IN THE SHADOWS - (TNN - SIOBHAN/SARA/VARIOUS)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

As Siobhan imagined Roger's disgusting friends, leering at pictures of her that they never should have seen in the first place, she felt hot fiery rage burning behind her eyes. A conversation that she and Autumn had previously engaged in was suddenly at the forefront of her mind. The infamous guard dog had told Siobhan that the element of surprise should never be underestimated, especially when dealing with an objectively stronger opponent.

She knew that Steve thought she was weak and unintelligent but she was determined to prove him wrong. Reaching into her jacket pocket, she grabbed her keys and thanked her lucky stars that her bag had been too small to store them. She moved as quickly as possible, feeling for the key she knew was the sharpest, before stabbing it into the side of Steve's neck with as much force as possible. He immediately cried out and let go of her waist as his hands flew up to his wounded skin.

Siobhan was completely aware that Steve wasn't Roger, but as she slammed her fist into his stomach, the force behind her punch was made up of every bruise he'd given her, every name he'd called her and every last thing he'd stolen from her. As Steve dropped to his knees having been completely winded, she ran back through the restaurant doors. When she spotted the waiter she'd spoken to earlier, she approached him and frantically asked if he could book her a taxi. He seemed concerned by her demeanour but he agreed, so she watched as he retreated to the bar and used the landline. He told her that they were on their way, before asking if she was ok. Truthfully, Siobhan felt proud of herself and as her adrenaline was still flowing, she smiled at him and told him that she was fine. She didn't even care about her phone, it could be replaced and at least she was safe.

When the taxi arrived, the waiter asked her if she'd like him to walk her outside. She nodded gratefully but as she did so, she realised something. "I still need to pay you for our meals" she was so mortified that it had only just occurred to her. There had been no time for Steve to pay, he'd stormed out right after she did. The waiter smiled at her and replied "actually, don't worry about it. Before you arrived, that guy you were meeting was unbelievably rude. You can do a lot better than him." With that, he led her outside and opened the taxi door for her before saying "have a good night" and closing it gently.

Once she'd given the taxi driver her desired address, she sat back and smiled to herself. She was so sick of men thinking that they could put their hands on her and just take what they wanted, she wasn't having it anymore - she was done.

As the taxi pulled up outside the bar, her heart rate had almost returned to normal. It was still raining so she rushed inside as quickly as she could. Looking over at the bar she spotted Sara straight away, so she took the opportunity to watch her chatting to a customer for several seconds. Finally, Sara turned her head to the side and their eyes met immediately.

When the taxi driver had asked her where she wanted to go, she'd considered giving him Marjorie's address. Siobhan knew that Marjorie would have thrown her arms around her immediately and as comforting as that would have been, it wasn't enough for her. Now, she was gazing into the bright blue eyes that had taken over her dreams and brought her here tonight. From the very first moment she'd felt Steve's disgusting hands on her body, all she'd wanted was her.

Her adrenaline had completely run out and as the gravity of what she'd just been through hit her, she dropped down to her knees, covering her face with her hands as she began to sob uncontrollably.

Sara had been delighted but surprised to see Siobhan standing by the entrance. As much as she had hoped she would, she didn't think that the blond would come back to the bar, she was clearly terrified of the connection that she and Sara shared. Initially, Sara had struggled to read the expression on Siobhan's face, but suddenly she found herself watching the blond completely collapse, the weight of her pain finally catastrophically crushing her. Sara rushed to Siobhan's side and knelt down beside her, before wrapping her arms tightly around her shaking body. For the first time, she felt Siobhan completely relax against her and she knew that the blond was finally ready to start letting her in.

Sara stroked Siobhan's hair gently before whispering into her ear "it's ok baby I'm here. Everything's going to be alright I promise. I'm going to take you home."