Derek was a little startled at the sudden hug and rush of emotion, though he caught her and tentatively patted her back soothingly, still a tad bit stunned at the force of her gratitude but glad he could help and make someone feel so thankful.
She paused in the entrance, checking around with wide eyes. It was sparsely furnished, but didn’t seem so empty or lonely as the place in the woods. After a moment, she went over to the couch, feeling wobbly in a way that owed nothing to hunger. She slumped into it, and wrote in big letters, ‘WHY?’
Derek walked over and stood behind the couch after securing the door locke again. He saw the paper and didn’t have an answer, hardly knew what was going on, so he just put a hand on her shoulder, trying to give some form of comfort.
She twisted, looking up at him. ‘why are you doing this?’ She thought she might cry again, annoyingly, with how much he seemed to want her to feel better.