Cass felt her heart skip a beat as she crawled on to the other side of the couch where there was no way he could see her. Afraid to even breathe, she pulled her knees up to her chest and hid her face in her hands. There was another knock on the door, and a small sound escaped her lips.

“CASSIDY, I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE!” Noel yelled from outside. His voice was strong and loud.

Cass froze as a familiar feeling rushed over her. She had almost forgotten what he sounded like, and the image of him was getting more and more blurry every time he visited her thoughts, which was rarely now days. Cass closed her eyes. A part of her wanted to confront him and show him how strong and independent she had gotten over the past year, yet, she was afraid that if she saw him again, she would lose control and go back to her old self that couldn’t fight back.

“COME ON CASSIDY, OPEN UP! YOU KNOW WHAT I’M CAPABLE OF DOING IF YOU DON’T DO AS I SAY. I JUST CAME HERE TO TALK. LET ME IN AND I WON’T HURT YOU!”

Cass shivered. She knew he was right, in a way. She knew what he was capable of doing, and the thought of it made her sick.

“No.” She whispered to herself. She was not going to let him win this time. All she had to do was sit there and wait for the police to arrive. And maybe, if she waited long enough, he would give up and leave and Nick would come home and put his arms around her and make everything alright. Cass lifted her head and looked out of the large window in the living room. She could see the ocean from there. It was very calm, and the dark night sky was covered with stars, but this was not what caught Cass’ attention. The large windows showed a reflection of the front door down the hall, behind her. She could see the door handle moving up and down, as the banging became even louder.

“CASSIDY, YOU DON’T WANT ME TO DO THIS. OPEN UP YOU B*ITCH.”

She closed her eyes again, leaning her head back against the wall. “Please God, don’t let him in.” She prayed silently as tears rolled down her cheek. The banging continued for a few minutes, before it suddenly became very quiet.

Too quiet…

Cass sat still, afraid to move. Was he gone? She slowly opened her eyes, and looked around. She was sure he wasn’t inside the house, but she was also pretty sure that she never heard the car drive away, which meant that he was still around somewhere. She took a few minutes to calm herself down. Suddenly, there was a loud sound coming from somewhere outside. She froze again, looking frantically out the window and out on the balcony.

And there he was.

A scream escaped Cass’ lips, and she thought that she was going to faint. Noel was standing outside, looking at her through the window, waving to her with an evil grin on his face, and a look that said ‘hey babe, missed me?’

Cass wanted to move out of his sight, but it was as if she was glued to the floor. She couldn’t move, and she couldn’t even look away from him. Then, she remembered, she had forgotten to lock the door that led out to the balcony. She never thought that someone would be able to climb up there considering it was on the second floor. A wave of fright rushed over her, and she forced herself to look away from him and stand up. Her legs were shaking so badly, she could barely stand. As if Noel had read her mind, he looked over towards the glass door and started moving towards it. Cass ran across the room, feeling as if she was fighting for her life. They reached the door at the same time, Cass leaning against it, trying to prevent him from pushing it open and at the same time, struggling to lock it. But he was stronger than her, and with one thrust, he pushed it open causing Cass to fall backwards. She screamed as she fell to the floor. For a moment he just stood in the doorway, looking down at her, letting his eyes travel up and down her body.

“Hello Cassidy.” He said, “Missed me?” He walked over to her and bent down next to her.

Cass didn’t dare to say anything. She had learned over the years she had known him that whatever she said, he would use against her at some point.

“No?” He looked at her as if he was disappointed in her. “Well, I missed you.” He whispered into her ear. “Why don’t I show you just how much?”

“No, please….” Cass cried.

“You’re not scared, are you? We’ve done this so many times before. You know what I like, Cassidy.” He stroke her chin with his cold hand, and Cass shivered.

“How did you find me?” She asked, surprised that she even dared to ask him.

Noel laughed. “How did I find you…? Well that wasn’t too hard. You’re everywhere these days, Cassidy. That stupid Backstreet Boy isn’t exactly hiding the fact that you’re his little s*lut. All I had to do was find out were he lived, and it led me straight to you.” He laughed again. “But let’s not talk about that right now. I want what I came here for.”

Cass shook her head. “No…” She whispered, backing away from him a little. Noel reached out and grabbed her wrist, holding her down. Cass struggled to get away, but he was stronger than her and with one single move, he had positioned himself on top of her.

“No, please don’t…” She cried out. She knew there was no way she would be able to free herself from him now. All she could do was close her eyes, and let him have what he wanted.

Just as he was about to force himself into her, sirens could be heard in the distance. He stopped and looked down at her.

“You f*cking b*itch!!!! You called the police?” He yelled, slamming his fist in her face. Cass cried out in pain, but inside, she felt nothing but relief that her prayers had been heard. Noel quickly stood up and pulled up his pants.

“You’re not getting away with this, you little s*lut.” He grabber her wrist and pulled her up from the floor, dragging her with him towards the front door. It all happened so quickly that Cass didn’t have the time to react. She couldn’t understand why he was taking her with him, when the police was right outside the house.

Noel paused in front of the door, tightening the grip around Cass’ arm. With his other arm, he reached down and pulled out something from one of his pockets. Cass gasped when she saw that he was holding a gun.

“Now, let’s see if Mr. Officer wants to play!” He laughed, pushing the door open and dragging Cass with him outside.

From there, everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Cass could see the two police officers pulling out their guns, one of them rushing back to the car to call for backup. She could hear Noel yell something to them, and the two officers responding. Suddenly, one of the officers fell to the ground. There was silence for only a few seconds, and then everything went black.

A few hours away, Nick was sitting in his seat, looking out of the small plane window. All he could think of was Cass, and that she might be in danger. He had a bad feeling that something had happened to her. But not even in his wildest dreams would he be prepared to face what was waiting for him at home.