Stay With Me

Chapter 4

**Continuation of flashback**

I scanned the scene, looking for any kind of clue why he had put this idea in her head.

"You should have left a long time ago, Caroline. The girls don't need you. They don't love you. They don't want to be loved by you. You're useless. They need a man to protect them. Like me" my father said, through gritted teeth. He was wrong. All I want is my mother. Her warmth and love. My father was clearly drunk, proven by the sound of his slurring tone.

"I'll go," my mother stated, still grasping her forearm "but I swear, you dare lay a hand on my girls-"

"YOUR GIRLS?" my father bellowed, outraged at her threat. "What makes you think they're your girls?! All you ever did for them was make them miserable!"

I couldn't listen to this anymore. I ran out into the kitchen, tears flowing down my face.

"CAN BOTH OF YOU JUST STOP IT?! WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO REALIZE THAT YOU'RE NO GOOD FOR EACH OTHER?! HUH? WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE TO GET YOU TO STOP SCREAMING AT EACH OTHER?!" I half screamed, half cried.

My parents stared at me, shocked at my presence and my outrage. My mother stood up, and it was then I had realized why she had been crouched over. Her arms were bleeding. He had hit her. With the bottle that was shattered on the floor.

"Mom, don't go...." I trailed off, grasping her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "Annabel needs you. She needs the comfort of a mother. Not the pain of having him as a father" I weeped, gesturing to the mess of a man in our living room.

She stared at me. She swiftly got up, and walked to her room, locking the wooden door behind her.

The next day she was gone. Left a note telling me and Annabel how much she loved us, and that she was sorry that she left. I wouldn't take any of it. If She loved us so much, why would she leave us alone with Him? That day, me and my sister both received a beating. My mother was not there to stop him. I fought furiously with him, not allowing him to touch Annabel. I couldn't do it. He was too strong for me. That was also the day I talked to Ed, in my other flashback. That night, was the night i took Annabel, our things and left.

**End of flashback**

"Hello? Anyone home?" Harry asked me, waving his hand infront of my face. I giggled, blushing slightly at my weird spaced out moment.

"Sorry I was just thinking about something...restaurants! Right?" I said, quickly changing the subject.

"Um yeah so any place you'd like to go?" he asked, his raspy voice echoing around the room, realizing I wanted to change the subject.

"Nowhere in particular, anything is fine! Except seafood...I HATE seafood." I said exaggerating my hate for fish. He laughed as he slowly got up, making his way to the front room.

"You coming or what?" he joked getting his white converse on. I got up, a little embarrassed that these were the same clothes I wore for about 4 days, dried blood splattered on my navy blue V-neck.

"Harry, I can't be seen like this!" I exclaimed, gesturing to my stained clothing. He looked at me, confused as he walked down the hall.

"I'll be right back!" he hollered, his voice muffled my the walls. He returned moments later with a purple Jack Wills hoodie. He tossed it at me.

"What's this?" I asked, confused at the clothing thrown at me.

"Wear it. It will cover up your shirt. It's clean, I promise" he said, a small smirk growing on his face. I shrugged, pulling the sweatshirt over my head. It smelled like his cologne- fresh. He smiled at me, admiring his clothes on me.

"You look good in that...not many girls can wear my clothes, and make it look hot." he smirked, making me blush. It just made me think of how many girls he dated.

-*-TIME SKIP! (2 Hours later) -*-

"Harry that was amazing, thank you. It's the best I've eaten in months!" I said, admiring his generosity. He had taken me to a casual resturaunt in town. The car ride back to his flat was quiet, only the soft roaring of the engine could be heard.

"Harry..." I started, fumbling with my fingers.

"Mmm" he said, keeping his eyes on the road.

"W-who was that girl in the alley? T-the one you helped escape?" I stuttered, feeling the awkwardness of the question. His grip tightend on the agreeing wheel, a little taken back by my question.

"It was um....(sigh) it was my friends sister, Jenna." he confessed, a little sound of sadness in his voice.

"W-why were they beating her up?" I wondered, taken back by the relationship he had with her.

"The leader of that group, Kevin, he was her ex- boyfriend. He broke up with her a couple weeks ago. He saw her and her new boyfriend Brian in the park, holding hands. He was outraged and was determined to get his payback. On her and Brian." he explained, my heart dropping at the mention of the name "Brian". That was my fathers name. I brushed away the thought as I looked at Harry. His face filled with worry.

"Harry, she'll be fine. Don't worry" I said comfortly. "If anything happens, I'll take care of it" I said, with intentions of keeping that promise. I never allowed anyone to hurt anybody, ever since what happened. I only fought when I needed too. And sometimes, that was often.

We arrived at Harry's flat, kicking off our shoes at the door. "Wanna watch a movie?" he asked, unsure of what to say.

"Sure! That be cool!" I said, heading towards the living room.

After about an hour of the movie, (The Notebook) my eyes were puffy and my nose was runny. "It's so sad!" I sobbed, looking at Harry who was surprisingly, also tearing up.

"I know babe, I know" he said, moving closer to me.

"I'm tired" I yawned, laying down on the couch. "Its alight love, go to sleep" he whispered, his voice making me more drowsy.

That was the last thing I remembered before drifting off.