Silent Beauty

Silent Beauty: Chapter Twelve

Chapter 12:

Ally’s POV:

                Liam and I pulled up to a fancy restaurant that I didn’t care enough to learn the name of, and we walked inside in silence.

                I was scared that they might treat me differently now that I talked, so I really didn’t want to come to this dinner but Clare was just so excited. I couldn’t let her down after everything she’s done for me.

                Everybody was already there when Liam and I got to the table. They were all talking amongst themselves and when we sat down we were included immediately.

                It was going a lot better than I thought it would. I knew they were all dying to ask me questions, but they held off not wanting to push me, but I decided to just give them what they wanted.

                “Well you guys obviously want to know about my life and why I didn’t talk before.” I said during a break in the conversation and everybody looked down in shame.

                I laughed. “Don’t worry. I understand why you’re curious, and since you are like my family now, you deserve to know everything.” I said thinking about how true that statement is.

                Derek and Clare did everything parents did for their children. Even though I didn’t see Derek much, he was funny and could usually make me smile and I felt like he would protect me. Then Clare took me shopping and bought me clothes just like a mother would. She cared for me like a mother cared for a daughter.

                Leah was already like my sister. She could be overbearing and annoying at times but I couldn’t help but to love her. She was hyper and energetic and constantly had a smile on her face, and it was hard to be sad around her.

                Then there was Ethan. He was always around the house and I thought of him as a brother although he could never replace my real brother. He was funny and kind, and I felt at ease around him, and I knew I could trust him.

                I took a deep breath and I felt Liam squeeze my hand and offer me a reassuring smile. “So, you all probably already guessed that I was abused by my dad.” I said and they all looked at me with sympathy.

                “He blamed me for my mother leaving.”  I began leaving out my brother because that was still a really sore subject for me. “She left when I was 6 and he started abusing me then but when I was 12 he starting sexually abusing me.” I said holding back the tears as well as I could.

                “That’s why I stopped talking because nothing I said ever made a difference.” I finished the short version of my life story and they all just stared at me in shock before Clare jumped up and ran around the table to give me a hug.

                I hugged her back not saying anything while I still held Liam’s hand tightly for strength. Clare hugged me for a couple minutes before the waiter came with our food and she returned to her seat.

                After all the sad stuff was out of the way we ended up having a good dinner. You could tell they still weren’t used to me talking, but they seemed to like me talking so it wasn’t too awkward.

                We were just finishing our food when the door opened and Liam tensed instantly. I wondered who it could be that set him on edge, so I turned around to look.