet," his raspy voice speaks, eyebrows furrowing the slightest yet he refuses to open his eyes.

"I'm gonna go visit Zayn," I tell Harry softly.

"Okay, have fun," Harry's faked enthusiastic voice is muffled into the pillow, fingers waving goodbye to me. I gave him a maximum of two seconds and then he quickly lifted his head, rolling around and hastily sitting up so fast that his head spins for a few seconds. "What?" he blurted out, blinking away the sleepiness in his eyes.

"Gonna visit Zayn. Remember that phone call? Think we have a few words to talk about," I recalled with a massive smile on my face, so much that my cheeks ached. "Oh," Harry mumbles, covering his face in his hands, pushing them through his hair to push away the flops of curls over his forehead.

"Do you want me to take you? I don't think the Jeep..." he trails off, regretful eyes sinking into mine. The smile vanishes from my face, the realisation dawning upon me for the first time. The Jeep was taken by a wrecker that Harry called when we left and sent to Louis' mechanic shop to ensure everything was all safe to go. "No...Uhm, I can take one of your cars," I responded, clearing my throat.

"Which?" his eyes narrow. "The red, obviously," I answered, smiling once more and Harry nodded his head. "Okay, it's yours. Take it," he permits, lowering his face into the pillow again, those pretty eyelashes brushing the top of his cheeks when he closes his eyes.

I assume the conversation is over then, strolling towards the door. "I'll do the paperwork when I wake up," Harry's words are spoken into the pillow, slightly muffled. I froze in front of the door, my body steeling. "Harry...What?" I whispered, robotically turning around to face him. He sighs and rolls over on his back, sliding both arms behind his head as he glances at me through thin eyes.

"The car is yours now," He states. "At least, until we repair the Jeep or get you something else you like, or even if you just want to keep the car," he shrugs his shoulders, listing the possibilities and all I can do is blankly stare at his gorgeous face. "We'll talk about this when you come over to the Penthouse for dinner this evening," Is all I replied, storing that away to process sometime later.

"Okay, I'm looking forward to winning!" He grinned. Playfully, I rolled my eyes at his lack of maturity and then left, locking the house behind me since I was sure Harry would just return to his sleep.

Sitting inside the red car in his garage, I adjusted the leather seat in the car, sliding it more towards the steering wheel and straightening up the backrest. My hand grasped the edge of the rearview mirror, twisting it. Zayn's location was inputted into the GPS as I clicked my seatbelt in place and started the engine. Reversing out of the driveway, the journey to his house begins.

Zayn's house was situated among an avenue of many, many, mansions and elaborate houses that reeked of their wealth with just merely a glance of an eye. It's been so, so long since I had been back here, the last time being the last time I had stayed over before he abruptly ended whatever was shared between us. My life from then till now, oh how there are changes made.

I parked the car along the front of his house, slid out of the car and locked it with the alarm with plans of knocking on the door. I realise I have a habit of showing up unannounced but once again, it's too late now.

While I was walking to his front door, my phone vibrated continuously in my back pocket. Stopping in my tracks, I glanced at the screen in the curiosity of who was calling me. It's Remi and with ease, my thumb slides across the phone.

"Hell-"

"Is it true?" Remi asks through the phone impatiently. "Is Liam really gone?" she impatiently asks. It then dawns on me that she and Niall probably aren't together and she hadn't known the proper verdict yet.

"Who told you?" I wondered, tone hushed. "Lilith called Niall a few minutes ago, we're not on speaking terms but I was eavesdropping," she mumbles with distaste. "So? Is it?" she questions once more.

"Yeah, he's dead, they got rid of the body," I admitted in a hushed tone. I made a note to thank her for being there in person, never once did I feel alone during the past few days and she was part of that.

"Are you okay?" She wonders, the care found in her voice. "Yeah, I am. So relieved all of this is over," I expressed, truthfully, so that I couldn't help the smile as I voiced it because it felt so unrealistic yet it was.

"Okay, I love you," she murmurs, so light and carefree as if she needed me to know that after everything that's happened in recent times. It takes me by surprise, having not heard that in a long, long time. "Say it back, you weirdo," she awkwardly laughs. "I love you too, Remi," I obliged because I don't think, no matter what, the sweet parts of our bittersweet friendship are unforgettable.

"I'll see you later, Remi," I tell her, ending the phone call when I notice the front door of Zayn's house parting. "Bye," she dismissed and cut the line. My phone slid into my back pocket and I forced my feet to move towards Zayn. His eyes are so curiously on me, his hand lifting to slide the cigarette out from behind his ear.

He got a beautifully faded out buzz cut.

His once luscious, dark, wavy hair that was short on the sides but longer at the top was now gone, trimmed to the minimum it could go. I'm sure his short hair would prick at my fingers if my hand passed over his head. "Esrin," Zayn's soft eyes meet mine and I can't explain it but I feel as if he's been through hell the past few days.

"Zayn," I say his name. He feels so, so different right now and once again, I can't explain it but it's at the tip of my tongue. I climbed up his porch as he shut his front door, casually walking to the edge while maintaining eye contact with me.

"Let's sit," he suggests, lowering onto one of two outdoor armchairs he has on his wide patio, both of them diagonally facing each other. Following him, I sat on the free seat and my eyes were gentle yet waiting for him to speak.

Zayn sinks his hand into the pocket of the shorts he wears. That's another thing different, besides the casual smoking, but Zayn has never been one willing to slide into a pair of short pants. In his palm when he retracts it is a lighter. He flicks his finger on the wheel and the flame licks at the end of his cigarette until it lights.

His eyelids fluttered shut as he took his first drag of the cigarette, his cheeks hollowed out, cheekbones insanely defined. The smoke floods down to his lungs, making its way through the cycle until he exhales through his nose two seconds later. Zayn extends his hand to me, offering a drag which I refused, the scent of tobacco flooding into my nostrils.

"Suppose I should start talking...but I don't really know where to begin," he sighs, puffs of smoke releasing through his parted lips as he spoke the words. "I didn't know. None of it, I didn't know and- I-," he fumbles for his words, speaking them with such strength yet his mind hadn't known how to formulate them properly.

He paused, fluttering his eyelids shut as he took a deep breath in an attempt to reset his thoughts. The cigarette is brought to his lips once more, lips around the unlit end for a quick drag as if when the toxins enter his lungs, the smoke clears a path between his thoughts so he may actually think properly for a second. He blows out his exhale away from me, lips pursed to the side.

"I didn't know my dad was doing that. I wish I had known," Zayn insists, staring at me with fight yet defeat both captured in him. "I didn't know either, Zayn. I only found out afterwards, just like you. I wish it could have been different on your behalf," I shared, eyes imploring for him to believe me.

"Yes, I wish that too and the fact that it can't happen doesn't give me a reason for me to shout at you the way that I did. I'm sorry about that," he apologised insistently.

"It's okay, I guess," I sighed," I understand it." His eyes softened with appreciation, shoulders lifting in relief. Ashes from the cigarette dropped to the ground and he suddenly remembered it in his hand, bringing it to his lips once more and hollowing his cheeks for a slow drag.

"What did Louis have to do about it though? On the call you said it was his fault too," I can't help the defensive tone in my voice, my attempt to be casual goes futile. Part of me was ready to snap at him, protective over Louis if he dared to say something about him.

"Dad said that for most of his transactions, he'd have it cleared through the Accounting department and Louis works there. I know he and everyone else were just as fooled as I was and they were only doing their job but...I was hurt."

"I didn't realise I cared for Louis," he huffs, drawing circles on his knee with his empty hand, eyes taking interest in the act. "And you too, of course so, I felt hurt to find out you both were unknowingly involved. Guess this is why I tried so hard to not get attached to anyone at Malik Creations," he finishes. Oh.

"He knew what he was doing, it's how he got away with it because he knew how to do it properly," I murmured, eyes taking interest in the wooden floorboards. "I'm sorry your dad is so shitty, Zayn," my heart aches for him. "Yeah, ready to throw his own son in front of a train, imagine for anyone else," he chuckles, bringing the cigarette to his mouth for a final inhale.

"I guess the timing works out, anyways...it's all for the best," he mumbles, a sudden smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he exhales. Zayn stands, killing the burning end of the cigarette on the edge of his porch, leaving the bud there. He disappeared inside his house, leaving me outside, confused but fortunately, it was only for a few seconds.

The gloomy atmosphere seemed to have vanished when he put out his cigarette. "My girlfriend is pregnant, Caitlyn," he states with a beaming smile. When he lowered into the chair again, I finally noticed the small, square box in his hand, it's what he retrieved from inside.

"I..." I'm lost for words for a moment but quickly catch myself. "Congratulations! That's...that's really great, oh my God," I blurted out with excitement captured in my wide eyes and happy smile. Zayn mirrors my smile, nodding his head. "I swear I didn't plan to pop the question because she got knocked up, I found out after. And then I lost Malik Creations so...everything kind of fell into place. I couldn't see it before but I do now," he admitted and I'm so, so happy for him.

"So what would you be doing then, Zayn?" I wondered, genuinely curious where may his life take him from here. His eyes meet mine, shoulders lifting and falling in a defeated shrug. "Enjoy the ease for a little while, start my family, maybe start a business that's solely mine one day because I really do believe I was meant to do something like that..." he listed.

"I always knew I'd take a pause for my life, to have a family and everything, I didn't expect it to happen like this but I'm done complaining about it," he continues, his lips tugging into a smile. "And you?" He quickly asks, awaiting eyes peering at me. I glanced away into nothingness for a moment.

"Well, I might be the manager after Harry's dad takes over," I hesitantly revealed, my eyes on him again to carefully gauge his reaction. Zayn's eyebrows flew up his forehead, eyes widening to allow room for the shock that flashed through his eyes. "That's...that's so good, sounds like a great opportunity. You should definitely take it," he says simply, his smile genuinely wider than I've ever seen.

"You really think so?" My eyes narrowed with suspicion and the other half was beaming at the compliment. "Yes!" He shouts it as if it's the obvious. "For as long as I've worked with you, I'm sure I'd be able to tell if you'd be good at it and I do, you will handle it perfectly," he assures me with soft eyes that implore me to believe him. "Okay, thank you," I replied shortly though I appreciated it massively.

Slowly, I stood. "Guess this is the end of my visit, I should get going," I said. I'm not sure how much time has flown by but I definitely didn't expect to stay here this long, much less appreciate this visit as much as I do. Zayn and I stood and he nodded his head.

"I don't know if we'll see each other again but...I wish you the best, Esrin. Thank you for putting up with all my bullshit over the years," such soft eyes, softer than I'd ever seen on him that it kind of snatched my breath from me. "I...thank you, Zayn and good luck with everything you've got planned, hope it works out for you."

"Let me walk you to the car," he suggested just as I was about to descend off the step. He's already strolling beside me, both hands stuffed into the pockets of his loose shorts, eyes peering ahead.

Awkwardly, we stood at the door. It feels as if we're both sharing the same thoughts when we robotically move so we hug each other. The act is fast, our bodies are slightly tense, barely meshed into each other. Sliding out of the hug, I reached for my door and slid in. Once I was settled in and the car drifted away from him, Zayn waved me goodbye like a madman and well, I couldn't help but smile. This went better than I'd thought.

On the way home, my mind relishes in the freedom that is felt, the sudden burst of contentment wavering around me with each second I drive, sticking with me and God, I hope it stays. My thoughts drift to normal thoughts like if I had stocks of the ingredients I'd need to cook something for Harry and me later. It felt so good.

In the elevator, my fingers are flying around the keyboard on Harry's chat, shooting him a few updates about how things went with Zayn and promising to explain more when he comes over for dinner. I don't know why but when Harry didn't reply instantly, my heart sank in my chest. No, I'm not letting this bother me.

I stepped out of the elevator, and strolled to my door, easily entering with the confirmation of my handprint on the scanner.

The warmth welcomes me on my first step past the door. Mindlessly, I shut the door, strolling deeper into the kitchen so I can place my things on the kitchen countertop that's to my right.

My keys clattered on the marble surface when I finally rested everything down. A chill skids down the middle of my spine, causing the faint hairs along my arms and at the nape of my neck to stand proudly. Brushing the feeling off easily, I abandoned it there and strolled deeper into my home.

Just as I was about to pass the kitchen, nearing the staircase, a zap shot down my spine again, my feet sinking into the floor, each step heavier than the last because something kept me right here. Then I realised what it was. A figure in the corner of the kitchen steals my attention, and my eyes pour into the darkness.

"Esrin," the trembling voice speaks my name, at the edge of familiarity. My heartbeat skates off, swerving up the ranks, uncontrollably thrashing around in my heart and my stomach coils.

I took a few more steps, my eyes pinned on the figure and flicked on the kitchen lights. I gasped, my eyes falling on the head of short dark curls that nearly grew to meet her shoulders.

Lennie.

She stands dressed in her usual attire, lightly washed out jeans, a chopped off top worn with it and a flannel over it, the top half of her hair tied back with the bottom half brushing the base of the nape of her neck.
"Not another step," Lennie spits out, her cold eyes daring me to disobey her and given the current state, I'd never.

Remi.

Lennie stands behind Remi, one hand grasping her curls tightly and the other holds a gun to the underside of her jaw. She's already been hurt, blood trickling down the side of her face from the gash above her pierced eyebrow.

The expression worn across Remi's face is one that shredded my heart. She appeared to be so clueless of what was going on, so defeated as much as I suddenly felt. Battle she fights Lennie with but constantly loses, each of her attempts futile.

"What...what are you doing, Lennie?" I finally spoke, my voice small and slightly shaky. My eyes remained locked on Remi, begging her to understand that things will be okay, we'll make it out of this but her connection is severed, never making it through on her end.

"You killed him."

She wears a murderous look across her face, one I never would have imagined she'd ever display. With the sharp glare, burning through my skin, the hinge of her jaw locked and pronounced with livid anger.

"You killed my husband," she repeats, she spits the words out with fragile venom, granting me an insight of her grieving yet furious. "Put down the gun, Lennie. Please," I urged, cautiously taking a step forward towards them.

Her jaw clenched, her grasp on the handle of the gun tightening in response. "One step closer and the bullet is going through her skull," she warns, the strength and promise of it stilled my steps.

"I honestly couldn't believe you killed him, can you believe how stupid I was? That's why I had this little friend of mine give you a call. I just needed to hear you say it," she chuckles dryly. "Liam is your husband," I swallowed, finally acknowledging what she'd just said, everything clicking to place with Remi and the phone call. Her eyes screamed yes.

"You've been playing me this whole time..." My throat resembles a desert, my words coming out in a whisper of acknowledgement. The realisation hit me with the force of a powerful tidal wave. "Was any of this real? Our friendship? Your feelings towards me? The way we met?" The words spewed out my lips, the betrayal weakening my strength.

"This is not about you! This is about Liam!" She shouts, eyes nearly bulging out of its sockets. "Of course, none of it was real at first! He had me follow you from this very penthouse to that bar where you thought we met. Then I actually thought you were a decent human being and I couldn't go through with the plan. That's why I'd left, not because I was feeling guilty about my homophobic ex-husband," she chuckles dryly.

"Liam reminded me of why we're doing this, after everything you ruined from him and he was ready to make you regret walking all over him," she spits out the venomous words, broadcasting the hate she contains for me through the windows of her darkened eyes.

"But even though that, even when I got closer to you, I couldn't help but start to like you more, Esrin. God, I really did," she expresses, eyebrows sinking. "He was going to kill you in that gym and I'm the one that stopped him! Can you believe that? I stopped him from killing you and you just went and killed him instead!" She screams, the cords along her neck bulging, her eyes so wide and pinned directly on me. I'm the source of her anger.

"I was going to come clean to you," her voice breaks, the rough edges of her tone smoothening out. Lennie tilts her head to the side, her pained expression growing in depth. "That day, outside that door," she jerks her head in the direction of the penthouse door. That's where I'd found her crying and pleading to talk when my father demanded I come home.

"Why didn't you? We could've worked this out," I insisted. My attention is being torn apart between the conversation with Lennie and also wracking through every crevice of my brain to save Remi. "We can still figure this out," I quickly added, chaining it on.

A storm brews, twisting and morphing her face into anger once more, the grasp on Remi's short curls tightening so much that she screams out in agony. "Because you need to get what you deserve!" She screams, the gun vibrating in her grasp, redness blooming across her face, spreading down the sides of her neck.

"Why? Why did you have to do that he-"

At this point, I refused to grant her the time to paint this innocent picture of Liam. "He raped me! And God forbid if he did anything like that to anyone else. Stalked me- invaded and destroyed my home! Who knows how many times he's tried to kill me? He hurt and harassed the people closest to me, you included but I'm sure that was just a trick!" I clipped her words, the loudness of my volume matching hers.

"Liam was fucked up and you're just as delirious as him if you can't see that. So let Remi go! She had nothing to do with this," I screamed, clenching my jaw so tightly it trembled. My eyes dare not glance at Remi because I'm nearly filled to the brim with fear that if I do, my heart won't handle it.

"Remi has everything to do with this!" Lennie screams, denying. "You see, Liam had a plan. Told me that if something happens to him, especially because of you he wants to give you the worst pain imaginable," the corner of her mouth tugs up slightly as her memory replays behind her eyes.

"He wanted us to take away the closest persons to you and that's exactly what's happening," she shares. The gun skates up the side of Remi's face, digging into her temple, her finger dangerously heavy on the trigger.

"Liam is gone, you don't have to deal with his manipulation any longer, please, Lennie. Don't do this to Remi- we can work something out," my voice remains steady and gentle, alluring her to give in. "I didn't get to be heard when you killed my husband and ruined his life," she spat with disgust.

"Don't-"

My feet jerked forward, launching myself toward them with fear widening my eyes, dread seeping deep within my bones but I was too late.

The trigger was already pulled, without any hesitation.

My scream cuts across the room, feeling as if my entire body had made the piercing sound, so intense yet Remi doesn't hear it.

Everything else fades away, nothing besides Remi and I. Her grasp on Remi's body vanishes and she drops to the floor, her being no longer containing the life and soul of my friend that she sags harshly to the floor.

Lennie disappears, and the sound of her high heels clicking against the floor grows softer and softer while the blaring ringing in my ears grows louder and louder. The front door slams shut. My body collapses onto the floor, on my knees beside Remi, my hands carefully holding her head and placing her comfortably on my lap. There was so much blood.

I forced the pressure down in my throat, choking back a sob while my eyes frantically searched her body. "R-Remi?" I gingerly spoke her name with such hesitance. I expected a reply yet I knew deep down, I'd never get a reply from her ever again. Because she's gone.

I released a shaky breath, touching her face and she had no reaction. This can't be, right? Just yesterday, she was here as normal as ever, she can't be gone today. She can't. My tongue peaked out, wetting my lips yet I tasted the saltiness from the streams of tears down the path of my cheeks.

"Wake up," I tell her, nudging her shoulder gently as if I'm waking her up from a deep slumber. The tattoos she proudly wore over nearly every inch of her body now became tainted, coloured in her blood. Around my knees where I knelt beside her, blood begins to pool and it goes ignored. Her usually darkly toned skin was already pale, and her eyes closed as if she were peacefully asleep, a feeling that matched the expression on her face.

"Wake up..." my voice shatters as it escapes my lips. "Remi, please, please," I pleaded and I'd do anything for her eyes to flutter open, for her chest to rise and fall with every intake and exhale of oxygen once more. My fingers were sunk into her shoulders, shaking her harder, trying so damn much to wake her from this slumber because she can't be asleep forever, I won't let her.

She's not waking up. This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to lose her life because of me. She's supposed to get married to Niall and continue being the best mother figure that Sunny could ever ask for. I'm not supposed to remember her longer than I have known her, I'm not supposed to cherish the memories of her this much because I'm supposed to make new ones.

"Wake up, please. Wake up," I cried uselessly. Niall. Like lightning, memories of five years ago in the motel with Niall crack through my thoughts, flashes of recollections from when he was lying across the floor, surrounded by shards of glass in pools of his own blood. Now, Remi is dead, her life taken away from me.

Grief is as strong as the ground we walk on. Sunken into the depths of the soil, there with every single step we make. The grass turns as grey as clouds do, a visual reminder of the grief that stems beneath.

If there's blood in your veins and a beat of your heart then expect to step on the soil that strings along grief. However, holding no amount of realistic expectations would ever help simmer the heartache, the pain, the sorrow- call it whatever you'd like, or maybe all of the above.

Whether you expect grief or not, I can't decide which is worse.

"Please, don't be gone," my head burrows into her chest, catching whiffs of her scent and my mind stores it away, reluctantly aware that I may never get this again. "Remi...I'm so sorry," I cried, unable to withdraw the high tides of loud sobs that rushed and submerged me whole. My chest feels as if it had been carved, left in such a hollow state when she left.

She left. And she's not coming back. In the middle of a scream and a pain filled groan, the sound rakes up the sides of my throat, stemming from my chest and the deafening sound nearly fills the entire penthouse.

I sniffled, my neck craned so annoyingly and I tipped my head back all the way, glaring at the ceiling. "Why, why, why!?" I screamed, my throat so raw, feeling as if each scream formed a new shred.

I bent my head forward, glimpsing at something stuck to the wall. It was in front of where Lennie stood, her body concealed it but now that she's gone, I see it.

From the moment my eyes caught it, I was instantly in a trance. My knees cracked, reluctantly standing and walking away from Remi's body, towards the wall. My feet take me directly in front of it, stopping where the words are readable through my teary eyes.

Two sticky notes are stuck to the wall.

One larger than the other. My eyes drifted to the smallest one.

Brothers.
When one dies, the other shall not stop until the killer pays.

The other one is larger, providing space for the more words that are scribbled across it in such familiar handwriting, the one I'd see first thing entering my office at work.

Did you enjoy the last kiss, the last hug, the last smile and laugh? I sure hope you did because that's what it was. The last you'll ever see of Harry Styles. With his heart beating at least.

👀

Thank you so much for 400k on Masked<3333 I'm always so eternally grateful for the love that you give me and allow my little book to blossom into something so greatly appreciated, it blows my mind. Every single reader that has taken even a moment of their time and spent it on something that I have written, means the absolute world to me and I'm so damn grateful. You've made me so happy, thank you, thank you!!