**
I woke up, and felt Grace's arms still wrapped around me. I looked around, seeing that it was almost 9:00AM. My bedroom door was open, and I was surprised Harry had actually listened to me and slept on the couch.
I slowly got up, gently pulling her arms off of me and going into the bathroom.. I washed my face, and pulled on a hoodie and a pair of athletic shorts. After that, I put my hair into a ponytail, grabbing some running shoes and walking out of the apartment...
It took me about 50 minutes to run six miles, and then I stopped by the café to get some water.. "Brynn Matthews?" I heard someone ask, and I glanced over my shoulder, seeing a middle-aged man walking towards me. Great... "Yeah?" I replied, grabbing the water from the cashier and thanking her after paying..
"I can see you're in the middle of your workout or whatever, but was wondering if I could ask you a few questions. It's for a magazine I work for." He commented, seeming slightly uncomfortable. I took a few long sips from the water bottle, shrugging in response.
"So, the first one I guess would be, how long have you and Harry been back together?" He asked. "We aren't together." I answered bluntly, wishing I had said no to him asking questions. I was exhausted, and sweating quite a bit..
"Right.. There are dozens of pictures that say otherwise. Do I need to show them to you?" He asked. I looked at him, sending him an annoyed look. "I answered your question. And I highly recommend that if you have any more, you ask them now, or I'm leaving." I stated. "Of course. Ok, this next question is going to be.. Are you Grace's biological mother? Because the two of you share a lot of physical similarities." He questioned.
I sighed. "Seriously? This is like the fifth time someone has asked me that.. Next question." I stated, lying through my teeth. The only other person to ask me that was Niall; I just really wasn't sure Harry would want me answering that one.
The guy nodded. "Ok, fair enough.. Lastly, what happened in your apartment outside of Paris over six years ago? With the ambulances and the long hospital stays for both you and Harry. Was it drugs?" He asked, completely taking me by surprise. I'd totally forgotten that even happened..
"We didn't tell you then, and we aren't telling you now. Thanks, great meeting you." I said, walking out of the café before he could say anything else..
I walked back to the place I've been staying, finishing my water and putting the bottle in one of the recycling bins.. I walked up the stairs, and went inside.
Harry was pacing back and forth, his phone to his ear. He turned around, and pulled it back, ending the call. "Where have you been?" He asked, and I sent him a look. "What do you mean? I went for a run, then stopped by the café to get water. Oh, and talked to some reporter guy, but didn't answer any of his questions." I replied.
"You could've told me where you were going. I woke up, and you were gone. I didn't know if you were coming back. I didn't know if Jackson had come and taken you."He said, and I rolled my eyes. "I wasn't even gone for an hour, Harry.. I'm going to rinse off now." I commented, walking into my room and seeing Grace lying on my side of the bed. She sat up, and jumped off the bed, running over, wrapping her arms around my legs.
I sighed. "Mum, you made dad worried." She commented. "I know. How about you go out there with him while I rinse off." I said, and she looked up at me, not letting go. She glanced over at the bathroom, tightening her grip on my legs. She grabbed my arm, trying to pull me down to her height. I sighed, crouching down. "There's a man in the bathroom." She whispered in my ear, and I felt my heart stop. "Does your dad know?" I asked quietly, and she shook her head. "Ok. Go see your dad." I commented, feeling my heart rate quicken.
She hesitantly let go of me, going out into the living room. I took a deep breath, and walked into the bathroom.. Not a second later, Jackson had his hand around my neck and he shut the door, locking it.
I attempted to kick him, and he tightened his grip, shoving me into one of the walls. "Please, just leave me alone." I got out before he grabbed my neck again. I grimaced, knowing that after running that much this morning, I didn't have the energy I needed to defend myself..
"You know why I'm here." He stated, releasing his hold on my throat and instead tightly pinning my wrists above my head. I attempted to pull my arms back down, but he was much stronger than me and I couldn't fight him like this. "Jackson, you don't need to do this. You don't have to do everything he says. Please. Please just stop." I begged, looking up at him, my muscles aching already.. "I do, actually. Because if I don't, when he gets out he'll kill me, and get away with it." He stated. "Plus, I kind of like it. There's just something so satisfying about taking all of your power away so easily just by threatening your child..." He commented.
Before I could argue back, he moved his hands so one of them was holding my wrists, and the other was tightly gripped around my neck. I shut my eyes, trying to think straight, but feeling my air supply quickly being cut off..
I coughed, trying to get air into my lungs, but failing. His grip loosened, and I opened my eyes, feeling my lungs fill with air again. "You know... There is one thing you could do for me. And I'd leave you alone." He commented. "What?" I asked. "Well, Ryan always talks about how good you are in bed." He said. "What makes you think he wouldn't kill you for doing that?" I questioned. "Oh, he absolutely would." He replied.
"Ok, well I'm not having sex with you." I stated, struggling to get my arms free.. "I never said it was optional." He said, moving towards me. I grimaced, feeling his lips on the side of my neck..
My instincts finally kicked in, and I brought my knee up, hitting him as hard as I could in the groin. He immediately let go of me, bending over, holding his crotch. "Holy shit." He got out.
Before he could stand up to come after me again, I shoved him backwards. He fell, knocking some stuff off the counter in the process. I stepped on one of his wrists just as there was knocking on the door. "Brynn?" I heard Harry ask..
I hesitated, looking down at Jackson. I let my foot hit him between the legs again, and then ran over, unlocking and opening the door. "Oh my god." He said, immediately grabbing my arm and pulling me behind him.. "No, Harry let me deal with him." I said, out of breath. Grace was hiding on the other side of the bed.
Jackson slowly got back to his feet. He's 6'3, with a fit build, which clearly surprised Harry, who took a step back.
This wouldn't end well...
