Canon | (Harry Styles AU)

[twenty]

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"We're just talking," Jo quickly replies to her father, taking a step from me, leaving a significant amount of space between the two of us.

The anger I feel towards this man catches my tongue, and I simply stand there, staring him down.

"Jonique, wait for me in the car, I'll be there in a minute," He finally says breaking the momentary silence.

"But I wanted to.."

"Wait in the car. Now," He repeats with a stone like face.

"Okay," She answers through gritted teeth.

I watch as she begins walking out of the empty waiting room when I catch her hand again, making Jo look up at my face in sheer horror. I ignore it, pulling her close to me again like before only this time I tighten my grip.

"I think it better if Jo stayed here..with me," I say to him in the firmest, confident voice I can muster.

"And who are you exactly," He says to me with an amused expression, his voice calm.

"I'm Harry, your neighbor," I answer slowly.

"Well Harry, I want to make this perfectly clear to you because I don't like repeating myself," He says to calmly, lowering his voice as he steps closer to me,"Jonique is not your problem, Jonique answers to me, and no one else. She does what I demand, when I demand it. And I will not have you, nor anyone else, telling me what to do with my daughter..now who did you say you were again, my what?"

"Your neighbor," I answer gulping down the vile resentment building at the back of my mouth.

"My neighbor," He repeats, looking up slightly, before looking back into my eyes,"Doesn't sound like anyone important. Stay in your place and mind your business."

"Let go Harry, just let go, I'll be fine," Jo whispers to me quickly tugging at my hand to release her.

"No..no I'm not letting him hurt you," I say louder then I meant to but I feel relieved to have gotten it out there. I can't just let Jo go home with a man like this. I can't.

"You have no idea what you're talking about kid. No idea," Her father says through gritted teeth.

"I know you're a worthless piece of.."

"Harry, let go," Jo says angrily interrupting me, finally releasing herself from my grip,"I'll be fine. Im just going home to change and bring a few things back for my mom. He won't do anything."

"Jo please, just listen to me.." I beg, pulling her arms.

"Bub? What are you doing here?" I hear my mother's voice say from down the hall.

"Is this your son?" Jo's father asks my mother with annoyance.

"Yes he is," She answers with confusion,"Is there a problem?"

"We're trying to make a quick trip home and he seems to have a problem with that," Jo's father tells her.

"Harry what's wrong with you, let that girl go," My mom quickly demands, eyeing my hands.

"Don't. Say. A word. I will never talk to you again if you do," Jo commands, into my ear, at a volume only I hear,"Let go of me."

With a defeated expression, I let go, Jo quickly scurrying to her father's side before walking out of the waiting room with him.

And just like that she's gone.

"Why were you holding that girl that way? Harry you know to have more respect for woman then that," My mother says with disappointment.

I don't know," I lie, wondering why I'm so stupid, allowing Jo to leave with her abusive father. I know that if anything happens to her it's on my head. I could have prevented it.

________

The ride home from the hospital I simply sat there, staring out the window. I had lost track of time, feeling useless. It wasn't until my mother cleared her throat that finally snapped me back into reality.

"Did you hear me?" She repeats, glancing over at me.

"No..sorry," I mumble, rubbing my tired eyes.

"I asked what you were doing at the hospital."

"I was there with a friend..that girl.." I answer slowly, letting my voice trail off.

"Oh," My mom answers, taking a turn,"I was the nurse assisting her mother's doctor. The girl looked familiar from something else..she was over at the house this morning wasn't she?"

I simply nod, not having the energy to speak. My heart feels heavy, just like my body. I just want to punch something. I had one chance, that was my chance..to stand up to Jo's father. But just like with my own father, I couldn't do it.

I just stood there pretending to be strong, protecting Jo, when really I was afraid. I didn't know what to say or do. He was right, I'm no one. I'm a nobody that can't do anything.

"So tragic about your friends mother..she was just mangled. She was hardly recognizable to her own husband when he found her..there's definitely something off about that family though," I hear my mother's voice say through my own cloud of thoughts.

I sit there, a little more intent this time still keeping silent, as my mother continues speaking on her observation, on things she simply picked up on while she worked.

"That girl..she was clearly terrified. She hardly looked at her mother, she really looked like she could use some comfort but her father, Mr. Caar, he was really cold. He didn't seem to care that his daughter was frightened. I felt terrible, Annette tried giving her a hug but the girl simply kicked Annette out of the room saying she wanted as little amount of people in the room as possible," My mother says to me,"It was just odd how calm Mr. Caar was, he didn't seem as effected as someone who just found their wife in such a state..I don't know. I just got a bad vibe from the both of them."

"You got a bad vibe from Jo?" I say feeling my dry throat.

"Is that her name?" My mother asks to much I nod,"Well yes, I did. Especially in the waiting room..she glared at me, almost as if she was angry at me for something, I don't."

"Weird," I simply say. I had noticed that too, when my mother first spoke, Jo seemed off in her own world looking angrily at something.

"I heard what she whispered to you too. Quite rudely I might add," My mother says cooly, turning onto our street,"What was it that she didn't want you saying?"

[i can't wait for you all to see where i take this story, im so excited...please keep voting/commenting.❤️]