The Road Ahead (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 4 of The Hardships Saga)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

❝trigger (pronounced ˈtrɪɡə or trig-er), noun
This is it. This is your trigger warning. I think this is how you do it? I dunno. Just... graphic scenes ahead, guys. Please, if you feel uncomfortable at any point, I'll leave a warning before it comes up.❞

"Ellie, it's not important."

"Please. Please, just tell me. I want to know, I need to."

"Even Hunter doesn't-"

"I want to know."

The room was spinning, and she closed her eyes, taking deep breath and turning off the stove. "Okay. But only so that you understand. Only so that you know I understand what it's like to be scared."

Elle watched her, and she took a shaky breath. The mention of Markus' name alone had unhinged her. She took a deep breath, before looking at Elle again. "Darling, the story isn't pretty. And it's not going to be easy for you to hear, either."

"I know."

*********WARNING STARTS HERE*********

She looked into Elle's brown eyes for a moment, before looking down. "I was trying to leave him."

"Markus?"

"Yes. He had... he had been abusing me since I had rejected his proposal. We had dated only a few months, and he was ready to marry me, but I wasn't. I didn't feel that level of love for him yet. He took it personally, and began to hit me. I had finally had enough, and I packed my bags. I don't know where I would've gone, but anywhere was better than that house.

"I got as far as the front hallway until I realised that he wasn't snoring on the couch after drinking again. Suddenly, he slammed me against a wall, choking me. He asked me where I thought I was going, and I lied, said something about school camp, and of course, he didn't believe me. He beat me. Beat me until I couldn't move, until I was coughing up blood. Then he took off his shirt, and began kissing me. I couldn't push him away, it hurt too much, but he lifted me up, carrying me to the couch."

She didn't seem to be in the kitchen anymore. She was back in that house, in the dark, listening to Markus' jeering laughter. "He used something to tie my hands up- I don't remember, I think it was his belt- and he started taking my clothes off, too. I fought him, I fought him as much as I could, but there was nothing I could do. After a point, I just... let him. I let him do it, because it was easier than fighting."

Elle looked like she was about to be sick, and Ryan stared at the table. "When he was done with me, he told me that if I ever tried to leave again, it'd be worse. He didn't untie me- he left me on that couch, completely bare and completely vulnerable. I couldn't move, it hurt so much. I... I don't remember much else of that night. He came back once or twice, came back and... and..."

"Raped you again?"

She nodded wordlessly. "He... eventually let me go. I crawled to the bathroom, threw up into the toilet and cried. I had no idea what to do, where to go. I was so scared that I would never be happy again. That I would have to marry him, have his children, be his mistress forever."

"What happened then?"

********DONE, IT'S ALL DONE********

"I don't know. He left the house that morning, I don't know where he went. That day was parent-teacher night. Your Grandma Lyn saw that I was... off. She asked me what was wrong, but I didn't answer her. That night, I spoke to at least twenty different parents. Not one of them asked me what was wrong." She smiled slightly. "Your dad was the last one. He came in, and he realised that something wasn't right. He asked me what was wrong, and I hadn't realised that my makeup had worn off to the point where he could see the bruise on my eye."