• AMALIA •
I'm spraying my flowers with water when there's a knock at my door. I walk over to it, pulling it open slowly and peering out to see Elijah, who's smiling at me.
"Hi, angel." He says.
I wave at him.
"Dad asked me to come get you. He wants to talk to you."
I immediately think the worst.
He's going to kick me out, just like Xander and Mason said. He's going to tell me to pack my things and leave and then I'll be homeless, and worse off then before—
No. Maybe he just wants to talk, see how I'm settling in. If I need anything.
"Lia?"
I look at him.
His expression is soft as he looks behind him. "Come on." He nods to the stairs.
I walk over to my bed quickly and slide my unicorn slippers on before walking over to him. He smiles before turning on one foot and leading me down the stairs and down the hall, then to a white door at the end of it.
He knocks once, then opens it, revealing a large office space. In the middle, sitting behind a wooden desk, is my father, and across from him are two chairs. One of which occupies Xander.
My dad smiles at me. "Good morning, darling."
I start fiddling with my hands.
"Can you sit down for me, Amalia?"
I turn back around, but Elijah has already left and the door is closed, so I nod and sit down, scooting as far away from Xander as I can.
"I'm gonna ask you a few things, there's a notepad there for you to write your answers down. Just so we know a bit more about you, and how we can help you. You don't have to answer any questions you don't want to."
I look at the desk and pick up the small notepad and pen in front of me, setting it on my lap.
"The man your mother married—your step dad. Did you like him?"
I think carefully about my response. If I tell them all the things he used to do.. they'll look at me with even more pity than they already do. So, I scribble:
SOMETIMES.
My dad furrows his eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"
HE COULD BE NICE, BUT HE COULD
ALSO SHOUT AS WELL. IT WAS SCARY.
His eyes soften, but his jaw seems to harden. "Did he ever take his anger out on you?"
I tilt my head.
"Fucking hell, did he ever hit you?" Xander asks.
"Xander." Our father warns. Xander just shrugs.
I swallow the lump in my throat as I consider what I'm going to write.
YOU ARE READING
silent
Teen FictionAmalia Romano is a selective mute. After years of enduring abuse from her step father, who has ridiculed and hurt her mercilessly, she doesn't want to talk, for fear of what might happen if someone doesn't like what she says. But then her step...
