Thank you eclarefanxxx, The Cliffhanger Girl, Degrassieclare23, MadameDegrassi354, Eclarexoxo, Guest, degrassiluver15, Littlemissartsi, Darkestpowerslover234, huffletodapuffle, The Sunshine ray, ZebraDolphin, boogalooshimp123, and HowToLove for your reviews! Once again, sorry for the wait. Here's the next chapter. Read, review, enjoy!


Chapter Twelve

"Uncle Adam!" Scout exclaimed the following morning. She ran straight into the apartment the second the door opened; her godfather was standing there, grinning since he was so pleased to see her.

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted, scooping her up in his arms as she hugged him. "How've you been?"

"Better," she told him.

"Alright," he grinned. "Ready for a day or fun?"

"Yeah," she said enthusiastically; Eli smiled, pleased that his little girl was gradually coming out of the shell she had been living in for so long.

"What do you want to do first?"

"Can we play a game?" she asked excitedly. Adam should have known that was coming; the two of them would always have a small tournament of games whenever they spent time together.

"Sure. You go pick out the first game and I'll be there in a second," Adam told her as he put her back on the ground.

"Okay," she said. "Bye, Daddy."

"Bye, sweetie," he said before leaning down to give her a final hug. The second she was out of his arms, she rushed farther into the apartment to Adam's collection of board games. "Thanks for watching her," Eli said to Adam once Scout was out of earshot.

"Anytime. So . . . is she doing okay?" Adam asked, recalling how Eli told him on the phone the night before that Scout finally talked about Julia in therapy.

"Now that she's let it all out, I think she can finally start coping; we'll be going to therapy for a while, but now all we need is time."

"That's good. And . . . what about you?" he asked. "You've been taking care of Scout all this time, so . . . are you getting along okay?"

If Eli had to be truthful, he did not know how he was feeling. He had many mixed emotions, considering his wife's passing was not too long ago. He was happy that Scout was feeling better and he was a bit relieved that he was not in the deep depression that he had to hide from Scout for the first few weeks after Julia's death. He had adjusted to the reality that Julia was not with them anymore, which left him with a feeling of emptiness; he also experienced guilt, for he was now growing closer to Clare Edwards when his wife had barely been dead for half a year. He felt like scum and he thought he was betraying Julia, although he was not sure if he had romantic feelings for Clare or not; the idea of him being with another woman made his heart ache and he felt ashamed any time he thought of it. He also missed her terribly; there were times when he would silently cry or he would visit her grave to talk to her just so he could have some connection with her again.

Not quite sure how to phrase all his emotions, he simply shrugged in reply to Adam's question.

"Some days are harder than others; but as long as Scout gets better, maybe that will help me a bit."

"Well, I'm here if you need anything, buddy."

"Thanks."

"You're still going to go see her teacher then?"

"Yeah," he answered.

"I hope she's okay."

"Me too," Eli agreed, wishing that he would hear good news when he got to the hospital.

"What are you going to say to her if she's awake?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Just ask how she's doing, I guess."

"What if she doesn't want to talk?"

"Then I'll just let her be and go," he shrugged. "I should get going; I'll be back in a few hours."

"Take your time."

()()

Eli stepped into the hospital, his heart pounding in anxiety from all the unanswered questions that invaded his mind. Had Clare's condition gotten better or gotten worse? Was she still unconscious? How many bruises did Jake leave on her? He was desperate to find out; he needed to know that she would be fine. He moved up to the appropriate desk at the back of the lobby, hoping to find who he was looking for.

"Excuse me," he said to one of the nurses on duty who was working behind the desk. "I'm here to see Clare Edwards."

"Are you a family member?" she asked him.

"A friend," he corrected, although he was not quite sure that they had a legitimate friendship or not.

When Katie heard about the news that someone put Clare in the hospital, she warned everyone who would be taking care of her to not let in a man who was tall, had short light brown hair, and had green eyes near her room under any circumstance. After seeing that Eli was not the person they had to be on watch for, the nurse agreed to lead him to Clare's room.

"Come this way," she instructed.

She stepped out from behind the desk before leading him down the hall to Clare's room. He followed her, his stomach hurting from fear as he forced his legs to move. He was not sure what to expect, but he hoped that the sight before him would not be too much for him to handle. He had seen Julia's lifeless body after the accident; he could recall her broken body and the fair number of cuts and blood on her beautiful face alone. If he was to witness a similar sight today, he would probably collapse.

"Miss Edwards, you have a visitor," the nurse said as she stuck her head inside a door. She opened it the rest of the way and Eli had to take a breath before looking at Clare.

She was awake and leaning against the pillows on her bed. Eli could not see much, because her torso was covered by her hospital gown and her legs were covered by the blanket. Her arms and face, on the other hand, were completely visible. She had many bruises on her arms and her knuckles were bruised (probably from self-defense). Her lip was swollen, she had a shiner in her right eye, and her left cheek was colorful because of the bruise on her skin.

"H-Hi," she choked out timidly.

"Hi," he replied.

Leaving the door open, the nurse left them alone and Eli moved towards the bed slowly so he would not startle Clare. She looked down at her hands, which were fidgeting on her lap.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see how you were," he replied. "How are you feeling?"

Clare was silent, letting her body speak for itself; she was in pain and she felt ashamed. She wanted to disappear from the world merely because she did not see fit to live on it. She allowed her boyfriend to nearly beat her to death when she knew that she should have gotten out of there a long time ago.

"Scout wanted me to tell you that she hopes you get better soon," Eli's voice said to her once he saw that she would not speak. At the sound of the child's name, Clare forgot about all her problems and turned her head to Eli.

"How is she doing?"

"She finally talked about her mom," he informed her, taking a seat in the chair next to her bed.

"She did?" Clare asked with a grin.

"Yeah," he answered. "We just have to keep building from there."

"Hopefully that means her nightmares will go away soon and she'll be able to handle cars."

"Hopefully," he repeated. Eli was taken aback, considering Clare was the one in the hospital and she was being so concerned about her student. He was in awe of her selflessness even though the first thought on her mind should have been herself.

She looked at his eyes and saw the worry within them. She knew that he had ulterior motives the second she stepped into the room, but she understood now that there was a lot on his mind.

"You didn't come here to tell me how Scout is doing, did you?"

Eli shook his head, feeling a bit unsure of how he would be able to speak now. He was glad that they did not have to beat around the bush anymore, but now he wished that they had talked about his daughter some more so he would have more time to gather his thoughts.

"He did this to you, didn't he?" he stated, unsure of what else to say.

She turned her head away from him again and stared at the wall across from her. She did not want to tell him that it was Jake who did this to her; admitting so would show that he had won and that he had forever left a horrible mark on the history of her life. Seeing that she would not answer, Eli just moved on to his next question.

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing," she responded softly.

He was shocked and terrified when he heard that word. Was she really considering letting him get away with this?

"You're not going to tell the police?"

Clare shook her head and closed her eyes, knowing that he was judging her and was disappointed. The officers who came to talk to her were disappointed when she did not tell them her story, the doctors were disappointed, and Katie was disappointed; there was no reason for Eli to be any different.

"You can't let him get away with this," his voice stated, his tone coating in mild frustration.

"I have to."

"No, you don't," he argued.

"Yes, I do."

"Why?"

"Because he'll come after me again if I say anything!" she shouted, opening her eyes and turning to Eli. Tears were in her eyes and Eli's heart broke at the sight of them. After all the tears he had shed and seen from his daughter, he had almost forgotten that there were reasons for people to cry outside of grief. "He'll probably kill me this time! He's stronger than me! I-I can't defend myself! If I let it go and keep my mouth shut, he'll come back and not kill me!"

"Do you really believe that?"

"He feels guilt," she informed him, not letting the tears fall on to her face. "He'll eventually see what he did and then he'll –."

"Apologize?" he assumed. "Even if that happens, nothing will stop him from doing this again. If you tell the police, they'll find him before he can get back to you."

"I can't."

"Why?" he asked, amazed at how stubborn she was being.

"Because I owe it to him."

"He put you in the hospital; you don't owe him anything."

"You don't understand."

"Then help me to," he instructed firmly yet softly so he would not become intimidating in her eyes.

Clare closed her eyes and rolled her lips, trying not to cry. She felt ridiculous for explaining this to the father of one of her students; she knew her reason would not be enough, but she did not want to be seen as naïve in his eyes. But she did not think she had a choice; with Jake, she had to tell the truth or he would get angry and hurt her and she did not want it to risk it happening again.

"I promised him that I would marry him someday."

"That promise became null and void when he put you in the hospital for the second time."

When Clare heard these words, she opened her eyes and turned back to him. She never told Eli about her past with Jake or that she was in the hospital before this. She believed that all he knew was that he was with this guy and she was a victim of his abuse. The last thing she expected was for him to learn that this was a mere repeat of history.

"How did you know that?"

"After Scout saw Jake hit you, I went to talk to Katie about it. She told me that he abused you and put you in the hospital," Eli explained, feeling slightly guilty about going behind her back to have her friend tell him about this.

Clare turned her head away from Eli, embarrassed that he found out about her past. She did not want anyone seeing her as a victim or as a weak woman who could not stand up for herself. She was so ashamed of herself that she did not even care that he and Katie had this conversation with her knowledge.

"I'm so pathetic," she scoffed at herself.

"You're not," he told her directly.

"I am," she retorted. "I stayed with this guy who h-hit me and . . . I didn't leave him. I thought he could change. I was such an idiot for thinking that."

"No," he said to her softly. "You were just not ready to give up on the person you love."

"Loved," she corrected. "Even if he does feel guilty about doing this to me, I can't say I love him anymore."

"You don't love him and you know that he can't keep doing this to you; if you tell the police, you won't have to see him again."

Clare did not fight the tears and they fell on to her cheeks. She took a breath and tried to wipe her eyes. Eli sat there, wishing there was something he could do to give her comfort; he wanted to hold her hand or pat her back, but he did not want to alarm her nor did he want to mix his feelings for Julia with his unresolved feelings towards Clare by performing this action that could be taken in a million different ways.

"I'm scared," she admitted. "If he comes back and . . . he finds out I turned him in to the police or if I don't want to marry him . . . he could kill me. I'll be safer if I don't do anything."

"They'll catch him and you can get police protection; taking chances with the police is better than nothing."

"Why are you so worried about me?"

"Because I care about you, Clare."

At those words, Clare turned back to Eli. She had not heard anyone other than Katie say those words to her in some time, but Katie had said them so much that they seemed to be only words and nothing more. With Eli, however, there was sincerity and care and she was hearing him when she needed the most reassurance.

Only now realizing what he had just said and the tone he said it in, Eli's face turned to a shade of pink and he quickly cleared his throat.

"Scout. Scout cares about you too."

She could not hold back her grin; whether he was simply flustered or if he was trying to show her some genuine care, she thought it was nice to see a man turn red. Jake was only red with fury and only showed sensitivity when it played to his advantage. Seeing someone one else with a softer side made her feel a bit more at peace.

"Thank you."

Seeing the care in his eyes, hearing the concern in his voice, and seeing the light pink in his cheeks made her see that there was someone out there who did care about her; Eli and Scout were worried about her and they cared about if she was hurt or not. The two of them had already been through so much and she did not want to put them through more; she did not know what would happen to her if she did not tell the police, but was more certain after talking to Eli that there would be more serious consequences from doing nothing. She did not want to put worry on the people who were caring about her, therefore she knew what had to be done.

"I'll talk to the police," she accepted.

"That's great," he responded with great relief.

"But I'm not going to hide; I'm getting back to work the second I've been discharged."

Eli admired her courage to keep going, but with the bruises and the trauma she had experienced, he doubted that this was a wise decision.

"Are you sure that's the best idea?"

"I'll wear a lot of makeup and everything to cover up the bruises; it's not like I haven't done it before."

"What about the pain?"

"It's nothing new."

"What about Jake?" he asked. "What if he does come back?"

She shrugged.

"I need to stand on my own two feet at some point; if he does come back and begs forgiveness, I'll just have to walk away, tell him it's over, and . . . never take him back. But I'm hoping that the police will find him before that, just in case he finds out somehow and comes after me."

Eli was impressed by her; she was going to keep moving despite the hell they had been going through lately. He had very rarely seen someone persevere this much and he was pleased that he had seen this trait in both his daughter and her teacher.

"That's brave, you know; you're going to keep going even though you're scared and you're going through stuff."

"You did the same thing with your daughter," she reminded him. "Is she okay?"

"She's sad that you're in the hospital; she actually wants to come see you and give you this card she made."

For the first time in many months, Clare had experienced true kindness and she felt blessed for it despite the fact that she was lying in a hospital bed.

"Will you tell her thank you for me?"

"I will. And the two of us are here if you need anything," he informed her. "Call or something if there's anything we can do to help."

Clare grinned at him, thankful for his sentiment. She saw a helpful, caring man at her bedside and she was grateful that he was being so kind to her even though she snapped at him last time they talked in the supermarket and he was going through a hardship of his own. He was putting his pain and worry aside for the two people he was watching over: his daughter and now her.

"Scout is lucky to have a guy like you for a father."


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