silent

4

• LORENZO •

"Good going." Elijah murmurs.

     "The fuck did I do?" Mason asks.

     "Would it have killed you to say hello?" Grayson asks. "She's our sister, for gods sake. You were looking at her like she's your worst enemy."

     Xander rolls his eyes.

     "She was fine until you guys came." Elijah says.

     "That's a lie, she was petrified. She looked about two seconds away from bolting." Cole says.

I sigh and stand, leaving the room, and with it my sons to bicker.

•

I knock on Amalia's door and wait a few seconds, but she doesn't answer. So, slowly, I push it open, expression softening when I see Amalia sitting by her desk, pen hovering over the page of a notebook.

"I got your clothes out of the dryer for you—" She turns around, the light from her lamp helping me to see the tears on her cheeks. "What's wrong?"

She wipes her face before walking over to me and grabbing her clothes and taking them over to her dresser, folding them quickly before shoving them into a drawer.

She walks past me again, grabbing her pink pen and writing something on a page of her notebook before walking over to me again and turning it around so I can see it.

THANK YOU. I AM FINE.
I WOULD LIKE TO GO TO BED NOW.

I sigh. "Sweetheart, I know some of your brothers weren't very welcoming, but we're all really happy you're here."

She uses her knee to balance her notebook before scribbling:

OKAY.

"Are these notebooks how you're going to communicate with us?" I ask her, wanting to be with her for as long as I can. Maybe then she'll become more comfortable around me.

She shrugs and circles the words: I WOULD LIKE TO GO TO BED NOW.

I smile. "Okay, darling. If you need anything, I'll probably be in my study for most of the night. It's downstairs. Even if you just want some more food, come find me and I'll make something for you."

She nods.

"Goodnight." I say before walking to the door and opening it. As I step out, she waves goodbye.

• AMALIA •

I wrap my arms around my knees and look out the window, at the night sky.

     I can't sleep. I can never sleep. Normally I'll lay my head on my pillow and manage to fall into nothingness for an hour or two, but that's it. I've had to learn to make it through the day on only a few hours of rest, which is easier when no one expects me to talk.

     I pull my phone off the nightstand and it turns on after a few tries. I go on messages, not sure why. No one ever messages me. I didn't have any friends at my old school, so I have no idea why I would expect anyone to have texted me.

     I sigh and put my phone back on charge. I climb out of bed, slipping my unicorn house shoes on, and grab my water bottle and notebook off my desk incase I run into anyone before opening my door and walking into the hallway, trying to make my steps light so I don't wake anybody.

     I trudge down the stairs slowly, pausing when I hear voices.

     "—it's not my fault she's a fucking scaredy-cat weirdo who's too much of a little pussy to speak."

     Xander.

     I hear a snort. "She'll probably be gone soon anyway. Dad will get annoyed and make her go." Mason replies.

     "Hopefully. I'm not scheduling my life around some little kid who can't even sit through dinner without crying. I could hear her sobbing when I went up." Xander says. "Fucking pathetic."

     They both look at me when I stand in the doorway. I pinch my arm to keep myself from crying, from being the little scaredy-cat they think I am.

     They're both lounging on seats by the dining table.

     "Amalia—"

     I rush past them as they stand and power walk into the kitchen, turning the tap on and filling my water bottle, fighting the tears stinging my eyes the entire time. I look up from the sink to see Xander and Mason standing there, sorrow lining both of their features.

     "We didn't mean it, Amalia." Xander says.

     I nod, trying to tell them I understand, and walk past them again. I'm by the door when Mason grabs my wrist, making a burst of pain surge up my arm. He lets go immediately, but he and Xander block my path of the door.

"What's wrong with you?" Mason asks.

     "Pull your sleeve up." Xander orders.

     I shake my head.

     He steps toward me, but I walk back, away from him.

     "Now, Amalia." Mason says.

     "What's going on?"

     I look towards Elijah, who's standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Luckily, so do Xander and Mason, making it easy to slip in between them and run out of the kitchen, ignoring Elijah's questions as he follows me up the stairs.

     "Amalia." He says, catching up to me. He steps in front of me and crouches down, grabbing one of my hands when I try to run away from him. "What's wrong, angel?"

     I yank my hand out of his.

     He follows me as I run back to my room, and catches the door before I can shut it.

     "Lia, what did they do?" He asks.

     I wrap my arms around my stomach and shake my head. He sighs. "Okay." He says quietly. "Okay. If you need anything, come to my room, do you remember where it is?"

     I nod.

     He exhales quietly. "Alright. Goodnight."

     I turn away as he leaves the room, gently shutting the door behind him. Only when the sound of his footsteps fade into nothing do I unleash all my tears.

• ELIJAH •

"What the fuck did you guys do?" I ask, walking back into the kitchen.

     Xander rubs at his temples, a look of regret on his face, and Mason has his head on the table.

     "We.. said some not nice things about her. And she might have heard us. We were trying to apologise, and I grabbed her arm to stop her from running away, and she winced." Xander looks up at me. "You need to check her wrists, somethings wrong. She wouldn't show us."

     "Maybe you just grabbed her too hard." I say.

     "I hardly touched her." He replies.

     I sigh and put my head in my hands. I don't want to bother her again when she so clearly doesn't want to be bothered, so I'll talk to her tomorrow. After I talk to dad.