Imprisonment | Harry Styles

Chapter 5

Harry.

"Maybe this will teach you to respect other people around you!" Mr. Locke shouted, giving me another blow to my stomach and earning a loud grunt from my mouth. My voice was tired and weak, this had been going on all morning. And I was completely vulnerable to him. "You better start being nicer to Mrs. Conrad if you ever plan on getting out of here." He chuckled lowly, adding another slam with the stick against my stomach.

This time, I dropped to my knees and let out a few coughs. It was my only way of showing him that I had given up and didn't want to fight or argue any longer. He'd won.

"Had enough, Mr. Styles?" He asked, putting the stick into his pocket compartment as I continued to suffer on the ground. I didn't plan on responding to him.

"I said," he grunted, grabbing my jumpsuit by the collar and lifting me up with all the strength he could, "Have you had enough yet, Harry?"

I clenched my jaw together tightly, staring straight into his ice cold eyes. I only nodded, and that was all it took for him to set me down on the ground once more. "Riley will be here soon, you might want to get yourself a little more decent." Locke stated.

A sigh escaped my lips as I wiped my mouth with a spare rag that was laying around. Mr. Locke gave me one last glare before exiting my cell and walking down the dark lonesome hallway. As I stood up, I found it hard to regain my balance.

"Fuck," I grumbled to myself as I sat down on the springy mattress known as my bed. My head found its way to my hands as I rested it there, slowly massaging my temples. "I can't handle this much longer," I sighed.

"Mr. Styles, you have a visitor." I heard Mr. Locke's familiar, rather annoying, voice call out to me. Fuck, already? And why did he bring her back to my cell? I usually was taken away by guards and they'd handcuff me to a chair or some stupid worthless shit like that.

Although, I didn't argue. I removed my hands from my face and looked up at Mr. Locke, and I also couldn't help but notice Riley standing a few inches away from him. Except she was behind him. She looked scared out of her mind.

"Mrs. Conrad is going to call me if there is any trouble, Harry. I'll be on the next hallway over, so you might wanna be on your best behavior. This time." He smirked at me before leaving. Riley and I were now alone.

Letting out a much needed sigh, I decided to stand up and walk toward the bars to get closer to her. She wasn't a fan of my idea, and she immediately backed up. It was easy to notice the fear all over her face. She was frightened of me, and I didn't blame her.

I stood still, a good amount of space between us. Although I wouldn't be able to touch her if I tried, considering the bars were blocking us off, she was still scared out of her mind. Maybe because she knew I wasn't cuffed and could easily fit my hands through the slots of the cell bars.

I noticed her breathing dying down and returning normal once more. "I-I'm not gonna stay long, I just wanted to inform you that we're having our first trial next week." She spoke softly as if she only wanted me to hear, her lips were slightly parted after she finished. She looked so, so innocent.

"Trials?" I asked, leaning against the wall.

Riley nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yes," she said a little softer this time, "my lawyer is going to ask you a couple of questions about the murder."

By this point, I was pissed. I was ready to rage and throw things around. How could she fucking do this? She got her fucking lawyer involved? I gritted my teeth together, trying to stay calm and not scream at the girl that stood a few inches away from me.

"Your lawyer is going to do what now?" I asked lowly, looking at her with dark eyes.

It was easy to tell that she was uncomfortable. I made her uncomfortable. She swallowed down another lump in her throat and moved her hand to tuck a piece of stray hair behind her ear. I couldn't help but notice her trembling hands. "H-He's going to ask you a few questions about the murder. L-Like why you did it and stuff," she said, her voice was as innocent as her. That was obvious.

"I scare you, don't I?" I asked, trying to soften up a little. It was hard.

It took a few moments for her to reply, it was as if she was avoiding the subject and simply didn't want to answer the question itself. After a little longer she finally responded with a quiet "Yes."

I knew in that moment that I would be getting it from Mr. Locke once she was gone. And I couldn't take these beatings much longer, they would eventually kill me if he kept them up. I shut my eyes and pointed my head downward, thinking intently.

"I'm gonna go," I heard Riley whisper.

"Wait," I whispered back, pointing my head back up so I could look into her eyes. She stared at me for a while, waiting for me to continue.

And that was when I realized something, something that would stop all the beatings and Riley would stop complaining about my behavior to Mr. Locke. And I just might get out of here if I can keep it up.

I could lie.

It was the perfect idea, if I got Riley to trust me then maybe, just maybe, all this would be over. I might be able to get out of here and go back to living my normal life. Not worrying about a murder or being in prison.

"Can I tell you something?" I asked, stepping slightly closer to the bars and trying my best to act nice and innocent. This time she didn't move back away from me. I was already succeeding.

She nodded, encouraging me to go on.

"I didn't kill your mother, okay?" It was an obvious lie, but I had a backup story. And maybe she would be stupid enough to believe me. "Come closer, I don't want the guards to hear."

Riley took a step forward, looking at me with glossy brown eyes as she put her small hands on the bars.  "Y-You did, though."

I shook my head, "No, Riley, I didn't. Someone else did and he's out there right now probably killing more innocent people."

"But-but the evidence," she whispered, her eyebrows furrowing together as she scanned my serious expression. "Your fingerprints. Harry we had this same talk yesterday, you expect me to believe you?"

"See, that's the thing. The man who killed your mother stole my pack of cigarettes and put them in her house. He stole a few more things that belonged to me, making it seem like it really was me." I said slowly. It was an obvious lie, but she was stupidly believing everything I was saying. It was glorious.

Riley's breathing got slightly heavier, her eyes looking straight into mine. "What's the man's name?" She asked, pleading for answers.

"Louis Tomlinson," I said, hiding back the smirk that was begging to show. Hey, it wasn't a complete lie. Louis was in on it as well.

She shook her head fast, rolling her eyes slightly. "You're just plain stupid if you think I would believe you, Harry." She clenched her small fists around the metal bars.

"I'm not lying," I said, even though I clearly was.

"Goodbye Harry." She rolled her eyes once more before walking down the hallway, not looking back once. I watched her disappear into the next room. I couldn't help but scoff as soon as she was gone.

"You'll believe me sooner or later."

a/n:  thanks everyone for the kind reviews. I have a feeling some of you won't like harry very much in the upcoming chapters ;)