PUBLISHING PAPERBACK (after writing the final draft, I wrote this 2 years ago.)
"I see through those silent lies of yours, Liv."
𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫, the girl who's known to be mute in school. No one knows why though, and she doesn't want anyo...
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I wake up to the sun right in my face, groaning and needing new curtains to block the sun out. It's just a little past seven, and I hear voices downstairs, everyone but me up for the day. Noah and Cassie have school, mom and Mason have work-I don't know if mom's going back to work today or not though, it's just an assumption.
I wonder when I'll go back to school, knowing I have to. I'm going to have so much fucking work to catch up on. There's only two school days left this week because of Thanksgiving break, so I'll maybe go back next week. Even though I don't really ever want to go back, I need to though I know.
I sit up, wincing when pain surges through me. I resist rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, knowing how bad that'll hurt. Even though I didn't sleep for shit, I ended up reading more of the book Adrian brought me so I could avoid nightmares, leaving me with just a couple hours of sleep.
I go to the bathroom, using it then brushing my teeth, going to my closet for a hoodie-one of Adrian's specifically. I ignore the mirror as always, putting my hair into a horrible bun so I don't have to deal with it for now. I put some socks on before heading downstairs to where everyone else is.
"Morning, Liv," Noah's the first to see me walk into the kitchen, I smile and wave. The kitchen is really fucking nice, this whole house is. They even have a pool-I can't wait for summer now. Swimming sounds perfect right now, if only it weren't freezing outside.
"Good morning, Olive," mom says happily, coming over and kissing my head. "What would you like to eat for breakfast?" I shake my head to say nothing, not having an appetite. I can never eat right after I wake up, and breakfast has never been my thing. "Well, if you get hungry you come in here and grab whatever you want."
Five years? I want to ask her but don't.
Mason walks over to mom, saying things about work and all that, something important happening today. Mom had mentioned that they work together, which is how they met in the first place-five fucking years ago. Mason is CEO of whatever company and mom's just right under him now, they're doing good. It's a shock when they're married that they're even allowed to work together, but Mason is CEO now so... whatever. I don't really care.
"I can't leave her home alone," mom scolds him lowly but I still hear, Noah catching on. Mason mumbles a few more things-an important business meeting apparently. I don't want to be alone, not now, not when dad is still out there somewhere, but I also don't want to just be with mom all day now.
"Noah." Mason looks at his son, but not before giving me a sympathetic look. "Want to stay home today?"
"Fuck yeah. That's a stupid question." I can't hold back my laugh, listening to mom and Mason scold him for cursing and Cassie too as she eats her yogurt.
"Okay, then you can. Stay with Olivia, you got that?" Noah nods without hesitation and I don't even feel annoyed with the fact that they're all worried about leaving me home alone with everything that just happened-I would be too. And still, dad hasn't been found yet. He could come and find me at any given moment.
