Alice visibly flinched at Tim's raised voice, gripping the door handle tighter. She was struck with a moment of fear, but not because she was scared of Tim, but because it reminded her of the times when William would call out her name in anger when she had done something wrong. In that moment she couldn't make herself move as she listened to him, reminding herself to breath and that she was in a safe place now. She tensed when he took her by the shoulders and guided her back to the couch, a little too shaken to do much else as she sat back down like he wanted.<br/><br/>"R-Right..." she murmured, attempting a weak smile as she glanced at her watch. In all her haste, in all her fear and panic she had become completely oblivious to the time, feeling like it had only been a few minutes from when she had left home. Hence why she kept feeling like William was likely to show up at any minute. Her gaze snapped up to look at Tim a little wide eyed. "Re-Really?" almost choking on her own words as a wash of emotions knotted her voice. She began to shake her head in protest, even though the offer was a giant relief, trying to figure out a reason she couldn't stay. "I-I..." Pursing her lips she realised then that Tim wasn't about to let up with his offer.<br/><br/>"Alright," she said, giving in as she picked up the mug of coffee. But instead of drinking it she ended up almost hugging the mug for the warmth. "But-! ... only for one night," she murmured, because she really couldn't be burdening him. "It's alright I have some clothes..." she tried to reassure him with a smile, yet she couldn't even remember what she had grabbed. She'd only had time to grab her shoulder bag and her small duffle bag with whatever she'd been able to grab that had been within reach. Even she didn't know what she'd shoved in there for fear of being caught by William before she could escape.<br/><br/>"But thank you... Tim, thanks for the offer, and for letting me stay for the night," she told him, taking a sip of her coffee finally. Though no sooner had she drunk some coffee than she was almost choking on it.<br/><br/>"NO!" Clapping her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, and her heart beating out of her chest. No sooner had fear flittered across her features than she was looking away, forcing herself to laugh her reaction off as nothing. "I-I'm sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to... I am just reeeaaally tired." Nervously she painted a smile on her face, even though she was gripping her coffee cup in a white knuckled hold to stop her hands from visibly shaking out of pure panic. "Wh-What I mean is, no, it's not a good idea to call W-" she swallowed the knot in her throat, "William. He is..." frantically trying to think of an excuse. "He is currently away for the next week or so for a BIG business meeting, apparently it is very important. All I know is that he doesn't want to be disturbed because he wants to be able to focus solely on his work, unless it is an emergency of course...apparently I am too much of a distraction when I call him." clearing her throat as she took another sip of coffee, trying to act natural though she felt anything but.<br/><br/>"Maybe it is a good idea if I just go to bed now rather than later. Obviously I am more tired than I realised," laughing nervously as she place her coffee mug down. "You know you don't have to show me to the guest room. I think I remember where it is from the last time I was here," just needing to be alone, to breath. "Thank you again, for everything tonight, I mean it. I will bid you a good night and hope your insomnia doesn't hinder your chances of getting back to sleep..." She stood up, bags in hand as she looked around. "Well uh... good night then or good morning now I guess..." giving him another brief smile as she leaned down to give him a friendly kiss on the cheek before skirting past him. "I'll see you in the morning."<br/><br/>When she did finally reach the guest bed room and closed the door behind her, she took a deep breath as her bags hit the floor. Clutching at her chest she had to cover her mouth to stop herself from making a noise, as tears streamed down her cheeks. What was she going to do? She was so screwed, and so very scared.<br/><br/>---------------------------------------------<br/><br/>She woke up early, unable to sleep properly purely because of fear and nightmares. At best she had gotten maybe three to four hours of actual sleep. She felt like an absolute wreck, but Tim couldn't know. She didn't want her best friend, her last friend in the world to abandon her like the rest, or to look at her like everyone else did. He was her last good thing in the world that William hadn't taken from her completely.<br/><br/>So she decided it was a good idea to finally have that shower she'd forgotten to take last night because she fallen asleep crying, still fully dressed.<br/><br/>As quiet as a mouse she snuck from the guest room to the bathroom, locking the door up tight before she even dared to undress. First she started the water, waiting for it to get hot. Whilst she waited she slowly peeled her damp, wrinkled and somewhat dirty clothes off, unable to looked at herself in the mirror. Her body was covered in bruises and a couple of scars. Some bruises were already on the fade whilst quite a few were fresh, especially the large bruise on her back from last night, and the hand print sized bruise on her uninjured arm high up on her bicep. William was mostly always very careful where and how he hurt her, making sure that he never bruised her anywhere visible like the face, neck, chest, hands or feet. Sometimes he did slip up and she'd have to cover up or wear make up. The worst was when he'd broken her arm or twisted her ankle, those kinds of things, always coming up with unquestionable excuses for her injuries.<br/><br/>She was quick to get in and scrub herself clean and get out, not wanting to be in the bathroom for too long. Afterwards she slipped on a pair of tight fitting jeans and a long sleeved top. Funnily enough William was all about her keeping her looks, controlling what she ate, and things like what she wore. She had to have a certain image to make him look good, but she couldn't look too good, wanting her to wear strategic clothing that was both flattering but covered up all her pain, yet didn't attract other male attention. However, at home it was a different matter, so he got annoyed when she didn't put more effort into being sexy for him. Yet with everything he demanded of her, she just couldn't find the time.<br/><br/>Once clean and dressed she automatically started making breakfast a little after eight in the morning, because William always expected breakfast and dinner to be ready when he woke up and got home. It was her only job nowadays, to make William happy, to please him. It was only as she was pottering around in the kitchen that she finally realised it wasn't William she was cooking for. God she really was pathetic, no wonder William got pissed off with her so often.