Gardens Of Eden (A Harry Styles Story)

46. City of Sinners

Softness is not weakness, it takes courage to stay delicate in a world this cruel. -Beau Taplin

**

Portsmouth, England

The ferry rocked back and forth in its bay, large and grey and threatening.

Danielle stood, watching it from the departure building along with fifty others waiting to get on. She hadn't been in such a public place in years, and she knew that if she were going to survive this, she had to get away.

But she was running out of chances.

The path to the boat passed by a small kids park before heading onto the ramp, and as our handlers began making formation, I was making a plan.

The door opened. It worked in my favour that everyone tried to walk at once, cramping up the path around us.

I looked around, at the park full of kids and parents, and at the girls directly around me. I knew these girls and they knew me, but I couldn't save them all right now. I could only save myself.

I reached my leg out to the left, tripping a complete stranger. When he fell, the guard directly behind him tripped, and everyone turned to see.

I took my opportunity, ducking and rolling to the right, towards a plastic platform with stairs. I wasted no time hiding behind it. I watched through the tiny cracks as the group kept moving. Only Grace, who'd been directly behind me, had seen my manoeuvre, and she was walking forward while looking back, fear and shock in her wide eyes. Mouth closed in a hard line.

My heart was pounding. It would only be a matter of time before they noticed, I had to move.

Around me, parents were giving me strange looks from the benches and swings nearby, one man even stood up defensively. I got up, keeping my head low, and ran, as fast as I could back in the direction we'd come from.

**

Hollywood, California

A series of out-of-body moments. That was my night so far.

If you had told me one year ago that tonight I'd be playing beer pong with Hollywood's elite, I'd probably assume you were a nut job.

If you had told me I'd be doing shots with the Dave Grohl next to the an aquarium wall full of tropical fish, I would have called you downright insane. Lucky for me, my cool buzz made it easier to relax in the sea of people, and even though I still found Harry's circle of attention to be more than a little overwhelming, I was enjoying the party more than I ever thought possible. Everyone had stories to tell, everyone was laughing and joking, and the music never missed a beat in the large, stunning third-floor kitchen.

Even still, I had the best view in the house.

Harry eyed me across the table.

"Hii." I mouthed, feeling my drunk smile grow. When he looked at my dress, winking subtly, I smirked. "Bad..." I mouthed, trying to hold in a giggle as he nodded. He was drunk too, by the looks of it.

"Need another drink?" He motioned, seeing my empty glass. I nodded and handed it to him. My eyes stayed on him as he walked away, jumping to another man that was approaching, who shook Harry's hand before sitting down across from me.

"I don't think we've met." He stated pleasantly. I took in his fitted suit and light brown eyes, he was at least forty, but making it look pretty damn good.

"Hi." I reached out my hand. "I'm Eve."

"Eve! Wow, beautiful name for a beautiful girl." He was casual, crossing his legs as he looked around the room. "I'm Giles, " he smiled. "Remy. This is my-"