ELLA'S POV
"What are we going to do?" Liam whined.
Everyone was on the couch, still recovering from the shock that the news brought us, and we weren't taking it so well.
Paul and I had called every agency possible, every newscast we knew, and he had a long talk with Simon on the phone. He tried his best to do everything he can for us while we were all in the living room, the voice of the reporter still echoing in my ears.
How could that happen? It was almost impossible for him to be able to escape from such a heavily guarded prison, let alone even hatch a plan to get out. It worried me even more, knowing what he was capable of.
"Is there anything I can do?" I ask Paul quietly, careful so the boys can't hear me.
"I don't even know if there's anything we could possibly do to fix this." Paul said, running his hand through his short hair.
We were silent, unsure of what to do, and absolutely discouraged of the events that unraveled so quickly.
The silence was suddenly interrupted with Paul's phone ringing loudly, we both checked caller ID and it was Simon calling back.
I let them talk alone, and went to the living room. The boys were all looking worn, even Eddie was looking kinda worried. I sat down beside Harry and looked up at my brother.
"Do you even know what's going on?" I teased him, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
"Yeah, Flynn literally filled me up with everything. I know everything major that's happened to you guys for the past year" He replied in a serious tone, not meeting my eyes.
"Oh" Was all I could say, then we went back to moping.
I still can't get over the news, and I most certainly can't stop thinking about the fact that Jackson was out there, and could hurt us any moment. My thoughts probably pulled me in, because the next thing I knew, I was getting some sort of flashback in my head.
~~~~~~~
*start flashback*
I was with Harry in the apartment, when I suddenly heard a loud thump, and I sprinted towards it, probably worried as to what was happening. I seemed to get even more afraid when the door wouldn't open.
"Liam!" I shouted, banging on the door.
No one answered, the thumping and banging continued, and I saw panic take over Harry's features.
I moved backward, my eyes pinned on the door.
"Stay back" I told Harry, and he follows.
I was able to break the door down with one swift kick, and what was behind that door made my breath stop cold.
A masked man was standing over Liam, who was on the floor, covering his face, and I looked confused, since I was looking for Jackson.
I ran towards him and tackled the man to the floor, he rolls over and tries to counter my punches, and at the corner of my eye I see Harry run across the room to help Liam get out safely.
I diverted my attention back to the man, trying my best to pin him down the floor, somehow trying to avoid getting hit in the midsection, I felt the searing pain whenever I moved it, but in the end I was able to take advantage of my weight, and I climbed on top of his shoulders, injecting the syringe to his neck, taking effect within seconds, and the man was knocked out.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked me, his face frazzled.
I nodded weakly and went towards where Liam was seated on the couch.
"Liam, what happened?" I asked him.
"He....he snuck in" He answered.
"Where's Jackson?" I asked again.
"He went out, said he'd come back after a while." Liam replied.
I got angry, and called someone on my phone, and after a while, Paul and the others came back to the flat.
I released all my anger on the wall, mentally cursing at Jackson for leaving Liam alone. But after a while, Jackson finally arrived.
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" I yelled at him, "why would you leave Liam like that when you know any second someone could get in and hurt him?"
This went back and forth, Jackson and I were yelling at each other in front of Paul and the other boys, I was so angry, and it was evident that Jackson was too.
"This was all you cared for, your job, and everything that goes with it! You never cared about what mattered most, your family!" He shouted back, and I felt myself suck in a sharp breath. Then all too suddenly, I felt a searing pain on my stomach, as my last image was of Harry pinning Jackson to the wall angrily.
*end flashback*
~~~~~~~~~~
I felt myself gasp loudly, as I went back to reality.
"Ella, are you alright?" Louis asked.
"She's having the flashes again" Eddie explained, sitting beside me.
"What did you see?" Zayn asked.
I paused before answering, "Liam was locked in his room, and he was attacked by someone. Jackson wasn't there to help."
"Yeah, that really happened. We had no idea what he was planning, so we just let it go. But that was the day that a lot of us lost our trust in him." Niall said.
"That was also the day that you saved my life" Liam added.
I smiled, but zoned out when I remembered the pain I felt in my midsection when I was in the dream.
I ignored them, and lifted my shirt, regardless of all the boys in the room, and I saw in my stomach a deep scar was only a few inches from my bellybutton.
"What happened to me?" I asked, gesturing to the scar.
"You had an accident nearly a year back, you were stabbed when you and I were alone in the flat, and six men came in. We came home from the hospital just a few days before that happened." Harry explained.
I nodded, trying to take as much in as I could.
The boys tried to explain further what had happened then, and I was also further convinced that Jackson really was the bad guy here, we trusted him before, but he broke that trust. I still had a hard time believing that.
"I just got off the phone with Simon" Paul suddenly came in the room, interrupting my thoughts.
"What'd he say?" Eddie asked.
"I know you boys aren't going to like this" He sighed, looking at Harry, Liam, Louis, Niall and Zayn. "but Simon is officially putting Ella, Eddie, and Arthur on duty starting now"
The boys were quiet, clearly frustrated and angry at this choice, because they wanted this time for me to rest, and I understood that.
"There's no use in protesting, is there?" Liam asked.
"I'm afraid not" Paul replied, looking at the floor.
After a rather long while of silence, the boys seemed to accept the decision, but I was sure that they were still disappointed.
"Just remember our deal, Ella" Harry said, looking at me intently.
"Yes, I know" I smiled at him, trying my best to lighten the sour mood radiating throughout the room.
Deep inside, I just hoped that Jackson would know better than to come near us. If he wanted to get to the boys, he had to go through me.
And it would be a damn hard task to do that.
~~~~~~~~~~
Next chapter is hereeee! Yay! Trying to work on another story simultaneously so please bear with me if I can't update frequently.
Thank you for the support my cupcakes! I love you all :))
Horan hugs,
Alex <3