Luca watched as Ariana disappeared into the school building.
His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he drove to his college, but his mind wasn’t on the road.
It was on her.
Ariana.
She hadn’t even looked at him when he dropped her off. Hadn’t responded when he spoke.
It wasn’t just her usual quietness, it was something else. Like she wasn’t there. Like she was walking into that building already defeated.
And he hated that.
Hated that he didn’t know what was wrong. Hated that he had to wait for her to say something.
Because what if she never did?
Luca exhaled sharply, forcing himself to focus on the drive.
After class, I’ll talk to her.
He couldn't let this go on.
She was shutting down right in front of him, and he refused to just watch it happen.
But as he pulled into the parking lot of his college, a sharp unease settled in his chest.
Like something was about to go wrong.
He shook the thought off. He was overthinking.
Ariana would be fine.
She had to be.
------------------------------
Ariana barely took a step inside before she was grabbed.
She didn’t fight it.
Didn’t even react.
She had expected this.
She knew they wouldn’t leave her alone.
Rough hands shoved her forward, guiding her through the empty hallway.
A sharp tug on her wrist forced her to move faster.
They weren’t speaking yet.
That was always worse.
It meant they had already decided.
The door appeared too quickly.
A hard shove sent her stumbling forward.
The storage room.
The scent of old books and cleaning supplies burned her nose.
She barely caught herself before she hit the floor.
Then, the first hit came.
A shove to her back, hard.
Her shoulder slammed into a metal shelf, the impact rattling through her bones.
She didn’t make a sound.
Ariana never made a sound.
Hannah stepped forward, arms crossed, her lips curled in amusement.
“You really thought ignoring us would make us stop?”
Ariana stayed still.
She knew better than to answer.
Another push.
Her back slammed into the shelf again.
A small bottle tumbled down, rolling across the floor.
YOU ARE READING
Silent Scars
Teen FictionAfter enduring years of neglect and cruelty from her mother and stepfather, Ariana's life changes drastically when tragedy brings her under the guardianship of five brothers she's never met and they never even knew they had a sister. For her brother...
