It was unusual for Tina to wake up to the sound of birds, but somehow she found herself gently stirring awake, their tuneful call slowly waking her. She began to relax from the tight knot she'd managed to curl herself up into, and inch by inch, allowed herself to uncurl and stretch from the warmth of her bed covers. She moaned as her hand gently brushed her untamed hair from her eyes, rubbing them as she slowly opened them. Although her room was still in semi darkness, the sky outside was a grey tint of blue, a fading shade of purple chasing across the sky. "Dawn?", Tina murmured, as almost like a ghost, rose up from the bed and glided towards the window soundlessly. 

In that moment, as she brushed her hair to the side of her head, the golden orb of the sun began to peak over the top of the crescent hill in the distance many miles away, the surrounding sky bleeding to a vivid crimson. Watching transfixed, almost holding her breath, Tina witness the coming of the sunrise, the warm glow gently casting across her pale skin. In that single moment, just for a second, Tina completely forgot about the world, and all the stress and worries of the night before. Here and now, standing alone, looking at the sunrise through the bars of her bedroom window, she felt for the first time in a very long time, at peace. 

The crimson, blood filled sky continued to grow and darken as the sun grew steadily higher into the morning sky, the trees outside beginning to waft and creak in the increasing wind. The golden orb of the sun filled her with this strange feeling of strength, of hope, and a feeling of safety and security, despite her feeling so small against the wide world, almost believing herself to be like a life being blown on the breeze. Red sky in the morning ... shepherds warning. That's when it hit her; the realisation, the memories, the night before ...

Tina staggered back, a powerful jolt jumping through her heart as her pulse raced in a growing sense of panic. The note thrown through the window, the police questions, the explosion, screams, smoke, fire .... and him. The gunman. Tears pricked at her eyes as she clutched her mouth in horror to try and suppress the cry of horror as reality caught back up with her, the vivid memories flashing before her. Tina's knees gave way underneath her and she crumpled to the floor in shock, before she glanced something in the corner of her room which made her scream in terror. A man dressed in dark clothes was sat in the corner on a chair, asleep, with a gun in his lap. Immediately the man woke up in alarm at hearing her scream, his sleepy eyes quickly searching the room as his hand grabbed his gun.  Tina grabbed the closest thing to her, the cricket bat from underneath her bed, and hurled it towards him. 

In the split second she heard the man yelp with the sound of bone breaking, she'd leapt towards the bedroom door, pulling at the door handle with all her might. The wooden door creaked but it remained shut. A cold sweat ran down Tina's spine. Locked!? No, not now. Oh god no, please no, she though as she desperately pulled at the door, frantically banging on it. "Help me please, HELP!", she screamed as she heard the man's movements behind her. Refusing to give up without a fight, she swung around with all her might, her fist connecting with the side of his jaw. "FUCK!", the man screamed, clutching at his cheek, staggering slightly dazed as the fountain of blood spurted from his nose, his gun clattering to the floor. 

Pumped up on adrenaline, Tina sharply kneed him in the groin, throwing her other fist towards his head in a scream of anger and fear. His motions where quicker however, dodging her punch, tightly grasping her wrist as she tried to strike at him again. Through the commotion of their screaming and the tussle of limbs, the hurried sound of footsteps trampled down the hallway, the frantic rattling of keys in the doors lock before the door was flung open. Both Tina and the unknown man stopped fighting, Tina successfully having managed to half pin her attacked down under her own bodyweight, taking full advantage of his limited eyesight with all the blood to punch his face even more, both frozen in shock, just as much as the people standing in the doorway looking down at them. 

"What the hell!?", Gareth stuttered in shock, looking down at the scene with his gun drawn, pointing down at the both of them, several other men standing behind him, all with their weapons out. "He tried to kill me!", Tina told them in shock, quickly rushing into Gareth's arms as her assailant groan in pain, clutching at his face, cursing loudly. "Tina, he's with us", Gareth sighed after holding her for a few seconds, letting her calm down, the men around him collectively muttering under their breath as they slunk back off to their allocated positions within the house.  "W-What?", Tina said weakly, looking up at him seriously. "Yeah ... erm, that's Patterson. He was told to watch you", Gareth answered sadly, casting the injured idiot an unsympathetic look as he limped out of the bedroom, clutching his broken nose. 

"You told him to watch me WHILST I WAS SLEEPING!?". That was the final straw. Tina slapped his arms away from her as she pushed him back, ignoring the pain which was beginning to get on her nerves. Gareth could see the anger burning in her eyes and had to control himself with all his might from just lashing out at her for being so stubborn and stupid. How could she not understand the seriousness of the situation she was in? He took several deep breaths to calm himself, just as Tina did the same, impatiently tapping her foot, waiting for his answer. 

"Yes. In case you haven't forgotten, someone tried to kill you last night. Therefore, security has been increased around the house, meaning that you have to be kept safe at all times. Your fathers orders", Gareth replied as calmly and as simply as he could, holstering his gun as he did so. Tina's jaw clenched, letting out a huff. "Well I've had enough of his orders and all this crap!", she shouted at him defiantly. "Ever since mum was murdered I've been kept a prisoner in my own home by him! He doesn't want to keep me safe. He wants me to me kept locked up for the rest of my life, obeying his orders, being his slave! He doesn't even trust me to step three paces outside without having you following me! I've had enough! NO MORE!". Tina was shaking with rage as she screamed at Gareth, ever single bone and breath in her body full of hatred. How had she let her father get away with this for so long? Why had she let him do this to her, reduce her to this?

Before Tina even had chance to draw breath to argue again, Gareth had lunged at her, easily wrapping his single hand around her throat, shoving her back up against the window behind her. It took a second to get over the initial shock, before reality set in, and Tina was frantically tugging at Gareth's arm, her toes barely brushing the floor as the breathe was being choked out of her. "Tina. Look around you and listen to what you've just said. Do you not think that I already know this? Why do you think I've been trying so hard to keep on your side?". Gareth's voice was an ice cold whisper as his grip held firm as Tina tried to fight against him. "Last night and every day before that were all out of my control. Today however, that has all changed. If you want to stay cooped up in here to rot for the rest of your life, go ahead. But until you stop acting like a spoilt brat and just think for once in your life, you'll end up dead. Now, I'm not going to let go until either you black out or you stop trying to fight against me when all I'm trying to do is help you". To add extra emphasise to how serious he was being, he clenched his fingers tighter, completely cutting off her airway. 

Tina's head was throbbing, her lungs fit to bursting as she clawed desperately at his arm, trying with all her might to loosen his grip. With every passing second the pounding in her head became more painful, the ringing louder in her ears, her vision slowly clouding over with black dots. She tried to plead to him to stop, but she couldn't even utter a croak or a whisper as her body grew heavier, her body becoming faint. Her mind was torn. She wanted him to stop, to let her go, to let her live, but it would mean letting him win, admitting defeat. But how could she let him? Everything she believed was right; she was a prisoner in her own home, and even if she agreed to let him help her, she would still be stuck. Wouldn't she? With what little air she had left in her lungs drastically running out, Tina used the last of her strength through blinding tears and one last defeated exhale to let go of him arm. Her arms fell limply to her sides as Gareth held her up off the floor, his hand still tightly around her neck, her feet no longer on the floor. He looked her coldly in the eyes as she felt her eyelids flutter, her vision swamping into darkness. 

Only at the last second, just as her cheeks turned a blueish hue did Gareth release his hold on Tina, letting her body fall to the floor. Gasping and spluttering, Tina racked her lungs, choking on the air around her as she practically drank it in. Never had air tested so good as it did now, as Tina gulped as much of it as she could, breathing deeply once again. It was about 10 minutes later when Tina finally opened her eyes again, looking up at Gareth fearfully from where she lay crumpled beneath him. He still wore his dirtied shirt from last night, but the dark bags under his eyes only made them appear more hollow as he stared down at her. "I don't want to hurt you Tina. I've never wanted to hurt you, but sometimes you won't listen until it's too late ...", he sighed sadly as he knelt down beside her. 

Instantly Tina backed away, her back pressed up against the long window pain of her room, her silhouette casting a shadow across Gareth's face in the amber glow of the rising sun. Only now could she see some compassion and care in his eyes, as he looked into her terrified face, her eyes fearfully looking at him, a whimper on her lips. "Shhhh, it's alright. It's okay Tina. It'll all be okay, you'll see. You just have to trust me", Gareth whispered softly as he gently stroked her cheek, his thumb wiping away a small tear. "Trust you?", she said in a deadly whisper, her body flinching under his touch. Once she had trusted this man, heck he'd been there for nearly 9 years of her life, raising her, but now she could barely even look at him. "Yes, trust me, and everything will be okay". 

Tina felt a knot tightening in her stomach as Gareth leant in close and pressed a kiss to her forehead, his large hand cupping her cheek as he did so. Instinctively she'd closed her eyes as he'd done an action which in the past she had had no objections about, but now in this circumstance it felt different. The way his hand stroked against her cheer and the way he was now looking at her only made the knot tighten further, feeling like a spider was crawling over her skin. "You know, you look just like your mother", he whispered as he stroked a strand of hair from her eyes, his hand holding her chin as he tilted her head slightly to angle it in the sun for a better look. Tina only swallowed and nodded slightly, refusing to meet his eyes in the tense silence.

A moment later there was a gentle knock on the door, distracting Gareth's attention, as he quickly dropped his hand away from her, getting back up to his feet. "I suggest you get some rest. It's still early and there is a lot of stuff which needs to be sorted if you still want to go off to university", Gareth announced calmly, acting as if what had happened merely moments ago never even took place. "Okay", Tina replied weakly. She had been certain that the events of last night would have meant that she'd never leave the house ever again, but it seemed that Gareth had other plans. 

Soon Gareth left her to her thoughts, the loud click of the door lock ensuring that she was now alone. Even though her hands were red raw from punching that mans face, speckled with a few spots of his blood, it was her whole head which felt the dirtiest. Where he had kissed her, stroked her, touched her, she felt like it had been touched by the cold ice of the dead, sending a shiver down her spine. Even though she was still dressed in her pyjamas, she felt completely exposed, not even the sun managing to warm her. Had something changed, or had she come to realise an ugly truth. Tina stood up and walked to stand in front of her mirror, to see if she could see the truth. But all she saw was a motherless, terrified young adult staring back at her. She never saw the person on the other side of that glass, watching her with a crooked smile, binding his time until she could soon be his. 

[ AN : Hey everyone, I am so so so so so so sorry the update has taken me so long! But thankfully I've finally managed to crank out a chapter. I hope you like it, and that you haven't bitten off your nails completely with the tension or mystery so far ... there's so much more to come. Hope you enjoy, and please do remember to comment and share.  Love to hear your thoughts ]