A/N: Hey everybody. I LOVE this story to bits and it was just about time that I wrote a fanfic about it. I'm really excited and I hope you enjoy it :)

Side note: I don't own this story or its characters at all!

Chapter 1: Where Are You?

Every time I turned around there were the questions. Where were you? Are you okay? Did he rape you? Where did he go? Why won't you answer us?

It was almost as if it wasn't me they were worried about, but you. Where were you, Ty? They were angry, the reporters and detectives, for my vague answers. "How would I know. He's probably at peace." I would stare at them in the eye. "Does that help?" They knew that we were staying in Australia, but the snake that bit me wasn't helpful evidence to them. It was native to the whole country. The only lead they would have would be from me, but I wouldn't cooperate.

"Why won't you just tell them?" My mother would ask me after each "interview." More like interrogation.

"Because," I would say back. "He saved me. This is my repayment." And it was. This was me repaying you, Ty. But for some reason, it felt like it was to much, to good. I wasn't sure why I was protecting you. All I knew was I wouldn't let these people get to you. They didn't even know what you looked like. They only knew what I told them. I told them nothing. I always gave them the same answer. "He looks like a guardian angel."

...

I held the list crunched up in a little ball in my hand. For weeks after I came home, I sat in my room in the dark. I couldn't find the energy to do anything more than that. It drove mum crazy. Dad told her to give me time. She couldn't stand it though. What would the neighbors think? Mum thought that sending me to the market every other evening would bring me back to my senses. "Some fresh air will do you good, Gemma." It wasn't. If anything, it was making everything worse. I thought that my fear was just a phase, something that I would get past after a few trips walking through the crowds. It's been months now, my paranoia was only escalating.

I walked down the sidewalk, the right side so I could run into the street if I needed to. My hands were always around my keys, holding it out like a knife in my fist. I looked behind myself, then quickly ahead. The short walk to the store was like I was walking across the country. I always felt like I was followed now, thanks to you. I always felt eyes on me, always staring. I can at least say that it wasn't all in my head. I was famous, my parents made sure of it. I was plastered all over the world as The Airport Girl. Even people in America knew about me. There were still stories in the news about me, my miraculous return home. I was a legend, a story most victims wish they could say happened to them.

Nothing.

Nothing happened to me. People would stop me on the sidewalk and ask me, "What really did happen?" Nothing, nothing happened to me. I wasn't raped, I wasn't tortured. I was fed and clothed and saved every time I almost got myself killed. They wouldn't believe me. No one believed me. I was sick in the head, they would say. It was so sad, but at least I really did believe that nothing happened to me. I must not remember.

I remembered everything.

I turned the corner to find the tinny grocery store. It was the one where my friend Jay had worked. He would sneak us booze and we would drink each bottle as our pain was washed away with every sip. I walked through the doors with a different agenda today. One carton of milk, loaf of bread and two onions to be exact. The store was even smaller on the inside than it looked. It made me comfortable. Mum would get annoyed with me, telling me that Super Mart was having a sale on what I picked up that day. I wasn't sure why she cared. We had the money, didn't we?I loved that little store. The size wasn't the only reason why. I knew everyone that worked there, from years of booze hunts and shoplifting. Not only that, only few people came. Old couples to be specific. There was no threat here. None at all.

I walked down the isles, dragging my hands against the labels of cans and boxes. I plucked out some juice boxes, a can of tomatoes and two boxes of pasta. A lady behind the counter of the bakery was giving away free samples. "Would you like a free sample of chocolate cheese cake, Miss?" she smiled at me. I turned away, shaking my head. I could smell it from here, and it made my head dizzy. It ceased to be a favorite and made me sick, the memory of you feeding them to me too strong to fade.

I looked at the list, all crinkled up from my hand. "Just one head of lettuce then." I turned the corner to the fresh produce. Blond hair stopped me straight in my tracks. It was shaggy, very shaggy and much longer than I had last seen it. The skin was too tan to be from London, the sky almost always cloudy this time of year. Your arms were as toned and as firmed as ever. My heart was beating so hard that it could have cracked my ribs. The grocery basket fell from my hands spilling food everywhere with a noise loud enough that everyone around me turned to stare. You still faced the vegetables. I couldn't see your face. "Ty?" My voice cracked. I quickly stepped over the food scattered about the floor to make my way to you. "Ty!" I practically ran to you. My hand grabbed your shoulder, forcing you to look at me. You turned around, but it wasn't you. His eyes were brown, like mud and his skin was wrinkled making his face look like old leather. He must have been at least fifty.

"What the-?" He was surprised, not angry, but I still felt ashamed somehow.

"I-I'm sorry. I-" I couldn't finish. My stomach wouldn't let me. It clenched. I scurried away as fast as I could, my hand to my mouth. I had to push through people, as a small crowd accumulated, made of shoppers and employes. I let go of my stomach as soon as I walked out the doors. A small sob escaped me. This was the 16th time I had seen you and every time I couldn't help but make a scene. The true question was, how was I going to react when you were actually there? The promise you made me was in the back of my mind every moment of every day. Your promise to come back for me.

I shuffled home, ignoring the stares and whispers as people began to recognize me. My eyes were flooded with tears by then and eventually someone stopped me and asked if I was okay. "I'm fine." I said, walking past him. I wasn't though. I was in perpetual fear. I was terrified and I knew it would never go away. I was afraid of you, Ty.

Where were you?