"So.... about what happened on the bus....." John said as we lay in each others arms, the room was in darkness apart from some light coming in from under the bedroom door. I felt myself tense up as soon as he mentioned it, and i knew he felt it too.
"You wanna tell me what that was about?"
"Not really" i said almost whispering.
"Hayley, you promised you'd tell me if we made it through Lorna's rescue.... i need to know what happened" he said squeezing my hand reassuringly.
"Okay....i just.... I'm scared" i admitted sitting up and getting out if the bed. I grabbed his t-shirt off the floor and pulled it on, suddenly feeling too vulnerable.
"Hayley...." he said as he started to get out of bed, i held my hand out "Don't, if I'm going to tell you this i need you stay there...." i said quickly, if he held me right now i wouldn't be able to tell him.... id breakdown and be a blubbering mess before i could tell him anything.
"Okay.... " he nodded sitting back down and waiting for me to tell him.
"The things they do to mutants in that place..... the torture they put you through everyday, trying to make you crack.... to turn on the people you love.... most didn't last that long... they would cave just to make the pain stop" i said remembering all the screams i used to hear "they tried so hard to break me, but when i wouldn't give them what they wanted... thats when they brought him in.... Westrom"
"The guy from the bus..." John asked and i nodded "yeah... he upped the torturing, Ive never felt pain like it before.... i would lay there wishing to die, i just wanted it to stop..." i said wiping a tear away from my eye "but i still didn't tell them anything. Westrom would come by most nights trying to break me.... one night he had a couple of the guards take me down to the basement.... they tied me to a chainlink fence and wired it up to a control .... he started off slow but when i wouldn't break he left it on too high..... thats when my ability first came out.... when my hair turned blue"
"They electrocuted you??" John asked looking horrified.
"Over and Over, everything went black and i thought i was dead.... i thought everything was over but then i woke up in my cell" i looked at John who was looking so angry right now "maybe we should talk about the rest later...." i started to say but he shook his head
"I need to know now"
I nodded feeling my stomach twisting in knots, i hadn't realised but i had started pacing back and forth nervously.
"After that night Westrom took an interest in me, like he was impressed at how id still not cracked. He would come by my cell being nice.... showing an interest..... then one night he came by alone.....let himself into my cell, he started touching me...." i shook my head at the memory, i could still feel his horrible hands on me.... touching me in places that only John had touched me.
"I....."
"Hayley, did he....?" he couldn't seem to say the word but i knew what he was asking.
"No" i said quickly "he didn't rape me..."
I saw the relief on the Johns face but he looked at me with sad eyes, eyes filled with pain and i knew it was because he wasn't there to protect me.
"He tried.....multiple times.... he knew i didn't have my powers he thought i was completely defenceless against him" i carried on explaining "little did he know my ex-marine boyfriend had taught me how to defend myself" i smiled at John, he looked at me and shook his head "you fought him off?"
I nodded and gave him a small smile "yeah i did, every time.... he'd get pissed and give up.... come back and try a few days later. One time he beat me so bad.... luckily the guards saw him and dragged him out... i was in the infirmary for a week after that. That was when they decided to move me to the secure facility, they took off the collar that was suppressing my ability just to put me in the van, that was when i made my move..... they thought id been taking the pills they were giving me to keep me out of it but i hadn't" i said "when I saw him there at the bus earlier it brought everything back.... i lost control. I wanted to kill him Johnny, for everything he put me through. All i wanted was to hurt him.... make him feel as scared as i was....i guess thats why i lost it so bad when my boss got handsy"
"If i had known all this i would've killed him myself!! I wouldn't have stopped you.... I cant believe what you went through.... i should've known you were alive...."
"You couldn't have known that" i shrugged "so now you know everything"
John just got up and walked over to me and pulled me into his arms "thank you for telling me, i promise you no one will ever hurt you again. And if i ever see that asshole Westrom again.... i'll kill the bastard!"
"I don't want to talk about this again Johnny, i need to put it behind me" i said looking up at him.
"Whatever you want babe" he kissed my head "will you come back to bed with me please?"
"Yeah" John took my hand and led me back to bed, wrapped his arms around me protectively and we fell asleep.
