Section Break 31
- Gemma sits on the porch thinking for a long time; she watches the sun go down. A while later, Ty comes back outside with two glasses of water.
- Gemma asks him who he is—like, who he really is—but he either doesn't pick up on this or doesn't want to answer. He says he was named Ty because he was conceived next to a creek by that name. Then, he begins to tell her his story.
- Ty's mom had him really young in Britain, and custody was eventually signed over to his dad, who took him to live in Australia on a farm. Things were pretty good for a while—he had a tutor and made friends with the farmhands, who taught him about working the land (and drinking).
- Eventually, though, stuff went bad when Ty's dad started working in the city as a stockbroker. He spent all of his money on drugs and alcohol and all of his time getting drunk and high; pretty soon, he stopped looking after Ty altogether.
- At this point, Ty turned into a wild child and started living off the land and eating lizards. He even killed one of his dad's calves once and ate it.
- Things with Ty's dad just kept getting worse, until finally, when Ty was about 11, he just disappeared one day. Ty lived alone on the farm for a year before someone came out and caught him.
- They took him to live in a children's home in the city and tried to craft an identity for him there, giving him a name (Tom) and having him work with a psychiatrist.
- Listening to all this, Gemma realizes she and Ty have something in common: Both of them were stolen from their homes. She asks Ty if kidnapping her was his way of getting back at them.
- Ty insists that he didn't "steal" Gemma, though; he "saved" her from her old life.
Section Break 32
- Not like this is anything new, but Gemma can't sleep, especially after hearing Ty's story. Oddly, it seems to have made her even madder—mad enough that she's trying to think of ways to kill Ty.
- When this doesn't help her get to sleep, she starts thinking about things she'd say to her parents if she were to see them. Most of the list involves apologizing for things, like breaking a vase and getting drunk.
- Then, she begins to dream. In the dream, Gemma is in the park and a stranger is following her. She tries to run away, but he moves faster and tells her to slow down.
- Up ahead, there's nowhere to go except into a pond. Gemma slips and falls on a piece of wood. When she looks up, she realizes the stranger is Ty, and he's begging her to come back to him. Instead, though, she jumps into the pond.
Section Break 33
- Gemma wakes up to a thudding sound on the porch. When she goes out to investigate, she finds Ty beating the poop out of a punching bag.
- So, apparently, on top of the whole kidnapping thing, he's gone all Rocky on her. Wow. Never a dull moment with this guy.
- Watching him terrifies Gemma because all she can imagine is him beating her instead of the punching bag.
- She thinks about the knife she has hidden in her room and how it's no match for Ty's physical strength. Heck, let's face it—the guy could probably take Rocky.
Section Break 34
- Back inside, Gemma tests the knife by cutting into her finger. Then, she carves more notches into the bedpost, indicating that she's been there 17 days.
Section Break 35
- When Gemma wakes up, Ty is in her room and tells her that they're going to see the Separates—the proper way this time, with him as tour guide.
- As they walk through the Separates, Ty tells Gemma some Aboriginal stories he heard from his dad's farmhands, like how you have to greet the rocks when you arrive or else they'll get mad and fall on you, and how desert walnuts talk when they're cooked. Okely-dokely …
- They go to the pond, and Ty asks if she wants to swim. Gemma is still terrified of his strength and is afraid of what he might do if she goes in.
- Despite this, Gemma can't stop herself from looking at him—the guy has a hot bod—but she tries to look at him in a way that won't make him realize she's checking him out.