A Dark Secret

Chapter Nine: Shelter

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything.


She had no chance to escape; the man was holding her in an iron grip. She tried to stomp on his feet and scratch his forearms with her nails but it was useless, he was just too strong. The man, seeing she had stopped fighting, lessened his grip on her waist but still kept his hand on her mouth and began backing her up against the nearest wall. She shut her eyes, afraid of what was going to come next. Was it the same man that had tried to rape her? Would he try it again? Or was it a burglar that was going to kill her? But the man did something she didn't expect: he turned her on the spot so that she was facing him and put his other hand on the right side of her face. She opened her eyes at the unexpected gesture and they went wide when she saw who it was. He put a finger against his lips, motioning for her to be quiet.

"You need to be quiet." he whispered. "I won't harm you."

She nodded against his palm and he slowly removed his hand, in case she changed her mind. And he was also too close for her liking. Her body quivered with fear. She was standing in front of a man that was accused of having murdered someone. He saw that she was afraid of him and took a few steps back, giving her some space. She watched him intently and he did the same. She noticed that his posture seemed somewhat hunched, as if he was in pain. She glanced back up and spoke at last.

"What–what are you doing here?" she stuttered. "How did you get inside?"

"The night I found you here and brought you to the Bed & Breakfast, I came back here to pick up my car and saw the key lying on the porch. I meant to give it back to you when I had an occasion." he explained, but it wasn't the key that was important to her.

"The police is searching everywhere for you!" she said, emphasizing the word 'police'.

"Don't you think I don't already know that?" he retorted angrily but added in a softer way when he realized she had flinched at his harsh tone. "It's not as it seems…please, I need you to believe me." he said quietly, anchoring his eyes onto hers. "Please." he whispered again.

She stayed silent, her brain working at a dizzy speed. Should she listen to him? Should she let him explain? The most important question was, should she believe him when he said that it wasn't as it seems? Mrs. Flowers' words came to her mind, 'everyone should have a chance to prove their innocence.'. Though the urge to flee and protect herself before she could get hurt was there as well, the urge to preserve herself; had been there since she left for New York. She couldn't help it.

And it took over. She didn't even make a half-step towards the door when his hand shot out and closed around her wrist. This time, she knew better than to struggle against his iron grip – he was just too strong – and froze. With her free arm, she slammed her elbow in his ribs and he let out a small yelp of pain. She was free of his grasp und lunged for the back door.

But she made the mistake to look back. She saw Tyler on his knees as he coughed violently, one arm hugging his torso and the other in front of his mouth. She was frozen to the spot when she noticed blood trickle down the corner of his mouth. She couldn't have broken his ribs when she elbowed him, right? And what if she did? What if a broken rib had punctured his lung? That would surely kill him! Oh shit, she thought, what now? She certainly didn't want to go to jail because she killed him.

"Are you…okay? You're bleeding." she asked.

He looked up, surprised she was still there and gazed into her eyes. The gentleness she found in them confused her even more than she already was. Shouldn't he be angry at her for trying to leave? Wouldn't it irk him to let her go, only for her to go screaming "the murderer is here, hiding in my freaking house!" in the streets?

"It's nothing. The only thing that matters is that I want you to let me explain. Please. Just let me explain." he said, coughing again.

"But you're bleeding, you should be checked up and–"

"No, I won't go to a hospital." he cut her off.

"Fine, bleed out. And die. Why do I care? You're a freaking suspect!"

She could see that her words hurt him; his eyes had now a sad gleam in them. "But I'm not. You have to believe me." he pleaded with her.

"How am I supposed to believe you? How can I be able to trust you when everything, everyone depicts you as the murderer?" she replied.

"I know that this is confusing you immensely and I understand your doubts about me… but in all the times we've been together, did I hurt you once?" he asked her.

"No." was her answer. Silence followed, her eyes becoming distant as she pondered whether or not to let him explain. She finally focused back on him and said, "Ok, explain then." In an still hesitant and apprehensive way. The sadness in his eyes immediately vanished to leave its place to anger.

"It's a set up, that's what it is." he seethed. "I didn't do what they wanted me to do and my mother payed the price of my stubbornness."

She frowned. Who was he talking about? "I don't understand. Who are 'they'?"

"I can't tell you that." he gazed back at her. She was about to say something when he continued. "If you get involved, if I tell you everything, there's no going back. You could die because you would know the truth about…about me. And I couldn't bear it to have caused another death." he finished in a low voice.

They stared at each other for a few seconds. "I can't stay here, I need to leave." he finally said quietly.

"What?" she asked, frowning.

"The more I wait, the more my chances of escaping are getting thinner. And they are already thinner than thin." he said. "Besides I don't know, what their next move will be…"

"But won't they find you, wherever you are? Those who are after you?"

"I've managed to avoid them for years, I think I can do it for a little while longer." he sighed in defeat. "But today, they proved to me at what lengths they are willing to go to have what they want…" he trailed off and she waited for him to continue. "At first they always called at home and sweet talked me into joining them but every time I blew them off, they became more and more insistent. And today they lost their patience." he said sadly.

"Wait…'join them' as in, join a sect or something?" she frowned.

"Something like that." he shrugged, avoiding her question.

"They killed your mother because you didn't want to be a part of their group? That's… that's mental! Can't you go to the police and tell them what you told me now?" she asked.

"I already told you, I can't tell anyone. No one can get involved. Going to the police would only raise more questions that can't be answered. And anyway, they couldn't help me, they are no match against them." he replied, resigned.

"But you would always run. You would never stop running." she said.

"What else am I supposed to do? You saw how they made me look as if I was the murderer! Everything was part of their plan… their game, their rules." They fell silent again.

"Was it them… who killed your mother?" she then asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Yes." Was all he said. She took the hint; he didn't want to talk about it and she understood him.

"But doesn't that mean they are already here? In town?" Caroline then asked.

"I don't think so…" he trailed off but continued when she raised her eyebrows. "They like to play games, and now they are waiting in the sidelines for my next move. But I won't play their stupid game, so I'll just leave."

"When?"

"Probably tonight." he answered absentmindedly. "You asked me why I was here… I didn't mean to intrude in your house but it was the only place that came to my mind where I would be safe and could rest until I leave… until you came along." he joked, a smirk on his lips.

"Ass." she replied, which only made his smirk turn into a full grin. She knew he was trying to distract her so she let it go. For now.

So Mrs. Flowers had been right… even though she still had her doubts about everything, she started to see and believe that maybe he was innocent after all. But there were still so many questions left unanswered.

"Wait here. I'm going to pick up my car." she said, heading out.

He made no move to hold her back this time and she quickly went out the backdoor and jogged to her car. She drove it to her house, parking it into the driveway. She locked the car this time after retrieving her purse from under the seat and grabbed the food. Her mind was swirling with thoughts; the rational part of her brain was shouting at her this was a very bad idea to help him, that it would only cause her troubles. But the other part quickly shut up the voice, telling Caroline that Tyler needed her help.

She made her way to the back door and entered in the house, locking it behind her. Tyler wasn't in the hallway anymore; she searched for him and finally found him. He was seated on the sofa and stared into space, lost in his thoughts. He had lit up a single candle which was casting a dim glow over his face. She saw a dark stain on the front of his shirt. Blood.

She took a seat beside him and set the food on the coffee table, in front of them. She heard his stomach grumble; it must have been hours since he last ate something. She quickly went to the kitchen and grabbed glasses and a bottle of water she found in a cupboard.

"I'm sorry, that's all I have." she said as she put everything on the table with the food.

"It's okay." he replied, a thankful expression on his face.

She spent a few minutes watching him literally devour the food. She swept her eyes over his body, his shirt was soaked with dried blood, and he had some blood on his face and arms as well. He felt her gaze on him and he looked up. He could see millions of questions in her eyes but he knew he couldn't answer them. He put down his fork.

"I'm sorry I got you involved in all of this…" he apologized, a sigh escaping his mouth.

"I still have so many questions." she said.

"I know."

And she also knew that it was no use to press on the subject as he made it more than once clear that he wouldn't answer any questions. She was tempted to roll her eyes. She understood that he was trying to protect her. But her curious self wanted to know badly what was going on. Did he think she couldn't handle the truth? Tough on the other hand, she was glad that he didn't tell her a thing. If someone was asking her questions about him, she wouldn't know how to answer them.

She glanced back at him. He had now finished his share of the meal and was eyeing enviously the rest of the food.

"Go ahead. Take it." she pushed the food in his direction.

"But…what about you?"

"I'm fine." she dismissed his words with a wave of her hand.

He thanked her and greedily started to shovel down the food. She couldn't help but smile at his antics. She then excused herself and went to her old room. She thought it was a good idea to have him sleep in a bed rather than on a hard couch. But as she was standing in front of the door, she started to think that it wasn't such a good idea.

After all those years, the little drawing she made when she was little was still hanging there. It was supposed to represent her riding a pink unicorn under a shiny rainbow. She smiled sadly at the memory. She figured quickly the drawing before opening the door. She eyed the room: a lot of things had been removed but the furniture was still the same. She walked to the closet and found some clean sheets. She worked quickly and the room was ready in no time. She put out some clean towels too, in case he wanted to shower. Though she didn't know if there was any hot water.

She went back to the living room to find it empty. The food – or what was left of it – was gone too. Her heart began racing in her chest… he couldn't have already left, could he? She then heard noises coming from the kitchen and hurried there. She found him attempting to clean the bloodied shirt in the sink. He had already changed into another shirt.

"I thought you would like to rest a bit before you leave… I set up a bed for you." she said, nodding her head towards the bedroom.

"Thanks. But I–"

"Just say you'll use it. For my sake. Though I still think it's suicide to leave without having someone check out your ribs." she gave him a pointed look.

"They are fine." he said again.

"If you say so." She sighed. "I have to leave or Mrs. Flowers will be worried." There was an awkward pause. "So um… good luck, I guess."

He nodded and she headed to front door. His voice called her back just as she was about to step outside. "Caroline."

She stopped and looked back at him. He was now standing in the hallway, piercing her with his gaze.

"Be careful." were his only words.

"I will."

With those final words, Caroline closed the door and left, leaving Tyler standing in the hallway, staring after her.


A/N: OMG, IT'S AN UPDATE! :O I know…I'M A BAD, BAD AUTHOR! And I know my writing probably sucks after ages of not writing :/

I have such a massive writer's block even though I have written a lot of things for the next couple of chapters… I thought I could lean on the show to get inspiration but WTF! What are the writers doing!

I hope that I can get the next chapter up soon. And thank you for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter :)