Eli's POV

I ran my hands through my hair again. Where the fuck was she? I was pacing back and forth in my living room, throwing anxious glances at the clock. It was eleven thirty-seven. She had promised to be back by eleven. I sank onto the couch and put my head in my hands. Where was she? Jayden never stayed out late. She was changing. I had seen so little of my daughter in the last month. She was always staying out late, and then getting up early on weekends to go hang out with her friends. The friends I had never met. The friends who never came over to dinner, or to sleep over. The friends that Clare had never been introduced to.

Maybe I just wasn't a good father. I ran my hands through my hair again. I've been spending so much time helping Clare with the baby, and working extra hours too. My daughter was slipping through my fingers. "Eli, she'll come home." Clare whispered. I turned to look at my beautiful wife. She bounced the baby in her arms, and her face was calm, but I saw the fear burning in her eyes. Oh, Jayden, do you know what you put me and your mother through? The door slammed shut and Jayden walked into the room. "Oh. Um, hey." Jayden said. "Where the fuck have you been?" I snarled. Jayden blinked, surprised.

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Somewhere."

"With who?"

"My friends."

"Which friends?"

"Um..Alex Steele…Annie Clark….Christine Prosperi…"

"How come we haven't met them?" I hissed.

Jayden laughed. "They're not exactly the type of friends you bring home to dinner. If you don't mind, I'm going to bed. I'm sorry I came home late, I lost track of time."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to keep track of time when you're in your room for the next week. You're grounded." She deserved some kind of punishment.

Jayden just rolled her eyes and strolled past her mother up to her room. My hands tightened into fists. She was keeping secrets from me. Grounding her wouldn't stop her. Tomorrow I was going to follow her, and find out what she was hiding.

Jayden's POV:

My tears began to flow before I even made it to my room. I locked the door and turned on music really loud. I collapsed on my bed and sobbed. I love Alex. I love him so much. I pulled my shirt off and looked at the bruises on my arms and ribs. His fists…His boots. I sobbed, lightly tracing over the bruises. As much as those bruises hurt me, it hurt me so much more to see him whenever he did it. So cold and distant, with his eyes bright and burning at the same time. His father must have hurt him so badly to turn Alex into this. But I loved the other Alex. The one that held me tight and whispered my name and kissed me so gently, as if he was scared I might break. Both Alex's were two sides to one coin, neither able to exist without the other. And I loved him too much to give him up.

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