章 9: Chapter 9

　　The next morning there is a knock on my locked door. I ignore it.

　　‘Astrid, I know you’re there. Please unlock the door,’ Ryker pleads. I don't want to hear his voice so I lock myself in the bathroom, run a bath and stay there for as long as I can.

　　I put on a pair of jeans and the biggest hoodie I can find; it almost touches my knees. I pull the hood over my head. I don't know why, but it makes me feel invisible; like I’m able to hide from the world. It’s an enormous sense of comfort.

　　On the twelfth knock on my door, Ryker is frustrated, and enlists Mia’s help.

　　‘It's Mia, Astrid,’ she says, through the door. As sweet and bubbly as she is, I just want to be left alone.

　　‘I brought you some lunch. I'll just leave it at the door,’ she explains.