Hey everyone. I told you I didn't know when I would be posting again. But I tried as hard as I could to get more for you soon. I am posting Chapter 8 and 9 now. Chapter 10 will be up by this afternoon. Hope you guys like it!
As always, Read and Review! Thanks!
Clare's POV
Some time later, I awoke to a commotion. I groaned, before rubbing my eyes and sitting up. I glanced over at the door, and saw Bianca and Imogen stumbling into the room. They were unusually quiet, so the commotion was not involving them. It was Adam. He was sitting in the corner opposite from me. He was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. Eli was trying to coax him from going into a panic attack.
Adam was hysterical, and it made my heart clench to see him like that. Eli's tactics seemed to be working because eventually Adam just leaned into Eli and was just crying. He was no longer shaking but he was on the verge of sobbing. Eli patted his back, and glanced over at me. He had a look of sadness and relief in his features. Eventually Adam seemed to have fallen asleep, and Eli laid him on the ground, in the corner. He came over to me, sitting beside me, sighing.
"Is he going to be okay?" I asked hesitantly.
"Eventually." Eli replied.
"What—What did they do to him?" I asked. I knew that I definitely didn't want to know, but my mouth had other thoughts.
"Remember when I said that guys are never raped?" He began, looking over at me finally. I nodded, and he continued. "Well. That rule doesn't exactly apply to Adam."
"What? What are you talking about?" I asked frantically. My thoughts were spinning in my head. Questions were swirling and I didn't know what to ask first. Eli continued before I could choose one.
"Adam isn't exactly a guy. Physically." He explained. "He's transgender."
"How long has he been transgender?" I asked. Honestly. This wasn't the weirdest thing I've heard.
"He says he knew since he was like seven or eight. But he mentioned that he has only been dressing as a guy since he was thirteen, fourteen." He answered.
"I am assuming that the guards found out. When?"
"A few beatings into his stay here. They shredded his clothes enough that they saw the ace bandage he uses to flatten his chest. They questioned him, to which he didn't have an answer. They practically tore the rest of his clothes off, only to find out that he was, physically at least, a girl. They beat him even more that we thought he was going to die. When he didn't, I was thankful. I couldn't lose another person to this fucking hell hole. They've only raped him since. Never really beating unless they get upset with him. But they know that raping gets to him. More so than any girl here. So they usually just stick to that." Eli finished speaking.
It was a lot to take in. For one, I felt like I should protect Adam, keep him from this place. Not like I could do much in protection but it's a thought. And then there was the fact that Eli mentioned again that he lost someone here. I wanted to ask but he looked so defeated and lost in thought that I really didn't want to push any further, tonight at least. Eventually, I was going to find out what happened here. What happened to have Eli, and Adam, not want to talk about it.
I didn't really know what to do to comfort Eli. He had a really sad expression and I wanted to cheer him up. Since he was lost in thought, I decided to remain quiet. Instead, I scooted closer to him, wrapping my arms around his arm. I curled into him, and leaned my head onto his shoulder. He didn't acknowledge me, or even that he was there. He was still lost in thought, but I didn't care. He needed some sort of comfort, and I could feel him relax a little.
I don't know how long we sat like that but I knew that it was what we both needed. Some sort of comfort from someone who cared.