I barely had time to register the fact that Seth was really standing in front of me before I was knocked backwards, sailing toward the bed. I let out a cry of pain and climbed further away from Seth. It surprised me when I saw another male standing beside him. He had blonde hair sticking up in all directions and a wild look to his eyes.
"Don't touch her," Seth hissed at him. It surprised me that Seth wasn't the one to throw me into the bed, but instead his friend. "Not her. Keep look out."
The blonde male rolled his eyes but listened to Seth's commands. I wondered vaguely why anyone with that strength would listen to Seth, but it slipped my mind as soon as Seth's attention turned to me.
"It's really you then, kitten?" I flinched inwardly at Seth's pet name for me. He only used it when he was being the guy I had fallen for, the reason that I had stayed with him for so long. It made me sick to hear that pet name again. I didn't answer.
He chuckled, shaking his head slightly as he moved forward toward the edge of the bed. "Don't worry. You'll get used to me again in time. Now come on, kitten. Don't make a show of this when we walk out and maybe I'll go easier on you." His smile made my heart beat in fury and fear.
I didn't move from my position on the bed. I couldn't will myself to move any closer to the monster in front of me. I took that moment to assess his physical appearance.
His light brown hair was a little longer than the last time I'd seen him, his bangs cutting across his forehead. The icy blue of his irises remained the same, something that had drawn me in from the beginning, but his eyes were slightly bloodshot and they had an undeniably crazed look to them.
Seth clicked his tongue in disapproval. "That won't do, kitten. How about this? You act nice and I'll spare Styles."
"Harry?" his name escaped my mouth in a broken whisper. What did that mean? Was Harry in trouble? I felt the overwhelming urge to run and find him, regardless of what might happen to me because of it. All I could think of was Harry lying somewhere, shattered and empty because of me.
"So you two are on a first-name basis?" he smirked, shaking his head slightly. "What happened to you, Alice? Hanging around with gang members now? He's no good for you. Do you even know anything about him besides the obvious?"
I realized then how little I really did know about Harry. I knew he was in a gang. I knew he had a temper. I knew his eyes grew darker when he was angry or feeling a particularly strong emotion. I knew he liked Pink Floyd. But those all seemed like useless facts now.
"It doesn't matter," I mumbled defensively.
Seth laughed. "You know he fucks every female he gets near that's desperate enough? He beats people within an inch of their life because it's fun to him. He runs a gang of some of the most disgusting people you'll ever meet. I don't know why you stuck around with him. He's bad news, Alice."
"Has he ever beat a woman?" The strength and calmness in my voice surprised me. Seth narrowed his eyes.
"We're going now," he stated bluntly, disregarding my question.
"But--"
"Now," he growled. Before I could barely register what he had said he reached across the bed and tugged me by my legs towards him. A gasp escaped my mouth at his actions and he rolled his eyes before pulling me up by my wrists so that our faces were inches apart, our chests pressed uncomfortably together.
"Be good, kitten," he whispered, before releasing all of me but one hand and tugging me outside.
I whimpered against his tight hold but didn't struggle. For one thing, I knew I couldn't fight against him or his friend. And then there was the Harry issue. I wasn't sure if he really was in trouble or not, or if I should even care, but after all he'd done for me, I felt like I should care. And I did.
