The Silence That Surrounds

Niall’s POV:

My eyes were kept down to the stove as I heated up the pasta from earlier from dinner. We never woke her – it seemed rather pointless. All bloody pointless. The whole thing. From binding and leading her to the clearing to the moment Harry’s father called. Around here was an adventure where none of us knew what would happen from one moment to the next and I best stay out of it all if I knew what was good. I learned long ago that I may not always like the answer and I resisted the urge, I resisted everything, ever since Caroline –ever since I knew the realization of the job. I couldn’t make the same mistake with Sophia. I couldn’t break. I already fucked up once with Harry and if he saw a weakness he would use it against me.

“…You are my puppet and you will obey your master. I can be kind or I can be cruel but either way Ms. Stone, you are now mine. Welcome to the group.”

Harry began storming away, leaving Sophia scared and confused. I rushed to her, bending down to examine the red handprint that was forming on her tearstained cheek, her eyes puffy from crying and her spirit broken.

“We all break here Ms. Stone – eventually,” I murmured to her defeated, feeling her arms start to go around me but I stopped them, looking up at her with a look of cold indifference. “Harry is right, you need to strengthen your reserve before his father gets here. He will shoot you without a moment’s hesitation. Please, calm down. Shhh, come now. You’re alright. See? No harm done.” I forced a smile, the pure white of my teeth hidden behind guarded hues – something she didn’t even seem to notice.

“I – I need, I need.” She couldn’t even continue, using her hand to cover her mouth and break down again.

“I know. I know lass, but I can’t give you that. You need to find comfort in the pain, we’ve all had to come to terms with it. Otherwise, if we start showing weakness now, it’s the quickest way to get yourself killed. We wouldn’t have the reputation we have if we all broke down crying all the time, would we?” I laughed, my thumb removing a piece of hair from her beautiful dark blue orbs. They were much more filled with emotion than my cold grey blues.

“What did Harry mean? Welcome to the group, w-what?” Her hand moved to her chest as she started to go from hiccupping to hyperventilating. Her stress level was growing beyond controlling.

“Liam?! I need something out here! She’s hyperventilating!” I yelled into the back hearing Liam curse, muttering incomprehensible things before I heard him walking further down to his room. I grabbed her into a tight embrace knowing right now and much to the dismay of my better judgment, I gave in to her need for comfort and secured her into the safe barrier of my arms, rubbing her back and whispering the lie of comforting words.

“You’re going to be okay Sophia, you’re alright, see? You’re with us, you’re safe.” I cooed, sickness filling my stomach. If Harry saw I would be such a dead Irishman.

Liam hurried from the back and toward us, no emotion on his face as he uncapped one of the shots that we used on her during her stay the first night. I held her tightly as Liam plunged the needle into her arm and released the drug. He didn’t do it viciously but Sophia didn’t have much time to react.

“W-why.” She gasped in a strangled cry.

“Because you need to calm down. Come on, let’s get you to bed. I’ll be in in a while. I got to help Zayn get your brother’s bed ready and wait for Harry to get back to see if I need to help him with anything. You’ve had a rough day, I want you to just rest now, okay dove?” I winked, looking up to see Liam standing there with his arms crossed.

“Harry will use her as a weakness against you or did you just as soon forget what happened with Caroline? You’re playing a dangerous game, mate. You know how unpredictable Harry is and you know what he’s capable of.” Liam warned, glancing at Sophia who held on for everything she was worth. “Ms. Stone needs to straighten out real quick, she needs to bring that anger I know that Harry already planted to come to surface, it’s the only way she’s going to survive here –you know what I’m saying to be true.”

I sighed, feeling her grip loosen a bit. The drug forcing her into slumber.

“I do and I’m trying here. Not exactly as strong as she was three months ago, not after what she’s been through. We broke her and she’s not going to be fixed in one day.” I argued her mental stability – if there was even much of that left.

“You’re right, she has three tops or Harry’s dad is going to gun her down just for laughs. Caroline wasn’t strong enough –none of the women were, mate.” Liam sighed, his eyes reflecting the worry that I felt. He was right.

“I suppose you have a checkmate there, Li,” I reluctantly agreed, catching Sophia as her body completely went limp against mine. “Good girl Sophia, come on, bedtime.”

I hauled her body into a bridal style position and balanced her as I walked back to my room, which happened to be in front of the guestroom she had resided in.

“You need some ties, mate?” Zayn asked softly, coming out from the guest bedroom where I was about to turn into my own.

“Nah, the point is moot. She’s not going to escape – there would be no real point would there? We can’t escape, she can’t escape –no use tying her down like an animal anymore.” I replied, kicking open my door and setting her down on the queen sized bed.

“Moot or not, did Harry give any specific order to? If he did, best to listen to him – you know what he’s like.” Zayn warned, walking in next to me and helping to strip Sophia’s dirty socks from her feet before carefully stripping her from the beautiful strapless black feather printed maxi dress. I found it amongst her stuff earlier and it suited her modest personality.

She laid naked on my bed and I hurriedly went to the guestroom to dig out a nightshirt and matching bottoms, making my way back.

I threw Zayn the bottoms and helped get the top on so she was comfortable. I didn’t even know why I was making the effort but Harry left me in charge of her and I would not disappoint him. He was already a nearly impossible bloke to please.

Sophia was soon redressed and under the covers, her face still red but now she looked peaceful.

“Harry’s father just said she was still hostage status but Harry gave no further instructions before leaving so I’ll need to ask him when he comes back. For now she’s under the spell of methohexital and that should keep her out until the morning. Chaining her down seems useless but then again, I am not the leader. I’m the imprisoned captor. My word means absolute shyte.”

Zayn chuckled well naturedly, sitting down next to Sophia and patting away a few pieces of hair, his golden honeydew brows glancing at her in a quick sparse thought.

“You’re thinking what we’re all thinking, aren’t you, Zay?” I shifted, looking up at Liam as he entered the door to see us sitting on the bed next to the girl. He shook his head disapprovingly but joined us.

“If by everyone, then yes, I don’t think Ms. Stone is going to see her twenty-third birthday – I don’t even think she will see past this week. None of the other girls did.” Zayn reasoned.

“Isn’t there anything we can do to help?” I questioned, glancing to Liam. He was the oldest by a few months. He was a pro at the do’s and don’ts of Harry styles.

“Three days from now is Friday. We have that window of time to try and accommodate her with some basic lessons but needless to say, we broke the girl. She’s broken, she is in a state where she’s craving any human interaction. Be it abusive, forceful –anything right now and I would need three days more than what we have to even begin to chip away at the surface. The only thing that would be the least bit beneficiary to her is Harry. He seems to get the desired reaction. He provokes the anger and frustration. I will discuss the options with him when he gets back from his run. I just hope this doesn’t blow up in our bleeding faces.” Liam said, offering his reasoning on the whole thing. Although I detected a slight bitterness.

“Why do we care? Why are we seeking trouble? What makes this girl so different from the rest?” I sighed in frustration. Normally I wouldn’t have thought twice about Sophia but there was just something about her that reminded me of innocence…was it too late to seek redemption in its grace? Was I trying to do that or did I genuinely care?

“Your guess is as good as mine is, Ni, lad. Why are we getting involved? It’s stupid and dangerous but we’ve all been there, right? Maybe to put her at ease, all we need to do is show the side she needs to see the most right now – a human side. We have spent so much time shut off, maybe it’s time to change tactics.” Zayn rubbed the back of his neck nervously, he looked about as unsure as I felt.

“We need to stick to what Harry tells us to do. We have a reputation to maintain and an appearance to keep up. We do not have choice, Harry tells us not to touch the lass, we do not touch her. If he says to cut a 1D sign on her neck, then we best bloody fucking do it, yeah? Do not make the mistake you did with Caroline, Ni. If you truly care for Ms. Stone, you will do what is best by her and listen to the master. It’s up to him if the girl stays or goes and right now, he’s looking to put her six feet down. Follow the rules. She too will succumb to the cold reality eventually. They all do, just as Zayn said – everyone breaks.”

Liam stood to walk out the door, leaving us to look after him but stopped when he got to the threshold.

“Oh, Niall? I need you to get me a box of those absorbent cups from the basement and a box of those protective boxer shorts. Dylan’s code red so Harry’s dad doesn’t want him let out of sight or let up until he has a chance to find out exactly what he knows. If you find the bedpan down there, let me know, I can’t seem to find the bloody thing.” Liam explained, scratching his head. “I’m going to finish setting up his bed and get some blood thinners set out. Lovenox seems to work best on code red hostages.” He walked straight into the other room, his mind seeming to go in one direction before heading the other.

Can’t say I blame him, it’s been a few years since we’ve had a code red captive and the experience is not pleasant for either party involved. I’m glad we don’t get many in.

I groan and get up, Zayn following my lead.

“I’ll help.” He offered with a small smile, grabbing my shoulder as we left the room to go to the basement.

*

Liam’s POV:

I lifted the mattress down over the ten point setup Harry had us install. This was becoming more of a bother than it was even worth. I trusted the girl’s information but we already got the one thing that could further disassemble Stone’s empire – we had his daughter. The daughter that knew every associate tied to the company and their net worth sum that they had invested. I mean, we had the very one that could be used as a weapon against her father and yet, we were heading into uncharted waters by kidnapping Stone’s son – a person that held little strategy in the game of chess. A simple pawn is all he was. Keeping him code red guarded with five against one was a waste of our time and resources but whatever Senior Styles was planning, it couldn’t just stop with Dylan Stone. It was going beyond that. He would get the information and then he would kill the boy simply because he knew Senior Stone’s attachment to his male heir

“Restraint points installed! How is it going in the basement, mates?! Any luck finding the stuff?!” I yelled, coming out of the room and heading to the basement, which was only on the other side of the kitchen and down a few steps. I heard them rummaging around, boxes being ripped open and strewn about.

“Nothing yet, you sure you put them down here? I say we skip all this bullocks and let him up, five against a twenty-one year old little runt. What is he going to do? Run? Fight back? Even Sophia had more rights and privileges, I don’t see the need to keep him on code red and tied down like a bloody fucking anim – found them,” Zayn muttered, throwing a box from the corner. “It has the absorbent cups and the boxers, just need to find the bloody side pan.”

“Not our decision. If Harry’s father wants Dylan guarded and tied down, we don’t question it, we do as we are told, I don’t think I have to remind you what will happen if we don’t.” I warned sternly, coming to take the box with the useable items before leaving the basement to set them in the guestroom, leaving the other two to look for the bedpan.

*

Zayn’s POV:

I watched Liam retreat with the box and roll my eyes.

“I’m starting to wonder about us, mate. We’ve been lacking in something lately and I don’t think it’s our sanity.” I utter sarcastically, turning to Niall who was opening another box in the corner to try to search for the one item left to find.

“Less wondering, more looking.” Niall murmured, his concentration back at the task in hand.

“Why bother? You don’t agree with this anymore than I do. Maybe if we bring this up to Harry – “ I started to argue but Niall’s eyes turned back on me, somewhat taken aback.

“I may not agree but what are we going to do? Stage a coop? Come on, mate. It’s Harry fucking Styles, anything we say or suggest will be thrown right back in our faces. We’re shyte at the bottom of a shoe, remember? He’s not a friend, he’s not our enemy either – we want to keep it that way. I may not agree with the way he runs things here but I’m not daft enough to believe Harry would listen to us with Dylan.” Niall thought aloud, his voice growing slightly distant. “Maybe code red is Harry’s father’s idea to break Sophia’s brother to get the information out of him faster. Maybe Harry is just being his regular prick self. I don’t know but Liam’s right, we need to quit bumping heads with him. I already got myself locked in my room a few times coming to Sophia’s defense and maybe I don’t understand his reasoning behind that other than, in his own way, he’s trying to toughen her up,” Niall shrugged, his eyes lighting up some as he picked up the metal bedside pan and tossed it at me. “Found it, now let’s hope Louis is thinking on his feet tonight and brings some of the boy’s clothes, I barely have anything left that’s not been bled on or ripped thanks to that girl.”

I smirk despite myself.

“Looks like you’ve made your mind up then? So you’re definitely sure you’re not sure?” I teased, ducking as the metal pan came hurling at my head.

“I’ll do what I can to keep Sophia safe, if I have to let her suffer alone in the darkness – I will but I think there’s a better approach to it than what we’re doing. It getting harder to detach, you know what I mean, mate? It gets nearly impossible not to feel something when your world is already so numb. How far can one fall before they hit the jagged rocks? Can we even find salvation in this hellhole? What if Sophia is it? What if she’s the change we’ve been waiting for?” Niall asked, bombarding me with breathless questions – ones I had no clue even how to answer.

I held up my hand for him to take a breath before taking a calming on of my own, the basement stilled now in silence.

“I don’t know, Ni. If I did, I would answer. I’m afraid when it comes to salvation, I don’t have much of that left. Who knows if she’s a game changer? We thought Caroline was but Harry tore her apart just as easy and his father finished her off but Harry has been a lot more centered on Sophia than any of them, so, maybe? Something to question Harry about if you have the guts – but I’d wait till he’s plastered or you’re shit faced. That way when he punches you in the jaw it won’t hurt as bad.” I smirked, receiving a snort from the blonde.

“I’ll stick to Liam’s advice for now, I’m suddenly not as curious to know. Like Hazza said, I might not like the answer.” Niall gave up stalking back into the cabin, leaving me to follow with the metal side pan.

When I got up the steps I gripped Niall’s arm, stopping him in his tracks.

“Go have a rest mate, I’ll wake you when Hazza and Louis come home with the boy. You look like you got too much on your mind and little energy to process it with. Have a sleep, I’ll make sure you’re up before they are even back inside the cabin.” I promised.

Niall hesitated but tapped me on the shoulder with his hand.

“Thanks Zayn.” Niall smiled softly, his feet carrying him into his room with a soft click of the door behind him.

I rubbed my forehead and went to the kitchen, spotting the semi cold pasta still on the stove. I shrugged and collected it from the top and grabbed a fork. No use letting it go to waste.

*

Niall’s POV:

I shut the door behind me, the silence finally peaceful as the cabin was once again quieted. I don’t remember talking so much. It felt good, just to hear something behind the muteness. I was tired of listening to nothing and dreading every breath. Something was changing, something was going to happen and it would happen soon. I could feel the tension rise, it always did when Harry’s father came.

“Maybe dying isn’t a bad solution to the alternative to hell, ay lass?” I asked with a small smile, walking toward the bed and gently sitting down at the edge of it so I was facing the unconscious hostage.

“You are luckier than most, Ms. Stone –Sophia. God, what is happening? What makes you so different from the others? What’s your endgame?” I asked her, my own voice faltering, becoming victim to the silence once more. Speaking felt foreign, questioning the order of fate felt wrong. The vibration of sound was refreshing but it too seems out of place. We didn’t speak, we barely held a long enough conversation to anything meaningful since coming all those year ago. Sophia has sparked something and I don’t even know what.

I didn’t hold out much hope for her but a small part of me wanted her to be the girl that would survive – the girl who beat the odds. All she had to do was get Senior Stone’s building into our control. She gave up a key player, we had that key player cooperating but could she betray her own flesh and blood? Would she be strong enough to handle her brother being here, being tortured? Unable to help him – unable to do anything but watch it happen. Would it break her or would she simply stare off into the abyss, her innocence dying in the corruption that is our life? Could she detach? Was she capable if becoming the monster she claimed to hate?

“Oh, Sophia, dove, I don’t even know what to begin to tell you, lass. Stay strong seems so pointless because at this point, I think I’m breaking for the both of us. I can’t even tell you when I bloody can’t seem to take my own advice. You’re dangerous for this group, you may just very well be the death of us all.” I murmured, standing up to go to my window, leaning crossly against the frame as my eyes searched the early morning sky. “Yet –I can’t seem to make myself turn away, I’m heading right towards that danger and I don’t even know the cause I’m running for. What are you doing, Ms. Stone? What are you doing to us…”

Notes