For five minutes I'd stubbornly stood against the wall, arguing with Harry and his dwindling patience over the mere fact that I didn't want to sit down. Finally Zayn intervened. "This is pointless, Haz," he deadpanned. Harry sighed, pushing his curls back as he eyed me.
"Would you please just sit down?" he asked tiredly.
I considered it briefly. "No."
"For fucks sake!" he yelled angrily, his hands tangling in his hair again as he harshly pulled. I felt my body go rigid as his fury broke through my icy stubbornness. Harry had rarely ever shown any anger that was directed at me, but the blackness of his eyes that stared straight in my direction told me that this time his anger wasn't anywhere else.
My body instantly moved forward. I pulled out an empty chair and sat, my gaze never leaving Harry's face. His anger slowly subsided. "Right then, we've already wasted enough time, let's just get right into it," he harshly spoke.
I just nodded before averting my eyes to the shiny tabletop. My confidence had flooded away from me now as if some magical dam had broken within me and let it loose. I was suddenly wary of the situation I had placed myself in and felt almost frightened by the anger that emanated from Harry. I knew that I had caused it, and that made me fear it even more.
"Ray Sykes is a ruthless killer," Harry said, his voice dripping with hostility. "Look at me." My gaze immediately lifted, his tone dark and dangerous. It made my skin prickle. I had never heard him use a voice quite so terrifying before. "He is in a gang. An incredibly powerful, incredibly large gang. This gang will do anything and everything for him. If he wants someone dead, they die as soon as he snaps his fingers, and you're next on his list.
"If I didn't know any better I'd almost think you had a death wish," he laughed humorlessly. "You refuse any type of help, which is just so fucking stupid. You would think that of all people, you would be smart enough to realize that this isn't a game. I keep telling you that, but nothing seems to get it through your head. So maybe this will.
"Ray Sykes is after you. He will stop at nothing to take your life away, no matter what it takes. He can put a bullet through your heart faster than you could imagine, but that's not how he'll do it." Harry paused, abruptly standing from his chair. His long legs allowed him to swiftly move around the table towards me, yet my eyes stayed locked on his vacated chair, unable to look up at him as he bent down, his face just beside mine. If I turned, I would be staring right into his dark eyes.
"He will torture you," he whispered, though I knew everyone could hear. "He will take you and hurt you in every way possible. He will listen to you scream and beg for mercy but there won't be any. And then he'll silence you without a second thought... look at me." But I couldn't. I couldn't will myself to turn to Harry and see the darkness swirling in his eyes, the vicious look on his face.
"Look at me!" he repeated, but this time he yelled. I jumped in my seat, feeling my entire body tremble as I turned to finally comply to his request. Just as expected, I was immediately staring directly into his eyes.
"Ray Sykes will kill you," he said bluntly.
I surprised myself with the lack of emotion I displayed then. As Harry spoke I had felt the wall I had securely built around me begin to crumble into nothingness, but it was as if those five final words had brought it right back up again, this time with reinforced steel.
"And what do you propose I do then?" I asked stiffly.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Let us protect you."
I scoffed, shaking my head in disbelief. "It's amazing how you think I'm the stupid one here when you cannot seem to understand that I don't want you in my life. What happened to allowing me to finally be happy? I got that and then you come right back. It's like you just want me to be miserable!"
