AN: A few definitions:

tuck shop (from the last chp) = a small shops that sells sweets/drinks/food for cheap usually near or within a school/club.

pavement = sidewalk

Fourteen.

The bus stop is over the road from Delly's, but I don't want to hang around so I start the walk home. The sky is violet, streetlights flickering to life along the pavement. I stick to the main roads, following the stream of cars heading out of town.

It's only a half hour walk, but one I rarely do. One thing Mum drummed into me from an early age was that the streets around our home are anything but safe, especially for a young girl. Still, confusion and sparks of anger have kick-started something in me I need to burn off, so I walk. I need to deactivate whatever bomb Ben and Cullen are hiding before they implode. It has to be the fight at Angie's party. I get a twisting churn in my stomach when I consider all the explanations.

I've made it all the way down the A34 and can see the estate at the crest of the next hill. I quicken my pace between the pools of light, the darkness between growing as the sun disappears and the traffic thins.

I hear a man's low voice as I walk along Crescent Grove, the slam of a car door.

"It's alright, she's alone."

Another voice joins in, "Follow her."

It snaps my built-in tripwire. My heart explodes into my chest. I urge my legs to work faster, eyes darting to find the safety of a passerby or an escape route. All I see is places they might find my body in the morning. The sound of footsteps grow, their rhythm stepping up a notch. One of them smashes something on the ground, a glass bottle maybe. The hair stands up on the back of my neck, I kick myself for being so stupid. For letting what happened back at Delly's make me lose my mind.

I know there's a storm drain coming up on my right. If I can disappear into it. If it's not blocked. If they're not fast. If they are. I wait until I'm alongside the open mouth of the gully before I dart right and into a sprint, splashing through the old rain water.

They yell after me. They chase.

My legs won't work fast enough and my breathing is working too hard, the roar of my pulse and overworked lungs drowns out everything else. I run and zigzag through the drain and then scramble up its side, brambles ripping at my hands and legs. I haven't got time to be careful. I make it to the top and see a bunch of houses squashed together, red brick alleys running behind them. I risk a glance over my shoulder and see the two men appearing over the edge. They're older and grimy, booze rushing through their veins. They stumble, but are taller, bigger, and they race on.

I realise too late that the houses are derelict. My lungs are on fire, my legs burning up as I disappear into the warren, I can't do anything other than hope they give up. I turn a sharp left and left again, doubling back on myself. I don't want to be stuck here. I press myself up against a wall, using the shadows as camouflage, shuffling along, pressing against doors and gates to try and find somewhere to hide, but they're all boarded up.

"Did you find her?" the gruff one asks.

"She's here." The other's voice is a knife blade to my neck, sending a warning shiver crawling across my skin.

I inch my way along, fingers scraping to find something, somewhere. I'm almost back where I started when I sense someone behind me. A hand slaps over my mouth before I can scream, pulling me back against them and shoving me down to the ground. "Be quiet," the voice orders, hot and familiar against my ear. "It's me."

I want to pass out in relief, but I can still hear the other men, talking and kicking doors, piles of debris, hoping to find me cowered beneath. I nod and grab onto Cullen's arm. He points to a smashed basement window a few feet ahead. "Can you make it?"

I listen to the voices drawing away from us. They'll be back soon. I nod again and crawl over, ignoring the glass cutting my hands and knees as panic takes control of everything. I flatten myself and push open the grate, I slide under it, dropping down into a musty, damp darkness. Cullen drops down beside me. "You okay?"

I'm about to answer when I hear them, right outside. Cullen reaches out and grabs my hand, pulling me into the dark. He doesn't stumble or falter in the blackness, but instead leads me to a small space behind what feels like an old cabinet. We wait, pressed together side by side on the cold ground. The only sound is our heartbeats. Mine roaring through my ears, his pounding through our hands. We stay that way for hours.

AN: Thanks for reading :)