Hey Guys, here's chapter 8! It's shorter, because I kind of wanted to put the story in chunks for this part. Enjoooy. (:

~Disclaimerrr: I don't own Degrassi or any of it's characterss! But I can dreamm, right!

"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 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.

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

The darkness had controlled me and pulled me deeper and deeper within itself. I shot out of the tunnel for a brief moment, and my eyes fluttered open as I took in my surroundings. I was in a car, a hearse to be exact. I was leaning on the driver, who had green eyes and raven hair. Eli?

"Eli?" I heard my voice say, sounding disoriented. I never got to hear anything more, because I was sucked right back into the spiraling tunnel of darkness.

I don't know how long I had been floating in this dark place of nothingness, but I flew backward in darkness.

I could hear voices and beeping noises as I became more aware of the surroundings outside the tunnel, and I attempted to listen.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Why won't you tell me what happened?" I heard a women say. Wait… Cece?

Silence was all that followed that question.

Beep. Beep.

"Eli?" Cece asked with a hint of worry in her voice, and the tunnel stopped spinning as I heard his name.

"What?" Eli snapped in a harsh voice, and then apologized. "Sorry, sorry…"

As I was listening to this, it almost seemed as if I was trying to listen through a thick pane of glass. Their voices sounded distant coming through my ears, and I strained to listen harder as I heard them talking more.

"-not my secret to tell." Eli finished, and I was confused as I didn't hear the first half of the sentence.

Beep. Beep Beep. Beep.

I was trying desperately to remember where I was, what had happened, at least something. But nothing came to me.

I heard Cece sigh, and as I listened intently for anything to give me clues, I heard a man clear his throat.

I felt my mind freeze, and then everything came flooding back to me.

The kitchen. My dad hitting me, kicking me, breaking me. Agony. My dad attempting to... rape me. Trying to escape. Being dragged back in. Being broken again. And again. And again. Pain. Blood. Tears. Stomping. The front door opening. Eli screaming my name. Being engulfed in the blackness. Everything.

I heard the beeping increase in speed.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP BEEP.

"What's happening?" I heard a gruff voice say, and I can only describe it as being Bullfrog's. I felt someone squeezing my hand, and I backtracked out of the tunnel as everything came back.

"Clare? Clare, can you hear me? Clare?" I heard Eli ask, and then I felt my hand being squeezed again. "NURSE!" He shouted loudly.

I sucked in a harsh breath of air as I stepped out of the tunnel completely, and my eyes whipped open as I heard footsteps rushing toward me. I felt tears rushing down my face as the feeling of despair made itself present in my mind, and I took in the blinding white walls of the room I was in. I started to panic and move to the other side of the bed, and grimaced and squeezed my eyes shut as my stomach felt like it was breaking in half. I looked around in fear as I saw a nurse, Bullfrog, Cece, and… Eli.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

What the hell was that? I looked around to find the source of the continuous beeping noise, and found a large monitor on the other side of the room. It had green and red squiggly lines on it, and then it dawned on me.

I was in a hospital.

The tears flowed faster as I realized that my secret might be out in the open for everyone to see.

I watched in confusion and panic as a nurse came to my side with a syringe, and I backed away again in fear as she came closer. The animalistic pain came back in a pang, and I took a sharp intake of breath. I felt my hand being squeezed again, and I turned around to see Eli behind me with a blank expression as he kept his eyes on his mother. I felt a sharp pain in my arm, and I turned again to see the nurse sticking the needle into my right arm. I blinked as tears fell over the rim of my eyes, and then she pulled it out and stared intently at the heart monitor. The beeping slowed, and I felt my mind become clearer and more calm as the nurse had a satisfactory look on her face. She put the empty syringe on the metal tray across the room, and I closed my eyes briefly as the pain in my stomach disappeared, and I felt as if I was floating.

"Clare?" I heard Eli whisper from the chair next to the bed. I turned toward the sound of his voice, and my eyes flew open and blue eyes met a pair of green ones. All I wanted to do was hug him and take the pain out of his eyes, and it was very evident that he was tired, because he had dark bags under his eyes. Wait… what day was it?

"What…" I said quietly, closing my eyes as I pondered. "What day is it?" I asked, reopening them and looking at him. I was suddenly very aware of Cece and Bullfrog staring intently at me as Eli thought. He coughed and looked down at the hospital bed, and back at me.

"I've stayed here with you... it's, um… it's Wednesday morning." He said softly, and my eyes widened. When I did that, another tear fell over the edge, and I watched as a nurse got a tissue from the bedside table and raised it to wipe my face. I flinched and shrunk backwards on the bed as her hand came closer, and she quickly put on a confused expression as she put her hand back down. I shook my head as the panic and fear I had adapted from Monday night clouded my mind, and I watched again as Eli gestured for her to give him the tissue. She reached across me and I shrank back again, and the nurse eyed me strangely. He took the tissue and reached up to wipe my face, but I didn't shrink back this time.

I trusted him.

The nurse smiled lightly and she walked across the room in her brightly colored scrubs, and she exited out the doorway as she realized she wasn't needed any longer. Eli dabbed at my cheek with the same blank expression, and I winced as he hit a spot much lighter than all the rest. He quickly apologized, but I put my hand to my cheek and flinched as I felt the strong ache there.

That's where my dad jabbed me in the face. I stared blankly at the sheets covering me from the waste down, and I was surprised to see that I still had the same clothes on. My tank-top had dark smudges on it, and my sweater had traces of something similar.

"I told them you wouldn't want a hospital gown." Eli whispered, and for the first time it felt for a long time, I gave him a small smile. I looked down at my shirt again, and this time I noticed an odd bulge. I pulled my shirt up a little bit, and saw multiple bandages there, wrapped all the way around my torso. I looked at Eli accusatorily, and he sighed.

"Can I talk to her alone?" He asked Bullfrog and Cece, and they nodded and got up to leave. Cece flashed me a smile before she left the room.

"What is this?" I asked him, gesturing to my bandaged stomach. He shook his head as he released my hand and I watched as he clenched and unclenched his hands.

"You have, um… he gave you four broken ribs." He said quietly with a hint of hate in his voice. I couldn't look him in the eye, so I concentrated on the abstract painting on the wall to my right. What he said next made me feel so strange, like I had guilt. "The doctors also said you had evidence of previous fractures." He said quietly, with an unknown emotion in his tone. I didn't say a word. "Why didn't you ever tell anyone?" He asked softly, and I lost it.

"It's not that easy." I snapped at him, and it appeared that my tone didn't have any effect on him.

"You just ha-" He started, but I interrupted him.

"YOU. DON'T. GET IT." I yelled loudly, and realized that my voice sounded raspy, and threw my hands in the air. I stopped to stare at the tube going into my arm, and I shook my head as another tear fell down my cheek. Anger surged through me, because truly, he doesn't understand. I whispered harsh words under my breath. "Imagine if Cece died, and then your dad was drunk every single time you see him. Think about it. What if Bullfrog scared you shitless every time you saw him. Imagine him hitting you and saying such cruel things to you, you felt like dying. What if he was the only family you had left, and even though he hit you almost every day, you still loved him. You'd hate it, just like I do!" I said, laughing bitterly. He had a pained look on his face as I kept rambling, but the word vomit just kept coming. "I love him and hate him at the same time." I said miserably, but continued. "He doesn't give a shit about me. All he cares about is fucking alcohol he pours down his throat. Just to prove a point, he isn't even here right now!" I yelled, gesturing around to the room.

I heard the heart monitor speeding up a little bit as I remembered my dad trying to take off my shorts, of him trying to break me further, when he tried to rape me. He stayed silent, but went to grab my hand again. I ripped it away from him, and wrapped my arms around myself as the memory flashed in my head.

"You're right. I wouldn't want to tell anyone either." He said with a look that had defeat, anger, and concern all in one.

I went back to thinking about when my father tried to…

I couldn't even say it.

It made me sick.

I quickly covered my mouth with my shaking hand as bile rose in my throat. I closed my eyes and waited for the nausea to pass, and I removed my hand when it did. I glanced at Eli, and he looked panicked and worried as he watched my every move.

"Are you okay?" He asked, keeping his hand a good distance away because he knew I didn't want to be touched. "What's wrong?" He asked sincerely, with an alarmed look on his face.

"I'm fine. It's nothing." I lied, and looked him in the eye so that he'd believe me. He shook his head and put on a forced-looking smirk.

"Like I said before." He took my hand. "You're a terrible liar. What is it?" He asked.

I didn't want to tell him. No way in hell was I going to. I thought of something else to tell him that was also the truth, something that'd been eating away at me since my dad threw the glass bottle at my head.

"I thought he was going to kill me." I said softly, looking down. "And I almost gave up. I almost wanted him to." I mumbled quietly, and I felt him trace small circles on top of my hand, which always calmed me down. I saw sadness in his eyes when I looked at him, and I quickly looked down again.

"I'm glad you didn't give up." He said, and I felt his eyes on me as I looked down at my smudged teal cardigan. "'Cause I wouldn't want to live without your snarky comebacks and blushes whenever I get close to you." He said with a real smirk, and I giggled at his ability to break the tension. He smiled and stood up, and he leaned down as he licked his lips. I felt a red blush adorn my cheeks, and he smirked again.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP BEEP.

"Damn." I cursed under my breath when I heard the heart monitor continue beeping with a bit faster pace

. Eli chuckled, and I felt the piney, minty scent of his breath on my face. I breathed in the pleasant smell, and he swiftly leaned down and planted a sweet kiss on my lips. We pulled apart and he caressed my bruised cheek with his palm. His lips curled up on side into his signature smirk, and I felt a smile creep onto my face as he looked at me with relief.

"I'm glad you're okay." He said quietly, and then his hand moved from my cheek to an auburn curl of hair that was in my face. He tucked it behind my ear, and I smiled at the loving gesture.

"Me too." I said back, the smile unable to leave my face.

And I knew it was true.

End of Chapter 8.

Sorry, haha, this was a lot shorter. But, like I said up there, I wanted to sort it out into chunks. So yeahh. Did you... Like it? Love it? Haaate it...? Tell me in a review! Hopefully next chapter will be up later this weeeek.

-Macyy.