Sold // Harry Styles

Chapter 40

“A.J.’s house?” I shriek, yanking on the door handle.  “Harry, no!  I’m not going!”

I fumble with the lock, desperately trying to make Harry stop the car to let me out.  Every time I unlock the door, he locks it once again with that damn, cocky smirk on his face.

“There is no way in hell I’m going back to him, Harry!” I scream louder.  “He tried to kill me last time!”

I throw my arms up in the air in mock surrender with a dramatic sigh as Harry pries my hands away from the handle.

“Jackie, he’s not going to be there when we’re there.”

“Oh yeah?  And what makes you so sure?  Do you have an A.J. tracking device on your phone?”

I raise my eyebrows at him, folding my arms over my chest with a hard glare in his direction.  He presses his lips together, obviously trying to hide his smile after hearing my sudden explosion.  “It’s not funny, Harry,” I add with a huff.

His smile quickly vanishes from his face upon hearing my clipped and fearful tone.  He wraps his arms around me awkwardly--the center counsel and chair in the way, making his arm contort in a weird way while his hand hangs limp behind my back, not quite long enough to reach my shoulders.

“I know,” he says.  “I’m sorry, Jackie.  But knowing A.J. for so long, I know that he always leaves the house at this time.”

A huge wave of guilt fills my bones, making me feel so much heavier in my seat.  I look down at my hands, feeling ashamed and incredibly rude for the way I treated Harry.  He glances at me once before unwrapping his arm from my back and patting my leg, accepting my unspoken apology.

“Are you sure you don’t have an A.J. tracking device?” I whisper, trying to make the mood light again.  “Because that’d actually be quite useful in a time like this.”

Harry laughs, tilting his head back as the loud bellows echo throughout the car.

I like the sound of his laughter-- the way his voice gets higher and the small giggles that don’t quite seem to match his low, rumbly voice.  I like to see the way his face transforms into one that belongs to a toddler--the way his chin juts out and the way his nose and ears turn red almost immediately.  I like the way his eyes pinch together before they open up just enough so that he can see, almost as if he were drunk and he can’t seem to figure out how to work his eyelids properly.  When he laughs, his mood affects other people, and I find my happiness exceed all expectations when I hear it.

---

Harry parked his car a few roads down from A.J.’s house, insisting that we sneak through a corn field in order to stay hidden.  He told me not to worry about it, and yet, here I am--worrying.

We creep out from the corn field, looking both ways before stepping completely into view.  The road is empty--only a hazy fog running above the ground.  Harry puts his arm around my shoulder, gently guiding me towards the house.  A.J.’s car is nowhere to be seen.

We both look side to side hurriedly, refusing to believe that we’re afraid.  He pushes the heavy door upwards, just enough for him and I to crawl underneath it before gently lowering it back to the ground like it was never touched.  He shares his adorable, dimpled smile with me, just gazing into my eyes while I bounce my foot up and down in nervous motions.

“We got through the hardest part,” he says, grinning at me.

I nod my head unable to conjure up any words for him.  This place gives me the chills.  It brings back traumatic memories of the day I was taught my first ‘lesson’.  On that day, A.J. had taught me how to be confident.  In a twisted and corrupted way, I think I actually learned something from him.