As the weeks went by Hailey had finally managed to completely distance herself from her friends and although she felt really upset about it and it was lonely it was better she thought to herself. The abuse had took a turn for the worse at home and Hailey literally felt like she was falling into a never ending void, the only thing that kept her going was Danny.

Everyone in the group noticed Hailey's distance she created and how they basically hadn't even talked to her in two weeks, they noticed how she had removed herself from everything and how she kept her head down and faded into the background. Erin knew what Hailey was doing and could see the physical effects of the abuse a lot worse now, her slow movements, the wincing, the bruising it was all so obvious now but she felt like she couldn't pull Hailey back in and as much as she feared the girl would eventually just fade away it was like she didn't know how to keep a hold of someone who wanted nothing more then to sink into the background.

Hailey was sitting on the bleachers outside at the back silently watching the football game that the boys were playing at lunch when Jay sat down besides her.

"Long time no see" he joked and Hailey looked away uncomfortably.

"You know everyone's missed having you around, I know I've missed you" Jay said kindly

"You want to tell me why you've decided to ghost everyone" Jay said and again Hailey didn't reply no knowing what to say

"You know I think a lot of people underestimate me, they think I'm stupid or something" Jay said

"You not stupid" Hailey said quietly speaking up for the first time

"I know I'm not, if I was stupid I wouldn't have noticed you black eye and that fact that within the forty second I've been here you've winced about six times, or how you were long sleeves everyday despite the weather or how you've been pushing everyone away so they didn't see what was really happening" Jay said and Hailey was completely shocked, she always suspected certain people knew but no one had ever just come out and said it like Jay.

"What did Erin send you" Hailey said sharply hating how it came across.

"I think people forget that not only is my father a detective but I've been through something similar with Erin" Jay said "now in Erins case it was more a situation of neglect than anything else, yours on the other hand is much worse but I still figured out how to notice the signs" Jay added and Hailey felt uncomfortable.

Jay looked at her kindly and said "look nobody sent me, not Erin or anyone else, I'm here because I care about you and I can't bare to see you just fade into the background". Hailey didn't say anything so Jay spoke up again

"Can I ask you one question" he said and Hailey reluctantly nodded

"Why haven't you told anyone" he said and Hailey didn't really want to answer that but Jay had this calming way about him that made her feel more comfortable around him.

"I turn eighteen in one year Jay" she said quietly looking at him for the first time

"One year and then you can leave and live your life" he said and she nodded her head

"Okay well then I'm just going to have to help you get through that one year" he said taking Hailey by surprise about how accepting he was of what she wanted.

"Look nobody needs to know it will be our little secret but if you still have to go through one year of that your not doing it alone so your stuck with me. so this is what we are going to do, your going to stop ghosting everyone and come back with me to eat lunch, your going to let us drive you to school again because Erins literally loosing her mind and your going to start hanging out with us again" Jay said and Hailey couldn't believe how kind he was.

"I pretty sure Erin already suspects something" Hailey said and Jay knew how observant Erin was. The problem Jay though Erin had was she needed to solve everyone's problems but Jay knew Hailey didn't want her problems solved, she just wanted to get through the next year so she could go off and be free and enjoy her life.

"Erin will just be glad that your talking to us again, plus I know she used to give you money for lunch" he said handing her money for the lunch. Hailey went to object but Jay spoke up

"You want Erin off your back she needs to think your okay and if she thinks you happy and talking to us again and paying for your own lunch she'll assume your okay" Jay told her. Hailey felt bad because she was grateful that Erin wanted to help and she didn't want Jay to think otherwise.

"It's not that I'm not grateful she cares" Hailey said and Jay spoke up

"I get it Hails, not everyone needs there problem solvers some people just need someone to help them carry it" Jay said which made Hailey feel a lot better.

"Come let's go eat" Jay said holding a hand out for her to pull herself up with.

Everyone was very excited when Jay returned to the table dragging along Hailey, Erin had been trying so hard to get her to talk to them again and she had no idea what Jay had said or done that had got her here. Erin was very surprised that Hailey had money to pay for lunch and she seemed to be smiling a look happier now, Erin was hoping that meant good things that maybe things were better now that's why she feels more comfortable around them again. She notice over the next week that Hailey and Jay had become especially close as well.

"What did you say to Hailey to make her come hang out with us again" Erin asked Jay after they dropped Hailey at home.

"I just said we missed her and that we would love it if she came and had lunch with us again, I guess from there she just started hanging out with us more" Jay lied

"That's all you said" Erin said confusingly

"That's all I said" Jay replied.

Jay had never lied about anything before that's why Erin was so quick to believe him and in a way he felt kind of bad for doing so but he had seen and took note of the abuse even before Erin had noticed, he observed and he was very aware of the abuse when he met her, the lack of care her parents showed by allowing there daughter to walk to school In freezing conditions or letting her go weeks with no food in school, he sensed Hailey's uncomfortableness around Platt and kind of gathered they knew each other, he took note that the moment Erin started to try and investigate Hailey's home life that's when she had pulled back. He loved Erin with all his heart and they had always been very close siblings but Jay didn't get much attention when Erin moved in at all because Erin was having a difficult time adjusting and dealing with everything she had been through and Hank was completely caught up in helping Erin. Nobody in that time talked to him asked him how he felt or really listened to him. He learnt in that moment how important it was to feel like people are hearing and listen to what you have to say and how your feeling. He could tell immediately with Hailey that she didn't like to let people in, she felt uncomfortable with people knowing about her personal life and the more Erin pushed her the more Hailey shrunk back into herself and felt like she needed to escape but Jay wasn't interested in trying to fix Hailey's home life or solve her problems he was interested in listening to her and doing what she wanted because Jay was pretty certain that nobody in Hailey's life actually listened to what she had to say, people all assume she needs to get away from the abuse but he could bet that nobody turned around and asked her what she wanted that's why today when he accepted her response she was so surprised that he didn't question her. He felt like he got Hailey a lot and like she got him because they weren't very open people and they thrived off each other because they knew how to deal with each other and understood each other which was why there friendship had grown so drastically in the last week.

The weeks went by and Erin started relaxing a bit more when it came to Hailey because she seemed so much happier now and she was paying for her own lunch in Erins mind completely unaware of the fact Jay was giving her money and she was hoping that things at home had changed, she knew the issues didn't magically fix themselves and there was probably still abuse going on but she didn't want to push hailey away again so she just hoped everything was getting better however they had got so much worse.

Today Jay picked Hailey up alone because Erin landed up having to work on a project at Vanessas with Kim till late last night and landed up staying the night, Kim was driving the two of them through so Jay fetched Hailey.

Hailey climbed into the car In short sleeves because it was getting warmer giving Jay a view of the intense bruising and her face was completely covered in deep purple bruises and Jay winced at the site.

Hailey ran a hand through her hair leaning back against the seat saying hello.

"You okay Hails" he said concerned

"Yea I'm fine" she said

"You know the bruises on your face are very prominent" Jay said knowing Hailey didn't want people to know.

"I know I'm going have to cover them with more makeup before I go into the school I just needed to get out of there" Hailey said referring to her home

"Everything okay" he said and she just nodded

"Come on Hails don't lie to me, I already told you I'm not going to say anything to anyone, it's just you and me remember" he said to her and she felt at peace knowing she finally had someone to talk to about this stuff.

She also loved that he called her Hails because only he ever called her that.

"My dad was out till early hours this morning drinking with his friends because they were celebrating his birthday. When I was getting ready for school this morning I dropped something and it woke him up" Hailey said not needing to finish the sentence knowing Jay could piece the rest together.

He drove them to school whilst Hailey applied make up to cover the bruises. He knew it was wrong to keep quiet, wrong to continue allowing this to go on, wrong of him not to tell his dad so she was safe and out of that home but this was her life and she trusted him. In his round about way he understood why she wanted to wait it out, he saw the performance it was getting Erin out of her home, saw how horrible things got and he didn't even want to think Hailey's home being worse than it already was and not only that but by the time the court case happened and they got Hailey out that home she would be eighteen and starting her own life.

Hailey had managed to cover the bruises as much as she could before arriving at the school. When they went to get out the car Hailey realised she left her jumper at home and there was no way she could go in like this with arms the way they were, the bruises practically made the shape of her fathers hand. Jay could see her distress.

"Here" jay said handing her his jumper, Hailey looked hesitant but Jay assured her she must take it so she put it on to cover the bruising.

When they walked through the doors and went to the lockers Erin immediately noticed the jumper Hailey was wearing and new it was Jays.

Hailey went off to her maths class whilst Erin had history with Jay.

"What's going on with you two" Erin asked Jay

"What do you mean, nothings going on" Jay denied

"Oh really so how come she's wearing your jumper" Erin asked

"Because she left hers at home so I gave her mine" Jay said

"Ooookay" Erin said not believing Jay.

Everyone had seen Jay and Hailey getting closer over the next last few weeks.

When lunch came Jay gave a still very reluctant Hailey money.

"Hey your brother informed me your birthdays coming up" Jay said and Hailey rolled her eyes

"So what" she said

"So what" Adam said in disbelief "we need to have a party"

"Absolutely not" Hailey said and the group laughed

"It's your eighteenth birthday come on Hailey don't be a buzz kill" Adam replied

"First it's my seventeenth birthday and second I don't want a party" Hailey said

"Aww your a baby" Kevin said and Hailey playfully hit his shoulder

Hailey just sat back laughing as Adam planned the party that she would never allow, he knew that and the group knew that so it was all just jokes but what concerned Hailey was the fact that her brother told Jay. Jay had got to know her brother as he had been there whilst he had phoned a couple of times and knew that Jay was aware of her him situation.

The rest of the day went by and there was nothing Hailey wanted less than to go home. Whilst Jay drove her home it was one of those times Hailey silently wished that Erin was in the car as she seemed to sense these things but Jay just drove her to her house and even though he asked her if she was okay she didn't want to ask him if she could stay at his place because although he would accept her with open arms and she trusted him she just couldn't bring herself to ask for help because that made it real for her so instead she said she was fine and instead dragged herself in her home.

That night Hailey felt like curling into a ball and crying because she just felt so tired of everything, her mother was the only home when she first arrived home and they were having such a great time until her dad showed up to the house drunk and it was moments like this that broke Hailey because she saw the kind of life she could have with her mom, a life were her brother would feel more comfortable coming home and she could actually form a relationship with her mother, were she felt safe but it couldn't be that way because her dad wasn't going to change and her mom couldn't bring herself to leave him.

What was worse was when Hailey got the phone call she had kind of expected but also feared. Her brother phoned to tell her that he could no longer come back to Chicago for her birthday because his work was sending him to Thailand to do a report over there and he couldn't get that week off anymore, he apologised and Hailey could tell how sorry he was so she just smiled and said it was fine and that her friends had already started making plans so he shouldn't stress which made him feel better and when she hung up the phone she just couldn't stay in this house tonight, she just couldn't, not tonight so she phoned Jay and forced herself to ask him if she could stay the night at his place instead which he of course said yes too.

Erin was thrilled to see Hailey, there dad was working late so he wasn't going to be home till much much later but Erin knew something must be going on between the two of them when she phoned Jay instead of her to stay the night.

Erin still had no idea what Jay had said to Hailey to make her join the group again, had no idea what he had done that had caused them to form such a close bond but Jay was a great guy especially for Hailey Erin thought to herself.

They ate dinner and watched a movie, during the movie they all landed up falling asleep on the couch and when Hank arrived home with Trudy who was going to stay the night as she lived further away and it was already so late he walked into the lounge to see Erin, Jay and Hailey all fast asleep on the two couches. Hailey's and Jay were both asleep on one with the heads both resting on the headrests opposite to each other and Erin had fallen asleep on the other couch. Erin woke up when she heard Trudy and Hank walk in.

"Hey" she said to them getting up and walking through to the kitchen with them.

"Hey, I see Hailey's here" Hank said and she realised they had never checked with him.

"Oh yea sorry" Erin went to apologise but Hank interrupted

"It's fine she's welcome here any time I just haven't seen her in a while" Hank said

"Yea I though you said she had distanced herself" Trudy said

"She did but Jay seemed to convince her to hang out with us again, those two have been inseparable these last few weeks" Erin told them.

They talked for a bit before Hank told Erin to go get some sleep before school tomorrow. When Erin went upstairs to her room Trudy spoke up.

"You think there's something going on between those two" She asked referring to Hailey and Jay

"I'm not sure, I didn't even think Jay and Hailey really spoke to each other much" he told Trudy.