A/N: Yes, yes, I know it's been a while. But the good news is that school is almost over, and graduation is just in a couple of days. That means more writing and less time on useless things…like homework.

A Winter in California

Part 4

Serena watched with restless dread as the door opened with a slight cracking noise and a man entered into the room. Her eyes were still hazy from whatever substance she was given making identifying any notable features on the man almost impossible.

As the figure came closer to the bed, Serena wanted to hide under the covers and mold into the bed and away from this possible threat, but knew her situation was useless. Her only option was to scream and put up a fight; something that would most likely make the figure agitated enough to permanently silence her. She cowered and awaited her fate.

"Is this what you've been reduced to?"

Serena stared at the figure with confusion before her eyes gleamed in silent recognition, "Derek?" she managed to whisper out.

The man now just inches from her had dirty blond hair and deep green-blue eyes; his hair was shaggy and wild matching his rugged handsome face. Standing well over six feet in height, Derek towered well over her small frame.

Derek smiled, happy that she would remember his voice after all these years. The last time he saw her was five days before her wedding to Darien Molten. It was the wedding of the century in the society pages, and Derek could have had a front row seat if his disgust with the matter had not consumed him. As the adopted son of Serena's uncle Warren Cunningham, he shared his life with her from the tender age of three until she was taken away from him on July 15th two summers ago- when she said "I do" to Molten.

Reaching out a hand to him, Serena flung herself into the arms of her childhood friend and cousin. Derek understood her like no one else, not even her mother. He had been there when she was a young girl being bullied as an overprotective loved one, he had been there when she had developed a habit for depression; he was always there for her.

Placing her head on his shoulder as she had done so many times, she took in the Old Spice sent he loved. There on the bed, her clutching him in comfort, and him rubbing her back in smooth circles, a sort of picturesque setting meant more for a couple than old friends.

Serena closed her eyes and let her body relax as Derek cradled her gently. It was nice to feel loved again by him and not have to deal with the pain they faced last time they saw each other.

It was five days before her wedding and she was a wreck. They had invited fifty more people than the Venetian Ballroom and Garden could accommodate, the pink diamond tiara that was supposed to go in her hair was still being manufactured, the dress was ripped during rehearsal, her maid of honor was on safari in Africa and could not be reached…and she gravely needed Excedrin.

Derek had arrived from New York to meet her for lunch at his insistence at her home; and away from Darien. There, she was bombarded with pleas from Derek not to go through with the wedding and leave her fiancé. He had told her that she would not be happy as a trophy wife of a business man and renowned player, and that she would be left alone and miserable.

She had cried out enraged for him to leave, and so he did.

"Derek, what happened? Why am I here? I don't understand." Serena stated as she detached herself from Derek.

He looked down at her with a serious and contemplative look in his eyes before answering, "I had to take you."

"Wha…what do you mean?" She questioned her heart heavy with mixed emotions. Something about this situation didn't seem right; the bruising on her head began to pulse in pain.

Sighing, Derek pulled her close once more, but this time in a tight and hard embrace. He felt her immediately tense as he continued to hold her in a lock meant for lovers…his one hand cradling her at the base of her neck, while his other keeping her locked in the grip.

She was in shock.

"Derek, let go, you're hurting me"

Placing his head close to her ear, he whispered in a calm yet somehow detached voice, "You hurt me first, Serena. Do you know how much it killed me knowing you were with him, knowing he touched and held you?"

Shaking her head, Serena tried to push away from him to no avail. Derek was an athlete built with strength and endurance. "Derek, you're my cousin!"

Suddenly Serena found herself on her back with Derek's enraged face above her. His body molded hers in a violent and unfitting manner while both his hands held her shoulders roughly.

"Not by blood!" he yelled back, his voice in emotional disarray. Serena watched as his once fine and kind boy-like features contort in a strangely unfamiliar one of lust and yearning.

Before she could even fathom what was happening, her lips were immediately assaulted in a harsh and punishing kiss. She felt him hold her face towards him as she tried to turn away from the kiss, and then she felt his hand under her night shirt…

Is this what happens to good men when they are tempted? Or tormented from what they believe was theirs? Serena cried out, "Derek, please stop! Stop!"

She would not give up. This control she allowed men to have over her life, whether it be Darien of her father, had destroyed the once vibrant girl inside this shell of a woman. Serena had enough of their pretty words masked in ulterior motives, their soft eyes that hide their true beings…so she relaxed against Derek letting him kiss her freely.

As he allowed one of her arms to break free of his hold, Serena brought her fingers to caress his chiseled cheek in an attempt to show him her surrender. When it looked as though he was completely lost in the moment, Serena rested the tips of her nails on his cheek and bore down hard with all her might.

Derek howled in irritation as he brought his hand to his now bleeding face. Looking down at the one woman he thought was made for him by God he boiled in her refusal.

Serena's eyes gleamed in this small victory. It didn't matter what would happen next, she knew she had given him her raw answer.

Before she could finish her thought, Serena felt a stinging sensation on her own cheek, and then his body once more flattened against her; a tear broke free from her bruised eye.

"I could have been the one, Sere…if only you just listened to me. I knew your father was the only one who knew where you were, so I told him a little lie."

"Your father then led me straight to you. But you know at least I cared enough to look for you. Your dear husband never even mentioned your name after your little disappearance; he was too busy playing with some Spanish slut."

Serena opened her eyes to stare at him with those eyes. Those sharp beautiful blue eyes, Derek thought. He watched as the reality of her pallid life sink in and her face alter in grief.

"Just give in, give in to me Serena."

It was the time Derek had always dreamed of, his angel was finally going to be his. Placing a soft kiss on her forehead leading to the base of her neck, Derek didn't even notice her soft whimpers and silent tears of sorrow.

He also didn't notice the door being opened and another figure enter the room until it was too late.

A brutal and vicious voice broke Serena's cries.

"Get the fuck away from my wife."

A/N:

1. A woman is more likely to be raped by someone she knows, or someone her family knows.

2. Women who jog between the hours of 5am and 8:30am are more likely to be attacked.

3. If you find yourself alone or think you are being followed by a man, approach the man, look straight into his eyes and ask for the time; a rapist knows he will likely be caught and does not want to be IDed in a police line.

4. If you find yourself being attacked or assualted, put up a fight. Rapists are creatures who want an easy catch.

5. When looking for someone to rape, a rapist will usually (89) look for a woman wearing clothes that can easily be removed. Most carry scissors or razors.

Serena tried to put up a fight, but her assailant was someone who was emotionally and psycologically imbalanced. This situation is rare. The rating has gone up for this chapter from T to M, and will most likely stay there. The information above was given by REAL rapists when they were asked what they look for in a victim.