Locked in Silence

Locked in Silence~Chapter 2

Locked in Silence

Chapter 2~Trees Everywhere

I hopped out of the car and danced in the finial rays of the setting sun. I extended my arms and dipped my head back while I spun in slow circles. Free, Free, Free! I giggled like a little girl.

"Come on Jade," my mom smiled at me," Grab your bag."

I retrieved my bag and ran to the doorway, in the house, up the hall, and to my old room. The walls of my room were pale yellow, and the bed was lavender. The scent of fresh roses filled the room.

I dropped my bag and went back down stairs to help Mom with dinner. We fixed shrimp with pasta and had lemon pie for dessert.

After we finished eating, I sat and ran my finger around the rim of my pie plate before licking it clean. For the first time, I noticed how nervous my mom looked. She wrung her hands in her lap and tapped her toes.

"What's up Mom?"

"Do you really even want to be here?!" She blurted this out like it was even a remote possibility. I blinked at her in surprise.

"Are you serious? Mom, I hate Dad and that awful wife of his; I love it here with you," I smiled at her earnestly. Relief flooded her face, but it was short lived. Her smile slowly disappeared.

"Mom-"

She held up a hand to cut me off. She stood, concentrating hard as if she were trying to hear something. Her eye brows scrunched up.

I listened hard to trying to hear something when I heard a faint noise like feet shuffling. Suddenly the door burst open to revile my father, red faced with fury. Mom looked startled but then replaced the look with a mask of seniority and stood calmly.

"Will, Jade is old enough to choose who she wants to live with. She wants to live with me."

"I don't give a damn! How do you think it will look to voters if my own daughter ran away?!"

"The voters will have to get over it. Maybe it's better if you weren't governor."

My dad's face was like a tomato now, and his eyes bulged with furry.

"Do you have any idea how much work and money I've put into this campaign? Maybe if you weren't so stupid and useless you might get it. People want a family oriented governor!"

Mom was slow backing up, all traces of confidence disappeared. Even though I wasn't suppose to know, about a month after the custody case I found out that my dad had been abusive.

I used to ask Mom about the bruises that always covered her body, but she blamed them on her clumsiness. I always would believe her because I had inherited clumsiness as well.

She flinched as my dad raised his hand and brought it down hard on the side if her face. Without thinking, I grabbed a large knife from the cutting board in the kitchen. I stood protectively over my mother and set a defiant look on my face.  

"Get out of the way, Jade," he said as if I would follow his will. I stayed where I was and glared at him. I pointed the knife at him.

"Go." I spoke with authority that was not common for me.

He smiled grimly. "I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation." He pulled a large pistol from his waistband and gestured to the knife that I clutched.

"Drop it," he said with threat in his voice.

I could say that it no surprise to me that he would pull a gun on his own daughter with every intent of using it, but still I was frozen in place with shock. My eyes widened in horror, and my hand wouldn't drop the knife. I felt warm blood snake its way down my finger as my nails dug deeply into my palm.