1-A Night's Silence
As a child, Aria Nightingale was a happy and boisterous little girl. She had a loving mother and father, people who surrounded her with everything she needed in this life to be content with it. But everything changed in the blink of an eye. She lost that happiness; she lost that innocence and naivety of the world around her. And then she lost her voice. For nearly seven years now Aria had been silent, unable to utter a single word because if she did, that would put what was left of what she loved in danger. So, she stayed silent to the world around her, allowing herself to be hurt over and over again for the sake of what she cared most for. But silence could only last for so long, and with her world turning upside down in a fraction of a second, it could last even less.
Aria currently lay in bed, pretending to be asleep. She could feel his eyes on her. She could hear his breathing. She forced her own to stay steady, hoping that he wouldn't notice that his unwelcome entrance into her room woke her. His footsteps echoed menacingly in the darkness as her body tightened involuntarily. When the covers where pulled down her body, she fought back a shiver as the winter's air chilled her to the bone. Then she felt it. The cold metal of a blade lifting up the back of her shirt. Her eyes squeezed tightly as the searing pain began. She felt his breath on her neck as he whispered to her, "I know you're awake."
Sometimes she was able to keep her emotions in check and not respond. She could put herself into a mental oasis, away from all the awful things that were happening to her until it was all over and sometimes it felt like it never happened. Then there were the times where the utter disgust and terror at what was about to happen overtook her and her fight instinct kicked in. That was never a good thing because when that happened, he'd hurt her more with his favorite knife. Somewhere that she could easily see the pain he could inflict on her and those around her. It didn't happen often, but it happened now. With a whimper, Aria sat up and pulled herself away from the terrible man, covering her already pajama clad body with the comforter again. She could hear the menacing chuckle that sent a different kind a fearful shiver down her spine.
"Such a pretty little thing. I can't wait until I can have you. Until then, come here pretty girl." Aria knew what h would do, something that left her feeling dirty and disgusted with herself. So, she shook her head. That wasn't the answer he wanted though, and the look of fury on his face in that moment made her nearly regret the decision to go against him again. Almost.
The monster reached out and gripped her right wrist painfully in his hand and yanked her to him.
"Now, Aria, I thought we discussed this. When you say no, it upsets me and when you upset me, you get hurt." He said it so coolly that Aria knew what was coming. She shook her head, pleading with him, but before she could try and fight it, the blade was already in the skin of her forearm, slicing through the flesh from the inside of her elbow to her wrist, careful of the artery there. Sometimes she'd wished he would slip up, and make the numbness inside her stop forever, but then who would protect her mom from this monster's wrath?
The pain was excruciating, but not a single sound came from her mouth. Blood dripped from her back and arm as he told her to turn around and lay back down with just a flick of his wrist. She listened this time, fighting back the tears that came every time she was violated like this. When he was finished, she felt his lean back down to her and whispered into her ear.
"Now clean up sweet girl, its almost time for you to get up and go to school. Until next time." He kissed her neck and Aria listened intently to the sound of his footsteps leaving until the door closed behind him. She instantly jumped out from the bed and ran to the bathroom that attached to her bedroom. She was lucky enough to have it. She couldn't imagine if she had to walk across the halls more than she did already with him here. She'd tried locking her bedroom door, but that only made the next morning so much worse for herself.
She showered now, trying to scrub the dirty from her body. She scrubbed her hair vigorously, ignoring the ache in her back and stinging burn in her arm. This pain was nothing knew, this disgust just the same as it was since she was young. However, it felt like no amount of scrubbing her skin raw would make any of it better. So, in the shower, where she felt the safest as he'd never entered it before, Aria let the tears fall. As silent as the last seven years, they fell into the cascading water. She scrubbed her hair and her skin to the point of pain as the water ran down her cheeks and into the drain.
Since she could remember, he'd always said he couldn't wait for her to turn 18. In his mind, whatever sickness Aria knew he had in him, they were soulmates and he was being chivalrous, waiting until she was 18 to claim, what in his mind, was rightfully his. But that didn't stop him from hurting her, threatening her mother until she stopped speaking entirely, because she knew if she were to say even one word, the pain and anguish would flood out behind it, and then she wouldn't be able to keep her mother safe.
Still, Aria couldn't get out of her mind, that in nearly two weeks she would be 18, and he would cross the line and take the one thing he hadn't yet. Thing was, she didn't know what to do about it. How could she keep her mother safe, and keep him off her? How could she stop what had been going on for so long at this point? Aria closed her eyes tightly, the days were coming fast, and she had not a single clue, of what she could do to save herself, and her mother from that monster.
Her stepfather.
She came back into her room and into her closet, changing into a pair of black jeans, ripped with style and a plain hunter green long sleeve. She towel-dried her long auburn hair before brushing it out and putting it into a loose braid then proceeded to put on her socks and black combat styled boots before looking at the clock. It was still dark out and much too early to be heading to school yet. So instead she ripped the sheets and blanket off her bed that still held trace stains of her blood and her stepfather's filth and headed quietly out of her room and into the basement where the washer and dryer sat.
She made it down without a sound and put the blankets in the wash, setting it to the highest clean setting. Unfortunately, this was something she had to do all too often. She turned, nearly waltzing into a new cobweb before she paused and walked around it. Though basements were generally an eerie place used to scare people in movies, Aria liked hers. It had once been a kids game den, where her and her friends could go when she had slumber parties and when her real dad and her played video games together. Now it sat, dusty and used as a storage unit. There were a few pieces of gym equipment, a treadmill, pull-up bar, and a 360-degree machine her mother had purchased her a few Christmases ago. She would use it when her stepfather was at work after school, in hopes of releasing all the awful energy he put onto her. It barely worked though.
Aria let out a silent sigh and walked back to her room, her feet hitting the floor silently. She'd become an expert at that quickly, in order to evade him. When she got back into her room she sat down at her desk, pulling out her assigned homework, slipped on her glasses and focused her attention on Calculus. Her only escaped from him was school, an eight-and-a-half-hour break from the torment he caused her, and she put all her effort into it. Due to the fact that she didn't speak, Aria didn't have friends, the ones she used to have separated themselves from her a long time ago when they noticed she started to change. She was okay with that though, with less people she cared for there were less people he could hurt. Though she didn't have friends, she was known around the school due to her academic and silent status. Her nickname, as unoriginal as it was, was Silent and when she walked by people, their hushed whispers reached her ears with ease.
A knock on the door sounded, causing Aria to turn from her focus on the equation in front of her. The door opened slowly, and her mother's head popped through the door.
"Good morning Aria, I have to head in a little early, but I wanted to let you know that I have some wonderful news. The firm I'm working for has an out-of-county case and they decided to put me and an assistant of my choice on it. Isn't that great?" she was so excited that Aria couldn't help but smile back at her, it had taken a long time for her to get back to normal, and it wasn't her fault Aria was being punished for it. So, she simply nodded.
"I will do my utmost to make it back in time for your birthday though so don't you fret okay?" she said as she waltzed up to Aria and kissed her on the forehead. This, this was what she fought so hard to keep, even if her mother couldn't understand why she suddenly went silent.
"I already know who I have in mind for the assistant position, and we'll be leaving tonight. I was hoping, if it wasn't to much to ask, that you could whip up one of your fancy dinners for all of us? I wanted to invite her and her family over to get acquainted since she and I will be working together closely for quite a while." Aria simply nodded. Her mother had learned to ask yes and no questions, of which she was grateful for.
"Wonderful, there will be us three and her, her husband, and her two kids." Aria nodded once more, and her mother squealed happily before kissing her forehead once more and waving her goodbyes. Aria waved back and when the door was closed again, she let her face fall. Sometimes it hurt to pretend.
Aria stood, tossing her work into her backpack and bringing it out into the kitchen. It was a very nice and fairly large kitchen. It had been remodeled years ago to fit her mother's need for light and warm colors. The wooden cabinets were the color of the desert sand, the granite counter top a white with orange and red flecks placed throughout it. An island sat in the middle that matched and had four breakfast bar stools with cushions that had kokopelli designed into the stitching. The appliances were all a brushed silver and the window above the sink had been widened letting in a large amount of natural light and covered by a sheer red curtain. Aria loved it because she loved cooking and it gave her ample space to do something she enjoyed.
She took out the meats she decided to cook from the freezer, so it had enough time to defrost throughout the day and then grabbed a granola bar from the cabinet. She munched on it before throwing out the wrapper and hearing the washer ping as it finished the cycle. She went back downstairs and switched it to the dryer. When she came back up, she saw it was time to head to school. She was considered too close to get a bus ride their and she didn't have a car, though she'd had her license for two years. She also wasn't allowed to work because her stepfather had thoroughly convinced her mother that it was too dangerous for her. So, she walked, every day there and back. She wore no jacket, as she felt the cold was comforting. It allowed her to feel something more than what she was used to.
Aria grabbed her backpack and strolled to the front door trying to escape quietly. But of course, that couldn't happen, could it?
"Two weeks, alone together, isn't that wonderful?" Aria's body froze and she turned to find him standing in the hall entryway between the front door and living room. He wore his uniform for work. He was a mechanic and made good money. He was also not an ugly man on the outside, but Aria knew what he was on the inside. A monster. He smiled as her breathing nearly stopped, her hand frozen on the door's handle.
"Starting tonight." He said, and before he could say anything more she turned and opened the door, slamming it behind her and walking as fast as she could in the thin layer of snow that lay on the ground, the cold air the only thing keeping her attention at the moment. Two weeks, alone, with a monster. Her stepfather, Daniel.
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J. Vas