The drive back to Cypress woods seemed to take forever, after a while Lily gave up screaming, her throat raw and her body aching from all she had been through in the past couple of days. She gathered herself into a ball in the corner and sobbed.

What would they do to her? Why had they come looking for her, they hated her, yet they wouldn't leave her be. They really were evil Lily thought, taking pleasure out of torturing her.

She felt the van beginning to slow down and realised they must be approaching the gates of the old plantation. Cypress woods. A long time ago it must have been a magnificent sight to behold but her aunt and uncle had let it fall in to a state of bad repair. The once white house was now a dirty cream colour with ugly stained bits of wood were they had tried to patch up holes, the guttering was falling apart, held together in places by duck tape and the grand wrap around porch was a hazard, the wood rotting in certain places, making it so you had to be extra carful were you walked. The arches of land surrounding the house feared no better, her uncle was a lazy farmer, the animals ran wild, ruining what once were luscious flower beds and healthy green grass.

The van came to a complete stop and Lily heard her cousin leave and voices outside.

'Told you I would find her Pa'

'Good work son, we can't have her running off especially to New Orleans'

'You don't think she met him do you?'

'Heavens no Loretta, I can't bear to think what would happen if she did… all our work hiding her would go down the drain and we'd be dead most likely'

'Well she got a job in a bar in the space of a day Pa, who knows who she was in contact with during that time?'

'Oh Harold what will we do? What if he comes here? We'll be doomed!'

'Hush Loretta! That will not happen, we cannot think like that. She was only there a day there is no way she could have met him and if they did cross paths they would never have known who each other was'

'I guess your right dear… What do we do with her?'

'Son, take her and tie her up in the barn, then we'll find out what happened and what she did on her little excursion and if she met him… we will… we will deal with it…'

Lily grasped, what were they talking about? Who? Who was… him? Suddenly the doors swung open.

'Enjoy the ride cuz?' Simon hoped into the van. 'Come on now Lil, no need to tremble, you would think we were monsters, we want you home safe.'

'You're a liar! And you are all monsters' She sobbed.

'Oh stop being difficult! Ma and Pa have given you everything, clothes on your back, food on the table and a roof over your head and you repay them by running away?'

'You have all hated me since I arrived at this hellhole. I have been tortured, abused, bullied most of my life by you all in everyway possible!'

'You know your only making this punishment worse for yourself, now stop talking' Simon Screamed at her dragging her out of the van.