I think I scared him.

I hadn't meant to. I'd been too busy thinking about Nick and trying to come up with some sort of plan to get us all safely out of her– and wondering where the fuck my knife was – that I'd sat on the ground, back to wall, and said nothing for over an hour.

Connor was beside me. At some point he'd reached out, taken one of my hands in his and held on tight to it. That was long after he'd stopped talking.

A white sort of silence had settled over us. There was a fan somewhere in the ceiling above us puffing away, but that was all the noise we got through the concrete walls.

The footsteps were both a reprieve and a worry. They stopped outside the room in the hallway, there was a jangle of metal sliding through the locks before the door swung open.

Connor got to his feet, taking a couple of protective steps forward before Leek came through the door and he stopped. Connor's shoulders dropped as he visibly relaxed. 'Oh,' he said, 'it's just you.'

Leek shoved his hands into his pockets and blinked back at Connor. If I didn't know any better I might have said he looked offended– honestly it was hilarious– I tried to control the smirk that worked its way up onto my lips, but in the end I didn't care enough to fight it so I gave in to it.

Another figure appeared in the doorway, a familiar face who was shoved into the room by a huge man with a big gun.

'Caroline?' Connor questioned. 'hey, you leave her out of this, this has got nothing to do with her.'

I frowned, one eyebrow raised, so that as Connor glanced back at me and read my expression he could understand.

'Oh…'

'A girl like Caroline falling for a shambling adolescent mess like you?' Leek replied sarcastically, 'no, I don't think so. I paid her to pick you up. You see, people like me and you, we don't get the pretty girls Connor. We're the nerds. The losers. The uncool.'

To my absolute delight– and though I hadn't been expecting it– Connor looked back at me again and pulled a face, before he raised his eyebrow at Leek. 'Speak for yourself,' he said nonchalantly, 'I do alright with women.'

Leek's attention shifted back away from Connor and onto me.

'Right, speaking of. I want to have a little chat with the doctor,' he said. 'Come on.'

I didn't move, I didn't blink to acknowledge his statement in any way. Instead, I just stared right into him, expressionless and immoveable, like I hadn't heard him, and couldn't see him standing there.

Leek sighed. 'Alright then, Doctor Havisham, you can come with me, or I'll shoot someone. Your boyfriend,' he said, 'or your cousin here, who's it gonna be? You decide.'

I didn't respond again. I kept my unblinking, cold stare locked onto him.

'If you don't say anything, I'll shoot them both.' And by way of explanation, he pulled a pistol from his waistband and cocked and aimed at Connor.

My jaw locked, my eyes narrowing, as I finally moved, leaning my head back towards the wall in some sort of way of agreement. He seemed to understand. He lowered the gun.

I stood up.

'After you…' he said.

I made for the door, sending one final menacing stare, before my eyes flitted to Connor in a silent expression and instruction for him to stay calm. I assumed I'd be back quickly.