As Sebastian drove away, he looked Harper out of the corner of his eye. She was stressed.

"It's ok my darling." He tried to reassure her, patting her on the hand. "The first step is always the hardest."

Harper nodded sadly.

"He's got my car Sebby," She replied dejectedly, her voice painfully raspy. "I need my car."

"We'll get it back darling." He consoled, squeezing her hand. "Don't worry. Remember that we have the keys for it."

Harper nodded and sighed in relief.

"That's right! I forgot about that!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "So we'll go back and just take it when he's not home?"

"I'll come up with a way Har-Bear." He replied, his sharp mind went into overdrive, analysing the possibilities and which avenues to take in order to help her out. "Let's just take it one step at a time."

He drove back to his place, pulling into his garage.

"Let's get these boxes upstairs."

The two of them carried the small remains of Harper's life up the stairs into Sebastian's spacious multi level townhouse. His open plan living room was huge and airy.

"I've always loved your place!" Harper said with a sigh. They continued up the stairs and up to the next floor.

"This is your room my darling." Sebastian gestured with his arm theatrically as he opened the bedroom door.

The room was decorated in a sleek modern way. The low dark grey suede bed with matching grey sheets sat on a light grey rug on the polished wooden floor boards, with two low side tables with elegant rectangular lamps. Above the padded headboard, on the black feature wall, hung a huge photograph of a naked woman's body with hands and breasts pressed up against a steamy shower glass, with her face was turned away from the camera.

"See that Har-Bear." Sebastian nudged her cheekily. "I got that especially for you!"

Harper's eyes widened and she started laughing.

"I love it! Thank you Sebby." She cried out happily. He placed the boxes on the floor.

"I'll let you get sorted Har-Bear." Sebastian said quietly. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

He made his way down stairs and went to the fridge to pour himself a Grey Goose vodka from the freezer. He thought about the discussion that he had with Jackson, how it went from campy and fun to dead serious and how Jackson had reacted. It was so satisfying to put that big bastard in his place.

Sebastian heard Harper talking softly on the phone. She was probably talking to Brooklyn and telling her the good news. He smiled. It was good that she had someone close to her heart that shares her happiness. Even though he had multiple dalliances, he didn't have that one special someone that had captured his heart just yet.

Harper spoke to Brooklyn on the phone to tell her about her big news.

"Baby," she said softly but excitedly, her voice still hoarse from being strangled earlier that day. "It happened. I'm finally free!"

There was a brief empty silence on the other end. "That's great honey." Brooklyn replied finally. "You finally did it."

"I know right?" Harper gushed. "I can't believe that it actually happened!"

"Where are you staying?" Brooklyn asked tightly. "Did you get your own place?"

"No. Not yet." Harper replied enthusiastically. "I'm staying with Sebastian. He has a spare room."

"Mmm." Brooklyn murmured.

"Are you ok?" Harper asked concerned.

"Yeh babe," Brooklyn replied distractedly. "Just been super busy at work lately."

Harper hung up and felt unsettled. Why wasn't Brooklyn more excited about the fact that she moved out? What was going on? She lay in her new bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to make sense of everything that was happening. Her happiness was overshadowed by Brooklyn's tense response.

Brooklyn hung up the phone and stared into the darkness of Mia's backyard through the windows of the studio. She spied Mia's cigarettes on a paint covered bench top and fired one up. Smoke trickled out of her nose as she thought about her situation with Harper. She felt a warm pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind.

"Everything ok honey?" Mia reached up and stole the cigarette from her fingers, taking a drag. Her lush breasts were pressed into Brooklyn's back. Mia wiggled her hips a little. "Well?"

Brooklyn smiled half heartedly. "Yeh darlin," she replied. "Everything is fine. A friend was calling with some good news."

Mia swung Brooklyn around to face her.

"That's good right?" Her violet eyes sparkled and her smile widened. "No reason to be down."

Brooklyn nodded and pulled Mia close, trying to hide her trepidation, relishing Mia's soothing warmth pressed close against her. She wondered if this was going to be the end of her happy times.

The next morning, Sebastian was in the kitchen eating toast when Harper came down the stairs dressed in of his white Hugo Boss shirt. The slim fit shirt was still huge on her. The turn back cuffs hung over her fingers. She looked like a little girl playing dress ups in her dad's clothes.

"Thanks for the lend Sebby." She said, her voice still a little hoarse and sleepy eyed. Her hair was charmingly bed headed. "I can't believe that I forget to grab something to sleep in."

Sebastian smiled and handed her a coffee.

"Anytime Har-Bear." He replied quietly. "How did you sleep gorgeous?"

Harper's brows furrowed as she sipped her coffee, trying to wake up.

"Look, I slept ok." She murmured softly. "It was just hard sleeping in a new place. I think part of me was waiting for Jackson to come barging through the door. Drag me back to that house by my hair."

"Caveman style?"

Harper tried to smile but her face fell flat. She touched her neck and winced.

"Does it really look that bad?" Her big blue eyes looked up at him with concern. Her left eye was slightly blood shot. "It's so sore."

Sebastian gently lifted her hair up and inspected her neck. She had scratch marks, bruises and fingernail indents in a macabre necklace around her neck. Sebastian gently stroked her face with his manicured hand.

"It's not the worst that I've seen darling," Sebastian consoled her. "You should be fine, but if you like, we can go see my doctor today?"

Harper nodded.

"That might be for the best." She replied softly, struggling to speak. "Just to document it at the very least."

Sebastian nodded in agreement.

"Afterwards, if you like, we can do a bit of shopping!" He said cheerfully, trying to lift her dour mood. "I mean hun-eee you can't swan around in my clothes forever even if they are all designer and fabulous!"

Harper smiled slightly. "Let me shower and get ready then."

She padded back upstairs and entered the fabulous bathroom that Sebastian had. It was all glass and marble. She had a quick shower and threw on the first lot of clothes that she came across, dark blue Levi skinny jeans and a loose v neck vintage wash black t-shirt with her favourite black scarf to hide the bruises on her neck.

Sebastian sipped on his coffee and gazed pensively into the future. He was happy to have Harper as a flatmate for as long as she needed.

The day passed quickly for them. They went to Sebastian's doctor, who expressed great concern for Harper's condition, but assured them that no permanent damage had been done and that Harper would recover quickly. He took copious notes and photos for his records.

They headed to Chadstone in Sebastian's Bentley convertible. He had the top down so the wind whipped through their hair and the sunshine bathed them in a gorgeous golden warmth.

Sebastian found a car park quickly and the two of them headed inside the fashion capital hand in hand.

"Hun-eee!! I'm home!" Sebastian exclaimed loudly. He drew some curious looks from passers by, but he ignored them. He always attracted attention where ever he went. Harper giggled and clutched at his arm with her hand firmly holding his. He could feel her drawing strength from him.

"Let's go get you some new Jimmy Choos for the new life you're walking into Har-Bear!" He trilled pulling her hand towards the luxurious high end stores.

They flitted in and out of the shops, Armani, Hugo Boss, Prada and Gucci, with Sebastian splashing out lavishly on Harper. He enjoyed being generous with his money as he had so little when he was growing up. He made her do the pretty woman montage where she tried on an array of outfits.They ended up with an arm load of bags to carry around with them.

"Let's get a bite to eat Har-Bear!" Sebastian said excitedly. "This hun-eee is getting hungry!"

Sebastian led her to his favourite thai restaurant and signalled the waiter for a table. They settled into a cozy corner and ordered a couple of Aashi beers. The beer was cool and satiny smooth.

"So darling," Sebastian leaned in across the table. "Have you spoken to Brooklyn?"

Harper's face fell a little at his question. She took a long sip of her beer before answering him. Her eyes downcast slightly.

"Yeh I spoke to her last night." She replied softly. He could hear how raspy her voice still was from the assault from Jackson. It killed him inside that he hadn't been fast enough on his feet to stop the brutal attack.

"And?" He prodded. "What happened girl? What did she say?"

"She wasn't as excited as what I thought she was going to be." Harper replied flatly. "It was like she never thought that I was actually going to leave."

Sebastian sat back in his seat, surprised. "But I thought you two were all close with all the scissoring that you're doing?"

Harper sighed and looked at the menu.

"The prawn curry looks good." Harper said, trying to change the subject. "Have you tried that?"

Sebastian glanced at the menu quickly.

"Yeh, it's amazing. So spicy but sah good that you can't stop eating it!" he replied. "The Grapao Gai Sub Kai Dao is pretty amaze balls."

Harper seemed engrossed in the colourful menu. The waiter approached the table. Sebastian glanced up at him.

"We'll get the Mhu Bing with sticky rice to start with." He ordered. "And the lady shall have the Prawn Red Curry, and I'll have the Grapao Gai Sub Kai Dao for the main."

The waiter nodded and took the menus away from them.

"So what happened when you told her?" Sebastian pressed gently.

"She sounded surprised." Harper replied softly. "And she wasn't as excited as I thought she would be. It was like she liked it when I was living with Jackson. Like it was safe for her."

Sebastian nodded. Maybe Brooklyn was seeing other people behind Harper's back? He thought. That would explain her disinterest. It wasn't something that he wanted to raise with Harper just now. She was fragile enough at the moment and he was just speculating reasons why Brooklyn wouldn't be interested.

The starter arrived. The fragrant pork skewers steamed on the plate enticingly.

"Dig in darling." Sebastian urged. Harper obliged and started tearing at the soft, juicy pork on the skewer. The meat was tender and well marinated.

The main dishes arrived shortly after. The curry smelt delicious. Harper could smell the chilli, garlic and lemongrass wafting up from her plate. His dish was fragrant with basil, mingling with the minced meat and fried egg on top of the rice.

They worked through their meals quietly, both lost in their separate thoughts.

Brooklyn sat on the balcony of her apartment. She watched the hustle and bustle on the street and thought about the situation with Harper. So she finally did what Brooklyn thought she would never do, she moved out. Thankfully she moved in with her gay bestie Sebastian. She sipped on her Tanqueray and tonic slowly, while a lit cigarette smoked in the ash tray next to her. She didn't smoke much, sometimes after sex and when she was stressed.

Brooklyn wasn't sure what she was going to do with Mia or Harper. She sat and watch the people go by, wondering what she was going to do. Her phone buzzed a couple of times.

Mia: Baby? Can I come and see you today?

Harper: Can we catch up? Feels like its been ages since we've seen each other.

She pushed the phone away, not wanting deal with either woman at the moment. She stared moodily into the distance, not really seeing anything. Her phone buzzed again.

Harper: Please?

Brooklyn sighed. She picked up her phone and started firing off messages, weighing which one to deal with first. She started by answering Mia first.

Brooklyn: Sure darlin, I'd love to see you ;)

Mia: No worries honey xx I'll be there soon.

Brooklyn sighed and began texting Harper.

Brooklyn: I can't tonight. What about tomorrow?

Harper: That works :)

Brooklyn: Sure baby, what's your new address?

Harper's reply flashed up on her screen nearly instantaneously with Sebastian's address.

Brooklyn: What time?

Harper: Anytime after 7 is good.

Brooklyn: See you then x

Looks like she was catching up with Mia tonight and Harper tomorrow. She sipped on her drink, relishing the botanical notes and stared thoughtfully over the cityscape.