Hidden [h.s]

EIGHTEEN (EDITED)

Harry exhales and picks his things up from off the ground. He briskly walks out of the elevator without a word.

I follow, running a hand through my hair.

"How long were you two in there?" Mr. Greenman asks.

"I don't know," I say. "Harry pushed all the buttons so it must have jammed the system."

Mr. Greenman rolls his eyes. "Dammit, I've told him to stop with that. Sorry about that, Rose."

I shrug. "It's all right."

Mr. Greenman checks his watch. "I hate to do this to you, Rose, but do you mind working late tonight? I have two extra manuscripts that need to be edited by tomorrow-"

I nod. "Of course. I'll get started now."

I walk back to my workspace and sit down, shuffling my papers around. I see that Harry has left already. Thank God. He's the absolute last person I want to see.

I'm flustered by Harry's words to me. I am not pretentious. Though, I admit, it felt good to strike him that way. He deserved it after all the things he's said to me since we've met.

But did he mean all the things he said? Am I a snob? What do I do that makes him think that? Why would he judge me so quickly?

What did I ever do to Harry to make him hate me?

The clock tells me it's four o'clock and I get to work. I text Aaron asking if he can pick me up and he says yes, I'll get the chance to apologize to him for what I said and everything will be okay.

My red pen flies across the page. Mr. Greenman checks up on me every so often and thanks me again for staying late. He says he'll run my file to Mr. Crystal another day.

By eight o'clock, I've finished one manuscript and half of the second one. Mr. Greenman thanks me again as I walk out the door.

I dial Aaron's number. When I get his voicemail, I sigh.

The air is freezing cold and wrap my jacket tighter around me. I don't see his car anywhere and my heart sinks when I realize he's probably not coming-again.

I really need to talk to Aaron about this.

I shiver and sit on the bench, I won't cry this time. I begin to rethink my feelings for Aaron. He forgets me all the time, and he barely makes time for me. Is he really at work? Or is he lying?

No, my mind snaps. He's not lying, why would he lie to you? He's busy at work.

I try his phone again and hang up when I get voicemail for the second time. Why is he forgetting me so much?

He doesn't treat you right, does he?

Though I hate to admit it, Harry was right. Aaron doesn't treat me right. I need to talk to him about that, or it's over.

At least it's not raining.

I look around. I don't see Harry's car in the lot, either. relieved and disappointed at the same time, although l don't know why. He's a jerk, and I want nothing to do with him.

Be careful what you wish for, Harry said in the elevator, what was that supposed to mean?

I wait another fifteen minutes before chewing on my lip and standing from the bench.

I guess I'm walking home.

Damn it. Why did wear heels today?

Why do I wear heels every day? Stupid.

I think of the route home in my head and start walking. My shoes click against the cold pavement.

I hear yelling off in the distance. I flinch at the obscenity of the words and continue walking.

I round a corner and sigh, pulling up the GPS on my phone and typing in my address. Hopefully it won't be much further away.

I hear movement behind me but ignore it. It's probably just someone else walking home. New York streets are much more dangerous than portland streets. Why should be worried?

I hear something shift again and turn around. my eyes scanning the empty street. My eyes land on the alley followed Harry into that one day, Fear starts to build inside of me and I start to walk again, faster this time.

There's no one there.

There's no one there.

There's no one the-

Someone catches my wrist and slams me back against a brick building. My breath hitches in my throat and gasp
at the harsh impact of body on stone.

Two guys stand before me, the streetlight bathing them in eerie, dim light. One has blonde hair and blue eyes, arms crossed over his chest. The other l recognize as the brown haired boy that met with Harry in the alleyway.

"Got you," The brown haired one says, a half smile tugging at his lips.

I want to scream but my voice is mute in my throat.

"Rose, is it?" The blonde one asks, "What a lovely name."

"How do you know my name?" I ask, furrowing my brow.

"We know a lot of things, Rose." The brown haired one begins to pace, his dark blue eyes reflecting in the light He doesn't seem much older than me: neither of them do.

"How much did he tell you?" The blonde one asks gruffly.

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb, Rose," He says. "What did Styles tell you?"

"Harry?"

"You heard me."

"He- he hasn't told me anything."

"Don't lie. Lying won't get you anywhere," The brown haired one sneers.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"We'll be asking the questions," He snaps.

"Oh, come on, mate," The blonde one says teasingly. "She should at least know our names."

The brown haired one smiles. "All right," He says. "I'm Louis, and that's Niall," He says, his eyes mean. "Now that were all acquainted, let's get down to business."

I swallow. "What do you want?"

"We want to know what Styles told you," Niall says.

"He hasn't told me anything," I say, my voice surprisingly strong. "I don't even like him. I hate him."

The two look at each other and laugh. "Then why'd he take you home the other day?" Niall asks.

"I needed a ride," I say. "That's all."

Louis steps toward me, his eyes menacing. "Let me tell you something, Rose," He says lowly. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Either way, you're talking."

More screams fight to get out of me, but I stay paralyzed. I should have called for a different ride. I shouldn't have walked.

"I don't have any information, I'm telling the truth," I protest. "Just let me go home."

"Sorry, Rose, we can't let that happen," Louis says, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now tell me," He says through gritted teeth. "What did Styles tell you?"

I want to scream and call for help, but my body doesn't let me and I remain petrified. My head pounds from being slammed into the wall and I feel like I'm going to pass out.

Suddenly, a car screeches to a halt at the curb. Someone gets out quickly.

"Hey!" Harry shouts, slamming the door to his car. I stare in disbelief as Niall and Louis turn to him.