Silence

Chapter 3

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"What happened? Are you okay? What happened to your arms? Are you okay?"

I roll my eyes at my dad's frantic questioning. He's gonna get killed if he doesn't focus on the road. The thought brings up painful memories, so I ignore it and answer his questions.

"I'm fine, Dad," I sign. "I fell and got some bruises. The R-I-D-D-L-E-R was in the theater. I solved the riddle to where he was."

"You what?" His face is a mix of disbelief and pride. "You solved one of his Riddles?"

"Yes," I respond. "N-I-G-H-T-W-I-N-G was there and I told him. I was not in danger."

"Well, you were in quite a bit of danger, but at least you're safe now," he remarks. Then he does a double take. "Wait you met Nightwing?"

"Yes." I wonder if this is going to happen every time I tell this story. We live in Gotham, so running into a guy in a mask and spandex shouldn't be that uncommon. "He was nice. He and his team stopped R-I-D-D-L-E-R."

"That's good," he says with a sigh of relief. "The important thing is you're safe. You're mother's going to throw a fit when she gets home. And it doesn't help that your grandma's coming over for dinner."

"What?"  I sign in distress. "Please no, please no! Not tonight!"

My begging doesn't work.

"You know you're grandmother," he says. I can tell he's not looking forward to it either. My dad did not get lucky in the mother-in-law department. My grandmother has a... less than pleasant personality. She's the poster woman for the stern, always unhappy old woman, whose opinions are almost always negative. We love her, and I know she loves us, she just has difficulty showing it. "If we try to reschedule now, you know how she'll react."

I shudder at the thought. He laughs.

"Oh, and we're also babysitting Heidi tonight. Dustin and Connie are having a date night and they need us to watch Heidi till about ten." I smile. Heidi is my two-year-old niece, and she'll be a nice distraction from everything that's happened today. "I'm taking the rest of the day off, so me and you are clean up around the house. Don't want Grandma to think we're slobs."

I nod. We drive the rest of the way home without much talking. I stare out of the window, watching the city fly past. We finally reach our house in the suburbs. My parents moved here after I was born, saying it was safer than living in the heart of the city, even though he still works there. My dad pulls into the drive and we go inside. We're greeted by Pine, our Siberian Husky. He looks fierce and tough, but he's a big softy. That is, unless someone tries to get between him and Heidi. I give him a pet and head to the stairs.

I climb the stairs to my room, and fall onto my bed. I take a deep breath. It's all over. I turn to see Pine followed me. He jumps on my bed and curls up next to me. We lie there for a few minutes before I start picking up around my room, not that it needs much. We keep a fairly clean house, but Grandma thinks if it's not spotless, it's a pigsty. I wonder how damaged the auditorium is. I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, and I see a group text from Mel to Bridgett and I.

How r u guys doing? My mom is freaking out lol!

Mine too! Bridgett responds.

My dad wouldn't stop asking if I was ok. I remark.

We text back and forth about how our parents are overreacting, though I think it's warranted. Mel suggests we do something this weekend, but Bridgett has work. That leaves Melony and I. She wants to hang out at the mall. I say that I might, but I may need some time to decompress from today. After she responds with "ok" I leave the conversation for now. I put in my earbuds and turn on my music. I pick up a book off my shelf and begin to read, occasionally stopping to pet Pine. Soon, my dad knocks on the door and comes in.