I'm watching Mrs Clement's lips move but I'm not hearing any of the words that are coming out. I see her painted pink lips made shapes and her tongue flick around behind her overly white teeth but my ears hear only the faintest of buzzing noises. My whole head throbs too much for me to concentrate on anything.

"Cara," Sawyer waves a hand in front of my face pulling me back down to reality. I haven't told him anything yet. I walked right back to him after the threatening and allowed him to lead me over to his mom.

"I'm sorry," I shook my head, "I'm not feeling too well will you excuse me for a second."

"Of course honey, do you need anything?" Mrs Clement tilted her head and wore the most mothering concerned look that I wished I'd had throughout my childhood.

I just shook my head as I backed away from the group,

"Cara, is everything okay," Sawyer took my arm gently, his whole face alight with worry.

I kept nodding frantically, speak I instructed my mouth firmly, "I won't be a minute, I'll be right back."

I turned and scurried away, my need to get away had overpowered my logic and I realised I had no clue where the bathroom was. So I was wondering aimlessly around the white walls thinking I hadn't moved at all as everything looked so similar.

"Are you lost honey?" A wrinkled hand touched my shoulder and I couldn't help flinching back in surprise. The face of a kind looking man obscured my vision, I stared at him blankly for a moment. There was something similar about him but I just couldn't place what, I felt like I'd seen him before.

"The restroom?" I fumbled incoherently, luckily he managed to understand enough to point me the the direction I'd entered, towards the front door.

"Second door on the right, you be careful where you go now Miss," His voice was so formal and proper, like someone who had been through years of finishing school and the way he stood was bolt upright with both arms clamped firmly at his sides.

"Yes thank you very much," I started shuffling away down the bright white hallway. I lost count of the number of doors I'd passed, just the one? Or two? Or three?

I opened the door I was stood by anyway. They already knew I was here so what did I have to lose?

I froze. My breath hitched in my thought.

It took me a moment to process the scene that was going on in front of me.

Mitch's mom was sat on the desk, and her lips were locked with none other than Grey's dad who had his hands knotted in her platinum blonde hair. I stood frozen stock still for a moment and not a single muscle in my body would allow me to move.

Then something in my brain clicked, I had to get out of there now, I stepped back and closed the door as silently as I could. I didn't need to cause a scene, this wasn't any of my business.

So I walked away.

Thankfully the next door I tried led to the bathroom. I leaned on the marble counter and stared at my reflection in the well polished mirror lit by the bright artificial lights that extinguished all the colour from my face. I washed my hands for no reason and let cold water run across my wrists, I'd heard somewhere that was supposed to calm you down.

Suck it up. I told the reflection of myself as I peered right into her brown eyes. You are not weak. You are strong.

***

"Listen to me Cara," mom pressed her hands either side of my face forcing me to stare directly into her defiant eyes, "get it together now."

"I can't," I shook my head, I couldn't walk into that room when I knew how all those men had treated my mom. I couldn't smile and be pleasant to them when all I wanted to do was smack their smirks right off their faces. I couldn't stand the way they looked at me like I was a platter of meat they wanted to dig into. I couldn't. I wouldn't.

"You can and you will," moms voice was so low and so certain there was no argument to be had there, "you won't let them win. You will walk in there with your head held high and a smile on your face. You will not stoop to their level, you will rise above. I don't care what they say or how they make you feel. This is a competition and you mustn't let them win. Every time you let them get under your skin they win and that's all they want. Being afraid out here is only making them feel better. So stand up."

I stood up.

"Shoulders back, head held high, smile like you know something funny about them,"

I did as I was told.

"Now go in there sand beat every last one of them at their own sadistic game. You're a strong, powerful woman so show it."

And I did. I walked in that room like I'd never been afraid of them in my life. I endured their creepy gazes and snide comments, I smiled and was polite. I hated every minute if it but I won.

***

I was going to win again. I pushed open the door with a clear focused mind. I rolled my shoulders back, tilted my jaw up and put a smirk on my face like I'd just heard the best joke no one else was privileged enough to hear. And I walked out of the bathroom. I was strong. I was powerful.

They could threaten me all they wanted but I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of letting them under my skin. They wanted to watch me squirm and I wasn't going to. I wasn't a mouse they could toy with before they finally decided to eat me.

I would win every single time.

I went back into the main room, I spoke a little with Mrs Clement about school. Then Mitch returned with his mom who chatted with me briefly, I couldn't help but noticed the creases in her dress and smudge of her lipstick and wildness of her hair. And I was certain by Mitch's expression that he'd noticed too.

She had no idea that I knew and I'd never felt more uncomfortable having a conversation with someone in my life.

I spotted Grey by his mothers side shaking hands with a haughty looking man who had an air of authority and importance to him. Grey's eyes glanced over and caught mine briefly, he made an excuse then darted over to me but was interrupted mere feet before reaching me by the kind old man who'd rescued me before.

"Grandfather," I was close enough to hear Grey's greeting as they hugged each other tightly. Of course, I rolled my eyes, his grandfather had the same grey eyes, I would've noticed them anywhere. That's why he seemed so familiar.

"Lovely to see you Grey," he chuckled in his articulated voice. Grey's eyes kept darting over the man's shoulder apologetically at me so much his grandfather noticed and spun around to face me. His face lit up with recognition, "hello again, did you find your way to the ladies okay?"

"You know each other?" Grey's brow furrowed.

"Is this a friend of yours Grey?" His grandfather had a faint smile on his lips, Grey nodded abruptly, "you should really take better care of her, I found her lost on the way to the ladies room."

"Thank you again for pointing me the right way," I nodded gratefully.

"It was my pleasure," he smiled with the friendliest of eyes, "now Grey where are your manners introduce me to this lovely lady."

"Grandfather this is Cara Collins she's staying at Kings Bridge, her dad is the housemaster, Cara this is my grandfather."

"Call me John," he stuck out a hand when another million dollar smile. I shook it, he had a firm decisive handshake.

"It's lovely to meet Grey's grandfather," I smiled back instantly at ease with the charismatic man.

"You've probably seen more of me recently than Grey has, he never pays me a visit anymore," he pulled a face but I could see the real sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry grandfather I've been really busy with school," Grey apologised earnestly but his eyes were elsewhere darting all over the room keeping tabs on various peoples whereabouts, "and actually we were just about to leave now."

"Your mother?" John caught on quickly following Grey's sight line, he leaned down and whispered to me conspiratorially, "I may be her father but that girl can cause some hell of a commotion and she sure as hell didn't learn how to do that from me," he winked, "her mother was exactly the same, could start a fire without a match God rest her soul."

"Grandfather I'm sorry but we really should be going, I don't think we're wanted here anymore," Grey interrupted and he pushed back his hair in agitation.

"Nonsense," John said pompously but seeing Grey's anxious expression gripped his grandson by the shoulder lovingly, "I'll lead you out, your mother won't be able to say anything then eh?"

So grandfather John led the way back to the front door, I knew Grey's moms eyes were on the three of us the whole way but she never approached us.

"I promise I'll come and visit you more often from now on," Grey agreed as we reached the front door.

"You'd better," his grandfather ruffled his hair affectionately.

I felt something in me longing for that relationship I'd never realised I'd been missing. Moms parents were both dead before I was born and I'd never met my dads patents so I had no experience of having grandparents of my own. I never felt like I was missing out on much but now seeing the way Grey and his grandfather interacted it made me long for that kind of relationship.

"It was lovely to meet you John," I grinned up at his kind face.

"You too sweetheart, look after yourself and my grandson too," he gave me a parting handshake and then we were out the door.

I could see the other Silent Boys already sitting in the car ready to go all looking thoroughly exhausted.

"Well," I sighed as I slumped down into my seat, "I think that could have gone worse."

Sawyer was the first to start laughing, then Nico, then all of them were rocking back and forth in laughter. I found myself laughing to. I laughed until my sides aches and tears rolled down my cheeks.

Only the Silent Boys could make me laugh like that after our afternoon from hell.