VI.

The next few days went by rather quickly. Alyssa strolled around the property but always stayed close to the house, always in sight of the others, never going off anywhere alone. She helped Meg in the kitchen and Becky with the sheep, but always stayed on Drover's Run with Jodi and the rest or went with Tess and Nick to help them with their biological wheat. She always stayed close to the people she had gotten to know during the time she had been here on Drover's Run. Everybody tried to involve her in the daily routines of the farm work but she still kept to herself and did not speak much with the others. Jodi gave her clothes but they were too big for Alyssa, so Becky borrowed her her second pair of jeans and a shirt so that the clothes she wore would not hang around her like an old sack.

Tess could not stand this any longer, since now Becky had to wear her first pair of jeans all the time. So she drove over to Gungellan and bought some fitting clothes for the thin girl. She about guessed the size, it must have been Becky's and got it quite right. The jeans were only a little too big but the shirt fitted perfectly.

"You'll grow into it." said Claire and smiled at Meg.

"Yeah, right, it's always the same…" Meg muttered under her breath but she knew better than to take it seriously. She was a good cook and both Becky and Tess had been complaining about gaining weight since their arrival on Drover's Run. Alyssa, who didn't know the whole story, did not fully understand the funny part of this all. But she smiled, too and then thanked them all again.

The bruises slowly faded and the sprained wrists and fingers healed pretty quick, too. She still could not grab the huge fork and hold it while helping the others to clean the stables, but she did as much as she could. Sometimes the pain was too much, but Alyssa bit back any comment about that. She was used to pain and did not say a word. Jodi saw her fight the tears when she carried the heavy hay sacks but admired her strong will.

Alyssa was her roommate because she did not want to occupy Tess' room after all the friendliness that she had experienced here. Tess said that it did not bother her to sleep in Claire's room but Claire joked that it would bother her. She didn't mean it, though, Alyssa knew by now. In Jodi's company she felt good and Becky was always close when Jodi's temper got the best of her. Jodi was flirty and loved to go out and she just couldn't understand why neither Becky nor Alyssa wanted to go with her to those so called hot-night parties. Those parties were the reason why she liked to sleep long and why she was usually grudged when she was called out for breakfast or work too early.

Alex came by from time to time but he did not get more than a hello and goodbye from Alyssa, no matter how hard he tried to get to her. She smiled at him and worked together with him, but she kept her distance. She had thanked him for saving her life and her horse's, and then she showed him her black mare and Alex was kind enough to tell her how beautiful she looked even though she was meagre, ill-groomed and lame. But then she retreated and busied herself with cleaning the stables. Alex followed her and played a little with Roy the dog, but he never took his eyes off her. Why was she so shy and always ran away from him? Alex could not possibly understand the ways of how a rape could mess with a woman's personality but he understood that she was scared and needed time to trust a man, especially a man like him. Alex was tall and broad-shouldered but had friendly green eyes and an open smile. He might have been the ladies man but he had a very strong sense of belonging. Wasn't she thankful that he had found her that night? Alex didn't mind her not thanking him for that, but what he wanted in the first place was some sign that she trusted him, even if only a little.

Tess was in the stables, too. She groomed Isabel, one of the two white alpacas and smiled at her. The animal made a sound close to a frightened shriek. Alex gave Tess an nod and left. Not all women had it bad for Alex, especially not the four-legged ones. Tess was so beautiful, Alyssa thought. And she was so nice. Just like Claire. Both had taken her in here without a question and they didn't push her to tell them anything. But still, Alyssa could read in their eyes, especially in Tess', how curious they were to find out more about her.

"So…you like it around here?" Tess asked.

"Yeah, it's great…" Alyssa said and tried a smile. The bruises and cuts on her face were still hurting a lot. "The others are really nice to me, Nick and Alex ad Becky and Meg and Jodi. And of course, Claire and you!" Alyssa grinned.

"Oh thank you!" Tess blushed a little. "Oh Becky…" she called for the blond girl passing by, "can you take Alyssa here round for a tour?"

Becky nodded and waved for Alyssa to come over.

"And show her the horses!" shouted Tess with a laugh when Alyssa walked over to Becky.