“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't being said.” — Shannon L. Adler


♢Lucy's POV♢


“God you're so fucking tight,” Dylan moaned into the back of my neck, no doubt bruising my battered vagina.

I whimpered as a sharp pain overcame my lower area, tears beginning to fall. The feeling was unpleasant, and he only made it worse with all the dirty things that he whispered in my ear. He kept saying 'you will enjoy this,' and 'your walls feel so good wrapped around my cock,' making me loathe my body. I continuously asked God what I did to deserve this unspeakable act of violence, but my questions went unanswered. I was alone—completely alone and at the mercy of a monster who did not have a shred of empathy in his entire soul.

“Dylan, please...s-stop,” I struggled to say through my cries, but my pleas only seemed to spur him on.

“You have no idea how...amazing I feel...inside of you—ah fuck,” He cursed into my ear as I felt him twitch inside of me. He rode out his orgasm while I laid there motionless, helpless, and defenseless. My face was compressed into side of the pillow, and the lack of oxygen I was receiving finally caught up to me. I blacked out, and everything that happened next was a blur.


I awoke from my horrible nightmare on the verge of tears, calling for Harry and hoping he'd come. My heart was beating at an unsteady pace, and I felt like I couldn't breathe—exactly how I couldn't in my dream. The sound of someone groaning on the floor startled me more, and I jumped back, hitting my head against the headboard.

“Shit…” I cursed under my breath as I gently rubbed my head.

When Harry and his mop of curls rose from the floor in a stretch, relief washed over me. It's only Harry. I reminded myself. Not Dylan. Green eyes cracked his knuckles, stretched his arms, touched his toes, and leaned forward a bit to stretch his legs. The sight managed to bring a faint smile to my face; he looked like he was ready to run a marathon, but the adrenaline rush gradually wore off as he joined me on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes.

“Hey, you alright?” Harry questioned after yawning into his palm. I shook my head, though he couldn't see, before saying,

“N-no. It happened again tonight, but this time in my dreams. I'm scared to go to sleep, Harry.”

He opened his beautiful green eyes and stared at me with sympathy before tugging my body closely against his chest. When I began to cry, he kissed my forehead and started rubbing my back up and down with his hand. “Shh, It's okay. I've gotcha…” Harry said in a soothing voice.

I nodded my head along to his words and inhaled the familiar scent leaving his neck in shaky breaths.


Old spice.


The aroma was the perfect distraction. I had so many fond memories of this smell and, the deeper I went to recall these pastimes, the more I started to realize how much Harry reminded me of my dad. They were both stubborn, always knew the right things to say in any given situation, but most importantly, they were born with the biggest hearts. Their only flaw was that they cared too much, if that was even a flaw at all.


“I'm sorry…” I said quietly, desperate to free myself from this guilt I felt. I thought the truth was supposed to set me free, but it only made me feel worse.

“I am too,” He spoke softly, tilting my chin up so I could look him in the eyes. Why was he sorry? “My behavior was uncalled for. I shouldn't have left you alone. I just—I just didn't like the idea of you being with anyone else but me.”

“W-what are you trying to say Harry?” I asked him, intrigued by every last word.

“I'm saying that I was being a major arsehole, and I dunno why you continue to put up with me,” Harry sighed.

“Well, has that brain of yours ever thought maybe it's because I think you're worth it? I care about you, Harry. Nothing's gonna change that,” I tried to reassure him.

“Yeah, you say that now, but you have no idea how fucked up I really am…” He let his words hang dangerously in the air, creating tension between us.

I shifted uncomfortably in his lap but decided to stay put in hopes of him continuing.

I was about to find out exactly who was Harry Styles and, if I wasn't curious enough before, I definitely was now.

---

♢Harry's POV♢


“Let's get one thing straight. I'm no angel baby. My life was never picture perfect,” I frowned when telling her.

Lucy treated me much better than I deserved. I was some prick addicted to Ketamine who used women for sex, and it's about time she learned that. I pulled my bottom lip back in a sigh before pushing some curls behind my ear, contemplating the right way to tell her. I had to go back to the beginning for it all to make sense.

“My mother caught me using when I was about sixteen…” I muttered, feeling the weight of the sky being lifted from my shoulders as I told her, “She was beyond angry and told me 'no son of mine was going to abuse drugs,' and that I better stop 'this foolishness' before I ruined 'whatever future I had left.' Of course, I didn't listen,” I laughed bitterly at the end while thinking back to that day. “I was a stupid teenager who desperately wanted his mother to give more than two shits about him, so I turned to drugs. And God, Lucy...It was fucking incredible. I couldn't feel a damn thing other than euphoria half the time. I became a whole new person…” I trailed off, losing myself in the memories.

I almost forgot there was a beautiful girl occupying the space on my lap until she placed her hand on my chest, nodding for me to continue.

“But things got much worse after that especially when I started dating Marisol. We were high school sweethearts, inseparable from the day we met. My mother hated her guts, and I think that was part of the reason why I dated her. I loved how we could get high together and piss off my mum at the same time,” I smirked slightly before clearing my throat, “Anyway, she knew her way around town and introduced me to cocaine and marijuana. From there my life started to spiral out of control. I was getting high at school and snorting coke at home. My mum didn't know what to do with me anymore so she called my father to take me away. She thought if she separated Mari and me, I would stop using, but it only made things worse. I started using more frequently, and I would've died of an overdose if my dad hadn't taken me to the hospital one Friday night. That near death experience changed my life. I cleaned up my act, got sober, and finished my senior year of high school drug-free,” I smiled at the accomplishment, not caring how minuscule it was; no one could say I never tried to turn my life around.

“So...does that mean you didn't use again after finishing high school?” she finally asked after what felt like a lifetime of silence. Her brown eyes, full of curiosity, bored into mine and suddenly I felt guilty, probably more than I should've.

“I tried not to, Lucy, but it wasn't that easy. I would shake violently and sweat a great deal if I didn't get a fix by nightfall. My addiction was just too powerful for me to fight on my own, and it took me almost two years to realize that. On my twentieth birthday my dad pulled me from photography school and enrolled me in a nine month recovery program. I haven't heard from him or my mum since then. It was a sucky birthday, but I'm glad he did what he did because if he hadn't, I don't know where I would be right now,” I sighed, letting the reality of my words sink into her mind. Lucy bit her bottom lip and directed her gaze toward the floor, deep in thought.

Once she realizes what a complete waste of space I am, she'll run. They always do. I thought to myself. I was waiting for her to shove me away and tell me she wanted nothing to do with me, but my brown eyed girl did no such thing. I don't know why she stayed or how she could stand to be so close to me, but I didn't question it anymore. I just sat there lost in the moment.

“I'm so sorry your parents weren't there for you, and that you couldn't reach out to anyone about how you were feeling, but if this is your way of trying to get rid of me, you failed. I'm not going anywhere, Harry,” Lucy told me, her small hand cupping around my jaw. I opened my mouth to speak, but she pressed her index finger against my lips.

“Yeah, you used drugs, and that should probably make you a horrible person, but it doesn't. Not in my eyes at least. I have no right to judge you, but even if I did, that Harry is nothing like the Harry I know now. The Harry I know and like is smart, cocky, a bit too full of himself, charming, stubborn, but also one of the sweetest people anyone could ever meet. I don't regret meeting you, and this—your past—changes nothing,” She told me and like the foolish man I am, I believed her. “Absolutely...nothing,” Lucy said again before removing her finger from my mouth and leaning in to close the gap between our lips.

I got lost in the smell of vanilla and coconuts, but I still managed to meet her halfway. Her rosy lips barely ghosted over mine, but the small contact was exhilarating. Bolts of electricity surged through my veins, and all it took was her simple touch. I couldn't wait anymore. I brought my hand up to her neck and connected our mouths, tracing my tongue along her lower lip. It didn't take long for her to react.

Lucy followed the movement of my lips and slung her legs around my waist so that she was straddling me. I held her body impossibly close to mine, apprehensive of the thought of letting her go. I gently pulled on her bottom lip, eliciting a soft moan from her mouth, and slipped my tongue inside. I massaged it over hers and sucked until she released another moan. I smiled into the kiss and guided her to lay back down on the bed so that I could position myself in between her legs. Her hands immediately tangled themselves in my curls, and I groaned against her lips when she tugged at my roots.


Fuck.


I broke away from her embrace and kissed the corner of her mouth before working my way down her neck. I sponged sloppy, wet kisses over her chest and began sucking on her collarbone, the one place I knew that drove her crazy. She moaned again, quite loudly this time, and I grazed my teeth over the fresh purple mark.

“Harry…” She whispered breathlessly.

“Mm, yes baby?” I responded by kissing the crook of her neck.

“I-I don't want to let anyone come between us anymore.”

Her words were unexpected and led my actions to a halt; I didn't know how to respond. I guess this was her subtle way of telling me she wanted to be with me, but even so I had to answer a question of my own.


Do I want to be with Lucy?


I was silent for awhile until I found the right words to simplify my thoughts. “I know, and I won't allow that to happen...From now on it's just gonna be you and me, Lucy. We can make it if we try,” I promised her, and I meant every single word.

I kissed her lips one final time before flipping us over so that she was laying on top of me. She rested her head against my chest and yawned quietly. I looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand and saw that it was almost five in the morning. We hardly got any sleep, and I could tell she was tired by the way her eyelids drooped.

“Go to sleep, okay? I'm right here,” I told her.

“M'kay…” Lucy nodded, and within a couple of minutes her light snores began to fill the emptiness of the room.

The sound brought out the dimples in my smile, and I sighed in content. I had Lucy, and she had me. We gave our lives meaning, and I didn't realize how much I cared for her until this very second. I was in deep, and nothing could pull me back out. Whether or not that was a good thing, I didn't know, but I liked the idea of living for the unknown.

Notes

Okay, I couldn't resist. I had to update. 41 votes for a double update next week? I'm still trying to figure out how to make this story along with Like The Shoe Lace a "10", but I love writing Picture Perfect regardless of anything. I'm also in love with my new banner~

A penny for your thoughts on the chapter? I won't leave anymore author notes because it feels like I'm talking to myself, and that's awkward, so please comment. Thank you to those who have expressed their appreciation for my story in some way, shape or form, it means a lot.

Vote & Subscribe if you want to (though I really, really think you should). If you rate below a ten, tell me why. It's really frustrating because all I want to do is improve.

Love
-M