The Selective Mute Princess (Published Sample)

Four

Time was a funny thing. They say it takes an average of sixty-six days to form a habit and only twenty-one days to break one. Ethan had been gone three days, so in that sense, I had another eighteen days to go. Another eighteen days, and I'd finally not expect him to walk through my door whenever I had a nightmare.

I stared out the window with the quilt pulled over me. The sun had just finished coming up—sunrise number four that I had seen. They were pretty but superficial; it just reminded me that we had another day. Soon enough, I'd be watching the sun set and the cycle would continue.

Nightmare, wake up, expect Ethan, then stay awake because it felt like I couldn't breathe.

It didn't take long for my peace to be shattered. My bedroom door opened, and I looked over my shoulder, seeing both my parents walk in. I turned away from them.

"Amelia, please, you need to get out of bed," I felt the bed dip as Dad sighed, "or at least eat."

I snuggled into the quilt, blocking them out.

"Amelia, please," Mum whispered.

They both switched, begging for me to get up and eat, but it wasn't that easy. I stared straight ahead. While my body was in the room, it was like I wasn't really there. This time, instead of leaving after the normal twenty minutes, they let someone else into the room.

I recognized the footsteps. Natasha. She sat in front of me, pulling the covers away from me. "Come on."

I stared at her.

Natasha looked up at my parents. "She hasn't eaten or drank?"

"No, her food is left untouched, and she hasn't drank," Dad said.

"You could solve this easily," Natasha said. "You told me you saw a change in her; surely, that's a positive sign. Bring Agent Sparks back."

"Over my dead body," Mum snapped. "He was getting too close. She was going to get hurt."

"With all due respect, that's not your choice," Natasha countered. "It's her choice. I'll give her fluids through IV, but it's not a long-term solution. I don't like poking her with needles. I stopped being a nurse for a reason." Natasha reached down and cleaned my hand as she prepared for the cannula. I watched as she inserted it into my hand, then she left the room, only to come back a few minutes later with some bagged fluids and attached me to them.

They all left the room, leaving me alone once more. I looked at the cannula in my hand, wanting nothing more than to rip it out, but knowing I needed it, I kept it in. I closed my eyes and eventually fell asleep.

I shot up, holding my chest as I sobbed. The vision of Ava's body bleeding out onto the floor was too much to handle. I bit my lip to stop any sound from escaping. Sitting up, I reached for my pillow and held it to my chest as I cried into it. Taking a deep breath in, the smell hit me almost immediately. Ethan. Although he wasn't here, it helped a bit. His smell was still on my pillow. It was as if a part of him was still in bed with me. I had finally let him into my heart—too bad he was gone.

***

It had been a week and a half since my dad fired Ethan, and in that time, I hadn't left my bed once. I spent all night riddled with nightmares, which usually sent me into a state of panic and struggling to breathe. I spent all day in bed, trying to sleep and not be sick. It was a cycle I struggled to break. Every morning, both my parents would come into my room and try to get me out of bed, and about twenty minutes later, they would leave and send in a doctor.

I looked over at the clock and saw it was nine a.m., which meant my parents would be coming in to try to get me out of bed once again. I turned away from the door and faced the window, watching outside. I coughed and held onto my chest.