the song for this chapter is Prisoner by Raphael Lake, I highly recommend listening to it for full effect!!!!!

Am I losing my sanity?
I'm over my head
I'm in a dark dream
I'm a prisoner
Here they'll never let me leave

***********

Tate

Harry's flat wasn't what I thought it'd be. I pictured it to be scarcely decorated and cold, just like him. So I was shocked, to say the least upon entering it.

  It was...cozy?

The walls were decorated with a few dark wooden frames, filled with pretty pictures of landscapes. The living room had a big brown leather couch, and there were a lot of lamps that gave off warm lighting. 

   There were houseplants for crying out loud.

Harry must have noticed the shock on my face.

"Not what you expected, huh? Let me guess, you were expecting concrete walls, flickering lights, blood on the floor, and a single mattress in the middle of the room?" He asked in a snappy tone.

"No I just, well, yes," I admitted, feeling embarrassed.

"Well, I'm not a complete animal Tate," he laughed coldly.

"Debatable," I murmured, but he heard it, walking quickly to stand in front of me.

"Where do you really know Reggie from?" He asked, peering down at me and once again making me feel indescribably small.

"He gave me a ride home from work one time, that's all," I answered, although my response was a little too quick, and a little too forced sounding.

"Bullshit, Tate. I know you walk home every single night. We played back the footage of you walking home for like the past month," he began, making my jaw drop open.

He took a step closer, and I could feel his warm breath fanning over my face, waiting for me to look up at him.

I glanced up at him timidly, knowing that I had to fess up.

"I followed you home."

His eyes widened for a second, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You did what?" he seethed.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "The night that you stopped me in the alleyway, I followed you home," I admitted.

He looked beyond confused at my answer. "Why the hell would you do something like that? I held a knife to you and your first instinct was, "Oh let's go follow the murderous man back home!"" He spoke using that same high pitched mocking voice he has spoken to me in earlier, flitting his hands around dramatically.

"I don't know why I did it. Part of me wanted to know where you lived so that if you ever threatened me again, I could tell the police where you lived, and part of me...well part of me was just curious I guess," I confessed, not proud of what I had done, as I knew it was a stupid idea.

   He looked at me with amusement in his eyes. "I guess Reggie was right about you, you really are one of the most interesting people in the world," he laughed, shaking his head at me. 

I wished so badly that he would step away from me. I hated being this close to him. I wished Abel was here so that I felt somewhat safe. 

I don't know what possessed me to say what I said next, but before I knew it, the words were spilling out, and I couldn't stop them.

"You're going to kill me eventually, aren't you?" 

Harry looked stunned as the words came out of my mouth. 

He didn't reply, and so my word vomit kept falling off my lips. 

"Once you get all of the answers you need, you, or someone you work with, they're going to kill me, right? I've seen enough movies to know that guys like you don't like to leave any witnesses or loose ends."

  "Don't worry about that right now Tate, seriously," he sighed, wanting to avoid the subject which I found odd, as his repeatedly expressed disdain for me had lead me to believe he'd be excited to get rid of me.

Another thought popped into my brain, one that made my previous one seem small and insignificant.

"What about my mother?" I asked softly.

He furrowed his brows at me. "What about your mother?"

"Are you going to hurt her too?" I asked, the lump in my throat getting harder to hold back.

I glanced up from the spot on the floor I had been focusing on, and peered up to meet Harry's gaze.

   And although he had looked at me many times before, for some reason, at this moment, it was the first time that I felt seen by him.

He had the most serious look in his eyes, and he wouldn't tear them away from my own as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Tate listen to me, I am not going to hurt your mother. I would never hurt your mother, and despite what you might think, I really don't want to hurt you."

 I stared at him quizically as he continued.

"Trust me, I would much rather be putting bullets through some real asshole's skull than babysitting you. This is just another assignment for me, but it's a really important one. At first, I thought you were in on it somehow, but now, I see that you're completely clueless, but sadly, we still need you." 

"Why though, why can't you guys just figure out the riddles on your own and let me go back to my life?" I cried in desperation, feeling the tears brimming in my eyes.

"Because it's your dad Tate, you'll be able to tell us things about him that we couldn't figure out otherwise."

"Harry my dad died when I was a baby, I hardly remember anything about him!"

"Tate, you were able to figure out the first answer today, you may not remember him, but he is a part of you. You'll be able to figure it out, just like you were able to figure out the first one," he tells me, but it seems like he's trying to reassure himself more than me.

   "And then I'll be killed, right? Once I get all of your answers, I'll be dead, and you guys will what, high five and do a little victory dance?" I asked sarcastically.

Harry looked at me and pressed his lips firmly together, staring at my face as if he were trying to figure me out, and I was doing the same. 

 We studied each other's faces in silence for what felt like hours, but in reality, was only a minute or two, before I broke my gaze away from him and turned to look out one of the windows. It was completely dark outside now, and I wished so desperately that I was home in my own bed, instead of here. 

     I turned back around to face Harry, who hadn't moved from the same spot he was in, still a little too close for comfort. Still staring at me with those same green eyes that had made me swoon when I first met him at the restaurant, but that now sent chills running all over my body.

  "Do you um, have a blanket? So I could sleep on the couch? I'm really tired," I spoke, and it was the first time all day that I realized how tired I actually was. My body was exhausted, my eyelids felt heavier by the second, and my mind was probably the most desperate for sleep of all. 

   "You're not sleeping on the couch," he stated.

"Well, where would you like me to sleep? The floor?" I asked in a bit too sassy of a tone.

"No you're sleeping in my bed," he replied, causing my tired eyes to instantly wake up, and nearly buldge out of my head.

"Um, no I am not. Nice try though, good one!" I laughed, patting his chest and then walking over to the couch. 

   "Relax, princess. I'm not trying to make a pass at you, believe me," he scoffed.

I rolled my eyes at his rude comment, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I'm taking the couch, you can sleep in my bed. Don't make a big deal of it," he instructed, picking up my duffle bag and heading to the stairs.

  He turned around once he noticed I wasn't following him.

"Well?"

I took a deep breath and began walking after him, heading up the stairs and following him into his bedroom. 

It was pretty neat. It had a big floor mirror, and a chest of drawers with a record player sat on top of it. It had a big window with a window seat under it. Just like the downstairs area, it was warm and cozy, a total opposite to Harry.

 And then I looked to his bed, neatly made with a big blanket on the end of it. He walked over to it and placed my bag on the edge, turning back to face me.

"Well, goodnight," he spoke, awkwardness evident in his voice, and I could tell this was almost as weird for him as it was for me.

"Night," I replied, watching as he walked past me and back down the stairs. I stood by the door and listened until I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, and then shut the door, locking it behind me.

I sighed as I walked back towards the bed, going over to my bag and unzipping it to get my pajamas, but I paused abruptly.

An idea ran through my mind, I knew it was a bad one, and a long shot to say the least, but I couldn't push it away.

I removed my hands from my bag and started to walk towards the window. I crossed my fingers and silently prayed as I got closer to it, hearing my heartbeat drumming loudly in my head.

My hands were shaky as I knealt down onto the window seat, edging my hands closer to the window sill. I closed my eyes, letting out a deep breath before placing my hands underneath it, and pushing it up.

My heart began to beat even more erratically when the window slowly creaked open. I peered through the window to see how far the drop was. It wasn't bad at all, maybe like ten or fifteen feet at most, which may have seemed like a lot, but compared to the house I was previously being held in, this fall would be child's play. 

   I pushed the window farther open, feeling the cool night air wash over me. I winced as the window began to creak very loudly, silently pleading with it to please keep it down. I lifted my legs up onto the window seat, wish I instantly regretted as I knocked off the large stack of books that had been placed on it, sending them flying to the ground with an enormously loud thud.

 "Shit," I squeaked. My panic rose to new heights as I began to hear the sound of footsteps, and they gradually got louder as the ascended up the stairs. I was frozen in fear for a moment, like a deer caught in headlights.

  The door handle began to jiggle, and that's when I heard Harry's voice booming from the other side.

"Tate!" He yelled, sounding more pissed than he had ever sounded. "Tate open this fucking door right now or I swear I will break it down!"

   The adrenaline was coursing through my veins. I had to escape. If I got away now, I could take a cab and hide out somewhere, I could call my mom, and have her meet me, and we could get away from this nightmare. We could escape this, all of it.

"Tate!" Harry screamed, and I watched in horror as the door began to slightly give way to his forceful blows against it. My eyes kept darting to the ground outside, and then back to the door, and I pleaded with my body to just move already.

  The kicking against the door became louder and more forceful, and with one final kick, the most aggressive one yet, the door flew open with a loud crack, the lock breaking, no match for Harry's rage.

   He was fuming mad, his nostrils flaring as he marched over to me. He was getting closer, and closer, and closer...

And then I jumped.

For one blissful moment, I was flying through the air. I felt free, and hopefully, and happy. I was ready to start running, to start a new life with my mom somewhere, far away from this place and the people who inhabited it.

But then that moment was over as I felt two strong arms slide under my shoulders, causing my body to thump against the side of Harry's flat. 

No. Please no.

I felt the tears start to stream down my face as Harry began to pull me back through the window. I had no effort left in me anymore. I couldn't scream, I couldn't fight back. All I could manage to do at this point was cry. And so I did.

As soon as Harry had me fully inside, he reached one arm up and slammed the window shut, the sound causing me to jump and let out a whimper. He wrapped his arms around my waist and began to carry me back towards the bed.

"Please...please just let me go," I whimpered, my voice barely audible. It was so pitiful, so weak, and so hopeless.

   He placed me down on the side of the bed, putting one of his hands on my shoulder and pointing an accusatory finger in my face.

"Damnit Tate! Why are you making this so much harder? You do realize that I'm probably one of the safest people for you to be around right now, right?" He yelled, and I just continued to sob.

"Yeah right!" I scoffed through my tears.

"I'm serious Tate. I can't kill you, and I don't want to, I already told you that. But those other people? I don't know what they'd do, they could kidnap you, or they could put a bullet right through your skull without even batting an eye. Gosh at least here you know you aren't gonna die," he cried out, his voice not as aggressive as it just had been.

"Not yet, anyways," I muttered, my vision clouded and I reached up trying to wipe away some of the tears, but my hand was stopped by Harry's.

He softly brought the pad of his thumb up to my cheek, wiping the tears off, shocking both me and him with his gentle actions.

He sighed and pulled his hand away from my face, putting it on his temple instead and massaging it a bit.

I didn't say anything as I watched him stand up and walk over to the window, flipping the lock shut, and then grabbing the cushion placed on the window seat, bringing it back over to the bed with him, and then throwing it down onto the middle of the bed.

I felt the tears beginning to slow down, being replaced with confusion as he walked over to his dresser, reaching into one of the drawers and pulling out a pair of grey sweatpants, before walking into the bathroom.

I sat there completely dumbfounded, frozen in my spot until the door eventually opened back up.

I was not prepared for what was behind that door.

Harry emerged, with nothing but the sweatpants he had carried into the bathroom on his body. His tan and tattooed torso was very toned, and I couldn't help but stare, I wasn't even being moderately discreet about it. I watched as his muscles rippled under the black ink scattered across his skin and I think that I audibly gulped.

I was snapped out of my trance as he walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers.

"W-What are you doing?" I asked nervously.

He gave me another one of his sarcastic smiles before answering. "Well, Tate, since you've proven you can't be left alone without trying to throw yourself out a window, I am sleeping in here."

My jaw dropped open slightly, and I faltered a bit before I was able to speak again.

"Please Harry, I won't do it again, please don't sleep in here," I begged. It didn't matter if he was attractive, he still scared me to death, and I did not want to have to share a bed with him. 

He rolled his eyes, sliding under the covers and then propping himself up with his elbow.

"Relax, princess. I built a pillow wall, you're safe," he sighed, gesturing towards the cushion he had placed on the bed between us. 

   "B-Bu-"

"No buts. Go change, get in bed, and go to sleep or I'm getting rid of the pillow wall," he spoke abruptly, and that was enough to send me scampering over to my duffle, retrieving my pajamas and my toiletry bag and heading into the bathroom. 

  I slipped out of my clothes and into the same pajamas I had been wearing earlier. I stood in front of the mirror, looking at the tired bags under my eyes and sighed. I reached into my toiletry bag, pulling out my face wash and moisturizer, quickly using them both so that Harry wouldn't come and break this door open too. I brushed my teeth rapidly and placed my items back in the bag. Without even thinking about it I grabbed my perfume and spritzed it on myself, and instantly regretted it. I didn't want Harry to make some smart ass remark, but I knew he would.

I sighed and turned off the bathroom light, grabbing my pile of clothes off of the counter and walking back into the bedroom, I tossed them into the bag and zipped it shut, moving the bag down onto the floor, before walking around to the right side of the bed.

I shuddered as I pulled the covers back and got in. It was fucking freezing in Harry's room, and I reached down to grab the blanket at the end of the bed, only to be met with Harry's hand going to do the same thing.

"Oh, um, sorry. I can just get a sweatshirt," I sputtered out.

He paused for a second before handing the blanket to me.

"No, it's fine. You can take it."

"No, really it's okay, you can ha-"

"I said take it Tate, gosh are you always this difficult?" he groaned.

I opened my mouth to say something, but then clamped it back shut, taking the blanket from his hand.

I turned facing the window, thankful for the pillow wall in between us.

I felt very stiff as I lay there in the soft bed. I pulled the blanket up around me and tucked it under my chin, trying to get warm. I felt so awkward and uncomfortable, I doubted I would be getting any sleep tonight.

I felt Harry rustling around a little bit, causing my body to tense up even more.

"Are you wearing perfume?" he suddenly asked and I groaned.

"Are you trying to impress me Tate?" he teased, and I didn't even have to turn around to know that he had that stupid smirk plastered across his face.

"Goodnight Harry," I sighed, burying my face further into the blanket.

He laughed a bit before replying. "Night, Tate."

AN: WOW THAT WAS A ROLLERCOASTER HUH GUYS?!?!? double update whoop whoop! I hope you guys like this chapter! Be sure to vote and comment and let me know what you all think! Btw I posted the trailer for this book! It's the very first part in the story! Go watch it and let me know what you think! Thank you all for all of your support! Ily all so much! xx