Love Don't Die

A hiss escaped each tire as the bullets made contact, and Harry unwillingly had to pull the car over. I tried to steady my breath but couldn’t. I thought we could get away. We were so close.

As I stared into my lap I felt Harry grab my hand. I looked up at him with tearful eyes and he gave me a stern look.

“It will be okay, Toni. I won’t leave you.” I squeezed each of his fingers before a loud bang on my window made me jump in my seat.

“Get out of the fucking car!” a man in white hollered. I looked behind him and saw several other Bones jump out of the two vehicles that were chasing us. Before I could unbuckle myself the passenger door swung open and I was ripped out of the vehicle.

“Too fucking slow!” the man yelled as he threw me onto the empty road. I shakily stood up as he held tight onto the sleeve of my shirt, making it impossible for me to move the right side of my body.

“Aw, look, Duke! She brought her fucking boyfriend.” A man with yellow teeth and a scar around his left eye said as he dragged Harry from the other side of the car.

“How charming!” Duke chuckled, “were you two planning on going on your honeymoon?” I said nothing as I locked my eyes with Harry.

“Well what do we do with him?” Scarface asked as he held Harry in front of him.

“Fish wants the girl, not him. Do what you want.” Duke shrugged as the other started to smile. Before I could blink he threw Harry on the ground and started to punch and kick him.

I screamed and tried to run to him, but Duke was holding me back.

“What’s wrong, love? Worried about your little boyfriend?” he laughed as two other members joined him.

They continued to kick and beat him until splatters of blood started to show up in the asphalt.

“Stop it, please!” I continued to scream but they wouldn’t listen. I cried as I helplessly watched Harry weaken under the constant abuse. He was trying to cover his face but I could see the bruises and cuts through his hands. They were going to beat him dead.

“Don’t! Please! I’m the one you want, not him! Just please stop it you’re killing him!” I wailed out in one last attempt to save him.

And for whatever reason, they stopped.

They peeled his body off the ground while he struggled to lock his knees. I couldn’t stop crying as I looked at him. His once beautiful face was puffy and covered in blood, and his body was hunched over with the pain of hundreds of poundings. I reached out my hand to him but was shoved back by the gang members. Without another word they threw me into one of the cars and Harry into the other. I closed my eyes and sobbed as I felt the car move underneath me.

In a swift movement, a blindfold was placed over my eyes and the evil men chatted around me. I knew I should have been listening, but my mind was too busy to think about anything else. They were going to kill me. But worse, they were going to kill Harry. I needed to save him. All Harry ever did was take care of me, and this time I needed to take care of him. But how?

For the rest of what felt like a two hour car ride, I devised a plan. It was a long shot, but it might work out in my favor. The car stopped and I felt someone threw me over their shoulder. The air suddenly changed from hot to cold, and I could feel the bouncing as we descended down some stairs. Then I was propped on some sort of chair, and my hands and feet were being tied to it. When the blindfold finally came off of my eyes, I saw I was in a small room with little lighting and pipes around the ceiling.

And then there was Fish staring me straight in the eyes.

He looked even more evil than before, if at all possible. His eyes were more beady, and there were wounds on his body – no doubt from all the shit that has been going on. I started to wonder if this was his last attempt at revenge but shook it from my mind. His whole life was revenge. I was just caught in the middle of it.

“My, my, my. The tables have certainly turned, haven’t they, love?” He smiled as he raped me with his eyes. I gave him a look of disgust and spat at his feet. He jumped back at the action, but then sprang forward and grabbed my neck with his meaty hand.

“Now we won’t be doing any more of that, yeah? Cause I would hate to have to muzzle you like the little bitch you are.” He gritted his teeth as he tightened the grip on my throat, and I nervously swallowed as I nodded my head in agreement.

“Good,” he said as he let go and stood back in front of me. “You know you are one tough biscuit to find. I should have known you’d be whoring around with someone new.” He was now walking towards a table, where I saw a medium-sized case. When he opened it I saw an arrangement of knives, hammers, and other tools. I started to feel the sweat form on my forehead.

I watched as his fingers traced each of the weapons, but instead of picking one up he closed the case again. He must have known I was watching him, because when he turned back around he smiled at me.

“Wouldn’t want to start on that yet, would we? First I have to kill your little boyfriend.” He then pulled a switchblade out of his pocket and spun it around in his hand. “Should I slit his throat like your flat mate?” he asked and then reached into his back pocket this time, pulling out a handgun, “or should I put a bullet through his skull like your little blonde friend?” The tears stung my eyes. This fucking bastard.

“You hear what you just said? You already killed two of my mates, so why not let this one live? He’s done nothing to you. I’m the one you want, so kill me. He doesn’t need to be a part of this.” I tried to fight back my tears as I spoke, but I knew either way I sounded weak and pleading. Apparently I was right, because Fish just laughed me off like a stupid child.

“Oh but I really want to kill this one, love. I see how you are around him. You need him. And that’s why it will be even more fun to kill him.” He started walking towards the door but turned around halfway through.

“Now do you want his hand as a sign he’s dead or maybe I can scalp off his curly hair? Whichever you prefer.” He grinned and continued to leave. I began to sob as I knew now was the last time I could get him to let Harry live.

“You can’t kill him!” I yelled out, making him stop in his tracks. “He’s Harry Styles!” The tears were falling hard as I pleaded for Harry’s life. I needed to.

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” he spat in my face, coming back towards me.

“He’s famous. In the band One Direction? You know, from the X Factor? Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson…they’re on their fourth platinum album for fuck’s sake! You have to know them!” I didn’t see any registration in his eyes as I began to recall every detail of Harry’s life I never let him know I knew. “Come on, they’re practically on every magazine cover and billboard in this entire fucking country! He’s even dating Kate Upton, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model.” Suddenly, his mouth turned into a smile.

“Kate Upton, eh? I think I’ve wanked off to her a few times. Fit fucking broad she is. But if he’s dating her, then why the fuck is he with you?” He pointed the blade at my eyes.

“I ask myself the same question every day.” I kept my eyes locked on his. He ignored me and moved on.

“So…he makes a lot of money then?”

“Tons.” I watch his every move.

“Hmm.” He started to circle my chair like a great white shark. “Maybe I have other plans for him. But who’s to say I won’t just kill him in the end?”

“Then you’d be even more of an idiot than I thought you already were.” He grimaced at me but let me continue.

“His people would pay you hundreds of thousands of pounds to let him live. You could take the money and escape. I know about the cops; I know you’re trapped. So if you let him live, you can live, too.” The plan fell perfectly out of my mouth. Deep down I knew all this rat cared about was himself, so if he was fine in the end then that’s all that mattered.

He laughed and stopped walking so that he was facing me.

“You’re a clever one, aren’t you?” He traced his hand down my face and I turned away from him. He removed it and started pacing again.

“Fine.” He stopped moving and stared at the ground. “The kid can live.”

A wave of relief swept over me. It worked. It actually worked. But before I could give myself a round of applause, he jumped in front of me and pressed the blade of the knife up to my neck as he held his cheek close to mine.

“But now, puppet, what happens to you?” I could smell his rancid breath as his tongue flicked out the words.

“Kill me,” I gulped. “You want to kill someone today? Then kill me. I don’t matter, he does.” Fish chuckled as he turned the blade around my jawline.

“And why don’t you matter, love? You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.” My breath hitched as he pressed the knife against my skin.

“A lot of people love, Harry. He has his band, his family, his fans…millions of people count on him every day. Me? I have no one. If I die, no one will shed a tear. No one will bat an eyelash. I’m nothing. Out of the two of us…I deserve to die. This is my problem, not his. He’s just a stupid boy who got in with the wrong girl. So why don’t you get up the balls and kill me like a real man.” The tears fell down my cheeks as I faced my reality. I was all alone. The only one I had left was Harry. And he needed to live.

Fish chuckled at me as he removed the knife from my neck and threw it across the room. My eyes widened as he started to fumble with the zipper of his trousers.

“Well before that, my dear,” I closed my eyes as he reached into his pants, “I’m finally going to get what I always wanted from you.” He tugged me closer to him and I squeezed my knees together.

But all of a sudden there were two loud bangs and Fish let go of his hold on me. I heard men yelling, and Fish quickly pulled out his pistol and ran out of the room.

It had to be Harry.

Through the gun shots, which grew louder and more frequent, I tried to focus. I needed to loosen the rope around my hands and untie my feet so I could get out of this stupid little room. I moved my shoulders this way and that, finally grabbing a piece of the rope in my hand. I tugged on the little piece until the grip around my wrists started to relax and fall off. The gun shots were getting less and less, so I knew time was not on my side. I quickly moved on to my feet, and rubbed them in different directions until I felt some sort of release. Just as I yanked on the last little bit of rope, the shots ceased.

Oh, no.

That’s it. He’s dead. They outnumbered him. They overpowered him. He tried to break free but they stopped him. They finally did it. They killed Harry.

The tears flooded my lap as I began to sob. I heard the door slam open and continued to stare down. Let them kill me. Let them shoot me dead like a dog. There was no point anymore.

“Toni? Are you okay?” I slowly raised my head to make sure I wasn’t hearing things. But there he was, standing in the doorway, blood on his shirt and a gun in his hands.

I stared at him with my mouth agape, and he limped over to me, his right leg dragging a little behind in his strides. It’s then I notice the wound around his thigh and realize he’d been shot.

I don’t hesitate as I run over and throw my arms around him in a hug. I can’t believe it. He did it. He saved us. I cry into his shoulder until he pulls me away.

“I’m so happy to see you, baby. But we need to leave, okay? I’m afraid more Bones are coming and I need to get you out of here.” I wipe my nose with my hand and follow him out of the room. As he weaves his way around the basement, we pass by the only other room down there. There’s one arm sticking out of the doorway, and I shiver and look away. I follow Harry up the stairs and force myself not to look back. As we get outside, Harry reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a set of keys.

“These should work for one of the cars. Are you good to drive?” I nod and he hands me them. I press the little unlock button until one of the cars beep, and help Harry into the passenger side.
I get into the driver seat and before leaving kiss him softly on the lips.

“Thank you.” He smiles slightly and I start the ignition.

Notes