in which joelle d'amore is completing her final semester of university in the grand city of los angeles, california. when she finds herself in the presence of harry styles, a piercing man with dangerous agendas, she is permeated with fear. she saw s...
a/n: 1.1 million reads! that's insane??? thank you thank you thank you! i wanna cry, but without further ado...
Chapter 50
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HARRY
I used to make wishes underneath sheets or stars in the sky up until the point I deemed it useless. No matter what I wished for and no matter how hard, I was stuck in the same hell hole day after day.
For the first time in so long, I found myself making wishes again but to the stars in her eyes rather than the ones in the sky. I noticed the guilt, I felt her anxiety, and I took the wrath that came with having to deceit me. I wasted time wishing and hoping she wasn't in trouble instead of doing something about it.
I can't be mad at her. It'd be hypocritical of me to blame her when I'm the one at fault. I wasn't more careful.
I had a plan. I meant to keep away from Jo the moment we got back from Las Vegas so that I could take Dante down. Lying to him that I had been killing members of the rival gang was risky in itself, but he believed it.
I was playing my cards right until I got the call from Sage, but her safety became more important to me than vengeance. I also couldn't let her feel the rejection against a cry for help. I knew that if I hadn't dropped what I was doing for the girl, she would have ended up dead or ruined like me.
So focused on getting Sage back to her mother, I didn't realize sooner that my girl was in trouble, too. Maybe I should've noticed the way she took charge of the trip to Mexico. She's never been much of a leader, I've noticed. After that, I overlooked the subtle cries for help she gave me. When she asked if I would forgive her if the roles were reversed that day on the beach, I overlooked it. I hoped and I desperately wished she was just curious and not put in the position I was once in.
Now we're both in trouble.
As she sleeps in the passenger seat with her head resting against the window, all I want to do is keep on driving so that she wouldn't wake up when I stopped. Though I had no choice but to pull over when we were running low on gas.
At a gas station with an hour and a half left until we reach the gruesome city, I come to a careful stop and undo my seatbelt. When the engine stops running, I hear her breathe in when she stirs. "Hey," I say under a breath. "I'm going to put some gas in. I'll be back."
Jo sits up from her nap, looking around to see where we are. When she doesn't recognize her surroundings, her eyes meet mine. "Okay... Are we almost there?"
"About an hour left. Now lock the doors. I'll be back, babe." I step back after she sends a nod my way. I shut the door and once I hear the locks, I look around me before heading towards the convenience store.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared of what all of this could possibly entail. Being forced to believe that fear makes you weak growing up, I struggled to accept the feeling until I looked at her. Her pretty face with freckles across the bridge of her nose and the pouty lip I often want to steal a kiss from were just some of the minor things that convinced me of just how much it would kill me if I were to ever see her hurt. This fear I can't shake won't be dealt with irrationally. All I know is that she won't ever be fucked with again—not while I'm still around.
