Sold // Harry Styles

Chapter 36

My body wrenches with broken sobs as the angry threats continue to echo around the room.  I stare at his blurred name on the screen and the little heart that comes right after it.  More tears fall carelessly from my eyes as I open his text, choking on my shallow and painful breathing.

<From: Harry<3>: cNt tlak now TLk ltr

I stare at the message, noticing that it was sent hours ago, but I’m only now receiving it.  More words blur and enlarge as the tears slip unwillingly pass my eyes and onto the cracked screen.

Something is wrong.

That’s all that springs to mind when I read his message.

I look up through my eyelashes at the man who continues to yell out careless threats.  A fire spreads through my body as I mentally burn a hole into his back that’s turned towards me.  He’s betrayed me and the little bit of trust I had at one point has diminished completely.

I aggressively shove everything out of my way on the shelf before standing up behind the counter.  I pull off my shoes, keeping them hidden from his sight.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” his voice rings out menacingly.

I curl my fingers around the shoelaces, gripping it until my knuckles turn white.

“You’re the only one making this hard, A.J.”

I focus on saying each word deliberately and meticulously, keeping my voice as low as I can possibly muster.

He turns around with a sly smile on his face, showing off his broken grimace that’s slowly decaying into nothing.  I let out a small gasp, taking in his frightening appearance.

There are sores and welts freckled around his face that would eventually turn into scabs, if he would let them alone long enough. His eyes look like they’re sinking into his skull, barely visible as his lips and cheeks are slightly swollen despite the evident sliming of his face.  Dark purple bags fall from below his eyes, creating black shadows against his ghost pale complexion.  Everything about him looks unhealthy--his slim, bony face; his thin and frail body; his dead eyes.  The only thing that looks remotely ‘healthy’ is the little bit of hair on the top of his head, but even that looks like it’s turning white along with the rest of his body.

“Silly girl,” he says, taking a small step closer to me.  “What do you think you’re doing in here at this time of day?”

I ignore his question with a scoff.  “I’d ask you the same thing.”  I narrow my eyes.  “What are you doing here?”

He sends daggers at me with his dark eyes.  “You know, if I were you, I wouldn’t be insulting the man with a gun in his pocket.”

My eyes widen slightly before pulling them back into an angry squint, quickly glancing at his pocket.

“You wouldn’t kill me,” I say with confidence, though I’m not sure how I even managed to say that.  I’m mentally shaking inside.  “I’m just a profit to you,” I spit.

He cackles, tilting his head back in the process to let out a throaty chuckle.  It fills the room and bounces off the walls before he picks his head back up to stare at me again.  “Don’t ever underestimate me, sweetheart,” he says, emphasizing my nickname.  He grimaces at me, showing off his teeth once again.

They’re almost a golden color now.  His gums have chipped away, causing two black holes to appear where his top teeth should be.  It makes him look like a jack o'lantern carved by a bunch of kids with their eyes closed.