This topic touches on some more sensitive topics. Please proceed at your own comfort level and risk.

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"Honestly, this dress... thoughts?" Haley asked Santana, as they were shopping for prom dresses.

"You'd look like a radish, I don't mean to be blunt, but I kinda' do." Santana shrugged.

"What about this one?" Haley asked, pulling out a rose gold halter dress.

"You will look ravishing. Go try it on." Santana pushed her towards the changerooms

As Haley was trying it on, she received a call from an unknown number. She hesitantly picked up.

"Hello, this is Haley speaking." She said. She heard her dad's voice on the other side.

"Haley, I want you to come home right now." Her dad demanded.

She sighed, before speaking. "Sorry, was it not clear over a year ago? The emancipation papers have been finalized, so I'm no longer under you authority. I'm with people who actually care for me, and aren't abusive and ignorant. So leave me the hell alone."

"Listen here, you bitch." Haley began shaking when her dad called her that. "You are only 17, not 18. I don't remember any emancipation papers, even though we signed..We were forced to. You didn't have our full consent. But. I just want you to know. You are a horrible, rude, insensitive, arrogant, stupid and immature young lady. You don't deserve anything you have in your life. Your anxiety, depression and past eating disorder are sure to make a comeback. You really are a burden and a mess." He continued ranting for a minute after, before Haley hung up, blocking the number.

She left the change room, and put on an exaggerated fake smile, when she knew the week wasn't going to be the greatest. She approached Santana, after she paid.

"H-Hey Santana, ready to go?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"Yeah, but hold up. What's wrong, what happened?" Santana asked as she put her arm around Haley, as they walked.

"Nothing." Haley muttered, but Santana wasn't fooled.

"I have my Mexican third eye, and something's wrong. I know. Something must have happened in the change rooms. What happened?"

"Well...my dad somehow got a hold of my number...and he told me that my anxiety, depression and eating disorder were things I should be ashamed of...He called me stupid, insensitive, and all these terrible words. Thank god he wasn't here to actually physically hit or slap me." Haley rambled.

"Haley, I'm so sorry." Santana said, bringing her friend into a hug. Aware of the delicacy of the conversation, she began speaking quietly. "None of this is true. Your dad is an ass, and if he ever shows, I'll go all Lima Heights. For now, you have Sam, you have me, and the Glee club, Burt and Carol are like your parents. You aren't alone, and you are not a burden. I don't ever want to see you get hurt again." Santana pulled away before looking at her. "Hey, look at me. If you ever begin to start going through anxiety, depression or another eating disorder phase, you get help, or you can call me. You have people who will help you, a stable support system. You are so strong, Haley, and have overcome so much. I'm so grateful for you, and to be able to call you one of my best friends." Santana said. "I love you Haley Aldrin."

Haley sobbed a little, before wiping her tears, calming herself down and looking back at Santana. "Thank you so much. I love you too Santana Lopez." She mumbled, leaning up to give her friend a hug.

----

"Now I realize this room is America's number one destination for cheap, sappy moralizing, but your insensitive behavior is about to subject you to a whole new level of preachiness." Coach Sylvester said, as she stood beside Coach Washinton and Beiste.

"Is this about the comment that I made in the hallway earlier?" Santana asked...forgetting the whole chat she had had with Haley the previous day.

"You bet your perfectly round ass it is."

"Coach Sylvester, I hardly think you're one to preach on what we can and cannot joke about." Mercedes said.

"Yeah. You make fun of us all the time." Haley commented, even though she wasn't a part of the joke that happened in the hallway earlier.

"Sandbags, I admit, I can be a bit abrasive. And yes, I've fantasized about slapping each and every one of you square across the face with a sturdy, wet fish." Sue continued. "But that doesn't mean you deserve it. No one deserves to get hit."

"Coach Sylvester, we already know that." Santana said.

"Yeah, and none of our guys would ever do anything like that. And if they did, we'd just get the hell out." Mercedes added.

I don't think the gravity of this is landing with you girls." Coach Beiste spoke up.

Haley began to feel her anxiety rising. She knew an anxiety attack was arriving sooner or later. She gripped onto Sam's hand for comfort. He sent her a sympathetic smile.

I think that not one of you understands what violence in a home really feels like. When I was growing up,

my aunt married a man that was nice to everybody. Used to bring us presents when he came to visit and never had an unkind word to say to anybody. But at home, he had a temper. And that man started beating her. She'd lie, she'd make a joke out of it. She said she'd done this or that wrong. She'd tell my momma he was a good man and she had it coming. It took my aunt five years and a trip to ICU to stop making excuses for that man and get a divorce." Coach Washington explained.

Haley knew and comprehended what domestic violence felt like at home, and in public. It wasn't pleasant and the PTSD of all the times her dad was violent would forever be ingrained in her memory. She was shaking, and Sam could see she was struggling. "Hayley? Are you okay?" He whispered as she just continued to breathe heavily.

"Ladies, the American songbook is chock-full of songs making light of men hitting women. And since the only way to get anything into your thick, dopey heads is to force you to sing about it, for this week's assignment, I want you to turn those songs into songs of empowerment that say, "You lay a hand on me,

it's over." Coach Sylvester said.

Haley got up as she held her tears in, and ran out of the choir room, without an explanation, clearly traumatized by the topic of domestic violence. She ran so she could have her anxiety attack alone, and not risk public humiliation. Sam got up, and ran out of the room, after her.

The girls sat in realization of why she ran out, knowing that they screwed up. Santana was the most humiliated, seeing she had comforted Haley the day before.

----

Haley got to the empty courtyard, as she stopped, to catch her breath. She needed to calm down, but her anxiety attack wasn't letting her.

"Hay, wait up." Sam caught up to her, as he ran through the doors.

She began to walk towards the stairs. "No, just leave me alone." She said, as he began speed walking after her. "Just..please." She begged as she ran up the stairs.

He ran after her and grabbed her gently, spinning her to face him.

"No, Hay, I'm not going to leave you here alone. You're having an anxiety attack, and PTSD episode, I won't leave you." He said as he slowly approached her, enveloping her into a hug, as she let out a shaky breath, wrapping her arms around him. He sighed, as she cried into his chest, as he tried to help her calm her breathing.

"I need you to take three deep breaths, okay?" He asked as she nodded, calming herself down. "Yeah there we go, that's it." He assured her as she kept her face hidden while he held her in his arms.

After she was calmer, he began speaking. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Honestly, what happened with the topic that was discussed this morning triggered me. Being a survivor of some domestic violence.... And what also triggered me was the hurtful and resentful phone call from my dad yesterday, who somehow retrieved my number." Haley began to speak, as she wiped her tears away.

"Hay, I'm so sorry..." He said. "None of this or any of the past issues were your fault. You have a right to feel sad, upset, and any emotion. It's valid and the names he called you or the words you used don't define the person you are, or are becoming." Sam assured her, as he rocked them back and forth, pressing a kiss to her head.

"I guess, yeah...but like why would you want me?" She asked, as he looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I'm a mess...like, how can you love me knowing that I've struggled so much?" She rephrased the previous question..

"You aren't a mess. Even if you are, I see past that, Haley. As I've told you a few times before. And you even told me, it's not about the looks it's about the personality. I choose to celebrate your strength and courage through everything you have been through, not have opinions on the stuff you struggled with. You matter to me, and I love you so much." He answered, as he leaned down to kiss her.

After they pulled away, she sighed. "Thanks, I love you too." She replied as he pulled her into a comforting hug.

----

Later that day, Haley sighed before she knocked one of the boy's locker doors, to alert Coach Beiste that she was there.

"Hey... I was wondering if I could talk to you..Would that be okay?" Haley asked, as Coach Beiste nodded.

"Of course pumpkin. Have a seat." Coach Beiste replied.

"About today, what did you say happened?" Haley asked, moving right to the plausible answer.

"I...I...don't know..what you're talking about." She tried to lie.

"You know, I used to lie whenever I'd go to school. Say I hurt myself doing dance or playing piano and ukulele, now that I think about it, in retrospect, the musical instrument lies doesn't make sense. However, my teachers believed me, and Finn and Kurt believed me, when I met them almost 4 years ago. I was truly hurt everyday, I dreaded coming home, I'd have bruises and redness from slaps and my wrist would hurt from grabbing, I closed myself off. That's when I felt so alone, and didn't know how to ask for help. I felt and occasionally still feel like a burden. That's where anxiety and my depression came in. I struggled with an eating disorder, and some bullying around the age of 14-15. I still have constant anxiety attacks and PTSD. I think I was afraid that no one would believe me if I said I was a victim of domestic violence. I didn't act on it until last year, when I got an emancipation from my parents. Yes, the violence stopped after my suicide attempt almost 4 years ago, but that doesn't mean the verbal and emotional abuse and my mom's ignorance stopped. However, at 17, I look at my life, and I'm grateful I'm still here. I'm surrounded by the Glee club, who are like my family, Sam who loves me unconditionally and I am feeling better, and I'm healing." Haley finished speaking.

"I lied and I s-said that I got hit by a punching bag. I felt like I couldn't bring myself to tell the truth. I'm nervous what they would think of me? What would their reactions be? I just felt the need to handle it by myself."

"Lying is always the wrong thing, but to us who are enduring the pain, it seems like the plausible and visible answer. It really isn't. Yes, you can be loud, tough and strong, look how you coach the football team. Men like seeing that. However, men find a way to make women feel less than they are. They can even use sexist and misogynistic comments, and can get away with it. No wonder patriarchy and men in power exist. Getting back to my point, you shouldn't be ashamed of what you are going through. It's hard, believe me, I can relate. Listen to me, though, while this part of your journey may not be the easiest, it will get better. It's always the people who say they understand, but they don't because they haven't been the victim of abuse, or violence. "

"Should I tell them?"

"The truth is always the answer, you can't run away from it, because karma is a bitch. So no matter how difficult a situation or crisis you may be in, always tell the truth." Haley assured her. "My friends know when I'm lying, because I try to hide my sad and upset or lonely facade, but it always seems to show. I can't trick them anymore."

"Okay, well, Ii'm really sorry that you had to go through all of those adversities."

"Yeah, it happens to the kindest people. I am getting through it and I know that you will too."

----

Haley was walking down the hallway, when she was joined by Santana, Tina and Mercedes.

"Hey girls, what's up?" She asked, confused.

"We (especially myself) are so sorry about yesterday. We realized how insensitive and stupid we had been about the joke." Santana apologized.

"Although we didn't mean it, that doesn't give us any excuse for our actions and words." Tina added.

"We really feel bad, and we will go to great lengths to make sure that it never recurs again." Mercedes added.

"Thanks girls, um...just please do your research.." Haley said, before she stopped, and continued. "And I know you didn't mean it intentionally, my anxiety and ptsd got the better grip of me." She finished, as she opened her arms, letting the girls give her a group hug.

"We also want you to come to the choir room." Santana said, leading her to the choir room.

"Come here, Hay." Brittany said, as her and Sugar sat Haley down on a chair.

Haley sighed, before sitting down. She also saw Coach Beiste enter.

"You wanted to see me?"

"We really wanted a chance to say that we're sorry, and we had no idea." Tina apologized.

"No idea that this was really happening to someone we care so much about." Mercedes added.

"And we're really proud of you for sticking up for yourself and getting out. And we owe you a song. Both of you." Santana added.

{SHAKE IT OUT-SUNG BY SANTANA LOPEZ, MERCEDES JONES, TINA COHEN-CHANG}

After the song was finished, Haley burst out into tears, she had been trying to hold them in...but she broke. Coach Beiste was also crying. The five girls got up and engulfed the other two in a hug.

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Such a heavy episode. It's one of my favorites though.

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What were your thoughts?

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Prom-asurus, Props, Nationals and Goodbye are coming later!