A/N Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi, Eli Goldsworthy, or Clare Edwards

I had done it again.

She lay in a crumpled heap in the corner of our bedroom. She was shaking uncontrollably and even though she was trying to muffle her sobs, I could hear her, and the sound rang in my ears.

I reached out to her

"Clare ….Clare, baby ….look at me?" I knelt down on my knees in front of her and reached towards her slim, bruised shoulder.

"NO ELI! DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shrilly screamed as she shrank away from my touch. I shoved my body away from hers in a desperate attempt to make her feel safer. Although, I doubt anything could make her feel safer at this point.

My back slammed into the dark dresser next to our bed, and the knobs dug into the skin. I gritted my teeth and hissed. My eyes re-opened and I found my angel tearing across the room throwing most of her belongings into an old, beat-up suitcase that we had stored in our closet.

I knew what she was doing. She was leaving me. I couldn't let that happen! Clare and I belonged together, always! If she left me now, or ever, what would I be? There was no Eli without Clare.

She was speaking aloud now, but I couldn't tell if she was talking to me, or herself.

"I can't take anymore. If I don't leave now, then I'll always be here. I thought he said he would change, that this would never happen again. He promised, no, swore, that he would never again lay a hand on me. Why? Why, after all these years? Dear God, what did I do to deserve this?" she spoke.

I could only stare after her, speechless

"Oh, don't act like you weren't! I saw how you were flirting with him! What, did you think I was blind? That I couldn't tell?" I grabbed her arm and yanked her into the kitchen, the heels of her shoes dragging the entire way.

"Eli, stop it! I wasn't flirting with him! I was only having a good time with a friend that I hadn't seen in a long time! That I couldn't see in a long time, because you keep me locked up in this house with you!" she walked away from me and turned towards the sink, her back facing me.

"That's right Clare. You are with me, and that's what you always wanted. So what, now I'm not good enough for you?" I could feel my anger level rising and knew that this was getting too much out of control.

"You know what Clare, I'm done. We're finished discussing this. I'm going to bed." I walked across the room, but stopped when I heard the glass break and felt the pieces shatter next to my ear. I turned around to find her face beaming red and her hands grasping the counter behind her.

And that's when I lost it. I couldn't control myself as I sprinted towards her and grabbed her hair at the roots. I pushed her towards the ground on her back and sat on top of her legs. She was small, but she knew how to put up a fight when needed. I punched her repeatedly, while my other hand was digging my nails into her tender flesh and keeping her legs pinned beneath me.

I swore to her that this would never happen again. But my mid was not letting me remember that promise as I beat her and shouted into her ear.

"YOU BELONG TO ME, CLARE EDWARDS! YOU WILL ALWAYS BELONG TO ME. EVERY PART OF YOU BELONGS TO ME. YOUR NECK, WHICH I COULD EASILY SNAP WITH MY HANDS, YOU ARMS THAT I CAN EASILY BEND BACKWARDS UNTIL YOU'RE SHRIEKING AND BEGGING ME TO STOP, YOUR ENTIRE BODY!" I knew I was hurting her. I could hear her already begging and sobbing and screaming, and it only added fuel to the fire that was me.

"BUT YOUR MIND ALSO BELONGS TO ME. YOU WANTED ME FOR SO LONG, BUT WHEN YOU FINALLY GOT ME TO LOOK YOUR WAY, YOU HAD NO IDEA WHAT YOU WHERE GETTING YOURSELF INTO. OH YES, I PROMISED THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN, BUT OBVIOUSLY I LIED. YOU DIDN'T THINK I WAS ACTUALLY TELLING THE TRUTH DID YOU? OR DID YOU STAY BECAUSE YOUR GET SOME KIND OF SICK PLEASURE FROM THIS?" My mind had finally registered the promise I made, but my anger had turned it around to hurt her. It was a lie, I did intend to keep that promise, I had no intentions of breaking it. And what I was saying was in no way the truth. I was the one to get some kind of sick, twisted high of this abuse.

I raced after her, out onto the sidewalk in front of the house. But I was too late. She was already starting the car and sobbing into her cell phone, no doubt calling her mother, or Alli. Somebody she could truly count on to always take care of her. She tore out of the driveway, and never once looked back.

I couldn't think, couldn't breathe. This was wrong, all wrong. I was the one who was supposed to protect her. I was supposed to be her 'knight in shining armor'. But instead, I was the monster who had captured the perfect princess. But she had escaped my evil clutches, and a tiny part of my mind is glad that she's gone. She wouldn't get hurt anymore.

The angel was gone, vanished. And only the monster with a hole in his heart remained.

A/N If you enjoyed it, please review. If you didn't, review anyway! I love to her your opinions. I think this might stay a one-shot, but if enough people like it or want more, I will continue. Thanks for reading.

Free virtual cookie to the reader who guess which Eminem song featuring another star I listened to on repeat for inspiration!

(Hint: The star who sang the chorus was a domestic abuse victim herself )