My fingers tapped as I sat in the uncomfortable chair in Hercule's office. Hercule was sitting behind his desk, his hands folded under his chin while Gabriel stood over his shoulder. One of them was intimidating but both?! If I hadn't seen Gabriel smile and act like a child earlier, I would have never suspected that he had a happy bone in his body. Both his and Hercule's faces were blank masks that I mimicked with an eased practice, burying my feelings of fear and panic far beneath my surface.
"Nadia" my eyes traced the room, taking in the tasteful black and white theme that covered yet another room in the house, "Nadia". My eyes snapped back to Hercule. "Now that I have your attention, we can have a little talk." Gabriel shifted, walking around the desk. Turning my body so I could continue to see him, he positioned himself in front of the door, blocking my only exit. "You know my name by now, don't you?" I bowed my head slightly, nodding to him. "Words Nadia." I just stared at him, my fingers tapping a faster rhythm as his tone turned icy.
Glancing around to try and ease my panic, I watched Hercule make eye contact with Gabriel. No less than a moment later, Gabriel was back at my side. "Nadia, can you please talk to us?" I locked eyes with him and slowly shook my head no. Hercule pulled open a computer I didn't notice before, typing off a quick message before turning back to me. Not a moment sooner did his eyes go back to his computer and another quick message was typed.
"La travailleuse social a dit qu'elle est muette. Elle ne parlera pas."
(The social worker said she's a mute. She won't talk.)
"Pourquoi la travailleuse social ne te la t'elle pas dit quand tu lui as parlé pour la première fois ?"
(Why didn't the social worker tell you when you first spoke to her?)
"Je ne sais pas."
(I don't know)
The men shook their heads before turning back to me, my eyes were still tracing their words in my mind, trying to figure out what they said. "Nadia." Hercule's cold voice gained my attention quickly and I looked at him. "Your social worker said that you're a mute, is that true?" I slowly nodded my head at him, the tapping in my fingers speeding up, anticipating his next question.
"Good. Now how did you become mute?" Gabriel questioned me as Hercule slid a pad of paper my way. I knew I couldn't stall with my thoughts because they would know something was up.
Quickly, I scrawled I was born mute on my paper before turning it for both men to see.
"Elle ment."
(She's lying)
"En effet, nous le saurons assez tôt de toute façon, n'appuyez pas dessus pour l'instant et quand nous aurons fini ici, alertez les garçons."
(Indeed, we'll find out soon enough anyway, don't press it just yet and when we're done here, alert the boys)
Gabriel nodded and the questioning resumed. "So Nadia, have you ever learned sign language?" I shook my head no, by the time I learned about opportunities to learn it, none of my friends were left and Neil and Rachel had started their cycle. I had seen no point in starting something when I didn't know if I was going to live. "You're going to start then. You need to learn to communicate with us whether or not you are comfortable with it; so either you start talking or you begin to learn sign language." I nodded my head profusely before getting up to leave but a firm glare from Hercule had me right back in my seat, my fingers tapping. "One more thing, I don't have rules for anyone under my care, just treat others as you want to be treated and do your best in school. That's all I ask." I nodded my head, it seemed reasonable enough. "Good, you'll be signed up immediately for sign language classes and school. If you need help, wait in the hall and Gabriel can guide you to your room after we have a word."
***
The hallway was a pleasant sight to see. I couldn't be happier to be out of the grueling eye of Hercule and Gabriel. I had spent the past year of my life perfecting everything so nobody could read me yet they all seemed to read me like a toddler's picture book, analyzing any small detail about me. My hand began to itch and I couldn't help myself as I scraped at the covered scar.
Footsteps down the hall towards me caused me to itch faster, "Nadia?" A face of a boy appeared in my face, he took in my scratching. "Nadie what are you doing?" He tried to gently pull my hand away but I made a noise in protest, scratching at my hand harder. "Nadie, stop it! You're going to hurt yourself!" The voice became distant as I scratched harder, tearing the cover off and pushing into the wound as I tried to forget and distract myself from my panic. Nadie. Nadie. His sickly voice echoed in my head as I furiously tried to forget. Voices jumbled further away as I pushed to rid myself of his touch.
We are always watching Nadia. We wouldn't want you to lose another family member, now would we?
Powerful arms grasped my hands, prying them apart. I began to tap them against the person's wrist, counting, counting, counting.
This is what happens when you don't listen Nadia.
The feeling of my body burning seared through my mind and I cried out, my legs turning to jelly beneath my meager weight. I expected to hit the ground but careful arms gently eased me to the floor, keeping me from hurting myself as the panic ebbed on.
My sweet, sweet Nadia. Did you really think you could escape from me?
Just take deep breaths mon bijou. You're okay.
(My jewel)
He seemed so close, his voice seemed to be in my ear.
My head was readjusted and a dull but steady thumping forced me to pause my racing counting. Slowly, my fingers tapped in time to the beat and my breaths began to regulate.
She's calming down guys!
Yeah, we can tell connard! (dipshit)
Both of you, quiet! We don't know how she will react when she calms down.
It felt like ages before I felt in control of my body again. I slowly blinked my eyes, clearing the blurriness to find myself on the ground with my head pressed against someone's chest, their beating heart slowly lulling me to sleep. My hands were held in someone's firm grasp, making sure to keep them away from my body.
"Sleep mon bijou, nothing can hurt you now, you're safe." A deep voice finally cajoled me to sleep, and I accepted it with open arms.
How wrong those words are when what hurts you most is your own mind.
Hi everyone!
I hope you are all doing well!
I just wanted to say:
Thank you all for 100 reads!
I honestly never expected this to happen so quickly!
Thank you all for giving my book a chance!
The only other thing I wanted to say is that I changed Nadia's age to 14...
I just felt like she was too old before and I feel like 14 fits her better.
This means that her parents died a year ago...
Rachel and Neil also had her for almost the entire year since.
I just wanted to state this now so there was no confusion later on.
Once again thank you all so much for giving my book a chance!
-M
YOU ARE READING
Her Heroes
Teen FictionIn a world where voices are all, a girl without one hides in the shadow. Fearful of her future and hunted by more demons than she can remember, Nadia Perkins is lost. But, when a sudden incident sends the teen to a family she's never known, and a co...
