Sinister World.

Parson Upton
Year 2023, Month July
North Dakota
~~

“I am going to bed, because frankly, I am exhausted,” Jared said to Louis and I as we walked down the corridor away from the dining room, “You two have a good night. I don’t have any plans for you tomorrow, Miss Parson, so have Louis show you around the house, yes?”

“That would be great actually. Maybe after then I could walk around without a guard following me around,” I said as serious as possible, but Jared and Louis started laughing.

“Oh, Miss Parson, don’t be silly,” Jared said before laughing again and walking away from us, and what I suspected, up to his room.

“Why the hell is that so funny?” I asked, obviously not getting the joke.

“Because no special edition has walked around Jared’s house without a guard,” Louis said, motioning for me to follow him down a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway.

“Well then I guess I’ll have to be the first one,” I said.

“Special editions only go around guarded because they don’t know their way around that well, so the guards help them around. Plus, special editions are highly wanted and we have to keep a wide eye on them the entire time to make sure that they’re completely safe,” he ranted and we reached the bottom of the stairs, walking into a basement.

“Well I think that I’ll do just fine on my own. I’m sure that I’ll find my way back to my room without you,” I told him, crossing my arms.

“Oh really, princess?” he smirked and I almost swatted at his arm for calling me that again. I am utterly beginning to hate it. “Well, I’m going to leave after I get my guns, and I’ll be waiting for you in your room.”

“Are… are you serious?” I asked, my mouth dropping open.

“This is a moment of trust. I am trusting you not to try to run away and find your way back to your room. If you haven’t noticed, this house is a maze. One wrong turn, and you’re a goner. So I’ll be waiting for you in your room when you find your way back,” he said, grabbing some guns from the shelf on the wall and tucking them in his pockets and throwing them over his back, “Scream if you’re in trouble.”

Then just like that… he was gone. He was really gone. I looked around the room for a few seconds and found a pocket knife, stuffing it in the pocket on my dress and taking a deep breath. I’m sure nothing bad is going to happen, so I don’t even know why I need this knife. There are about thirty men in this house that have guns and are willing to protect me if anything does happen. I shrugged and tossed the knife back on the table where I found it and took off up the stairs that I was led down. When I met the top of the stairs, I looked to my left and then I looked to my right. There were three hallways to choose from, and I chose left because I’m sure that’s the way we went… I’m hoping it’s the way we went… After turns and turns, and turning back a few times, I became a little tired and became more desperate for my room. I needed my bed, and I needed to tell Louis that I made it, but I had no idea where the hell I was.

When I walked out of a hallway and into a large opening, I realized that I was in the space where the front door of the house was, and where I first met Jared. I turned to the giant double doors behind me and dreamed of running out of them, but I swallowed hard and shook my head. I’d rather stay in here where it’s technically safe, than to go out there and get raped by a man that finds me on the edge of the road. I furrowed my brows when I saw one of the handles moving and I was tempted to go and open it, but I just stood in the middle of the room. Then he handle stopped moving, and I furrowed my brows deeper when I heard a clicking noise. All of a sudden, the chandelier lights above me shut off and I gasped when a hand was put over my mouth.

If this is some kind of joke, Louis, it’s fucking sick. Then I was shoved to the floor and my dress was ripped off, making me become terrified, because I knew that it wasn’t Louis. “Woah. Mr. Styles was right, your body is amazing,” I heard a man’s voice that I had never heard before and I began to sob. The man began to trace my body with his hands.

“My God,” I whimpered, crying silently to myself when he turned a flashlight on and held it in his mouth.

“Don’t be scared of me. I’m only going to hurt you,” he whispered before tying my feet together with a rope that he took out of his back pocket. My crying became louder and I gasped when his cold hands landed back on my body.

Scream if you’re in trouble. That’s it! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?! I took a deep breath and my stomach caved in as far as it could, “LOUIS!” I screamed as loud as I could and it literally made my throat raw and the man above me tensed. “Louis!!” I screamed again, just as loud as the first time.

“No,” the man stuttered, and he began to undress me again. No.

“Louis!” I screamed the last time before the man’s lips were pressed to my own to shut me up. My whole body was sobbing and I shoved the man off of me. “Louis!”

Suddenly, the back of the man’s hand met with my cheek when I sat up and he stood up, looking down at me. I heard footsteps running down the stairs and I prayed that it was Louis, and the chandelier’s lights turned back on, displaying my half naked body and the unknown man standing above me.

“What in the actual fuck?!” Louis’ voice echoed off of the walls and I reached down to untie the binds on my legs, but the man above me hit me again, making me slide on the floor and rest my head on the cold marble.

“Help, Louis,” I whimpered, and Louis ran into the middle of the room, punching the man right on the temple.

The man didn’t surrender, instead, he grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet, pointing a gun right to my jaw and placing me in a stranglehold. “I will not hesitate to pull the fucking trigger.”

“Who do you work for?” Louis barked, his voice full of a venom that I had not seen or heard before.

The man laughed and went to say something, but I interrupted and spat, “He works for Harry Styles! He works.. for Harry Styles.”

“She better be fucking lying,” Louis said, his voice cracking and his eyes turning dark.

“No, she’s not lying. I just came here to steal her and take her away to Mr. Styles himself,” the man said, “She’s kind of pretty, isn’t she?” his hand slid down from my neck and down my chest, making more tears fall down my face and Louis take a step forward. The man took the safety off of the gun against my jaw and said, “But I bet she’s quite the handful.” when his hand slipped underneath my bra, I let out a cry and Louis pulled the trigger on his gun, shooting the man dead behind me and causing a huge wave of relief to wash over me.

I ran up to him and collapsed into his arms, crying tears of hurt and thanks on his shoulder, not planning to stop any time soon. Parson doesn’t cry in front of anyone? At the moment, I could give a shit less who sees me cry. Louis’ arms wrapped firmly around me as I slowed down my crying.

“Are you okay?” he asked me and I shook my head, still completely terrified and unsure of what to do. “Well, let’s go back up to your room,” he said before picking me up in his arms and carrying me upstairs. “I’m going to let you take a shower,” he said, setting me down on my feet by the bathroom.

I didn’t say a word, I just nodded my head and walked through the bathroom door. I didn’t even bother shutting the door before ridding my undergarments and stepping into the giant glass shower. Once I turned on the scolding hot water, I was gone.

~~

“Parson?! Are you okay?” I heard Louis’ voice through the bathroom door, “You’ve been in the shower for almost two hours! If you don’t answer me, I’m coming in there and I’m taking you out!” I opened my mouth to say something, and I stayed like that for a good five minutes, but nothing came out through my lips and I shook my head.

All of a sudden, Louis slowly opened the door and grabbed a towel from the shelf on the wall. He was careful not to look at me as he shut off the water in the shower and wrapped the towel around me. I felt useless not being able to say anything or being able to pick myself up, but that was the worst I had ever been scared, and I just didn’t know what to do with myself after that.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered in Louis’ ear when he picked my soaking body up in his arms to take me back into my bedroom. I moved my legs to tell him that I wanted him to put me down, and he hesitated at first, but then he set me down on my feet and I slowly walked over to my closet. I glanced over my shoulder with soft eyes to make sure that Louis wasn’t watching me, and he realized it and walked over to my bed, lying on his back and looking at the ceiling. I dropped my towel and grabbed another silk nightgown, along with some black underwear and a black bra. I was debating whether or not to just sleep in a towel, but I knew that Louis would argue with me about sleeping in my bed to protect me again, so I decided on sleeping in clothes.

Once I had them on, I silently walked over to my bed and sat down beside Louis, bringing the blankets up over my freezing body. Louis then sat up beside me and sighed, making me do the same. Then I began to think about what happened―why didn’t Louis just let the man take me?

“Louis I’m so―”

“I should’ve never left you alone,” he muttered, scowling at himself and running his hands through his hair, pulling at the strands.

“I’m sorry,” I wanted to get that out, and he looked right at me.

“I should be the one apologizing,” he said, actually sounding like he cared about my well-being, “You almost got killed because of me.”

“No,” I shook my head and he ran his hand down his mouth, “I’m sorry because I am the one who technically wanted to be alone. If I wouldn’t have challenged myself to be without you, then none of it would’ve happened.” It was silent for a moment and I looked away, but his eyes kept lingering on me. “W-Why didn’t you just let him take me?” I asked, looking back at him and meeting his eyes.

He narrowed his eyes and showed a deep frown, as if my question was highly irrelevant. “I would have never let him take you. Ever.”

“But why?” I asked and he cleared his throat, looking down at his hands. “I told you that I would do everything that I could to keep you away from Harry Styles, and if killing every single one of his men is the way to do it, than so be it,” his voice turned raspy and I swallowed hard, confused at his tone but thankful for him saving me.

“Thank you, then. For wanting to protect me,” I said, looking at him again.

He looked at me and put his fist over his chest, “Protecting you is not a want, love, it’s a need. A very high need.” I found it extremely awkward and brutal to stare into his eyes, and he leaned closer to me as if he was trying to kiss me, but then he sighed and looked down at my lips. “You should get some rest. In fact, we both need it. So I’m going to hit the hay,” he said before smiling and taking his clothes off beside me. He laid down on one side of the bed and I laid down on the other side, facing him as he closed his eyes. “Goodnight, love,” he muttered and I nodded my head.

“Goodnight, Lou,” I shortened his name in spite of the fact that he shortened mine earlier, and he chuckled lowly.

Before I drifted off to sleep, I felt Louis wipe my hair from my face, but I chose not to budge and keep my eyes closed. “I won’t let anyone hurt you again, Parson,” I heard him whisper before sleep hit me hard in the back of the head.

Notes