She was 7 when she was first hit. First hit by her father. Being a young kid, she didn't understand why he was hitting her, but there was one thing he made very clear.

"If you ever tell anybody, I will make you feel pain like never before," he had threatened. Every single time he hit her, or anyone for that matter, those words were spoken. The older she got, the more she realized that she could tell somebody and save her brothers and herself, but that threat always hung over her head.

Years of abuse went by and suddenly, Hailey was fourteen, starting grade nine. Nothing had changed from when she was 7. Her father was still heavily drinking, and her family had to suffer with the wrath of him. She was still constantly being questioned about her injuries. She still had to pretend she was accident-prone. The threat of her father was always in the front of her mind.

Hailey had never made any friends. She would always keep her head down, avoiding any conflict. No one really wanted to be her friend, anyway. Everyone was always talking and laughing in their own friend groups, and Hailey would always sit in a corner, thoughts racing through her head.

Starting high school, she didn't think that this would change. She just figured that her school life in high school would be the same in elementary and middle school. And it was. She kept her head down, her hoodie up to hide the bruises and cuts.

It was just another day at her high school and Hailey was walking towards her next class. She wasn't looking where she was going; everyone avoided her anyway. This time, someone bumped into her, and she dropped her papers.

"Sorry," she mumbled. She kneeled down to pick up her papers. The person who bumped into her kneeled down as well to help her, "No, that was my fault. I wasn't looking as to where I was going,"

Hailey looked up, surprised. What she saw was a nice-looking young man. He had green eyes and light brown hair. He chuckled and smiled at her, picking up the last of the papers, "I'm Jay,"

He gave the last of the papers to Hailey, standing up and brushing dirt off his pants, "Where you headed to?"

Hailey hesitated before answering, "Science,"

"Same," he answered, "I'll walk you,"

They walked together to their next class, right before the bell rang. Hailey took a seat in the back corner. Jay went to sit in his normal seat but changed his mind and sat right beside her. When she looked over at him, surprised again, he smiled. Class quickly started and Hailey groaned when they were told that they would be doing a project. It wasn't that she hated projects, it was the fact that they had to do it with a partner. She figured that Jay would want to partner up with one of his own friends. As if on cue, one of his friends walked right up to him.

"Yo, Jay-Jay,"

"Dude, quit calling me that," Jay sighed. His friend shrugged, "Whatever. You wanna partner up, or what?"

Jay looked over at Hailey, and then back at his friend, "Nah. I'm gonna pass. I think I'm gonna partner with her," he nodded to Hailey. His friend looked shocked, "Her? Out of all people, her?"

"Dude, shut up. She's really nice. Go partner with Riley, or someone," Jay said. Once his friend walked away in a huff, Jay turned around to Hailey, "What do you say?"

"You didn't have to do that," she muttered. He frowned, "What?"

"Tell him off. You didn't have to do that,"

"He's a jerk. He says that about everyone. I wanna partner with you," Jay told her, "Speaking of which, I didn't catch your name,"

"Hailey Upton,"

"Jay Halstead," he held out his hand for a shake. When Hailey didn't reach to take it, he pulled back, "Do you not like handshakes?" Hailey shook her head, "I don't like being touched,"

"Okay. Thanks for telling me, I'll keep that in mind," Jay respected that. He gave her a thumbs-up to make sure she understood that he understood.

Secretly smiling, she nodded, and they started to work. She'd never met someone who wanted to be partners with her or stuck up for her. In fact, her family was the complete opposite of that.

The class quickly ended and since that was the last class of the day, Jay asked, "Would you want to come over to my house? You don't have to if you don't want to, I just thought that it'd be nice to get to know each other," he stuttered. Hailey thought. She didn't want to face her father, but she also didn't want him asking where she'd been. She's been through this, and it always ended up badly. Quickly deciding that she just didn't want to see her dad, she answered Jay.

"Okay. Thanks," she quietly said. Jay smiled, "Okay, let's go. My dad's gonna be here any minute,"

"Will he be okay with me coming over?" Hailey was nervous. She'd never been to someone else's house. Jay gave her a soft smile, "Of course. My dad will be cool with it. I promise," he promised, seeing how nervous Hailey was. They walked out to the car where Jay leaded her, and just as they were about to get in, a red-headed boy came running.

"I call shotgun!" He yelled. Jay scoffed, "Whatever, man. Quit yelling,"

"Nice to see you too, Jay," the boy climbed into the car. Jay's dad turned around to see Jay and Hailey climbing in, "Who's this, Jay?"

"Dad, this is Hailey. Hailey, that's my dad and my older brother, William, but we call him Will," Jay introduced his family. Hailey shyly waved, not making any eye contact with any of the Halstead's. The drive was quick and smooth, and soon enough, Jay's dad was unlocking the door to the house. Will rushed in, throwing his stuff on the ground.

"Will Halstead!" He scolded, "Pick up your stuff! Video games can wait,"

This made Hailey flinch. She didn't like people raising their voices. It reminded her of her dad when he was drunk. Jay noticed this and frowned, "Was that loud?" Hailey nodded, looking like she was about to cry. Jay's dad was watching and immediately felt bad, "I'm really sorry, Hailey. I'll be quieter,"

Hailey nodded, pulling her hood up further. Jay led her up to his room, inviting her to sit down.

"So, this is my room. Sorry it's a little messy, I haven't cleaned it yet," he said, picking up stuff. Hailey genuinely didn't mind the mess, "It's fine," she picked up a book off the ground, reading the title out loud, "A Medical Guide for Dummies,"

"Oh," Jay laughed, "That's my brother's, he must have left it in here. He wants to be a doctor when he's older,"

Jay finished picking up his room and sat down beside Hailey, making sure that he was a good distance from her. He didn't want to get too close and make her feel uncomfortable, "So…tell me about you,"

Hailey was confused. There was nothing to tell, "Hm?"

"You know, what do you like to do? Hobbies?" Jay clarified.

"Nothing, really. My family doesn't do much together," Hailey answered. She wasn't lying; the only time her family were altogether would be when her father was drunk and hitting his family. That was something that Hailey didn't like to think about. The pain that came to living with the other Upton's. The pain that came with her father.

Jay was about to say something, but was interrupted by Will barging in, "Jay! Dinner's ready,"

"Dude, knock," Jay reminded him. Will scoffed, leaving the door open as he ran back downstairs. Jay turned around to face Hailey, "Did you want to stay for dinner? My dad will drive you home if you don't want to,"

Hailey was about to answer, but her phone buzzed, telling her someone texted her. She checked her phone, seeing that it was her mom. She sighed, knowing that it wasn't her dad.

Mom: Hailey, where are you?

Hailey quickly texted back.

Hailey: I'm at a friend's house.

Mom: Your father's drunk again, it's not looking good.

Hailey: Do you want me to come home?

Mom: No, it's safer if you stay where you are. He'll probably be done soon. Just…just come home soon.

Hailey: Okay. I'll get someone to drive me home soon.

Hailey faced Jay, "No one's home at my house and my parents don't trust me alone. I'll stay," she lied. Everyone in her family was home and they sometimes left her home alone for hours at a time. Jay believed this and led her downstairs to the table. Hailey was surprised to see a hot home cooked meal sitting on the table. Normally, whenever she actually got dinner, it was almost always a free-for-all for whatever was in the fridge. The occasional time, Hailey would be able to buy a small portion of food from a fast-food restaurant and would proceed to share it with her brothers. But that was rare.

Hailey watched as Jay and Will started setting the table. Thinking that she was expected to help, she asked, "What can I do to help?"

"Don't worry about it, Hailey. You sit down; you're a guest," Jay's dad said. Again surprised, she sat down and felt bad as she wasn't helping. The boys quickly set the table and food was served. Hailey really hungry and loved the meal. After the meal, Hailey actually felt full for the first time in a long time. She leaned back against the chair and sighed, full and satisfied.

"You liked dinner?" Will chuckled. Hailey nodded, "Thank you for dinner,"

"It was our pleasure, Hailey," Jay's dad told her, putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Hailey's phone went off again, and she rushed to check it, thinking it was her mom. But it wasn't.

Father: Where the fuck are you?

Hailey didn't answer the phone and instead put it back in her pocket. It buzzed again, her father texting her. Again, she didn't answer. As it went off again, Hailey still didn't check it. Eventually, he stopped texting her, relieving Hailey. The buzzing of her phone stopped for a while, and she could hear Will making fun of Jay, Jay trying to defend himself. She was finding the teasing pretty interesting and turned around in her chair to watch.

Hailey's phone went off again, but it wasn't her father texting her this time. It was her father calling her. Knowing she couldn't decline or ignore the call, she excused herself to a different room and answered.

"Father," Hailey frowned, even though her dad couldn't see it.

"I texted you multiple times!" His loud voice made Hailey jump, "Where the fuck are you?"

"What do you care? It's none of your business,"

"How dare you!" Her dad screamed, "I am your father! You will respect me! Now tell me where you are!"

"No," Hailey refused. She could practically see smoke coming from her dad's ears, "Excuse me?"

"No. I'm not telling you where I am,"

"Oh, you better get your sorry little ass back here! You have to come back at some point, and when you do, you'll regret it! Every second they you're not here is more pain for you!"

And with that, her father hung up. Shaking at the threat, Hailey took a shaky breath.

Jay's dad could hear the screaming over the phone and decided to check in on Hailey. He gently knocked on the wall, "Hailey? Are you okay?" When he didn't get an answer, he slowly inched forward towards her. Not knowing, he put his hand on Hailey's back, "You okay?"

Hailey jumped away from him, on her breaking point. Jay's dad quickly backed away, afraid that he scared her. Hailey shakily breathed, forcing herself to quickly calm down.

"C-can I go home now?" She whispered. Jay's dad nodded, a sympathetic look on his face, "Of course you can," After telling Jay he was taking Hailey home, Jay's dad started the car and began to drive to Hailey's directions. After ensuring him that this was where she wanted to be dropped off, Hailey got out of the car. As she watched the car drive away, Hailey could feel a tear stream down her cheek. She really didn't want to have to deal with her father. She had finally been in a good mood, and she knew that her father would've somehow ruined it for her.

Hailey sat beside the door, not having enough courage to open the door. Just sitting outside of her house, she silently cried. She cried and cried, wishing that she didn't have to go through that door. She knew that her father would be waiting for her. Waiting for her so he could hit her.

Thinking that she may as well get it over with, she opened the door and was immediately grabbed and shoved against a wall. She grunted at the sudden impact. She opened her eyes, and saw her father's raging, blue eyes. She could feel his warm breath coming from a snarling mouth. His fist was up, ready to hit her, probably harder than normal. She closed her eyes again, bracing herself for the hit.

As if on cue, Hailey's father raised his fist and punched her square in the face. Hailey cried out, covering her face. Not waiting, her father sank his fist into her stomach, causing her to fall onto her knees. She then felt a kick pushing her down, and the next thing she knew, her father was punching her repeatedly. He was hitting her head, her arms, anywhere he could reach. Hailey didn't try to fight back; she knew that it would only make it worse.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally got up, leaving Hailey barely conscious on the ground. All the hits she took had taken a large toll on her body. The last thing she heard was her father speaking.

"Remember, you tell anyone, you will feel pain like never before,"

After those words were spoken, Hailey fell unconscious.