Safe Here

Ciara picked up the burner phone and called her mom.

Ciara told her mom that she was fine and not to worry. Ciara told Hope she couldn't tell her where she was. Hope asked if someone was holding her against her will.

Ciara said it wasn't like that. She told her mom that she was using a burner phone. So she couldn't trace the call.

Hope asked how she got a burner phone. Ciara said it didn't matter. Rafe got the phone and asked if someone was there with her.

Hope grabbed the phone and said they found a man's boot print by the crash. "Is he holding you hostage? Is he holding you against your will? Are you hurt just yes or no?"

" No, it's not like that at all. He didn't hurt me. He helped me. After the accident, I was really out of it, and he saw me on the side of the road and he stopped. He may have saved my life."

Ben took his denim shirt off, so he was just in a t-shirt. He grabbed a bucket and washcloth before heading outside of the cabin.

Ciara continued to talk to her mom before she hung up and tried to go to sleep.

Ben came back in and saw Ciara's eyes closed. He walked over to his bag and pulled out a new shirt. Ciara watched as Ben changed his shirt. Ben didn't notice until he turned around.

" Sorry. I thought you were asleep. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

" You didn't."

Ben sat next to her on the bed.

" I was trying to get all this soot off the cabin. There's so much of it from back when I..."

" Set it on fire?"

" Yeah, I thought maybe I could try and clean it off a little bit, but all that happened is I got covered in dirt. No matter how much I scrubbed, the walls are still burned. I don't know why I thought I could clean it off."

" I do. Every morning, you wake up and think of all the ways you could have changed things. If only I had done this. Or if only I did that, it wouldn't have happened. The truth is no matter how much you wish That you could change what happened, you can't, and the best thing you can do is just accept it and try to find a way to move on."

Ciara reached up to touch his face, but Ben pulled back. He stood up from the bed and looked at her.

Ben poured them some water.

" Thought you might be thirsty," Ben said as he turned around. He saw she was asleep and placed her cup on the nightstand.

He sat in the chair next to the bed.

" You're safe here, Ciara. No one will hurt you here."

Ben leaned on the bed and watched her sleep.

Later in the day, Ben was standing at the counter chopping carrots.

" Hope you don't mind. I made an executive decision at the store. Carrots were always my favorite when I was a kid. I mean, I'd drown 'em in ketchup, but still."

Ben looked back and saw Ciara playing with the knife.

" You should be careful with that knife. You don't want to cut yourself."

" Sorry."

" Don't be sorry. I gave it to you, remember? That way, you could defend yourself if you felt threatened in any way."

" Right. Good of you."

" You know, I was pretty surprised to hear you tell your mom you weren't ready to go home yet, you wanted to stay here. But now...Are you having second thoughts?"

" I want to stay. I'm not having any second thoughts about it."

" Okay. But you have thought about what you do want to do so that someday you'll be ready to go? I mean, I don't mind taking care of you till you recuperate, but, you know, spending all your time cooped up with a serial killer ex-serial killer may not be the best way to regain mental health."

" You're starting to sound like a shrink now."

" If you had as much therapy as I've had the past few years."

" Right. Well, uh, in answer to your question, I can't do anything, really, until my leg gets better. But there is something I can take care of right now."

Ciara called Claire so she could give Eve and Brady a message. Ciara said, "She wouldn't be able to fulfill her responsibilities. She didn't want the modeling contract anymore. She never wanted it."

Tripp grabbed the phone so he could talk to Ciara. She told him she had to go. Ciara told Tripp that Claire was all his.

" It's what you deserve, to be with some nice, normal girl, someone; who's never been; raped."

Ben stood by the counter and heard every word that Ciara said.

Ciara said she had to go, and Tripp tried to get her to stay on the line, but she hung up the phone.

Ciara started crying in her hands.

" You okay?"

" Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Ben sat in the chair and said, " I couldn't help overhearing what you just said. Now I get why you've been feeling so overwhelmed to put your whole life on hold."

" Nobody in their right mind would trust a serial killer. But you, you don't trust anyone. Now you're here."

" I guess you can't hurt me worse than I've already been hurt."

Ben placed his hand on her arm and said, " I'll never hurt you. Never."

" I'm sorry. I know it's painful."

" I think that's why I'm supposed to talk about it. I tried when I went to therapy, but that didn't go so well."

" Maybe you weren't there long enough."

" Maybe. Sometimes, I think if I just hop on my bike, I can get away from all my problems if I go fast enough. I'm starting to think, I'm never gonna get away from this."

" You're not staying with me because you have, like, a death wish, right?"

" No. I don't want to die."

" You just wanted to get away from that guy, Tripp."

' In the moment, yeah. I thought for once I could just be normal. You know, go on dates, have a boyfriend. But when Tripp started kissing me, it was too much."

" Maybe that's why you're here with me, then. Cause you'd never fall for a guy like me. See, there I go again, sounding like a shrink."

" No, no, it's fine. You're probably right."

" Ciara, I am really sorry that happened to you. Did they get the guy who did it?"

" My stepbrother Chase."

" Your stepbrother? A guy that would hurt his very own sister, that's a special kind of sick. If somebody even tried to lay a finger on my sister, I'd kill them."

Ben started violently chopping the carrots.

" I didn't mean, like, literally kill him. Figure of speech."

" I know."

He walked back over to her and leaned on the chair.

" You know, I was thinking, and the fact that we're both here trying to escape our pasts and start fresh, but the difference is that you were a victim. You didn't do anything wrong. You have nothing to atone for."

" But it doesn't matter, does it? I'm still damaged goods."

" No, I don't see you that way. I'm gonna finish making dinner."

Ciara watched him walk back to the counter and place the knife she was holding on the bed next to her.

Ciara sat on the edge of the bed while Ben cooked.

" Dinner is on. Should be ready in about an hour."

" It already smells so good. Unlike me. I'm really, really starting to reek over here. Can't I please try taking a shower?"

" You really shouldn't get that splint wet. It's the only thing holding your broken leg in place."

" I know. I know. I know, but I just. I feel really gross right now."

" I have an idea."

Ben walked over with a bowl of water, a sponge, and a towel.

" What's that for?"

" So you can give yourself a sponge bath. Isn't the same as a shower, but at least you'll be able you get rid of that..."

" Funk?"

" Okay."

" Okay? Uh, but while I'm... Where are you gonna..."

" Oh, no, no, look, the last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable. You let me know whenever you're done. I'll wait outside in the meantime. Does that work?"

" Yep."

Ben started to walk towards the door.

" Oh, um, while you're waiting, would you mind washing my shirt? For me? I've been dying to wear clean clothes again."

" Sure. Actually, I have another shirt you can wear while yours dries."

Ben handed her the shirt, and she thanked him.

Ben turned away while Ciara took off her shirt.

" Here you go."

Ben held his hand out and said, " You can just toss it."

" Give me a shout when you're done."

" Okay."

Ben walked out and shut the door.