Matt stood at the bottom of Selena's hospital bed, reviewing her chart. He could not believe his bad luck when Selena had been brought in unconscious on his shift and when he found out she had taken a tumble at Lucas' mansion, he could not stop himself from messaging Gail on the number she left him in case of an emergency.

It had been four days since he had messaged his friend and making contact with her had upset him. He missed his friend dearly and it was not the same around here without her; however, he was happy that she had managed to escape Lucas' clutches and part of him wanted her to remain gone forever, to ensure he could never get his hands on her again.

Matt was a smart man and he was aware of the affect Lucas had on women, his present company only strengthened that argument. Gail had remained strong for a long time and rejected his advanced; however, he had accepted now that it had been inevitable Lucas would get his way with her and her shocking decision to leave had affected Lucas more than he wished to show.

Matt had been trying to steer clear of Lucas, knowing it would only take a small action to provoke a reaction from him. He had done like Gail asked and kept Caleb to his routine, in addition to keeping his distance emotionally from M. He knew his friend had his best interests at heart and ensuring Caleb's day to day tasks ran smoothly was a welcome distraction for his inappropriate feelings for the girl.

Selena stirred in the bed, then tried to sit up when she saw Matt stood by her feet.

'Lay down Selena' Matt ordered as he put the chart away, then walked to the side of the bed.

'Give it to me straight Doctor, how long am I going to be held here?' Selena asked impatiently. She could not believe the condition she was in and she did not like being out in the open here.

'You fell from a significant height Selena...Are ready to admit the truth about what really happened?' he asked.

Selena smiled and swallowed hard, Lucas had spys everywhere and she knew better than to rat him out. 'I was tired and not watching where I was going...I stupidly walked into the rail and fell over it. Anything else Matt?' she asked sweetly.

Matt stared at Selena in disbelief, her brave facade did not fool him and she could not hide how scared she was. 'Do you know what room this is?' he asked bluntly.

Selena glanced around the room and felt her heart drop. 'He didn't' she said in horror.

Matt laughed and shook his head. 'What? Get you housed in Judith Temple's hospital room?...You know there's been two people he was connected to commit suicide in here, I'm hoping there isn't going to be a third'

'Matt, you can't leave me in here' she pleaded and grabbed his arm when he went to leave.

'This wasn't my call Selena and if you don't tell me what really happened I can't help you' he said and took hold of her hand reassuringly.

Selena sighed and pulled her hand out of his, this was a warning from Lucas which she got loud and clear. 'There's nothing else to tell Doctor...you go on your way and I'll be right here recovering' she said and turned away from him, ignoring the coldness she felt all around her.

Matt rolled his eyes at her decision to remain silent and left the room, he hoped Billy would be by shortly to check in on her as he did not like her chances in that room alone.

Caleb sat outside Abe's antique store drinking a can of coca cola. With Miss Coombs being lay up in the hospital and no supply Teacher on hand, his class had been cancelled for the rest of the week; therefore, he was spending most of his time with Abe. It was sad what had happened to Miss Coombs but he was enjoying his time away from his lessons and liked it here with Abe, the old man felt like family.

Merlyn came out of the store and stretched, she had been stood behind the counter for over an hour and needed some air. She glanced at Caleb looking peaceful and smiled, 'It's nice to have you here with me...I miss you sometimes'

Caleb rolled his eyes in mock exasperation, then smiled back at his sister. 'I was always around Merly, you were just too busy with other people to notice'

'Well isn't this a nice family moment' Lucas said with bitter sarcasm as he approached the pair.

Merlyns smile faded and she stepped closer to her brother protectively. 'What's wrong Lucas? You pushed Gail away and now you wanna break us up?'

Lucas narrowed his eyes at the mention of his loves name and ignored the dark clouds that had suddenly started to form in the sky. 'You wanna watch your tone and accusations Merlyn Ann, everythin' was fine with us until you came along...Maybe that ol' cousin of yours got sick of being a carer for her dead cousin and it drove her outta town' he said through gritted teeth.

Caleb sensed the change in the atmosphere and placed his arm around his sister. 'You two stop it...Gail left cause she's got stuff to do, that's all!' he snapped.

Lucas could not hold in his laugh and regarded his son with mock pity. 'You need to open your eyes son, the only one that has never truly left you is me and I'll still be here when your sister gets bored of you and you realize your cousin ain't comin' back'

Merlyn took a step forward and ignored the loud thunder above her. 'You're just jealous and all alone Lucas...Gail didn't want you and now Caleb doesn't, so you're projectin' your anger towards me' she whispered.

Suddenly a large thunder bolt struck the ground to the right of Merlyn and she jumped, Lucas smiled eerily as he readied himself for the next bolt that was surely going to hit her.

'Stop it!' Caleb yelled and pushed himself between them.

Lucas' smile grew wider as he disregarded his sons order. He wanted to get rid of Merlyn Ann once and for all, Caleb may hate him for a while; however, he would come back around when he realized Lucas would be all he had left.

'Uncock that pistol boy, you don't wanna be comin' around here playin' these games' Abe ordered calmly, as he hobbled out of the store.

Lucas did not take his eyes off Merlyn and focused his rage towards her.

'Hey youngin'...' Abe yelled to Caleb, trying a different tactic. '...My Rosie is on the phone for ya'

Lucas stood down at the mention of Gail and the sky instantly cleared up. He shot Abe a warning look which indicated he had better be telling the truth, then pushed past all of them to enter the store. Lucas approached the counter and stared at the phone receiver that had been placed carefully on the side, he picked up the phone then held it to his ear and closed his eyes when he heard the calm breathing on the other end.

'Hello?' Gail asked in an agitated tone, she did not appreciate being made to wait when she had things to do.

A long moment of silence past, then Lucas exhaled deeply. 'Where are you?' he asked, forcing his tone to remain calm. He sensed her tense at the sound of his voice and he knew he had her full attention.

Gail moved the phone away from her ear and quickly looked around, as if Lucas was just going to appear next to her. When she was satisfied that she was alone, she took a deep breath to calm her heart rate. 'What did you do?' she asked, disregarding his question.

Lucas bit his lip hard in exasperation and took a deep breath. 'I'm not gonna ask you again love' he said in a threatening manner and waited patiently for her answer.

Gail could sense the anger in his tone and waited a moment to compose herself, he could not get to her here and she knew that this bothered him. 'It doesn't matter Lucas and I'm not scared of you, so you can cut the crap...Where's my cousin?' she asked, trying to remain strong.

Lucas laughed into the phone, then tore the wire out of the wall in anger. If she would not speak to him properly, she would not be speaking to anyone.

Abe walked into his store and approached his old friend. 'She called for the boy Lucas, that was outta line' he said disapprovingly, as he glanced at the ripped out telephone wire on the floor.

'We've been friends for a long time and you've been around me as long as I can remember' Lucas said, with his hands firmly on the counter trying to keep his cool.

'Yes we have' Abe nodded.

Lucas turned towards him and regarded his walking stick curiously. 'So you know when to keep outta my business...we don't want your health to deteriorate more than it already has now do we?' he warned.

Abe took a step back and narrowed his eyes at Lucas. 'You're gonna outwardly threaten me boy?' he asked in disbelief.

'Nah...I'm just remindin' you where your loyalties truly lie' he smiled devilishly and exited the store.

Caleb and Merlyn came in after Lucas left, then approached Abe. 'Is everythin' alright?' Merlyn asked, when she saw the angry look on Abe's face.

Abe nodded then hobbled towards the window and watched Lucas drive away. The boy had never outwardly threatened him, which meant he was not himself and this was worrying.

'Did my cousin really call?' Caleb asked, hoping to speak to Gail.

Abe turned towards the boy and forced a smile. 'She did but there was a problem with the phone...Don't you worry, I'm sure she'll find a way to reach you soon' he said reassuringly and signaled for Caleb to follow him to the back of the store, so they could play some chess.

Gail sat in her Mustang staring at the mobile telephone and threw it on the passenger seat in anger. She had been taken off guard by Lucas coming to the phone and could not believe he disconnected the call, that behavior was not aiding her in the choice she had to make and his actions only frustrated her.

She stared at the small drops of rain on her windscreen, then got out of the car and slammed the door closed in anger. She began pacing around the car in an attempt to calm her nerves and tried not to worry about her family. Gail glanced up at the sky and smiled as the drops of rain began to roll down her bare arms, the tickling sensation on her skin eased her tensions and she was thankful for the distraction.

When she had regained her composure fully, Gail turned towards the sign a few yards in front of her which indicated that she was entering Trinity. She suspected that Lucas would sense her as soon as she stepped across that line and all hell would break loose; therefore, if she was to continue forward she would need a plan. She glanced behind her to the peaceful deserted road she had been driving on and part of her just wanted to turn back. She knew leaving Trinity had been a big betrayal and it was clear from his actions that Lucas was finding it hard to control his anger.

As she pondered her next move, the heavens opened and the rain became torrential. She stood out in the open for a few moments in the downpour, then returned to the drivers side of the car. She turned on the engine and made a u-turn, this was too hard and she had no desire to be punished by her sociopath ex-boyfriend. She was about to put her foot on the pedal and speed away from this place, when she caught sight of something in her rearview mirror.

Gail got out of the car again and slowly walked towards the Trinity sign, ignoring the heavy rain which was soaking her. When she was about 10 yards away, she realized the dark figure was Gideon and smiled at her trusted guardian all wet out in the rain. She stared at him with sadness in here eyes for a moment, before heading back to her Mustang and putting on her seat belt. She took a deep breath then started to drive away slowly and had expected Gideon to disappear; however, he just stood in the distance watching her in the pouring rain.

Gail got a few meters down the road, then stopped the car and ran her fingers through her wet hair. She felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach; however, she spun the car around and drove back towards the Trinity sign, opening the door to allow Gideon to jump in on her way past.

-To be continued-