I leave Derek cleaning my blood from the floor and wander around my room looking for anything I actually want to take with me for the time being. My bed is unmade and clothes are strewn in an unruly pile around the room.

My blood runs cold, this is not how I left my room, I spent ten years fearing a slap or a harsh word for leaving a room anything less than spotless, so force of habit meant my room was always organised.

Someone's been in here.

Choking on my fear, I walk around the room, searching for danger, searching for him. I fiddle with the edges of my clothes. My stomach churns when I see my entire lingerie drawer has been emptied onto the floor.

Who has been here?

The side of my bed looks used, a body far taller than mine, and on the bed in the head dent in the pillow, there lays an envelope. I can barely control the shaking as I reach for it. A low sob breaks my heart as I open the note and see the all too familiar scrawl.

Found you fatty

"Fuck!" I gasp before dropping to my knees, of course he found me. The connections he has with the police and the money he can throw away, it's no wonder he's found me. It's not exactly like I could be creative with my hiding, when I left I had less than $200, all I could do was shorten my name to a nickname and hope for the best.

But of course, he's found me. With trembling fingers I fold up the note and lay it on the bed. Desperately, I try to ignore it as I get changed and throw anything I want into a bag. Derek is here at the moment, he won't do anything with him here, I hope.

I shove the note into my bra and slowly walk from the room, I was trying to hide my inner turmoil from Derek but he seems to be more observant of me than I give him credit for.

Finally, after a little bit of probing for answers from Derek, I find myself back in the car and driving back to the compound. I stay silent for the journey, looking out at the passing and following cars- checking for his.

I don't realise it, but we've pulled up into the compound and stopped. I look around and am met with a concerned Derek with a light smile on his face.

"Someone was lost in thought then, hmmm baby?" He teases lightly before leaning in and stroking the curve of my cheek.

I can tell by the way his eyes are darting to my lips over and over again that he wants to kiss me, but he won't until he knows I'm ok. Instead of divulging my secret, I lean in and kiss him. Unlike our previous kisses that were frantic and claiming, this one is lazy and comforting. We both sink into it for as long as we can.

There's a tapping at the window, I freeze and pull back from Derek flinching in fear. I look up expecting to see him standing there, ready to drag me from the car. But instead it's the man I think Derek told me was Viper, he's standing there, laughing and giving Derek a thumbs up.

"Fuck off man." Derek all but roars in irritation, his anger increases when he sees me shrink into the chair. He thinks it's because of Viper, what he doesn't realise is it's because of his shouting.

"Baby?" He questions, looking at me anxiously. Without speaking I open the car door and walk out, trying desperately to hide the tremor in my walk and the shiver in my lip. Viper tries to block my way as I hear Derek slam his car door shut in anger and frustration at my actions. I merely hold a hand up to silence him before forcing out a name.

"Astrid?" He wordlessly points at one of the cabins. I nod my thanks and run towards it, I can hear heavy footsteps

running behind me until the sound of a scuffle and a thud. Once I am on the porch of the cabin I spare a second to glance behind me. Viper appears to have tackled Derek and are now beating each other in anger.

I thunder on the door, praying that someone's home. The person who opens the door isn't Astrid or her intimidating husband, it's Doretha. At first she has a smile on her face, then she looks at me, then at the scene unfolding behind me. She grimaces, grabs my hand and drags me off the porch.

"Come on honey, let's go to my cabin." I smile gratefully and let her pull me along. This is only the second time I have ever seen this woman, yet she seems so kind and eager to help me. Her cabin is only a few away from Astrid's but everything about this place seems so different, once she opens the door I take in the surroundings. It's colder, not as lived in, like Doretha is existing. Waiting for something to arrive.

"Thank you." I smile meekly at her, she shrugs nonchalantly before opening the door to the sitting room. We enter together and I perch at one end of the sofa, Doretha the other.

"So..." Doretha clears her throat uneasily before continuing, "what happened?"

"Derek shouted, not at me, bu-but it scared me."

She nods before slowly reaching her hand over to my and squeezes my palm in hers.

"You're allowed to be scared, he didn't mean upset you, but he shouldn't have shouted around you."

We return to silence, there doesn't seem to be anything else to say at the moment. All I could think about was the note that was burning a hole in my heart, eating me alive in fear. It was probably for the best that it was over with Derek- he's not going to want me after this- because now I can move on and hide from him again.