When I woke up, my head throbbed, and an obvious aching restricted my muscles. I groaned softly, pushing myself into a sitting position. Struggling to remember what had happened before I fell asleep, I took in my surroundings. As I rubbed the back of my head, trying to relieve the ache, my eyes settled upon a bundle of black clothing where my head had been only a minute earlier. My vision was foggy, and I shook my head a little in hopes that it would return to normal.

What happened?

I let go of the back of my head and reached down to pick up the clothes.

It was a black leather jacket. Easily four sizes too big for me, but it looked warm. I shivered, suddenly aware of the fact that I wasn't wearing a jacket myself. The only thing shielding me from the frigid air was a light long sleeve t-shirt I had pulled over my leotard before I left the studio and my sweatpants. I shivered, starting to pull the leather jacket onto my body. I didn't have a clue who it belonged to, but I figured there had to be a name written on it somewhere; it looked expensive. After I returned to the dorm, I could wash it and return it to the owner tomorrow.

As I slid my arms through the holes, a small sheet of paper fluttered down from the inside. I picked it up, curious, and unfolded it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello, kitten. I'm glad you're awake. I know the side effects of the drugs probably have you feeling a little hazy right now, but it's normal. You'll start to feel better in a couple of minutes.

I really am sorry about having to put you out like that, but I was worried you might have a panic attack if I didn't. I know we got off to a rough start, but I'm sure everything will work out in the end.

But that doesn't matter. Leave the details to me. I already have everything planned out, so there is absolutely no reason for you to worry. Just focus on getting your things together at your dorm.

Remember, I come for you in two days, and expect that you'll be ready.

I can only assume you will keep in mind what happens if you try to get help.

See you in a few days, love.

-HS

P.S. Wear my jacket. It will keep you safe, trust me. If you don't, I can promise you there will be consequences. I have more men watching you than you think.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The paper fell from my hands, and my hand flew to my mouth as everything that happened before I blacked out came rushing back to me. Bile rose in the back of my throat, and I threw the jacket from my body, rushing away from it like it was a diseased animal. I wretched against the wall of the alley as I emptied what little I had in my stomach from the day before. Tears blurred my vision as the pounding in my head increased.

"Liar," I mumbled grumpily to myself as my body failed to recover from the drugs.

It was no surprise. He probably thought the drugs wouldn't hurt me that much, but I was small. Even at sixteen, my weight was only slightly over one hundred pounds, and my height barely reached five feet tall. There was no way I could safely handle a "normal" dosage.

I whimpered as my stomach heaved another time, and slid down with my back against the wall, closing my eyes and willing the throbbing to stop.

I don't know how much time passed before I decided to get up. All I knew was that the cold was becoming even more unbearable than my headache. Shivering, I clambered to my feet and stood above the leather jacket. Staring down at it I scrunched my nose up in disgust, picking it up reluctantly with two fingers. I looked around. Nobody seemed to still be in the alley. I was alone. Or at least, I seemed to be. I chill passed over me as I remembered the note Harry had left for me. I believed him. Something didn't feel right. I wasn't safe. Somebody was definitely watching.

Tears began to well in my eyes again, and I angrily rubbed them away with my sleeve. I could deal with this. I had to. My friends would be in danger if I didn't. A strong resolve strengthened me, and I boldly stuck my button nose in the air and puffed out my relatively flat chest. In a tiny act of defiance, I told myself I wouldn't wear his jacket; I would just carry it with me. It wasn't much, but it made me feel better, stronger. Forcing a little smile to grace my lips, I prepared myself for the cold walk back to my dorm and the trouble that was sure to arrive in the days to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My composure didn't last long. As I turned the key to my room as quietly as possible, I heard the frantic voices of Ally and Justin. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but I pushed the door open regardless. The door swung open completely, hitting the wall on the other side. I hadn't realized how hard I had pushed it. My hands were shaking as I saw my friends sitting on my bed, with Ellie in the middle. She wasn't crying. She looked numb, staring blankly at the floor, mouth slightly open. Her face was pale, and a white crop top revealed an ugly bruise where Zayn had struck her.

Justin and Ally's heads shot up.

Justin was the first to move.

"What the hell happened to you two?" he practically shouted, desperately trying to stay calm.

Ally was next, but she didn't move from Ellie's side. "Where were you two? You were gone the whole night, Annabelle!"

Justin ran his fingers rapidly through his hair, pacing the room. "Ellie came to the dorms yesterday at nearly midnight looking like she was run over by a cement truck. The moment she stepped through the door, she collapsed! When we asked her where you were, she just kept shaking her head, saying 'gone, gone, gone.' We couldn't get her to stop and she wouldn't say anything else. She hasn't spoken at all since that moment, yesterday. When we suggested finding the police, she started screaming, saying there was nothing they could do." He shook his head, eyes bloodshot and tired. "She couldn't move on her own. Ally helped her bathe and that's when… when…" his voice shook, and he paused, trying to compose himself. "That's when we saw that awful bruise. Annabelle! We thought you were dead!"

I could say nothing. I only watched as Ellie's head slowly lifted to face me, and her eyes widened as she realized what was happening.

Nothing could have prepared me for her reaction. A bloodcurdling shriek sent my arms flying up to cover my ears as Ellie scuttled back on the bed to get as far away from me as possible.

"Dead!" she yelled. "You're dead! You're not here! You're not here! You're not here!"

Ally moved to her side, encasing her completely and comforting her until she calmed down. I watched in shock, unable to do anything to help.

"I'm sorry," was all I managed before I did the only thing I could, and explained what had happened after Ellie left the alley.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

None of what I said was the truth. I felt miserable. Lying to them was something I had never done before, and it didn't feel good. I only knew that telling them the truth would put them in more danger than before, and I would do anything in my power to prevent that from happening. This was something I would have to deal with on my own. My voice shook the entire time I told my story, giving a fake recount of how I somehow escaped the murderers before Harry had the chance to shoot me, and how I had collapsed from exhaustion in another alley halfway home. The jacket, I said, was from a kind stranger who noticed my sweatshirt was torn in the struggle to get away from my potential killers.

They wordlessly accepted my story, sitting at attention the entire time. When I was finished, nobody said anything. We just leaned against the pillows of my bed, together, side by side as we listened to each other's breathing. The only bit of information I included truthfully was that Harry had, in fact, told me about his position as a gang leader.

An hour of silence went by before Justin came up with a course of action.

"We have to report them," he said with conviction as he stood up, facing the three of us.

My heart did a back flip as I thought of what would happen to Justin if he involved himself further. I rapidly shook my head, eyebrows creasing with worry.

Ellie voiced my concern for me. I heard her voice come out quietly, being the first thing she had said in the past day.

"What if somebody already has?"

I felt cold. She was right. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that the police were powerless, or just as scared as anybody else to pursue them. From what I gathered, Harry's crew was the most powerful gang in London, or at least near the top. Reporting the incident to the police would only make them better targets.

"So are we just supposed to let this go? Let them get away with attempted murder? They almost killed you both! And you're kids!" Justin was furious as he violently kicked my bedside table. Ellie flinched next to me.

"Yes," I said, my voice monotone as I turned to face him. "Yes, we do let them get away with it."

He looked at me with a mixture of shock and despair.

"We let them get away with it, because there is nothing else we can do."