INDECENT 》Harry Styles #Wattys2018

》Chapter Seventy-Six

Edited by:  _rose

Jade's Pov.

"Where have you been?" Her strident voice hides so much concern and pain. I feel so ashamed for making her worry, she didn't deserve this.

"I've been looking for you everywhere! I called the police and they couldn't find you. Do you have any idea how scared I was?"

Harry escorts me inside, somehow his figure is outstanding and towers all of us. 

" Let's just calm down, everyone." He is keeping his tone low so that I won't freak out.

"I don't understand. They told me that if I ran away, they would get my mother and make her pay for it. Why is she still here?".

"They? Who are they?" I clearly see how my mother's face softens and panic washes over her the second she notices my bruises and my tired bones. She can't make out the words, however I read them loud and clear over her lips.

She steps closer,  while she tears herself from the inside for something she has no power on. In the end, it always ends up like this, the innocents grieve, the guilty ones relieve.

"I don't think they'll stop just because she isn't here alone." Karen irrupts causing for everyone to look at her. She raises her chin and assumes that snobby attitude I so much hate only that now I can see, it is just a defensive mechanism to protect herself.

"What do you think, Karen?" Cole is so out of place here. He keeps looking around amazed and astonished, probably not used to this tiny little place.

"I think this has definitely something to do with the kidnapping."

Before my mother could ask any more questions, we hear footsteps coming from upstairs. Harry jumps in front of me like he was programmed to do so and I just stay there, ready to run for the hills, if we need to.

"Connie, I heard the doorbell-" He froze right before us and takes a look around, not expecting these many people.

" Is that, her?" My mother nods, letting out a freeing breath before going into the kitchen. I guess it's not easy to recognize me with half of my weight eaten up by the stress and my face looking more like a Kandinsky painting.

" I'll make tea for everyone. Just take a seat and rest, you all look like you've been through a lot and we have a lot to talk about."

Once we finally sit down, my mother pours us hot mugs of her famous peach tea. I can't shake the feeling of this man not ripping his eyes off me and I can tell Harry noticed too because he is staring at him, not very convinced.

"Where have you been girl?" His tone is neutral as if he is used to ask questions.

"That is none of your business." Harry irrupts not trusting outsiders.

"Indeed it is. He's the chief of the police, Harry. He was helping me with Jade's case. Milton please." She reprimands him sweetly.

Then it occurres to me why my mother has been safe here. Because he was with her and they don't have any power over him so they didn't want to risk. One thing is making a common person disappear, the other is trying to kill a police officer. Perhaps we can trust this man.

"So, this is what you meant when you said you called the police?" 

"He was trying to find you but you disappeared into nothing. Also nobody was answering my phone calls, what else could I have done?" She gives Harry a hard glare, the first I've ever seen her giving him.