Chapter two! A huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited so far, I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Just let me know what you think.

The girl couldn't be much older than seventeen, her eyes wide and panicky, but there was no one speaking up. They all sat there, one mass of blank faces with only one goal : staying invisible until this nightmare was over. Self-preservation, that's what it was, though she couldn't blame them, fear was a powerful weapon. One of the men, dressed all in black, began to unbutton the girls navy blouse, his face obscured by the black mask he was wearing. Even though she was sitting far away from the man, Sharon could've sworn he was chuckling under his breath. The girl was crying now, violent sobs wrecked through her body as she tried to cover herself. The man simply grabbed one of her wrists, intending to drag her with him. She knew this was her cue to put an end to it, she couldn't keep watching, but her limbs seemed to be stuck to the floor. She tried to open her mouth to protest, but no sound came out. Panic began to wash over her, this was not how it was supposed to go. Suddenly the man's mask was gone, his uncovered face almost touching hers. Yellows teeth exposed as he grinned manically, the stench on his breath almost unbearable.

"you can't save her, you never did."

It was the second night in a row that she woke up with a start, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She rolled into her back, trying to focus on her breathing. In through her nose, holding it for a split second, then out through her mouth. It did the trick, the rapid breaths began to show down, calming her in the process. When she finally felt like her pulse had returned to its normal pace, she slipped out of bed, putting on her robe before walking to the kitchen.

She cradled the mug with two hands, revelling in the comfortable warmth that seeped through her skin. It was one of the things she did, one of her routines you could say, making tea when she couldn't sleep. It felt familiar, which was exactly what she needed right now. It was strange how since rusty moved in she felt more alone than ever in her own home. Of course, she was used to being disliked, her career in internal affairs had taught her to deal with that. It hadn't really mattered, anyway, she had her friends outside of work and, more importantly, she had her kids. Her home had always been a safe haven, the place we're she could let down her guard, yet as of late it felt like even there she had to watch her step. For a moment she wondered whether bringing rusty into her personal life had been a mistake. Almost immediately she realised it hadn't, she would've never been able to just dump him into the system again. Yes, he came with certain challenges and yes he managed to hurt her with the things he said, but she wasn't going to give up that easily. Ishe really wanted to help him she had to be prepared to grit her teeth now and then.

Rusty had been tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep. Not that it was a big of deal really, he'd been having trouble sleeping as long as he could remember. Which was why, initially, he'd been so angry when Sharon had woken him up last night. It was one thing that she seemed determined to ruin his life with her "lights out rusty", "no rusty you can't do that", and his personal favourite "you are a witness in a muurdeertriiaall rusty", but now she was ruining his sparse hours of sleep as well.

However, his anger had quickly turned into curiosity after last night. Another reason for a sleepless night, for he'd spend the earliest hours of the morning trying to figure out what could possibly give the captain nightmares. What was so terrible that it featured in her dreams, terrifying enough to wake her up looking like that? A sudden move startled him, he'd been on his way to the kitchen unaware that, in the dimly lit space of the living room, the captain was drinking her tea. When turned in her direction he was just in time to see how she nearly dropped her tea, as startled to find him there as the other way around.

"Rusty, what are you doing out of bed?"

She asked in her usual clipped tone, emphasising every syllable in the way that annoyed him so much. She wasn't wearing her glasses, for which he was glad, since it made her seem a lot less intimidating. Though her clear green eyes still stared at him in a piercing way, almost if she was able to see right through him.

"I could ask you the same."

He countered, already anticipating the "I am the adult, you are the child" response. However she surprised him by calmly saying.

"I asked first."

He couldn't argue with that logic, not really, and besides he was too tired to argue.

"I couldn't sleep."

He decided to answer truthfully. He didn't want to play any games, he only came to the kitchen to fetch something to drink. The sooner he could go back to "the room", as he called it, the better. She, on the other hand, didn't seem to be in any hurry to get back to bed, judging from the teapot that stood on the table in front of her.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

She instantly felt bad, but resisted the urge to hang her head. She had tried to be as quiet as possible while making tea.

"Yes, you did actually, because usually I fall asleep immediately and then I dream about rainbows."

He said, his words dripping with sarcasm. Suddenly he wanted to hurt her, not physically, no, he wanted to lash out to her verbally. He wanted to make her feel some of the pain he'd been feeling, even though, deep down, he knew it wasn't fair. But as always, she kept a straight face, her tone natural when she spoke.

"Rusty, I'm sorry I didn't know you were having trouble sleeping. I know you don't want to hear this, but sometimes talking to a-

She once again tried to bring up the subject of therapy, but she didn't come very far. Rusty exploded before she could even finish her sentence

"Are you really that stupid?! I already told you like a thousand times, I don't need a therapist! Did you ever wonder why nobody likes you? huh? It's because you don't listen! You only want people to do things you're way, it doesn't matter what they want!"

He shouted at her, not noticing how she flinched at his words. Did he really think she didn't care? He'd said similar things before, but this time there was so much emotion behind his words that they hit home a lot harder than the previous times.

"Rusty-"

She attempted to start a sentence, not sure what to say. Perhaps it was best to apologise, or maybe she should just tell him to go to bed, like last night.

"Don't! You don't understand, I don't want therapy, I don't need it. I knew what I was doing and why I was doing it, okay?"

He'd stopped screaming, though his voice was still louder than usual. Sharon stood frozen for a split second, then she put her mug on the table with more force than necessary. She felt a lump form in her throat, the promise of tears stinging in her eyes. She wasn't going to cry, not here, not in front of him. Later she would, in the privacy of her room.

"I did too."

She whispered, her voice almost breaking, before leaving him alone in the kitchen.