The visit

PRESENT DAY

Now, she was entering into that same living room in which they had finally made love all those years ago, and the last thing she needed to be doing was reliving it.

That would be mad disrespectful to Steve, who was holding her hand possessively. As with the other parts of the house that she passed through, everything remained the same in the living room.

Derek was seated there, as were a few other visitors. He looked much leaner than she had ever seen him look, and she realized that he must have gone through a lot during his captivity.

The exact details of what must have transpired in the woods had been mostly kept secret from the public, so no one knew what exactly he must have gone through in there, but from the looks of him, it was hell.

He gingerly got up to welcome them, coming over to them for brief handshakes and thanking them for coming to see him. Somehow, seeing him in this somewhat vulnerable state made Ava feel sorry for him.

“It’s very nice of you both to come