Twisted

Fran POV
Why isn’t Claire answering her phone?
I set the phone down with a heavy sigh once I heard the robotic voice telling me to leave a voicemail message. I had the urge to try calling her once again, with hopes of her actually answering, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
I’ve called her 20 times in the past hour. Not once has she answered.
I took a seat on the couch, my eyes wandering to my TV. I saw the flashing images, yet I didn’t see them. My mind was elsewhere.
Was she okay? Was Harry hurting her? Why isn’t she answering my bloody calls?
Distraught with worry, I grabbed my TV remote and tried watching the show. However, no matter how hard I tried to get my mind off of Claire, I kept remembering that night when she showed up on my doorstep, not realizing that she just spoke with a man that might as well be the devil himself.
It’s all my fault. I should’ve warned her. If I had, she never would have went into the alley.
All my fault.
And now Harry is interested in her. I knew how dangerous he was. I’ve seen him with women before—how he was so possessive towards them, even though I knew perfectly well he just treated them like they were an object. He was no normal human. He had no feelings towards women, no respect. He was simply the womanizer of the group.
So why was he so interested in Claire?
I knew the moment I met Claire that she had something different about her. Maybe it was because she didn’t know true fear, coming from America. I knew all of this, so I tried hiding it from her. I tried hiding the ugliness of London. I kept her from going near the alleys. I kept her busy by interesting her into going to the cinema often. It was all in vain, a futile attempt.
Yes, Claire was different than women here. She was so unaware to what was truly going on. She didn’t see the fear of people around her. That is, until now.
I buried my head in my hands, gritting my teeth. I’ve barely had a wink of sleep ever since that night. Guilt had overwhelmed me. I was the reason Claire was in a life-or-death situation. I was the one who could’ve warned her. But I didn’t.
I knew Harry must’ve done something to her. He couldn’t have done nothing. He was a heartless twat. Even though Claire told me through the phone that all he did was slap her, I knew he had to have done something else.
I didn’t even want to think about it.
What if she was dead right now?
Jumping from my seat, I nearly ran back to the phone and dialed her number again. I waited tensely for her voice to answer the phone, but let out a sigh of despair when the dial tone answered. Swallowing heavily, I leaned against the counter and hoped with all my heart that Claire was still alive.
What the bloody hell is he doing to her right now?
Feeling utterly hopeless, I wandered off into the kitchen and sat down at the table. I hated myself right now. I was responsible for—
Knock knock knock.
I nearly sprung out of my chair. Was that Claire? Could it be? Did she escape somehow?
Feeling a surge of hope, I ambled quickly to my front door and swung it open. However, as soon as I saw who was there, my smile was wiped clean from my face and my heart nearly stopped beating.
“W-what are you doing here?” I asked, frozen on the spot.
He smirked.
Instead of answering me, Harry Styles pushed past me into my own house. I immediately backed up, nearly tripping over my own feet, and eyed him in pure terror. My senses were out of control. My breathing had picked up just from the sight of Harry Styles.
But there was something really off about him. I could tell. He looked…
…really upset.
Keeping eye contact with me, he closed the door with such force that my walls shook. I let out a small shriek at the sudden contact.
“Where is she?” He asked, his eyes leaving me to look around the room.
“Who?”
“Don’t play stupid with me, you bitch.” He snarled, and before I knew it, he had his large hand around my throat, and his face was inches from mine. I was staring into the eyes of the devil. Shaking uncontrollably in his grasp, I tried feebly to claw at his fingers, but they were so tight around my throat. I felt some of my air being cut off. “Where is she?”
“I-I don’t know.” I answered through choked noises. My eyes widened even more when more pressure was added to my throat. To my horror, he picked me up a little off the ground, and I began kicking my legs, feeling myself choke under his hands.
“Don’t lie to me!” He shouted, and moments later I was lying on the ground, and my head hurt really bad. Dazed, I sat up, feeling suddenly weak, and saw Harry’s shadow fall over me. I slowly looked up at him, my mouth hanging open in a silent scream, too paralyzed with fear to do anything. “Tell me where she is, or I’ll burn your house down.”
“She’s not here.” I said quickly. “I swear she’s not here. I-I’ve been trying to call her, to check up on her, but she hasn’t answered her phone.”
Harry looked even angrier at my response.
He turned his back on me, his shoulders slightly hunched, and I eyed him closely. The more he stood there, the more I began slightly backing up to increase the distance between us.
Wait, so she escaped? She’s alive?!
“What have you done to her?” I asked a little quietly. All those years of standing by, watching people get dragged off the streets like a coward. All those years too scared to do anything, to stand up for anyone. But this time, I won’t let this happen to Claire. She was my friend, and I was her friend. I got on my feet, which were shaking, but I successfully kept my voice steady. “What the hell have you done to her, you bastard!”
When he didn’t answer me, I continued:
“What gives you the right to do what you do? I’ve seen what you’ve done to people. Everyone has. W are you doing this to her?” I backed away a little more, standing behind the couch, and my voice was rising to a low shout. “Why do people so fucked up like you always try to bring other people down? Claire came here to get away from her parents! You’ve made her life a living hell! You’ve made everyone’s likes here a living hell! I’m beginning to think that if everyone grew the courage to actually stand up to you, then you won’t be so high and mighty.”
Harry began laughing as soon as I stopped panting. I narrowed my eyes into angry slits, and before I could even think twice, I was behind him and right about to punch him in the back of his head.
But he had suddenly whirled around, and his hands grabbed my wrists and twisted my body around. He had me pressed against him from behind, and he had my arms twisted in a painful angle.
Pain seized my arms, and I let out a gasp. Just like that, all my courage vanished, fear seeping its way back. He was going to break my arm.
“Please!” I cried out, forgetting about pride. I wasn’t those people who could stay strong through anything. No, I was much weaker than that. Tears prickled in my eyes as I began pleading with Harry, begging him not to do it.
And I heard him laughing behind me. Laughing at my pain.
Once again, he had complete power over me. That’s just what he wanted.
He released me, and I stumbled forward a little, the pain vanishing instantly. Feeling weak and pathetic, I leaned back against a wall, trying to wipe away the tears falling down my cheeks. Harry stood there, his eyes trained on my face, looking quite smug.
“I had to remind you,” He told me, “who’s in charge here.”
“She’s not here.” I said, the tears never ceasing to stop. I cried like a pathetic woman right in front of him, giving up right in front of him. “I can show you how many times I’ve called her. She won’t answer me. I have no idea where she’s at.”
As if to double check, his green eyes glanced around the room. I stayed put as he walked out of the room, checking all throughout the house. I heard him moving things around, checking every single inch of the house.
And as I stood there, hearing all this, I knew he would never give up on finding her. His mind was set on Claire. And when he found her…
But what if he didn’t want to find her?
Such a horrible thought entered my mind. It was so terrible that I felt sick just thinking about it. I immediately shook the thought out of my mind. No. That would be rash and stupid—it would never work.
But what if it did?
Claire would be out of the mess. She would be free. I’ve spent all these years being just a bystander. Maybe I could finally make up for everything I’ve done with this act of valor.
But I don’t want to do it. I’m not strong enough, am I?
There was only one way I could help Claire. Even though I would get the bad end of the deal, I was assured knowing that my dear friend would finally be safe.
I began to formulate the plan in my head as I waited for Harry to return. When he did, he was walking briskly towards the door, not even giving me a second glance.
Then I said, “Harry.”
He ignored me, and when he reached for the door, I said louder, “Harry.”
“What?” He snapped, turning around. When he saw me, his body instantly froze.
I had taken off my shirt, which was now lying on the ground. Thankfully earlier today I wore the best bra I owned; it was lace, a bright red lace. His eyes were instantly on my chest, drinking in the sight of me, and I hoped he would take the bait.
A few seconds passed, his hand lingering on the door, and his eyes remaining on my chest. But soon, he slower withdrew his hand and an intent smirk tugged at his lips.
Harry was the womanizer of the group. I knew he would not be able to ignore this.
Then, in a (hopefully) seductive voice, I said, “Are you sure it’s Claire you want?” I walked, trying to swing my hips with each step, and tried to move smoothly. I stopped directly in front of him, my heart racing in my chest, and firmly rubbed his crotch. His eyes visibly darkened at my touch. “I know that you like submissive women, Harry. Claire isn’t submissive, is she? But I am.”
I began feeling up his member even more, feeling it harden under my touch. His entire body went completely stiff as he stared down at me, unable to look away.
“Forget about Claire,” I murmured, “and take me instead.”
Claire POV
“I think I just made the biggest mistake of my life.”
Kim ran a brush through her croppy, wet hair, taking a seat on the bed across from me. She wore a huge, oversized t-shirt over short shorts, and she shot me a strange look. “Claire, I got you the hell out of her. Instead of moping around, you should be celebrating.”
“Celebrating?” I chuckled bitterly, still in the same position I was in when I got here. I was lying on the bed, on my back, staring aimlessly up at the ceiling. In the car, it seemed like such a huge relief now that I was out of that mansion. But the more I thought about it, the more dread I felt. Harry knew this town like the back of his thumb—he would find me.
And when he did…
“Yeah, celebrating.” Kim clarified, tossing her brush aside as she sat further onto the bed, crossing her legs. “Look—you gave me a brief overview over what’s been going down here. But I don’t get it. What makes this gang so dangerous?”
“They’re messed up.” I murmured. “You don’t understand. I…I can’t really explain it.”
“They’re just a gang. We can call the police and have this all straightened out.”
“You don’t think I haven’t thought of that? Look, the gang owns the town. Hell, even some of the police work for them. The police—everyone—fears them.” I sat up a little, trying to get my point across to Kim. I didn’t want to scare her, but I wanted to understand what she was standing against. “This isn’t like America. The police aren’t on our side. Nobody is.”
“This doesn’t make sense.” Kim mumbled. “It’s the 21st century. Things like that just don’t happen anymore.”
To my dismay, my throat began tightening and I felt like I was on the brink of crying. “Kim, thank you for coming.”
She shot me a smile and got off the bed, sitting next to me. Without another word, she hugged me tightly. For some reason, having someone familiar hugging me made me feel a whole lot better. I hugged her back tightly, remembering all the times we’ve hugged like this over sleep overs or just randomly.
I kept remembering Harry—when he slapped me and fingered me. Those both hurt so much. I know last night he was alright, he wasn’t mean or anything, but I knew that there was a much dangerous side of him. The side that dominated him. The side that made people fear him completely.
Hell, I feared him.
And as I looked over my best friend, seeing her look over her phone, I saw the innocence in her. No she wasn’t a virgin, yes she’s gotten drunk many times. But she was oblivious to the true wickedness of this town—she wasn’t tainted yet. It seemed like it was too late for me.
And now she was involved.
“Oh god,” I murmured, “once they find me, I don’t know what they’ll do to you.”
Kim waved me off, typing something on her phone. “They won’t find us, Claire. We’re in a secluded hotel, for Pete’s sake. We’ll be back in America in no time, don’t you worry.”
I wished I could believe her. I really did. But I couldn’t.
Try to hide from me, I dare you. Try to run, I’ll catch you.
And to even add more to my negative thoughts, I remembered what I did with him last night. Blushing madly, I could not believe I actually enjoyed it. What was wrong with me?
How could I enjoy something from a man so evil?
“So I decided not to date Derek.” Kim told me, suddenly cheerful, as she still typed something on her phone.
“Why?” I asked, though given the dire situation I really couldn’t be fully interested in what she was saying. I was trying to figure a way out of this mess.
“He was too boring.”
“Why? Because he didn’t have a nose piercing?”
Kim giggled a little. “No.” Kim has always found guys that had piercings attractive. “He was just a pretty boy. You know?”
“Pretty boy’s aren’t bad.” I said quickly. “It’s the bad boys you need to look out for.” Such as Harry Styles.
I guess wrapping myself in a “normal” conversation was helping my mental state. I could feel myself really relaxing while talking to Kim, and I leaned back against the headboard. I tried to get my mind off of Harry so I wouldn’t go completely insane.
We continued talking like this, about the boys back home, until I suddenly gasped out loud.
“I’m so stupid!” I exclaimed.
“Why?”
“I know someone who can help us!” I quickly scrambled for my phone, dumbfounded by my stupidity. “How could I be so stupid?”
“What is it?”
I found my phone and when I opened it, I saw that Fran had called me over 10 times. Guilt washed through me. She was probably worried sick over me.
“Fran is a friend of mine.” I told Kim quickly, looking for Fran’s name in my contact list. I didn’t know why I didn’t just go to missed calls. “She lives here. She’ll help us.”
Kim shrugged, going back to her phone, and I clicked on Fran’s number. It rang a few times, but it was shut to voicemail.
Hm. Strange.
Why wasn’t she answering?
I waited a few seconds, wondering what to do, and called her back. It rang a few times and the sound cut off. My phone said she had answered, but there was only silence.
“Fran?” I asked hesitantly, Kim turning to look at me.
“Hey Claire.” I heard her say. “What’s up?”
What’s up? Normally she’d cut right to the chase.
“I got away from Harry.” I quickly told her. “Can I come to your place?”
“No.” She said quickly. I heard something fall—was it the phone?—and I swore I heard someone talk in the background. Furrowing my eyebrow, I waited tensely for her to reply. “I-I mean, I’ll meet you there. Where are you?”
Why did she sound so weird?
“I’m at this hotel, nearly outside of town.” I said, and I told her the name of it.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She told me and swiftly hung up.
I stared at the phone for a few seconds, mildly confused. Fran would normally be asking me thousands of questions: how did you escape? What had happened? Have you seen Harry?
Maybe she was just nervous, that Harry was going to be looking for me.
“I’m going to take a shower.” I told Kim. “Let me know if Fran calls back, okay?”
Fran POV
Pain. Everywhere.
Harry shoved me off of him. His body was laced with sweat, though his jeans pooled at his ankles, and his shirt was over next to us on the floor. I was bare naked under him. My face was slightly bruised from Harry grasping it so tightly, and my inner core felt like it was going to be sore for the next few days.
“Don’t touch me.” Harry snapped, sounding irritated.
I had to keep this real. For Claire.
Forcing a smile, I snuggled into his side, running my hands soothingly down his arm. Harry shot me a peeved look before getting off my bed.
“What did I just say?” He snapped again, angrier. I watched him start to redress himself, pulling up his jeans and sliding his shirt over his head.
“Harry,” I cooed, “come back to bed.”
“I have to find Claire.”
Shit, shit, shit.
“Why?” I asked, sitting up a little to show my bare breasts. His eyes lingered on me for a moment, but they quickly looked away when he saw my face. “I want to be your girl, Harry. I want you.”
“Claire is mine.” He stated, throwing open the door and stalking through it.
My face paled as I dove off the bed, running out of the room to follow him. He began to gather his phone together, not even looking at me. I really shouldn’t be surprised by his sudden passiveness towards me. All he wanted was a fuck—that was who Harry styles was. So why did he still want Claire if he would have a willing girl like me? Wasn’t he into submissive girls?
“Why do you want her?” I asked. “She’ll fight you; I won’t.”
He didn’t reply. He only began to continue gathering his things, looking around for his jacket.
“Harry,” I pressed myself against him, my hand fondling his crotch again.
Wrong move.
He shoved me so hard backwards that I lost balance and fell on my butt. I was starting to panic. I couldn’t let my plan go to vain—my sacrifice.
“Harry!” I cried as he began walking to the door. “Please don’t go! I want you!”
And suddenly, my phone began ringing. Harry stopped dead in his tracks and we both looked, in perfect unison, towards the source. Harry made it to the phone first, and when he saw Claire’s name, he looked like he was about to open it. I jumped in and snatched the phone out of his hand.
His face twisted in fury. He said in a low snarl, “You fucking bitch!” And he brought back his hand to slap me violently across the cheek. I dropped my phone in the process, and it stopped ringing.
“Listen to me carefully,” Harry told me slowly, “you will call her back. You will ask her where she’s at. Got it?”
“No,” I murmured, shaking my head. “No, I can’t do that.”
He handed the phone to my trembling hands and circled around me. My entire body stiffened when I lost sight of him, and I felt his arms encircle my waist.
“Call her,” He demanded into my ear.
I jumped a little when the phone rang in my hands. I hesitated, and Harry grabbed my arm and began twisting it again. Feeling absolutely terrible, I opened the phone and pressed my ear into the set.
Silence.
Then, “Fran?”
What the hell do I say?
“Hey Claire, what’s up?” I really hoped she recognized the fear in my voice and hung up.
To my dismay, Claire replied, “I got away from Harry. Can I come to your place?”
Harry twisted my arm a little again, and I had to stifle a yelp. “No.” Then, when Harry suddenly released my arm, I dropped the phone. I quickly picked it up, “I-I mean, I’ll meet you there. Where are you?”
“I’m at this hotel, nearly outside of town. I think it’s called the Paddington Hotel or something.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I couldn’t talk anymore. Tears were running down my cheeks and a sob was threatening to break through my chest. I swiftly hung up on Claire, going limp against Harry. Harry only broke away from me, and I had to sit down on the couch, forgetting that I was naked. I buried my head in my hands, weeping, my sobs echoing throughout the house.
Harry said no more. When I looked up, he was gone.
Oh blood hell. I’m the worst friend ever.
Claire POV
When I found Kim in the hotel lobby, flirting with a random guy, I grabbed her elbow and tried dragging her back to the room. Irritated, she broke away from me, giving me a what the hell look and hissed in a whisper:
“What are you doing?”
My hair was soaking wet from my shower, and I had on fresh clothes that she let me borrow, since all my clothes were back at my apartment. “You can’t be out here, Kim. We have to be in the room. If Harry sees us—”
“—Claire, you have to get a hold of yourself.” She grabbed my shoulders, looking concerned. “Harry is not going to find us. Do you understand me?”
Why did I have to doubt her words? Why couldn’t I just believe her? Fran was on her way this very minute to help us out.
“Look into my eyes.” Kim insisted, her large brown eyes looking right into mine. I forced myself to look at her. I tried calming down. Her voice as soft and soothing. “I’m with you, okay? I’m not going to let some gangster do anything to you. So don’t worry.” She smiled reassuringly at me, then added, “Go back to the room and get some rest, okay? I’ll be right here. And if you get scared, just call me. You’re safe.”
I nodded silently, and Kim returned to the guy, picking up her flirting game. I glanced around the lobby, anxiety creeping into my stomach.
There was nowhere to hide.
I brought this upon myself. If I had only told Kim—forced her to leave. If I had only resisted the temptation to run away. If I had only stayed, I would never been in this mess.
I’d still be stuck with Harry.
The feeling of helplessness ran through me, and I suddenly felt like crying. I nearly ran back to the hotel room, all the images of Harry doing things to me replaying in my mind. The diary of his mother, the words running through me.
Did I pity Harry? Did I pity him because of his terrible past? Was I giving him an excuse for being a terrible person?
I fell onto the bed, taking a shuddering breath into the fresh clean pillows.
Harry was heartless.
He was bad.
There was absolutely no chance for him, right? He had gone too far. It would just be a lost cause.
Right?
I began crying when I remembered the picture of his mother. Why was the world so unfair? Why did his father have to turn into such a monster and tear the family apart? If his father had remained the same, this Harry everyone feared would not be here. He would be a normal, good-looking guy. But instead, he became something else entirely.
I pictured a little boy being forced to hit his own mother. I pictured a little boy hiding in his room, listening to his own mother getting beaten—hearing her cries. I pictured his mother holding up for the first time. Even worse, I could picture his father yelling at his own baby. Ifelt all the pain he must have felt.
I cried for Harry’s mother. She married a man who she trusted her life, a man she had loved. That same man turned into a monster that had beat her.
Whatever happened to his mother anyway?
And why did Harry kill his father?
The pillow was damp now from my tears, and my body was overcome with exhaustion from the events of the day. I lay there, drowned out in the darkness surrounding me, and found a peaceful sleep in minutes.

Notes

There are 2 things you, my lovelies, have probably noticed about this chapter:

One, I haven't updated for a long long time. I'm so sorry, I mention this on my last chapter that I was so sick so I'm really really sorry.

And two, I changed the POV's between Claire and Fran. I don't normally change POV's like that, but this chapter just seemed suitable to have some of it in Fran's POV. So I did it. Let me know what ya'll thought of it! :D

Don't forget to RATE & VOTE this story!. ;))