"We need to talk" She announced, as he instantly opened his eyes in response.
He frowned when he saw her standing near the barrier, and took a few seconds to realise that it wasn't a dream.
"About?" Ward asked, groggily, sitting up.
"You" She replied.
Ward nodded. He had been waiting for a moment like this, a moment where he could try to explain. The problem was he wasn't sure if he understood his situation himself.
"I don't think they believe you anymore about what happened to you as a kid. They certainly never even considered it about Garrett" Kayla told him, sitting down.
"It's understandable" Ward stated.
"Look, let's just start from the beginning...how young?" Kayla clarified.
"How young?" Ward questioned.
"When was the first time they beat you?" She queried.
"I was four…I broke a plate and my mum kicked me to the floor and started to beat me" Ward answered.
"Your father too?" Kayla inquired.
"When he was around" Ward commented.
"What you said about your older brother…making you do things, was that true?" Kayla asked.
"Yes" Ward replied.
"…I got fostered by a family like that once, the rich kind. Everyone was so jealous. I soon realised they only took me in because they knew an adopted daughter would look good. I wasn't very good at getting ordered around, so I would show the family up a lot…and they really didn't like that. Some people guessed what was going on when they saw the bruises, but they didn't say anything. I was just some orphan, they probably thought I was lucky to live with a family like them…maybe even deserve the beatings…" Kayla trailed off.
"What happened?" Ward questioned.
"I went into a jewelers, broke the glass of one of the cases and took enough jewelry that I could carry…they got real confused when I didn't run away. I waited there for 20 minutes for the police to come and arrest me. The next week I was back in care…they didn't want the bad press" Kayla explained.
"That's just the thing. There are so many kids out there who had a worse childhood than I did and they didn't turn into serial killers" Ward sighed.
"You weren't just abused when you were a kid though were you?" Kayla suggested.
"It was different with John…I could make my own decisions. I could have left that forest if I wanted to, but I stayed and-" Ward started, but was quickly cut off by Kayla.
"Forest?" She queried, confused.
"Garrett broke me out of juvie when I was 15" Ward informed her.
"Why were you in jail?" Kayla asked.
"I tried to burn my family's house down with my brother still inside" Ward replied.
"Well that was a pretty stupid move" Kayla stated.
"My parents sent me off to military school a year before…things got worse for my little sister while I was away…" Ward trailed off.
"I mean a fire though? Couldn't you just stab him in some alleyway?" Kayla inquired.
"That's pretty dark...but I didn't realise he was in the house at the time...I guess I just wanted to burn the memories I had off my childhood, and that was my way of doing it" Ward exclaimed, as Kayla shrugged.
"What happened after he broke you out?" Kayla questioned.
"He took me to a forest and left me there" Ward told her.
"He didn't give you any supplies? Nothing?" Kayla queried.
"He gave me a dog…Buddy" Ward answered.
"So that's who Buddy was" Kayla realised.
"What?" Ward inquired.
"You used to call out his name in your sleep a lot…I'm a really light sleeper" Kayla explained.
"How long did he leave you out there?" Kayla asked, a moment later.
"He came back after 6 months" Ward announced.
"6 months?! You went a whole 6 months without talking to anyone?" Kayla inquired.
"I went 5 years without talking to anyone but Garrett" Ward shrugged.
"5 years! My God, no wonder you have communication problems…and a load of other problems on top of that" Kayla exclaimed.
"As I said I could leave if I wanted to" Ward insisted.
"Oh please, you were a wanted guy. You knew Garrett was your only chance at not getting thrown back in jail" Kayla stated.
"Well everything after that was my decision. It's not like I had my free will taken away from me" Ward explained.
"It sounds like your trying to justify your actions more to yourself than me" Kayla suggested.
"I know what I am" Ward told her.
"And what's that? A monster?" She asked, as he nodded.
"You're not a monster, Ward. Your family, Garrett they were the real monsters" Kayla theorized.
"Now who's trying to justify my actions?" Ward said, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll never forgive you for what you did. No one will. And there's nothing you can do to earn that forgiveness, no matter how much Hydra information you give…This is about you. About being able to look in a mirror and not hating what you see" Kayla explained.
"Well I'm not actually allowed a mirror in here" Ward stated, with a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, smart guy. I know how terrible it must be not be able to stare at yourself in the morning" Kayla retorted, as Ward scoffed.
"How am I supposed to not hate myself? After everything I've done?" Ward inquired.
"Well you can start of by helping me. I want answers about my family and I know you can get them" Kayla told him.
"How am I supposed to do that from a cell?" Ward questioned.
"Oh please. We both know sooner or later Coulson is going to get rid of you. You'll escape. When you do I want you to find Skye's father" She informed him.
"How can you be so sure I'll escape?" Ward queried.
"With a little warning from me when the times comes…I'm sure you'll figure something out. You always do" She exclaimed, as she started to walk away.
"Why…why did you change your mind? About looking for your family?" Ward asked.
"People like me are dying more and more everyday…I don't want to be the last one left. Not if I don't have to be" She told him.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! So, it looks like things might be starting to thaw between Ward and Kayla, but there is definitely still a lot of work to do. Let's hope that Ward can earn her trust back. Please leave a review:)