Hey guys. I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, I had some killer writer's block for the first few days, and then I was super busy the rest of the week. Again, i'm sorry, but I hope this longer chapter makes up for itt? (: So yeah, here it is, enjoooy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi or any of it's characters. (But, technically, I do own Eli, because he stole my heart. )

"You have me." He whispered, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. I put my palm to his cheek, and gave him a small smile.

"I know." I said softly, leaning up to press a chaste kiss on his lips for a second, and then pulled away. He smirked, but it soon faltered as he continued.

"You can't keep letting him hurt you." He said quietly, and I knew that Eli was telling the truth. I didn't want to keep being afraid to walk in my own house, I didn't want to fear my own dad. But he was the only family I had left. What was I supposed to do?

"I don't want to be afraid anymore." I whispered, looking up at him. "But he's the only family I have left. What am I supposed to do?" I said under my breath, and he closed his eyes lightly.

"Clare, I know you don't want to." He said, looking down at me with sad eyes. "But you need to tell someone what you told me, before it happens again." He murmured softly, caressing my face with his palm.

I loved my dad. My happy, loving, funny, and sober dad. Where did he go? Instead, he was replaced by this cold, heartless, and abusive drunk mess. He turned into a monster; who hit his family, partied all the time, went to bars every night, and was hardly ever home.

I miss my old dad. The one who would crack jokes, who would tuck me into bed every night, who would kiss me on the forehead and say 'I love you', who would come home from work every night and sit with his family, who would only drink wine at church events and sometimes at dinner. The one who loved me.

"I just want my old dad back." I said softly, with a tear in my eye. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"I know you do. But you can't keep letting him hurt you. It's gone on for almost two years, Clare. It needs to end before it's get worse." He said quietly, glancing down at my stomach. "You don't have to tell someone right now. You can talk whenever you're ready." He finished softly, rubbing small circles onto my palm. I nodded, and gave him a small smile that almost felt forced. I glanced at the clock, and it read 5:13. I rubbed my forehead, and I finally figured out what this strange pounding feeling in my head was.

It was the feeling of being overwhelmed, of saying too much in such a short period of time, of giving up everything that I'd been working for almost two years to hide.

I can't fabricate well-thought-over lies to cover up all of the damage. Because he knows everything, and I can't lie to him anymore.

And that scared the shit out of me.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"You want some breakfast?" Eli asked me after my stomach growling interrupted the much-needed silence of his family room. The last time I ate was yesterday morning, and my stomach grumbled louder as I thought about food. He chuckled as he heard it.

"Sure." I said with a small smile, and Eli helped me up off of the couch. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulders as I stood up, and I held my stomach as it twisted with twinges of pain. He frowned as he saw this, and he delicately picked me up off of the ground. I looked up at him and smiled, and turned my head to kiss his chest softly. I felt his muscles tense as I did this, and I smiled a little bit as he opened the door and we stepped into his kitchen. He carried me over to the grey granite counter, and gently sat me down on it. He smirked at me as he opened the door of his fridge.

"Do you like French toast?" He asked, looking at me curiously. I laughed at the randomness of his question, and nodded.

"Yeah. My mom used to make it all the time." I said quietly with a small smile. Eli looked shocked that I spoke about my mother.

"Well… I make a pretty mean French toast…" He said, trailing off and putting his hand to his chin as he looked up to the ceiling in mock wonder. I giggled while Eli smiled as he got out eggs, milk, and bread. He set them on the counter next to me, and then made me move my feet while he got out a frying pan. He turned on the electric stove, put the pan on the burner, and turned to me. He hopped up on the counter next to me, and looked down at me with a smile on his face. My heart fluttered, because honestly, I could probably stare at him all day.

And the beaming smile made his whole face light up, and he was… well, cute. I couldn't help it; I reached out and pinched his cheek between my thumb and forefinger. I released his blushing cheek, and he smirked while he tried to look appalled at my action. He brought his hand up to his face, and he looked absolutely adorable. Giggles erupted out of me as he hopped off of the counter to put a pat of butter in the frying pan, and I listened as it sizzled. He looked at me over his shoulder with his hand still on his cheek, with the same appalled expression. I couldn't look at him anymore, my stomach twitched and twisted as the familiar ache returned whenever I laughed, and I stopped laughing abruptly. I saw Eli turn to look at me from over his shoulder, and he put the spatula down as he walked over to me. He wiggled until he was between my legs, and he put his finger under my chin to make me look at him. I redirected my eyes, because it was already hard enough not to laugh. I stared at the side of his fridge, and he turned my head, still trying to make me look at him. I watched him in my peripheral vision, and he had an amused look on his face.

"Why won't you look at me, Edwards?" He asked with the amused expression, and I would bet anyone money that my face was beet-red right now, because he was only a few inches away from my face. I gulped as I didn't answer, and I felt him staring at me as I looked down. I heard the pan sizzle loudly, and he abruptly darted over to the stove to turn the oven off. He grabbed two plates from the cupboard, and slapped a piece of French toast on each one. He grabbed maple syrup from the door of the fridge, and poured some onto each slice. He came over with the plates, and set one in my lap as he hopped up onto the counter again. He turned and sat cross-legged while he continued to stare at me.

"You know, I can do this all day." He said, propping his chin up on his fist as he stared at me and kept this up, and a minute later my resolve crumbled, and I glanced at him and quickly looked away. I could feel his smirk as he kept looking at me, and I turned the other way so my back was facing him. I cut into my French toast with a fork, and I brought the fork up to my mouth. To my surprise, the French toast was actually really good. I heard rustling behind me, and I froze as I saw Eli walk up to the wall in front of me and lean against it.

"Why won't you talk to me?" He asked, now serious. I gathered up some courage to look at him, and told him the truth.

"You keep making me laugh." I said, taking another bite of French toast as I tried to keep the smile off of my face. He looked relieved when I said that, but then he looked confused.

"And that's a bad thing?" He asked with an adorable expression mixed with confusion. I shook my head.

"No… it hurts to laugh. So I'm trying not to look at you." I said quietly, peeking up at him through my hair. His fists were clenched again, and when he saw my eyes widen, he unclenched them and put on a fake smile.

"I'll try not to make you laugh anymore, okay?" He said, stuffing a large piece of food in his mouth as he looked at me.

"Okay." I said hesitantly, cutting another piece of toast with the side of my fork. I popped it into my mouth, and then watched as Eli got another huge bite of French toast. He brought it up to his mouth, and then right when he was going to eat it, he missed his mouth. There was syrup on the corner of his lips, and he looked surprised as he looked over at me to see if I had seen it.

He was too cute.

He smirked when he knew I had seen, and then brought the piece of French toast to his mouth again. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw his face full of surprise, embarrassment, and syrupy goodness. I hopped lightly off the counter with a grimace, and walked fervently over to him with a smirk of my own. I raised my finger up to wipe the syrup off his mouth, and brought it back up to mine as I licked the syrup from my finger. My eyes sparkled as I watched him lick his lips and set his plate on the counter behind me, and before I registered what was happening, his lips were on mine. Our lips moved together roughly until I pulled away abruptly, and I smirked deviously as I limped over to the counter to snatch another piece of the French toast.

"What the fuck… was that?" He asked, in a daze as he tried to catch his breath. I giggled and winced as my stomach moved again, and I cursed lightly under my breath as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Eli was at my side in a second, rubbing my upper back lightly. I whimpered and shrugged out from under his touch as my shoulders burned, and he quickly retracted his hand. I looked up at him, and he had a flash of confusion in his eyes. The confusion turned into a type of realization, and then he spoke quietly.

"Can I see?" Eli asked softly, gesturing to my back. I nodded hesitantly as I turned around, and he looked at me questioningly, silently asking permission to pull my shirt up in back. I nodded as he pulled up at the hem of my grey shirt, and I felt him pull it up so he could see my upper back. He pulled it back down gently but quickly, and when I turned around to look at him confusedly, a vein in his forehead was bulging. His eyes were squeezed shut, and he had a slightly guilty expression on his face. I put my hand on the other side of his face and made him turn to me, and his eyes opened slowly, but didn't meet mine.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, looking slightly guilty.

"For what?" I asked, trying to keep the sting out of my voice as the recurring ache came back in a flash.

"For hurting you on the stairs." He said quietly, still not meeting my eyes. Realization ran through my mind, and then I understood.

He thought he was the one who had caused the bruises on my shoulder blades and back. But he didn't, I knew that he would never hurt me. They were from when my father had slammed me into the wall. I flinched a little at the memory, and then put my index finger under his chin to make him look at me.

"You didn't hurt me, Eli." I told him sincerely, desperate to take that expression off of his face. His green eyes finally met mine, and he looked like he didn't believe a word I had said. I gulped inaudibly before I continued. "The bruises weren't from you." I said softly, looking down as I knew what was coming. He looked away, and his jaw was clenched as he spoke.

"They're from him." Eli said through his teeth, and I nodded slowly as this sunk in. "How?" He asked, and that one syllable made me tense up. I really did not want to talk about this, but I knew I had to.

"He, um… he… knocked me into a wall." I said under my breath, and removed my hand from his cheek as I backed up a few steps. I prepared myself for his anger, and backed up a few more feet until I hit another counter. I watched him turn around, and he had fiery anger present in his jade eyes.

My thoughts released a signal, and I was suddenly back in my living room, watching my dad clench his fists and glare daggers at me.

I sank down more and put my arms around myself as I waited for Eli to start shouting, but he never did. When he saw me, the anger disappeared until there were only small traces visible. His expression softened as he walked slowly and cautiously over to me with his hands sprawled open in the air in front of him, silently telling me that he wouldn't lay a single finger on me. I just clenched my eyes shut and wrapped my arms around myself tighter as he came closer. I opened my eyes slowly, and glanced at him quickly and looked down. I gulped audibly, and watched his socks move slowly across the dark grey tile of his kitchen, and he stopped when he was only a few feet in front of me. I sank down more until I was huddled down on the floor, and wrapped my arms around my knees as he looked down at me with caution and worry. I snapped out of the trance, and suddenly the feeling of fear clouding my brain disappeared as Eli's face came into view. He got down on his knees, never losing eye contact with me, and sat cross-legged in front of me. I unwrapped my arms from my knees slightly as I tried my best to make my heart slow down. He took his head in his hands as his body shook in front of me, and I had no idea what to do next.

"I'm sorry." I heard him whisper, and I reached over to put my hand on his knee. He looked up, and he had a look of shame deep within his eyes.

"S'okay." I squeaked out quietly, and squeezed his knee briefly before I pulled my hand away.

"That'll never happen again. I promise." He said sincerely, with a look of determination in his eyes. He stuck out his pinky, and I gave him a small smile before I wrapped my pinky around his, sealing his promise with one juvenile gesture.

There we were, sitting across from each other in the far corner of his kitchen, intertwining pinkies. But I still felt this relatively new feeling in my heart as we shared this seemingly strange moment, and as we parted pinkies, I felt a blush warm my cheeks. Eli smirked as he noticed the red adorning my face, and I bit my lip as the side of his lips curled up. He swiftly got up on his feet, and held out his hand to help me up off the floor. I gladly unwrapped my arms from my knees, and took his hand as he pulled me up from the floor, my converse-clad feet making a tapping noise on the tile as I stood up straight.

I could tell that he was desperately trying to get things back to normal, so that this anxious feeling in my chest would go away and I hopefully wouldn't ever have to feel it again.

Eli pulled me back over to the counter and gently picked me up. He set me on the counter, and my legs dangled off the side as he started talking about something that I'd almost completely forgotten.

"So… we have our first date tonight." He said mischievously, smirking at me while cutting another piece of French toast and bringing it up to his lips. He chuckled before purposely missing his mouth, and pointing at the syrup on his cheek with his index finger, jutting out his bottom lip as he looked at me with hope. I laughed and shook my head, and he put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Well, you can't blame me for trying…" He said cutely, shrugging his shoulders as he walked over to the sink to grab a paper towel. He dampened it with water, and wiped the syrup off of his face with a fake disgruntled expression. I giggled, and went back to my French toast. I froze as something dawned on me.

"Don't we have school today? What time is it!" I said loudly, looking on his walls for any type of clock. Eli looked at his wrist-watch, and then glanced back at me with a uneasy expression.

"It's 6:34... And school starts at 7:20. I'll drive you home so you can shower and get changed." He said with the same uneasy look on his face. I felt my hands start shaking as I thought of going back to the house that I didn't even consider a home anymore, and swallowed as my throat started to tighten. This didn't go unnoticed by Eli, and he quickly said something that made me feel better. "I can stay parked in your driveway, if you want. And then I can drive us to school after you're ready." He said, throwing away the sticky, damp paper towel and coming over to take my hand. He rubbed small shapes on the top of my hand with his thumb, and his touch automatically made me stop shaking.

"Just let me shower quick and get dressed, and then we can go. I'll only take five minutes." He said, kissing my hand and looking at me in the eye with a smirk. I gave him a small smile and nodded, and he walked into his living room and up the stairs into his bathroom. I heard the shower start after a minute or so, and after it sunk in that Eli wasn't at my side, I started to panic.

I didn't want to go back to my house. What if my dad was there? What if he had a hangover, and drank more alcohol to make his migraine go away? Or worse.

What if he knew I had snuck out last night?

I quickly reassured myself, because I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have noticed I was even gone. He doesn't give a damn about me, he hasn't since my mom died. A sad feeling overcame me, and I didn't know why. I was used to knowing my dad didn't love me or care about me, why was this effecting me so much now? I heard the shower go off, and footsteps upstairs as I assumed Eli walked into his room. I imagined him, with a towel around his waist and no shirt, and I felt my face heat up. This glowing feeling I had noticed every single time I was around him; it was still so new to me. I forgot what it felt like to love something, and it felt like he was the sun that brightened up the spiraling darkness that had turned into my life.

Wow, that was cliché.

In every love story I've read, there was always a certain point where something around the terms of that was said. I never believed any of it, but it always gave me a little bit of hope to know that someone, somewhere, was picking up their life piece by piece. I never believed in love; it had never happened to me, and I always assumed that it was fake, non-existent, a fairytale. But now, I knew exactly what those books were talking about.

I could relate to the warm feeling in the pit of my stomach that the author always talked about. I shook my head from my thoughts as I heard footsteps, and then Eli walked into the kitchen. He was wearing skinny jeans, band t-shirt, guitar pick necklace, and a light grey unbuttoned sweater.

He looked tantalizing, and I couldn't keep the smile off of my face as I saw his wet hair stray in all different directions, sticking up in random places. Even for a second, I don't have to think about what might be waiting for me at my house. I reached my hand up to smooth down the random spikes of his raven hair, and he looked confused as I did this. I licked my hand, and was about to smooth his hair down more, when he grabbed my wrist.

"No way in hell are you doing that." He said playfully, holding my wrist with a smirk on his face. He leaned in and planted a kiss on my lips, and he let go of my wrists as his lips pressed against mine. He pulled away, and smiled a real genuine smile. It made his whole face brighten, and I wanted more than anything to tell him how I felt.

I wanted to tell him that his laugh and his smile was like a drug to me, and it made me go weak in the knees. I wanted to tell him that I loved him, that I always have, and I just didn't know it. But I couldn't.

Not yet. I wasn't ready.

"Let's go." I said with a beaming smile, and grabbed his hand as he walked over to the staircase to grab his backpack, and then slipped on a pair of all black Vans: Off The Wall sneakers. He glanced at me and smiled, and then twisted the door knob. We stepped out onto his porch, and I eyed the steps with a grimace as he locked the door. We were about to go down the steps, when I paused at the top with a wince.

This was going to hurt.

Before I could cautiously step down onto the first step, Eli put his arms under the back of my knees and on the middle of my back, and picked me up from the ground. I giggled as he picked me up, and he grinned down at me as he set my feet back down on the ground. He went around to the back of Morty to put his bag in the trunk, and then shut the doors as he opened the passenger door for me. I got in and sat on the cushioned bench gently, and then he shut the door softly and walked around to get in the driver's side. He started the hearse, and as usual, it made a low rumbling noise as it started to move away from the curb and down the street. He turned on his stereo, and loud rock music poured out from the speakers.

Never gonna change my mind,

We can leave it all behind.

Nothing's gonna stop us,

No, not this time.

So take your hand in mine, it's ours tonight.

This is a rebel love song.

Hearts will sacrifice, it's do or die.

This is a rebel love song.

Eli sung along with the lyrics, and to my surprise, his voice rang through the front of the hearse. The words flowed from his lips as his hands stayed on the steering wheel, and his voice matched the pitch and level of the lyrics flowing from the stereo. His charming singing voice calmed a fraction of my nerves, and I watched his lips as they moved along to the song. I started to sway a little bit to the music, and even if harsh screaming filled the car, it was oddly relaxing as he turned onto my street. The song ended then, and Eli looked at me as I felt my throat tighten when I saw my house. My muscles tensed as I waited for the other side of the driveway to become visible, and I felt a huge weight come off of my shoulders as I saw that my dad's car wasn't parked there. He pulled into my driveway, and I was about to get out of the car when he grabbed my wrist. I turned around to look at him.

"I'll be right here." He said, flashing me a small smile as he let go of my wrist. I returned the grin, and then took fervent steps up my front walk and put my key into the lock. My front door opened, and I took one last glance at Eli as I stepped inside my house. I squeezed out of my black converse, and walked around. The house was quiet, and when I peered into the kitchen, I saw two empty bottles of Southern Comfort on the counter. One was tipped over, and it had a few small drips of clear liquid on the reddish-brown counter below the cap. I threw them in the trash can, and then surveyed the living room for anything else. There was an open copy of Sports Illustrated on the coffee table, and I eyed the familiar dented ring in the coffee table from a few nights ago. I winced as I gingerly walked upstairs and into my dad's room, and I pushed the wooden door open with a light squeaking noise. I stared at his dresser, which was piled with bottles and small square papers and napkins. I walked closer, and there were a few bottles of vodka and liquor, and the papers and napkins had phone numbers on them. I assumed they were from when he went to bars and met woman, and I rolled my eyes as I walked out of the room. I strode down the hall and into my room, grabbed a towel and washcloth, and went into my bathroom. I peeled off my long-sleeved shirt and tank top, and my shorts were next. After I was down to my bra and underwear, I scanned my body. My stomach was covered with fading greenish-blue bruises, and there was a large dark purple discoloration in the midst of all the green. I flinched when I remembered my father punching me hard in the gut, and then turned around to observe my back. My shoulder blades had blue bruises on the skin, and there was a decent-sized darker one on the top of my upper back. I turned back around, and I saw a swollen half-dollar sized redish-purple bruise on my bicep, and I grimaced as I ran my finger over it gently. I felt sick as I looked at my broken-looking body, and I quickly stripped completely and stepped into the shower after I started it. At first when the hot water hit my body, it stung a little bit. But as I wetted my curly hair, it felt relaxing. I let the warm water run down my body, and then grabbed my lavender shampoo and rubbed it into my hair. I rinsed it out, and then squirted some matching conditioner into my palm and massaged it into my scalp. I washed my body, and then rinsed out the conditioner. The towel I had grabbed was sitting on a metal bar on the wall, and I reached out from the shower curtain and grabbed it. I wrapped it around myself gently, trying not to move my stomach too much, and then stepped out of the tub and onto a bath mat. I wiped the steam off of the mirror, and then took out my blow-dryer and quickly dried my hair. I didn't take out my curling iron, because my hair was naturally curly, and the curls bounced as I moved over to the counter to grab my makeup. I applied some mascara and light-purple eye shadow, and then opened the door and stepped into my room. I put on a light pink bra and matching underwear, and then put on a pair or dark denim shorts. The shorts were just enough to cover the fading bruise on my hip, and I went to my closer to look for a tank top. I picked out a white one with thick, dark blue stripes, and then grabbed a forest green cardigan and slipped it on. All the bruises were covered, and I felt a sick feeling of accomplishment as I limped over to my bed to put on a pair of navy flats. The clock on my nightstand blinked, and it read 7:08. I grabbed my backpack from my bed, and closed my bedroom door as I stepped out into the hallway. I lightly stepped onto the first step of the stairs, and did the same until I was at the bottom. The only sounds I could hear were my shoes tapping across the hardwood floor, and Morty's engine running outside. I twisted the doorknob, and locked it as I stepped onto my porch.

I put the key in my back pocket along with my phone, and softly trotted down the front steps. I glanced at Eli, and I didn't see him anywhere. Hot tears stung my eyes as I saw him missing, and my mind went in full panic mode.

My heart pounded in my chest as I thought I was about to lose it.

The panic rang through my head, and I sprinted for the hearse. The closer I got, the louder the music became. My hip and stomach stung and ached as I ran, but that didn't stop me. When I reached the passenger side, I felt nothing but relief when I saw Eli laying there on the bench seat of the hearse, with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head.

I blew out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding, and took the time to watch his sleeping face. The sarcastic and tough demeanor was absent, and there was only a sweet and innocent expression on his face as he slept. I smiled as I opened the car door softly, and I crawled and hovered over him as I tried to reach the button that unlocks the back of the hearse. I pressed it, and then moved to get off of him when I saw that he was awake. His eyes were open, and he had a content look on his face as he smirked up at me. I blushed and moved to quickly get off of him, but he grabbed my arm. He pulled me down so he could press a soft and sweet kiss to my lips, and I was speechless as I hovered over him at a loss for words.

"Hi." He whispered, still close to my face. I giggled quietly, and planted another chaste kiss on his lips.

"Hi." I said back with a mischievous grin, and then turned my head to turn the dial of the volume down a tad. I moved to get off of him, and he sat up as I grabbed my bag from the pavement and brought it to the back of the hearse. I put it in the trunk, and then slammed the door shut forcefully and got in the passenger side. He backed out of my driveway, and drove off down my street. I stuck my arm out the window and let it fly, and I felt the air whooshing past, but it felt nice and I giggled quietly.

It made me feel free.

I heard Eli chuckle, and I looked over to him to see that he was glancing at me every few seconds with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk. I laughed again.

"Don't look at me like that." I said playfully, and giggled. "Try it, it's fun." I continued, and he put on a mock thinking face. I rolled my eyes, and then he spoke.

"Nahh, not my style." He said, keeping his eyes on the road as we turned onto De Grassi Avenue. We drove into the parking lot of Degrassi, and he pulled into his reserved parking spot. His hearse was really long, and this was the only spot he could park where the end of Morty didn't stick out. I opened my car door and stepped onto the blacktop, and Eli came around to the back to unlock the back doors. He pulled them open and grabbed both of our bags, and I was about to take mine, but he slung both of them over his shoulder right when I was going to take it. I gave him a look, and he just smirked.

"Eli, you really don't hav-" I started, but he interrupted me.

"I got it, Clare." He said softly, hiking it farther up from his shoulder, along with his own. I smiled at him, and took his hand as we started to walk across the parking lot. "So, what movie do you want to see after school?" He asked me with a smirk, and I thought about it and gave him a snarky grin after I came up with an answer.

"I really wanted to see Friends With Benefits. It's that movie with Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis." I told him, and he looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. He shrugged and looked away with his smirk.

"Whatever you want." He said, looking down at me with a small smile. My face grew a shade of pink as I took in his close proximity, and I had a flashback of our kiss in the front seat of the hearse. I heard him chuckle, and I looked up at him in question.

"That's cute." He said bluntly, his smirk growing bigger as he took in my dark pink cheeks. I decided to play dumb, and tried my best to put on a look of confusion.

"What is?" I asked him blindly, trying not to limp as Eli and I took a few mores strides together. He laughed again, and then gestured to my cheeks with his hand. I giggled and stuck my tongue out at him. A foreign look appeared in his eyes, and it was similar to the look he gave me before he attacked my lips in the kitchen. I blinked a few times as he leaned down and pressed a soft and innocent kiss on my lips, but it was interrupted by the one and only, Adam Torres.

"Wow. It's about time." Adam said with a raised eyebrow and his own version of a smirk. I rolled my eyes and released Eli's hand, but he quickly took it back and squeezed it. I glanced up at him and gave him a small grin, and Eli just smirked as he started to lean down again to kiss me. I licked my lips as I leaned in, but Adam snapped his fingers between our faces before anything could happen.

"Enough with the love fest, guys." Adam said with a look of disgust. Eli scowled at him and gave him a look. "I never thought these words would ever come out of my mouth, but… let's get to class." I just laughed, and as we walked up the front stairs of Degrassi, I heard Adam mutter something under his breath. "… Gross." I giggled, and gripped Eli's hand harder as we approached the front doors. Adam pushed his way through them, and held it open for me and Eli as I saw the familiar blue, white, and yellow setting of high school. Eli turned me so I could face him, and then kissed me on the forehead sweetly.

"I have to get to my locker. See you at lunch?" He asked with a dazzle of hope in his expression.

I nodded. "Definitely." I told him and smiled, and said bye as I let go of his hand and made my way to my locker. I got my notebook, binder, and Algebra book and then shut my locker with a pang. When I got to algebra, the class went by in a blur. I could say the same for the rest of my classes, and I almost jumped when the bell rang for lunch. I rushed out of the classroom and hurried to my locker to put my books and notebooks away, but as I approached my locker, I saw Eli leaning on it with a smirk. I strode over to him, and we engaged in some flirty banter on our way to lunch. We sat down at a yellow round table in the back of the lunch room next to Ali and Adam, and Eli held my hand under the table as he ate his apple. Him and Adam were busy talking about the latest issue of The Goon, so Ali and I talked about her and Drew. When Eli finished his apple, he grabbed my empty container of fruit salad and threw it away for me.

After lunch, all of my classes went by in a flash. I couldn't wait for the final bell to ring. When it finally did, all of the students filed out of the classroom in a hurry. The halls were flooded with students, and I squeezed my way through crowds to get to my locker. I put in the combination, and it opened with a click. I grabbed my backpack and stuffed my homework in it, and shut my locker as I slung it over my shoulder. A quick breath blew out of me as I swiftly removed it, and I rubbed my upper back as I waited for the stinging ache to recede. Once the pain went away, I strode over to the front doors and pushed my way through. Before I could get down any steps, hands went over my eyes from behind and everything went dark. I smiled as I heard Eli's voice.

"Guess who?" He said playfully, and I pretended to ponder my answer.

"Hmm… is it my handsome boyfriend?" I asked questioningly, and he chuckled as he removed his hands and turned me around.

"Well, I wouldn't say handsome… godly is probably a better description." He retorted with a witty smirk. I rolled my eyes playfully.

"My, my. When did you get so modest?" I asked him with a smile as I pulled him down the cement stairs by his wrist.

"It's natural talent." He said with a smirk as he took my hand in his. Goosebumps rose on my skin as I felt the electricity flow across it yet again.

"I'll look at movie times after I drive you home, and then I'll text you the time." He told me. I smiled, but then shook my head.

"You don't have to take me home. It's nice out today, I can walk." I told him. He looked hesitant, but nodded.

"You're sure?" He asked with a worried look in his eye. It was nice to know that I had someone that cared about me, and I smiled.

"Yes, Eli." I said as we reached the bottom of the stone steps. He pulled me toward him and wrapped his arms around me lightly, making sure he didn't cause me any pain. I smiled wider at that.

"I'll text you when I get home, okay?" He said in my ear, and I shivered as his hot breath blew across my neck. He let go of me and smirked, and I felt my face grow warm as he eyed me with an amused look on his face. I snapped back to reality.

"Okay." I muttered, my face returning back to normal. He pursed his lips and nodded. "Bye, Eli." I said, waving as I started to walk backwards.

"Bye, Clare." He said, doing the same thing, mocking me with a smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes and laughed as I turned around and started to fervently walk home. My muscles tensed and my throat tightened at the thought of returning to my house. It seemed for the millionth time I silently prayed that my dad wouldn't be home. I gulped as I walked on a crosswalk and onto a curb of a road close to mine, and as I walked to the end of the street, my phone vibrated. I halted on the sidewalk and took my phone out of my pocket. I glanced at the text, and I smiled as I read it.

There's a showing of Friends With Benefits at 4:20. Is that okay? -Eli

I couldn't keep the grin off my face as I texted him back, and the only noise I was focusing on was the sound of my thumbs on the keypad, pressing letters.

That's perfect. Can you pick me up at 4:10? (: -Clare

That gave me an hour before Eli came and picked me up for the movie. As I closed my phone and put it away in my pocket, I started to walk again. I limped lightly onto my street, and the familiar scene of my neighborhood came into view. I watched as the black lab at the end of the street walked around the green grass of the yard, and as it saw me, it started to whine and wag its tail. I thought nothing of it as I continued to walk. I felt my phone vibrate again, and I took it out and read the text Eli sent me.

Sounds good. Can't wait. -Eli

I grinned lightly and put my phone back in my pocket. I looked toward my driveway, and realized that I was so caught up in the text Eli sent me, I hadn't even noticed what was on the other side of the driveway.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing. I sighed thankfully and relief washed over my body as I took in my empty driveway, and turned onto the curb in front of my house. I trotted up the pavement of my front walk, and limped my way up the cement steps onto my porch. I took my house key out of my back pocket and put it in the lock, and turned it as I pushed the door open. I stepped in and set my backpack where I always put it, and took off my flats next to the door as I closed it. The house was empty, and I don't think I've ever been this thankful for that. I plopped down on the dark brown couch in the living room, and grabbed the remote as I put my feet on the coffee table.

My mom never let me do that. But nobody cares anymore.

I shook the thought out of my mind as I flipped through the channels on the TV, and I stopped when I got to a drama-filled program about teenagers in high school that I had eventually gotten addicted to within the past year. As the show went on, I laughed at the funny comments on it, and winced mentally as I watched two girls get into a cat fight with one another. When the episode ended, the next one came on, and I watched half of that one until my phone vibrated.

I'll pick you up in 15 minutes. Get ready for the time of your life. ;) -Eli

I laughed at his comment, and turned the TV off as I went to the kitchen for a drink. I opened the fridge and saw that, like usual, it was almost empty. I settled for a glass of water, and I was taking a few sips when I heard a car engine in my driveway.

Wow, Eli was early. Though I didn't really mind, because the more time I got to spend with him, the better. I poured the remaining liquid from my glass in the sink, and set it down on the counter. I heard the front door open, and my eyebrows pulled together in confusion. I glanced around the archway in the kitchen and peered into the living room, and my body became rigid as I saw my father come through the door. He wasn't stumbling, and as my muscles tensed and my throat tightened, I felt surprised that he was sober. I quickly retracted my head from around the corner and leaned against the light blue walls as my stomach lurched and ached at the thought of him. I heard footsteps coming toward the kitchen, and I froze against the wall as my father came through the archway. He went straight for the brown wooden cabinet on the wall, and he pulled out a bottle of Southern Comfort. He didn't bother pouring it into a glass, he just twisted the cap off and brought the bottle to his lips and chugged. I didn't dare move as he finished half the bottle, and he set it down clumsily as he turned around. Our eyes met, and I froze, even though he couldn't keep his eyes still through his drunken state. He pointed his shaking finger at me, and my stomach twisted in pain at the anger in his voice as he yelled.

"WHERE THE FUCK WERE Y-YOU… LAST NIGHT?" He screamed, and he had to hold onto the counter for support as he stared me down. I gulped loudly as I thought of a convincing lie I could tell him. But the more I thought about it, I realized it didn't matter.

Because he would hit me anyway.

"I slept over at Ali's house." I fibbed, and I could tell he was angry. I saw his eyes go blank as the large amount of alcohol finally kicked in all the way, and he grabbed the bottle and took a large swig as he pointed his clumsy fingers at me again.

"You're a fucking liar." He said sinisterly, and the sick look he gave my made my stomach do back-flips.

And not in a good way.

I felt like I was trapped there against the wall, like the my bare feet were glued to the white tile of the kitchen. I wanted to bolt out of this room, through the front door, and out of this hell that I was forced to face almost every day. But I couldn't will my feet to move. Because I knew he would chase me; he wouldn't let me go. He wouldn't let me be free, and he never will. I suddenly wished that Eli had came early like I had thought, because then I could have escaped and avoided this mind-numbing situation that I was caught in. I felt like my father was sizing me up as he glared at me from across the kitchen, with a look in his eyes that I dread whenever I see him. I wanted to curl up into a ball on the floor, and sink into the boring tile that I walked across each day. At least then I could shield myself from the impending attack that I knew would happen, and I watched as my father set the bottle down. I sank down a little bit and tensed as he stumbled across the room towards my shaking form against the wall. He made sure to really get in my head as he walked faltering drunk steps toward me, and he got up in my face as I trembled against the wall behind me. He got only centimeters from my face, and I could smell the nausea-inducing smell of the alcohol mixed with his breath. I wanted to move away, but I was cornered against the dividing that I wish would disappear. I jumped as he reached his hand up to touch one of my curls creepily, eyeing it with such drunkenness that it made my heart pound in my chest. He started to laugh evilly at my uneasiness, and he let it go harshly as he moved his face closer to mine.

"Did your little church group… ever tell y-you that lying is a sin?" He whispered in my face, and then put on a sick smile as he waited for my answer. I could stop myself from wanting to hit him, but I couldn't control the words that came out of my mouth.

"AND THIS ISN'T?" I shouted in his face, making him stumble back as I gave him a cold look with my eyes.

"You need to learn to keep your damn mouth shut." He said through his teeth while his jaw clenched. He moved closer again, and I didn't move a single muscle. He stared at me with his anger-stricken drunk gaze, and then I closed my eyes as he brought his hand up to my hair again. I flinched as he didn't hold it gently this time; he gripped it and pulled with such strength that it made me scream out in pain. I clenched my eyes shut as he dragged me into the living room by his strong hold on his hair, and he slammed me down on the ground as he stood over me and watched as I writhed in pain on the floor. The pain was unbelievable, I couldn't believe my eyes as he leaned down and started to unbutton my shorts. My eyes widened as he smiled creepily down at me.

"NO!" I screamed over and over again as he pinned my wrists down with one hand. He stopped trying to undo the zipper on my shorts, and he swung his hand back and slapped me hard across the face.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" He yelled in my face, and the smell of the alcohol on his breath wafted into my nostrils again. The tears started to fall from my eyes as he continued to try to pull my shorts off.

I flailed around as he pulled the zipper down, and my head was throbbing, but I was still thinking clearly.

No. He wouldn't take this from me.

I wouldn't let him.

I swiftly lifted my leg up and kicked him in the crotch, hard. He stumbled back onto the floor as he groaned and held his groin with both hands, and I took this opportunity to go get up off the floor quickly and dart into the kitchen as fast as I could.

I think that was the fastest I had ever ran.

My hand fumbled with the doorknob to the back door next to the cupboard, and I couldn't get it open because the cold fear running through my body was too strong. It was making me shake and fumble with the lock, and I turned around to see my father getting up off the hardwood floor of the living room. More tears fell as the tension thickened, and I turned around and cursed under my breath as I tried over and over to get the door open. It finally clicked open, and I opened it as fast as I could. Before I could cross the frame of the door, I felt strong hands grip my hair again. The tears streamed down my face as they pulled until I was back in the hell that my dad put me through. He dragged me into the living room, but not before one of his hands shut the door with a loud slam, and it echoed through the entire house. It sounded deafening amidst all my screams of terror, and I felt my dad kick my legs out from under me. I fell hard onto the hardwood floor, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt my shoulders hit the ground roughly.

"You damn bitch." He forced out through his teeth as he limped in a circle around me. I felt smug that I had left damage from my kick, but even that smugness didn't cover up the sheer terror going through my mind at the moment. He swiftly took his foot back and kicked me in the side, and I heard my scream ring all through the cold space as his foot came in contact with the already-existent deep bruises. I heard him laugh, and I looked up at him, silently pleading with him not to do it again.

But pleading never worked.

As I writhed on the wooden floor in pain, he took his foot back again and did the same thing, and I felt it even through my hands covering the spot where he had kicked me before. The pain was unbearable, and as my stomach twisted with the agony rushing through my senses, I felt this despair cloud my brain. It was telling me to give up, to just lay there as he broke me. It said that it would be the best option.

But in my heart, I knew I couldn't do that to myself again. I took all the strength I had to roll over and crawl towards the kitchen again, but I felt his cold hands grab my ankles and pull me back. I scraped my fingernails on the floor, trying to get some traction to keep him from pulling me farther back into the space. I cried out as he flipped me over, and he jabbed me in the face with his fist. I felt a metallic liquid fill my mouth, and I could only remember the taste as being blood. He stomped on my chest with his sock-clad foot, and I felt the air whoosh out of my chest as I turned over onto my stomach. I gasped and choked for air as he kicked me in my other side, and I felt blood dripping out of my mouth and onto the floor. I coughed and hacked as he kept kicking the air out of me, and I watched as blood flew out of my mouth into a pool on the floor.

The feeling reminded me of when I was a little kid. Once, when I went to go kick the soccer ball, I missed and fell flat on my ass with a loud thunk. I remember not being able to catch my breath, and I couldn't speak at all as the I had the wind knocked out of me.

This was the same thing, except it kept happening to me over and over and over again.

"HELP!" I screamed with the breath of air I had finally been able to catch, and I went right back to coughing and sputtering for air.

I screamed again, and my own voice drowned out any other noises as it rose to it's highest octave. My dad leaned down and covered my mouth with his hand, and my eyes widened as he rose up my shirt a little bit. My limbs flung around trying to stop him, and I saw him raise his eyebrows at the discolorations all over my stomach. He whipped my shirt back down, and punched me one last time in the gut with his fist. I screamed as more agony clouded my mind, and I couldn't think straight as he got up and went into the kitchen. He came back with his bottle of alcohol, and he took a swig as he watched me wiggle around on the floor in agony, as I was gripping my stomach and clenching my eyes shut as pain whirled in my body. He stood there, drinking out of that bottle, watching his youngest daughter tremble on the floor. He laughed as I looked up at him with a betraying expression, and once again, I couldn't control the two words that fought to come out of my mouth.

"Fuck you." I spat at him, and his eyes became slits as he stared down at me. He gripped the bottle in his hand as he prepared to throw it, and I quickly moved out of the way as he slammed it down only inches from my head. The sound of it gave me goosebumps, and I heard the pieces of glass dancing and bouncing on the floor near my head as it shattered. My tears mixed with my blood on wood beneath me, and I watched with dizzy vision as my dad yanked on his shoes and went out the front door, slamming it on his way out. I curled up on the floor, fighting away the blackness that wanted to consume my mind. My eyes kept drifting shut, but I forced them open as I laid there broken on my living room floor.

I felt like giving up.

This would never change. I would always come home to a drunk father, he would always beat me, he would always belittle me until I felt like a scared puddle of nothingness on the ground. I cried as I dragged myself over a few feet, and gave up as I gave in to spiraling blackness that filled my mind. It looked so welcoming compared to this earthbound hell I was damned to. I felt the room spin around me, and the walls only became flashes of light blue that seemed all too bright for this evil house. I heard the front door handle jiggle in the distance, and I went farther into the dark tunnel my mind was spiraling into. I heard a boy screaming my name, and I knew right away that it was Eli. I tried to go back the opposite direction that the tunnel was forcing me to go, but the pull was too strong. All I saw were teary green eyes looking down at my broken body, and I heard him screaming.

"Clare, look at me. LOOK AT ME. Wake up! CLARE!" He yelled, and even though I felt my eyes spinning in all directions, the last thing that I heard made my heart break. "Please wake up." He sobbed, and that was the last thing I heard before the blackness finally took me completely into it's grasp.

End of Chapter 7.

Whoaaa, there it is! For me, that was pretty long, haha. It took me a few days to write, so I hope you liked it. Did you... love it? Like it? Hate it? Leave me a reviewww, pleeeaase.

Will Clare get help, or will it escalate into something more? Take your guess in your review! I'll hopefully update soon, but i'm still pretty busy. Have a good weekend. (:

-Maceford.