Hi guys, thanks for the reviews so far :) I know it's kind of slow at the moment, but I want to suitably set the scene. Hope you like

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Sara's POV

I don't remember falling asleep, but evidently exhaustion had overtaken fear.

I awake wrapped in a blanket, though still on the floor. Every muscle in my body aches from the cold stone beneath me.

Blinking my eyes open tiredly, I am surprised to find Cat sitting cross-legged beside me, just staring vacantly at the bars. I attempt to sit up, easing myself into an upright position until a shot of pain in my ribs screams at me to stop.

At my audible gasp Cat turns, her blank features instantly softening as she scans my pained expression. One glance into her blue eyes and everything comes flooding back to me in an instant. What she has done to me, why I am on the floor.

"Hey." She says quietly.

And that is it.

She stands up, stretching her stiff muscles and walks over to the bed. Without a word she places my clothes – neatly folded – beside me and clambers onto the top bunk, where she lies down with her back to me.

I frown, staring at her for a moment longer before reaching out a shaky hand to snatch my pants back.

I re-dress as hurriedly as my bruised bones will allow, casting frequent glances into the dark corridor. Judging by the deafening silence, it must be the middle of the night by now; the only sounds being distant sleep-induced grunts and the occasional ominous creak of the bars.

Grabbing my blanket from the floor, I crawl onto my own bed and curl up in a tight ball; silent tears creeping down my cheeks.

Everytime I close my eyes I can still feel her hands all over me, can still taste her lips on my own. I can still hear the sound of their jeers and screeches of laughter at my suffering.

If this is prison, I am in hell.

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Cath's POV

When I awake, she is already up. To be honest, I don't even know if she ever went to sleep.

"Hey." I yawn, hopping off the bed and wincing as my feet land on the hard floor will a dull thud.

She flinches, dropping her toothbrush into the sink and moving to lean against the far wall. It hardly puts any distance between us, but the point she is trying to make is clear.

With a small sigh I follow her, holding up my hands defensively when she visibly stiffens in my presence.

"I'm sorry about last night." I begin. "Truly, I am. But trust me; what I did was for your own good."

She continues to regard me with suspicious eyes, clearly disbelieving of my feeble attempt at an explanation.

Not that I can blame her. Until last night I could never comprehend committing such a despicable act.

"I'm sorry." I say again, dropping my gaze. "I never wanted to hurt you."

Clearly it is too early to expect her to understand, so I drop the subject and move to the 'bathroom' corner of the cell. It has been so long since I've had to share, I suddenly feel self-conscious and cast a nervous glance back in her direction.

Possibly because she can't stand to look at me right now, or possibly because she is still decent enough to afford me some privacy, she keeps her back turned.

I choose to believe it is the latter. That way, at least I may still have a chance to mend fences with her.

X x x

Sara's POV

I don't know what scares me more: the prospect of having to see that woman again, or the idea of communal showers.

This is a concept that I have loathed since they were forced upon us at school. And after what happened last night, I am certainly not in any great hurry to bare myself to these people again.

We are herded like cattle towards the shower block. I clutch my towel desperately, the closest thing I have to a security blanket right now.

I keep telling myself to breathe, but when I reach the front of the queue my legs seem to stop working and I freeze up.

"Hey Babyface, we don't have all day!" The guard barks, nudging me roughly forwards with his baton. Suddenly a pair of hands grips my waist, marching me into the room.

I cast a glance over my shoulder, almost reassured to realise that it is Cat weaving me into the changing area. Almost.

A quick scan of the area relieves some of my fears. The woman from last night isn't here. There are currently seven people in the block, ambling around seemingly without a hint of insecurity. I undress quickly, shielding my body as best I can as I stepped under the lacklustre stream of tepid water. I can sense Cat close by, although I daren't look anywhere but at the wall. The feeling of uncaring eyes on my skin is already more than I can stand.

As soon as I am free to leave, I grab my towel and start to get dressed faster than I ever have before.

Glancing down, I realise why every movement is causing me immense pain. A large portion of my rib cage is tinted an angry purple. Tracing my fingertips over the bruise curiously, I try to recall how I got the injury, but come up blank. Apparently I have blocked out at least some of last night.

The feeling of skin brushing against my own snaps me back and I quickly pull my t-shirt on and turn to leave. Cat is leaning against the door, waiting for me to catch up. With a simple nod, she gestures for me to follow her. The stubborn part of me wants to rebel and go my own way, until reality reminds me that I don't know the way back to my cell. So, reluctantly, I drag my feet after her and slope back inside our little cage. She is already trying to pull a comb through her long hair, muttering at the tangles in frustration.

Giving her a wide birth, I sit on my bed and begin drying my own loose curls. I never notice that she has stopped what she was doing and is watching me inquizatively, until she breaks the silence between us.

"Catherine Flynn."

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Cath's POV

If she was talking to me, I would have warned her about the shower system here. It tends to freak newbies out until they realise that no one is paying them any attention anyway. Except the guards of course, but you get used to that.

And she is clearly more than a little freaked out right now.

When the guard swings his baton towards her I quickly lunge forwards, grabbing her by the waist. He flashes me an angry glare, which I wordlessly return before ushering her into the room.

I can't quite tell whether the look she sends me is one of relief or of fear as I guide her to a relatively quiet corner and allow her to undress.

The shower block is a simple layout, much like school locker rooms. Several showers in a square room with a few benches around the edges for changing.

I stay close, keeping one eye on her at all times. No one else seems to be taking too much notice, but I am not willing to take that chance yet. Right now, I don't think she can take much more grief from anyone. She seems to accept my presence with little complaint and sticks close by.

Which is why I am puzzled to find that she isn't behind me when I make to leave. I scan the room, spotting her still getting dressed at the bench. She appears to be examining the deep bruising on her side.

I wince involuntarily on her behalf. That moment has been replaying in my head ever since it happened – the sound of Harper's boot colliding with her delicate ribcage. The small whimper of acknowledgement as she curled up impossibly tighter.

I lean against the wall, waiting for her to come back from her thoughts. Someone brushes against her, seemingly snapping her back from her reverie and she quickly finishes getting dressed.

I nod to get her attention and slip back into the corridor. I am just beginning to think that she hasn't followed me - or that she's gotten lost - when she finally shuffles in and sits down on her bed.

I am already wrenching the comb through my hair but I pause, flicking my eyes towards her.

It suddenly strikes me that I don't even know her name yet. Come to think of it, she doesn't know mine.

"Catherine Flynn." I announce, earning an odd look from her. "It just dawned on me that we haven't been formally introduced." I point out with a coy smile.

She apparently, doesn't see the funny side. She tosses her hairbrush onto the bed and stalks back into the corridor.

My face falls as I watched her disappear. Despite her obvious fears, she is actually willing to fend for herself out there rather than share even the smallest piece of personal information with me.

What have I done?

I only wanted to protect her.