Hush

TWO

She hadn't spoken since that day. Keeping silent had never been her forte since she was a child, whether that was through laughter, singing, talking or crying- but silence came easy to her now.

They ended up in a box room with a one-way window on the far wall, and a desk with three chairs around it. She had seen such a room on the television in crime shows where the criminal was taken to be hounded by an investigator until they broke. Ruby told herself that those shows were fictional and, besides, she had done nothing wrong- she was the victim in this show.

They left her in the room, moving one of the chairs to the corner to allow space for her wheelchair, with a notepad and pen. The doctor motioned that it was okay and yelled "they'll be here soon" in her ear before leaving.

Ten minutes passed in agonising silence, leaving Ruby with nothing but the ringing in her head. She tenderly touched the fresh gauze on her ear, imagining it to be the true hindrance to her hearing and when it is finally removed she'll be able to listen to music again.

The door opened and two women entered talking to each other animatedly as if they had known each other for years. One, in a black suit with the SHIELD logo wearing away on the breast, the other in a business suit and a loose-fitting blazer. They each took a seat across from Ruby with a broad smile and amusement in their eyes.

Rationally, Ruby knew the amusement was probably a joke they shared prior to entering the room. But in her injured mind she couldn't help but feel hurt and as though such an amused look was directed at her. After all, she had always been conventionally pretty, following in the footsteps of her beautiful parents. And now? Now she was bruised and scratched and covered in white gauze and bandages. She did not feel pretty, she felt silly and humiliated in the presence of these beautiful women.

The woman in the blazer, a woman with pin-straight brown hair cropped at her pointed chin, held out a hand with a perceivably kind smile but she could've sworn there was pity in there if you looked hard enough. The name tag attached to the blazer's lapel read INSPECTOR NESS but the woman held out a piece of paper for Ruby to take: 'hello Ruby, my name is Zoe. I am a private investigator but I don't work for SHIELD. This is an informal conversation to learn what happened to you and how we can help you moving forward. My partner is Agent Auburn Stark, she is here to assist with any immediate needs you require since she has access to most areas on the ship and I do not.'

Looking between them, Ruby noted that Zoe had become much more professional as she sat straighter and watched her read. Auburn Stark, the name ringing bells in the back of her mind, was much more relaxed in her seat, with crossed arms and her blonde hair wild with fly-aways as though she had been outside moments before entering the room. Auburn had a small smile sitting at the corner of her mouth.

Zoe, she felt comfortable with through each session. It was always Zoe who was prepared for her questions in advance, such as the obvious ones. When Ruby scribbled on her notepad asking why she hurt people when she spoke Zoe was quick to pass her an explanation describing buzzwords such as supersonic and decibels along with the capabilities of the human ear. Her cursed abilities had never been explained to Ruby in such an articulate way. The doctors always dumbed it down to 'really loud' primarily to preserve their voices from the shouting, but it often looked on their faces as though they didn't expect a teenager to understand.

Auburn always watched and contributed very little to the conversation. She never looked bored but when Ruby was writing she often let the facade drop thinking the girl wouldn't notice. In truth, the agent found the process tedious, clearly out of her comfort zone in the small room.

Whenever Auburn did write a question, it always added the informal aspects Ruby had expected. The agent asked about her hobbies, to which she swiftly responded with running and music, the latter eliciting a brief glance between the two women. Auburn's questions often resulted in follow-up questions that always circled back to what they all called "the incident". Until, after nearly two weeks worth of sessions, Ruby rocked her wheelchair restlessly and asked when she could begin her speech therapy.

At this point her wounds were healing nicely and she could walk in short intervals. Her legs were itching for a long jog but she could barely make it to the interview room without collapsing into the wheelchair- pushed along behind her -in agony. The gauze had been removed from her left ear and she was now beginning to process the truth of her reality, however slowly that may be. And with regards to adjusting to her new lifestyle? She was beginning to read lips.

In answer to her question about the speech therapy, Zoe tested her lip reading abilities and said, "How's tomorrow?". Ruby nodded eagerly, desperate to show that she was more than ready and eager to get home. No one had told her how much her parents knew about the incident but she was itching to get back to them and school and her music.