Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi

Author's note: Spoilers for Sabotage Pt 2.

"The night we rewrote the article…Asher…Asher…he kissed me," Clare whispered, her voice broken, tears in her eyes.

Eli nearly lost his footing, but he managed to sit himself down on the bed before he could fall. He put his head in his hands, listening. He couldn't believe the things he was hearing. This man had kissed his Clare. He had touched her without her consent.

"We talked, and I…I thought I'd handled it, but then he tried again," her voice shook, trying not to break down, she had to finish.

He glanced at her at that, screaming on the inside. His Clare was hurting and that bastard had done it.

"I reported it to his boss, and I got fired," she finished in a whisper.

He couldn't believe that she had kept this from him for so long. "Why didn't you tell me?" His tone was gentle.

Clare cried out in a soft scream, "I don't know!" She sat down next to him on the bed and turned to look him in the eyes. "It just added to all the things I have done wrong…" A tear trickled down her cheek as she listed everything she'd done wrong. "I feel so gross. Guilty. He's right," she whispered, "It's my fault."

Eli finally spoke, a frown on face. "No. That bastard abused his authority."

Clare wiped at her eyes, shocked by his words and asked softly, "So you're not mad me?"

Eli shook his head, and whispered "No," He took a soft breath, "You'd thought I'd go crazy, didn't you?"

Clare sniffled, wiping her eyes, and whispered "Instead I went crazy myself."

Eli held out his arms, and whispered as he pulled her in for a hug. "We'll get through this."

Clare snuggled her face against his neck, tears sliding down her face, and onto his skin. She cried softly. He kissed the top of her head, and held her to him as she cried. He promised himself as he held her that he would never let anyone harm her again. As long as he was around, no one would hurt her. Not as long as he could help it.