regrets ⇝ hs

xix. fear

Harry's POV

I gripped Brooklyn tightly and swallowed hard as Kayden's smirk only grew wider.

"Relax," I whispered into Brooklyn's hair. It smelled of the hotel's shampoo, but on her, it was almost intoxicating. I had no clue why, but it was. "We're gonna be okay."

I felt Brooklyn nod into my chest, and the wetness of her tears that were falling on my shirt. She sniffled and didn't dare peek an eye out to look at Kayden, and I couldn't blame her. The sight of him standing in front of us was nauseating and unsettling.

"Is someone scared?" Kayden asked, his question directed at Brooklyn who did nothing more than bury her face seemingly deeper into my chest. I placed a hand on the small of her back, but was certainly not fast enough to stop the next event.

Kayden gripped Brooklyn's upper arm and pulled her away from me with one forceful tug, her stomach now pressed against the counter that was separating the two of them. She let out a high pitched squeal and squeezed her eyes shut, still desperate to make sure she didn't see Kayden, as if not seeing him would make this all unreal.

He leaned close to her ear but spoke loud enough for the two of us to hear him word for word, and only the two of us. He was speaking to her, quite obviously, but wanted to set me off as well with his words.

"Listen here, slut," Kayden growled, making my entire body tense. "You're already fucking dead to me, but not until I get my money back, understand?"

His words were spit out harshly at Brooklyn- naive, sensitive, innocent Brooklyn - the girl who deserved absolutely none of this at all.

"So you better work your pretty little ass off to get it back. And maybe your little boy toy can help you out."

A smirk formed on Kayden's lips as a tear fell down Brooklyn's cheek. It was hard to contain myself from doing something I would regret, but I simply placed a hand on her back where Kayden couldn't see and rubbed small, comforting circles with my thumb. It wasn't much, but I hoped it could calm her down enough to function properly and pull herself together.

"Got it?" Kayden whispered, earning a rapid nod from Brooklyn. "And if you dare try to escape again, so help me, I will do unimaginable things to you."

Brooklyn took in a sharp breath as Kayden released her arm and walked off. She stood frozen, her arms hugging her body as it shook visibly. My eyes widened as tears began falling down her cheeks, but no sound fell from her lips and no movement came from her body.

"Brooklyn," I whispered and wiped her cheeks gently, a useless gesture seeing as more tears continued to fall. "Brooklyn, it's okay. I'm gonna make sure you're alright."

I sighed and pulled her trembling body into mine, rubbing her back and resting my chin on her head. "It's okay...sh..," I whispered. I heard her sniffle and felt her hand ball up some of the fabric of my apron.

"I want to go home," Brooklyn sobbed, her voice cracking.

"Our first shift is almost over," I mumbled into her hair. "We can go home and relax until seven in about half an hour."

"No," Brooklyn whispered, shaking her head into my chest. "I want to go home. Back to Wyoming. With my Aunt and Uncle."

I swallowed thickly and remained quiet, simply because I didn't know how to tell her that I wanted her to stay here with me. That I needed her to stay here with me. She gave me a sense of normalcy that I had never experienced in my life, and she was one of the first people I felt like I could actually open up to and be myself with.

"I should've never left home," she sobbed, shaking her head once again. "I should've stayed in Wyoming. I wasn't ready to be on my own."

"You're not on your own," I whispered and pulled back from Brooklyn. "I'm here for you. Don't worry."

Brooklyn nodded hesitantly before sitting back on the stool next to the register. I rubbed her back for a moment before returning behind the deli counter, pinching the bridge of my nose between my thumb and pointer finger.

Why the fuck did Kayden have to be such an asshole to Brooklyn? It was one thing for him to mess with me, which was understandable, but to mess with an innocent girl is just plain disgusting.

The both of us finished up our shifts and couldn't be happier to get a little break, but we knew we would be back here soon anyway. I walked over by Brooklyn and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Feeling okay?" I whispered, leading her out the front of the market and towards my car.

"Yeah," Brooklyn breathed out, nodding. "I think so."

The two of us entered my car in silence, neither of us speaking a word the entire ride back to the hotel. When we arrived, it was already half past twelve, giving us six and a half hours before we had to return to work. We got out of the car and made our way back up to our hotel room, stepping inside and closing the door.

Brooklyn slipped her shoes off and immediately climbed into her bed, pulling the blanket over her legs and leaning back against her pillow. She swallowed hard and re-tied her hair up with the band around her wrist, fiddling with her thumbs before deciding to turn on the television. I watched her silently with a look of worry etched into my features before kicking my own shoes off and slipping off my uncomfortable jeans, leaving me in my shirt and a pair of blue striped boxers.

I sat on the edge of Brooklyn's bed and looked at her over my shoulder. "My bed's a little uncomfortable right now. Can I join you?"

Brooklyn tried to conceal a giggle, but the way her eyes lit up a bit was enough to tell me that she was quite amused at my excuse. I smirked a bit and slid in the bed next to her once I got her approval in the form of a nod.

"I'm sorry I got you involved in my shitty life," I breathed out as Brooklyn laid her head on my shoulder. "I should've said it earlier, but I'm sorry. Really sorry."

Brooklyn was silent for a moment before she looked down and shrugged. "It's alright. It's not entirely your fault."

I sighed softly and looked at Brooklyn, biting my lower lip gently. "Maybe not. But I've done enough damage."

"It's alright, Harry," Brooklyn mumbled and looked back up at the television. "Can we order lunch? I'm starving."

I nodded and ran a hand through my messy hair. "What should I order?"

No more than 15 minutes later was there a knock at the door. A cart was rolled in with our meals and Brooklyn and I wasted no time before beginning to scarf down our food.

"That was good," Brooklyn said and crawled back into the bed once we finished, crossing her legs and sighing.

"You're still upset..," I mumbled and sat down right back next to her, raising my eyebrows.

"I'm not upset," she muttered and shrugged. "I'm just scared. How are you not scared?"

I ran a hand through my hair and simply responded with a shrug.

"I don't know," I said before pausing. "But, what I do know is that you need to not be scared."

"Why?"

"Because fear is what Kayden feeds off of."

(A/N: FILLER I KNOW I APOLOGIZE PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT IDK THIS STORY IS GONNA END SOON)