𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟓𝟑

"𝚃𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝙼𝚎"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴' 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥
𝕥𝕙𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥

"YOU'RE REALLY not gonna talk to me?" Emily asks as her and Noah sit down for dinner.

The teen has been silent all day.  Emily misses hearing Noah's voice more than anything.  Even if it is to yell at her or to say a snide remark, Emily wants to hear her.

Noah simply shrugs her shoulders.  The one wordless action is enough to say everything she wants to.

The two eat in silence.  The only sound emitting from the table being their silverware against their plates.  Noah eats a bit of her food, playing with the rest of her food.  The teen refuses to talk to Emily, but she stays seated until Emily is done eating.  It is a habit she created as a child.

𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘴' 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥

"Where're you going?" Gia asks ten-year-old Nick as he stands from the dinner table.

"To my room," He mumbles and leaves his dirty plate on the table.

"Nick, put your damn dishes away!" Gia shouts.

"I'll do it later!" Nick snaps.

"Do it now!" Gia raises her voice over Nick's and stands. She grabs him by the ear and pulls him into the living room.

Noah sits in her chair, her back to the living room. Thankfully, she did not have to see the beating Nick got, but she heard the struggle.

"And don't ever leave the table 'til I say so," Gia's voice is muffled by the wall between them, but Noah hears it nonetheless.

The only sound heard after that is Nick's loud footsteps on the stairs.

Gia comes back to the table and sits. Noah does not dare to look up at her mother. The fear of being hit for the third time that day sitting with her.

"Mommy, can I play with my toys after dinner?" Six-year-old Noah sheepishly asks.

"Finish eating," Gia replies as she takes a bite of her food, her mood completely shifting from Nick's attitude.

"But my toys—"

"Enough with the toys, Noah!" The mother huffs and pinches her nose. Noah wishes she could pinch her nose to mask the smell of the alcohol.

"Okay, Mommy," Noah says, giving in to her mother. Maybe she would survive the night without anymore pain.

𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥

"You can go if you want," Emily speaks up, seeing the teen playing with her food, lost in thought.

Noah looks up at Emily and shakes her head. Deep down, she knows Emily will not hurt her. But on the surface, fears the thought of standing up for the chance what happened to her brother all those years ago will happen to her.

"Go take a shower," Emily tells her as she stands, "I'll clean up."

Noah quickly stands and scurries to the staircase.  She gets in the shower like Emily told her to.  She takes her shower quickly, wanting nothing more than to be in bed alone.