A/N: So I wasn't paying any attention in my government class this morning, and wrote this for three hours. Hahaha. The guy next to me kept giving me the weirdest looks. Oh well!

Enjoy! Also, it's still in Eli's POV. The stupid thing keeps removing the bar, and Eli's POV. =( So just pretend there's a little bar thing and that it says Eli's POV.

I stood there and just watched her run away from me, yet again. Even if she had stayed, I wouldn't have known what to say. It felt like worms on her back. I couldn't help but think, "If she cuts, why, or better yet, HOW was she able to cut her back?" I snapped out of my trance to chase after her... to talk to her... That's all I wanted to do. No matter what she thought, I wasn't angry, nor would I judge her. I'm just confused...

Her ice blue eyes screamed at me. She barely even whispered a word, but her eyes said so much more. They had so much terror, yet they weren't any less beautiful. I barely knew this girl, but yet I was beginning to care so much for her. She was so beautiful when she wasn't crying, but that image was rare, unfortunately. I wanted to help her. I knew what loss did to one's emotional state, but at the same time, I hadn't witnessed a boy get murdered by my own father.

By now I was at the other side of the park, and Clare was long gone. I knew I had to find her before she did something stupid, especially in her fragile state. I didn't want another life to be taken from this world because of my idiotic actions.

"Maybe she went home... But where is home?" I panicked. I had no idea where she could have gone. I saw the Dot ahead of me, and I ran inside begging people to let me know where Clare lived if they knew. The boy behind the counter, Peter, gave me her address, but not before random people said a few choice words about me trying to find the "psycho bitch". "Wow," I thought to myself. "No wonder Clare cries everyday at school. People are so cruel."

I arrived at Clare's house, and frantically knocked on the door, but Clare didn't answer the door. Her mother did.

"Um, hi. Is Clare home?" I quickly asked.

"She hasn't' returned home from school yet today," her mother replied. "Are you a friend of hers?"

"Um, well, I'm not sure. I ran into her at the park after school got out, and she ran off. Do you have any idea where she could be? It's really important," I stated, hoping not to startle her mother just in case she didn't know.

"Damn it, Clare..." she muttered under her breath. "Try the cemetery? She's been going there a lot lately. The past few nights I've found her on the left end."

"The cemetery! Why didn't I think of that!"

"Thank you!" I shouted as I began the short run to the cemetery. "Damn, why didn't I just drive Morty? Oh well. Too late now."

When I arrived at the cemetery, sure enough, there she was. But something was off. Tyler's grave was a few rows over, and I remember that because it's a few plots over from Julia's. So who was she crying over now?

"Clare?" I cautiously approached, not wanting to scare her off once again. She didn't respond. She just stared blankly ahead of her, as if she were dead. She wasn't crying, but she was mumbling something under her breath, so I knew she wasn't dead. I got closer and knelt down next to her to try and understand what she was saying.

"You broke me. You broke me. I hate you. You broke me," she very softly repeated over and over. I could barely understand her, but then I noticed she was hitting herself in her arm holding her hand the way kids karate chop.

"What the hell?" I thought. Realizing that she wasn't going to move, I very carefully swung her left arm over my shoulder and picked her up bridal style. Before beginning the two mile walk back to her house, I looked down at whose grave she was leaning against, and I couldn't believe it.

Randall C. Edwards

April 17, 1967 - July 14, 2004

"Well that's a piece of the puzzle I never would have gotten..." Eli thought to himself, but he must have said it out loud because Clare started freaking out.

"Clare... Clare! Calm down, I'm just taking you home," he said, trying to calm her down, but she kept squirming around trying to get Eli to let her go. But Eli's hold just got tighter, and he said, "You can't run away from this anymore."

With those words, Clare began to sob while burying her head into Eli's chest, knowing that someone, other than her mother, won't leave her. She didn't want him to find out. Not like this.

"Could you please just explain to me why?" Eli questioned. "If you don't want to explain, its okay, but I want to help you. I'm not going to leave you no matter what."

"...He killed an innocent boy, Eli..." Clare stated, with an "obviously" kind of tone to her voice.

"No, Clare. I'm asking about the cuts. Why do you do it?" Eli asked while resting his head on top of hers.

"...I don't cut myself Eli..." Clare responded, sounding slightly confused.

Eli stopped walking and pulled his head away and looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Don't lie to me, Clare. I felt them."

"Well did you actually see them? No, I didn't think you did," she spat. "You'd understand if you saw. Besides, the cuts aren't even on my back."

"Clare, I felt them. If they aren't cuts, then what the hell are they?" I was getting agitated, so naturally, I raised my voice, and I felt awful when I felt Clare flinch.

"What? You want to see the scars? Put me down and I'll show you the scars right now." Her words cut deeper than they should have. She accused me of not believing her, and part of me didn't. I know what I felt, but nothing prepared me for what I was about to see. I hadn't even put her down yet, and she pulled the sleeve back to her elbow on her right arm and twisted her arm so that the top was facing me.

ROT IN HELL BITCH

LOVE, DAD

"Clare... Did he... I can't..." I couldn't even form complete sentences. I immediately put her down. Was this a joke? What kind of father does that to his own daughter? She started to lift the sleeve to her other arm, but I stopped her. I didn't need to see it for I'd seen enough. Although, part of me didn't want to see. Not yet anyway.

"There's more you know. Some on my stomach. Some on my legs. My back is surgery scars from when I was younger, Eli. He threw me down the stairs and broke a few bones," she stated, but there was hostility in her voice. She had just told a boy that she barely knew secrets most people didn't know about her, not even her classmates.

"This is why everyone hates you? Because you're father mutilated you?" I couldn't comprehend how that added up. "That makes no sense," I finally admitted.

"No, they hate me for something else." She looked down at her feet and her lip began to quiver and she began rubbing her cross necklace in between her fingers.

"Well? Spit it out Edwards."

A/N: Yes, I realize that it's slightly obvious what Clare's going to say next, but I don't care. I like to believe that I left you all with a cliffhanger, so please just humor me =)

Review and let me know how I did or how I'm doing. Both work =)