Finding Harmony Read online

  “Sweet dreams, Harmony, see you when you wake up!”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Trey paced the streets for what felt like hours, trying to find Harmony. However his search was useless. The city was too big and there were too many people to physically hunt her down all by himself. He’d lost count of how many times he’d tried calling her, but the calls always rang out. He knew she must really be pissed off at him because Harmony never failed to answer her phone.

  He was so frustrated, he just wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her the truth about the cocaine. The truth was he wasn’t using any drugs. The coke must have been from a long time ago; he’d probably shoved it in one of the side compartments of his bag and completely forgotten all about it. He genuinely had no idea that he had it and if he had, the moment he discovered it, he would’ve flushed it down the toilet. After all, why would he want to go back to using drugs when his life was so much better without all that stuff in his system?

  He couldn’t blame Harmony for reacting the way she did, but not being able to tell her the truth, not being able to know where she was or if she was okay was driving him insane. He figured she probably just needed to blow off some steam and that, when she felt ready to, she’d talk to him.

  With that thought concluded, Trey reluctantly decided to head back home and wait for Harmony’s return.

  He waited. He waited some more. He waited all night but she never came. With each passing hour and no word from Harmony, he became increasingly more anxious. This wasn’t like her at all, where the hell was she? His stomach twisted up in worry. He wanted to go back out on the streets and look for her but where would he go? He had absolutely no idea where she might be.

  The familiar sound of his phone’s ringtone brought him out of his thinking and he clambered across the room to reach it. His face immediately lit up when he saw the name on the screen. Harmony. Without a moment’s hesitation he brought the phone to his ear and answered the call.

  “Oh my God, Harmony, where are you, I’ve been so worried, are you okay? I’m so sorry!”

  “Trey…”

  Trey was prepared for a lot of things. He was prepared to hear that she’d run back to Leo, that she’d bought a plane ticket and gotten herself as far away from him as possible, hell, he was even prepared to hear that she’d been in some kind of freak accident. But nothing in the world could’ve prepared him for this.

  It was Harmony’s phone alright, but it wasn’t Harmony’s voice on the other end of the line. This voice was too husky and dirty to belong to his sweet angel. It was a voice dripping in bitterness and menace. It was Miranda.

  His hands balled up into fists at hearing her voice and his teeth clenched tightly together as he spoke into the phone.

  “I swear to God, Miranda, if you lay one finger on her I’ll-“

  “You’ll what?” She cackled back into the phone, her voice disgustingly playful and teasing.

  “Let’s get one thing straight Trey, you owe me, remember?! And I will get my payment out of you; otherwise it’ll be our dear little Harmony here who pays the price. I told you not to mess with me!”

  Her venomous words rang through his ears as the line fell flat. Miranda had his Harmony and it was his entire fault. He felt sick to his stomach and tears of rage and upset flew freely out of his tortured eyes and down his face.

  He should’ve taken Miranda more seriously when she warned him about keeping up with payments. You either paid Miranda in cold hard cash or with sex. But he didn’t

  care; he thought he was the one in control of things. Oh, how very wrong he was.

  And now his perfect, beautiful, fragile Harmony was paying the price for his stupidity. She was at the merciless hands of Miranda and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. All Trey could do now was grab Freddy and search every possible location where he thought Miranda might be, in the hope of finding Harmony before it was too late.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Something hard hit the side of my face with intense force. I screamed out, or at least I thought I did, but I never heard the piercing shriek I’d built up in my lungs leave my mouth. It was only then that I became aware of a filthy, ripped up piece of duck tape gagging my mouth and preventing any sound from escaping.

  I tried to move my head but it felt as heavy as a brick, bobbling around uneasily atop of my shoulders. I then tried to move my arms and legs but that effort was in vain also, I looked down to find my wrists and my ankles bound securely together with rope. I must have been left like this for a long time; I could see that the rope had begun to cut in to my skin, leaving an uncomfortable burning sensation to linger around the newly exposed raw flesh.

  It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting in the room, and even when they did, I was still none the wiser as to my whereabouts. It looked like a warehouse of some sort; the floor was concrete, the walls brick and the windows boarded up.

  As I looked up I was struck across the face again. I winced in pain and shut my eyes tightly, wishing for it all to be over. When I reopened my eyes, Miranda was standing in front of me, looking down at me whilst popping her bubblegum.

  “Hi, Harmony, have a good sleep? I hope so; you’ll need all the energy you can get for what I have planned for you.”

  What? What the hell was she going to do to me? What does she have planned?!

  She crouched down in front of me, trailing her fingers harshly over my neck and collarbones before violently ripping the tape away from my mouth in one swift movement.

  I screeched at the top of my lungs, my eyes watering from the pain she’d just inflicted on me.

  But being Miranda, she just crouched there and laughed. It was repulsive how she took pleasure from causing another human being pain. I wanted to yell at her, to tell her what an evil, sadistic woman I thought she was. But I didn’t. I knew that if I screamed and yelled she’d only take pleasure from it. I simply had to endure her taunting.

  She got up and walked across the room. I followed her movements and, for the first time since I’d woken up, I noticed the two girls and guy from the bar standing in the corner, all grinning viciously. They were all as evil and twisted looking as Miranda; they’re eyes black and void of any compassion.

  Miranda turned back to me, now clutching a phone in her hands. My phone.

  “You know Harmony, Trey must really love you. You should see the amount of calls texts you received from him whilst you were passed out.”

  I could feel my heart battering against my rib cage. What I’d give to have him here right now. I should never have stormed out the way I did. I was such an idiot, always overreacting.

  “It’s really quite touching how much he cares for you. He loves you so much, Harmony, but then he always has. That being said though, he didn’t think twice about sleeping with me in order to get his fix. Maybe you’re not that important to him after all.”

  Despite the sting in her words, I feel calm. I can feel the Lord in me, holding me steady. “You can say what you like, Miranda, but I know who I am. And Trey knows who I am. Most importantly… the Lord knows who I am. That’s all I need. What do you need, Miranda? Love? Because I know where you can find an endless supply.”

  My comment earned me a kick to the ribs, literally knocking the wind out of me. But I didn’t care, I’d stood up for what I believed in. For once, I wasn’t the lost one in the equation.

  “Danny, she’s all yours. Please, take your time, no rush.” She signaled to the big grubby guy in the corner to make his way over. He smirked callously as he started to approach me, loosening the belt on his jeans as he moved over.

  Oh no. I knew what was coming next. I could feel my body tremble and the tears that I’d been trying to hold back came pouring down my face. I was scared. Scratch that, I was petrified. I wanted Trey. I needed him right now.

  Danny pulled his belt off and proceeded to unfasten the button and zipper on his jeans before pulling them down. I began to pray.

 
“Please Lord, help me.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Trey, I need you to take a deep breath, calm down and tell me where Miranda is, where might she have taken Harmony? C’mon Trey, you need to think.”

  Freddy had arrived home mere moments ago to find his brother crouched down on the floor, a hysterical wreck. At first, Freddy thought Trey might be high on something but when he started withering on about Miranda and Harmony, Freddy knew the situation was far worse than Trey relapsing.

  “I don’t know Freddy, there’s a whole network of places she hangs out in downtown… Freddy what if we can’t find her? What if we’re too late? What if-“

  Trey was starting to sob now. He knew how malevolent Miranda was and he knew the atrocious things she was capable of. The very thought of the hideous acts she might be doing to Harmony right now was enough to send him over the edge.

  Freddy crouched down to Trey’s level on the floor and tightly embraced his brother. He hated seeing Trey in pain; it cut him deeper than his own. But deep down, Freddy felt like he had to hold on to Trey through fear that he might fall apart himself. He knew that in situations like these, it didn’t help to throw the blame around but he couldn’t help feeling somewhat guilty for the current predicament they were in. What if he had made it clearer to Harmony at the beginning that Miranda was and how dangerous she was, then maybe Harmony would never have got involved, then maybe, she wouldn’t be where she is now.

  Over the years, both the twins had grown to love Harmony immensely, but over the past few weeks; they had both grown to depend on her more than they ever thought they would. Through the darkness, she became their source of happiness, their light at the end of the tunnel. She was all that was good in a world that was so detrimental.

  And now, they were on the verge of losing her. Somewhere, Harmony was out there, terrified, in pain and needing them. They had to get to her, whatever it took, they had to find her. Neither Trey nor Freddy could stand losing her, not after everything she’d done for them.

  Trey looked over at Freddy, tears in his eyes. “I swear to God,” he said, then paused. “Oh God,” he said, his heart crumbling with emotion. Freddy choked back a sob and nodded. Trey bowed his head, something he hadn’t done in years.

  “Oh God,” he muttered. “Look, I don’t know how to do this thing. But Harmony believes in You. And if she believes… well… I should believe too. Please, God. If You’re out there… help her. Help her, please. I love her. I need her.”

  Freddy reached a hand over, holding Trey’s clasped ones. Trey cleared his throat and finished, “And I think… I think I need You too. Help us. Both.” He looked up at Freddy.

  As if they’d both just telepathically had the same conversation, Trey and Freddy simultaneously got up, grabbed their jackets and darted out into the night to find Harmony. Their Harmony. And this time, coming home without her was not an option.

  Chapter Seventeen

  My whole body shut down as Danny approached me, beating me black and blue until his heart’s content. I felt so weak and so pathetic. How did it come to this? Fresh, hot tears spilled from my eyes as the animalistic monster before me pulled out a knife and began to cut through the bonds around my ankles. The very feeling of his slimy, unsanitary skin touching mine made me dry heave.

  I tried with all the remaining strength in me to keep my legs shut but he was too strong, he forced them apart like he were slicing a knife through melting butter. He positioned himself between my thighs as he used the knife to cut and rip my clothes from me. Whenever I cried out or resisted he’d beat me with such unimaginable brutality that I actually wanted to die.

  He grabbed my body forcefully and picked me up, moving me over to a shoddy wooden table. He trailed the knife up my thigh, digging it in ever so slightly so that it scratched the surface of my skin. The knife moved under the waistband of my underwear, resting there for a moment before one clumsy tug of the knife ripped the garment from my body. Danny grabbed the small piece of material, throwing it to the ground, my dignity falling with it.

  It was hard to focus on anything whilst I was hurting so badly and my body was being violated, used and abused like some kind of rag doll. But through all the suffering and pain I tried to think of Trey. He still needed me; I still had to help him. I was going to have to survive this, to endure the pain and viciousness just a little while longer. I had to keep it together. Just a little bit longer, Harmony, it’ll be over soon.

  I opened my eyes, trying desperately to avoid looking at the filthy, disgusting bastard who was removing his clothes. I turned my head to the side and that’s when I saw it - the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, my golden ticket, the abandoned knife lying mere inches from my head.

  Okay, be calm, Harmony. There’s only one shot at this, wait for an opportune moment. I stole a glance at Miranda and her friends. They were laughing hysterically, taking pleasure from the fact that my body was being broken and beaten right before their very eyes.

  I closed my eyes and made a short prayer, then I swiftly moved my bound hands up and grabbed the knife, forcefully bringing it back down and plunging it into his thigh.

  He pulled out of me, shrieking in pain as he stared at the open gash, the blood trickling down his leg. Immediately I got up off the table, kneeing him in his manhood which caused him to fall to the floor, doubling over in pain. This was nothing compared to what he really deserved for the act was about to committ on me.

  I turned to see Miranda and her two ‘sidekicks’ staring at me wide-eyed with shock. Instinctively I clutched the knife tightly in my hands, holding it out, warning them not to come anywhere near me.

  “You’re crazy!” Miranda screamed at me. Quite the hypocrite is she not?

  “Too right I am, and if you come anywhere near me or even try to stop me from leaving, I’ll cut you up as well!”

  I don’t know where this new found air of confidence came from; maybe it was just basic human instinct to do whatever it takes to survive. More likely though, it was the spirit of Christ in me, this newfound faith filling me with a vengeance.

  The top I was wearing was an oversized shirt, Danny had graciously left it fairly intact and, despite all the rips and tears, it covered all the areas that needed covering. At least is restored some of my dignity.

  The three girls were still frozen in shock and Danny writhing around in pain on the floor. I started edging towards the door in the corner of the room. Miranda was at the other side of the room. I reckoned if I was quick, I could run out the door before Miranda could get to me. So I went for it. Despite the excruciating pain that was surging around my body, I ran. Now wasn’t the time for tears and weakness. I had to be strong; I had to focus on getting myself out of here. I could cry about it later.

  I ran out of the warehouse into a dark alleyway. The cold was piercing, biting at every patch of my skin. I didn’t have a clue where I was or where I was going. Frantic shouting and hurried footsteps behind me let me know I was being followed so I kept going, turning down different paths and corners as I tried to find my way out of the maze of buildings.

  And then I heard it. I heard my name being shouted out. It was close. My name was shouted again, stopping me dead in my tracks. The voice was warm and inviting. It was long summer nights, the smell of fresh cut grass, the cold side of the pillow, the first cigarette of the day. It was Trey. It was a voice sweeter than that of an angel, a voice you could easily lose yourself in.

  It just about drowned out the sound of the gunshot that came from behind me.

  Everything that followed happened in slow motion. Me falling to my knees in the alley, the blood pooling out from my side, hysterical screams and shouting in the background, my face crashing against the hard street as my body lay limp on the ground, my own blood swarming around me and staining the ground on which I lay, the sight of Trey and Freddy rounding the corner… then nothing but blackness as everything faded into one big incoherent cloud of nothingness.

  Chap
ter Eighteen

  -When you try your best, but you don't succeed. When you get what you want, but not what you need-

  The slushy rain slowly turned to snow as we ran down the streets. I cried out for her at the top of my lungs so many times it turned my voice hoarse and raspy. I guided Freddy through the narrow alleys that made up the ‘district’. I’d been here before. It was an old industrial park filled with dormant warehouses where Miranda executed most of her deals. I wasn’t sure if she’d be here, I just had a gut feeling in my stomach that she would and when I find her, she’ll have all hell to pay for whatever she’s done to Harmony.

  The wind blew ferociously through the small tunnels and streets, whipping my hair vehemently in my eyes and face. This place was a labyrinth of winding alleys and dead ends. I was beginning to lose hope, if she wasn’t here; I feared I’d never find her. Freddy placed his hand firmly around my arm.