Radio Silence | Scarlett Johansson X OC Daughter

8 | Good girls stay silent.

It was almost four in the morning when Sage woke up from a nightmare. She was drenched in sweat and she knew she wouldn't sleep anymore that night. Sage never slept more than three hours straight. If she managed to fall asleep from watching the bedroom door, she could only sleep for a while before the nightmares came. He was there in every one, violating her over and over again. His words still echoed through her head even though she was awake.

Good girls stay silent.

What she needed was a hug, or someone that cared. The girl longed for comfort as she was starved of it for most of her life. But physical contact also meant weakness. It could lead to the things Damien had done to her. The promise he had made her keep.

Good girls stay silent.

Sage was a good girl. She was silent. The girl hadn't spoken in years. She couldn't even remember the sound of her own voice anymore.

—

A soft knock on Sage's bedroom door pulled the girl out of her book. She glanced up just as the door swung open and Scarlett peaked inside. When the woman noticed that she was awake, she smiled.

"Morning." She said. "Did you sleep okay? I'm guessing the first night in a new place could be hard?"

Sage nodded and surprisingly smiled back. She never smiled back like that. Even though she hadn't slept that much at all, she still liked that Scarlett seemed to care.

"I was just about to go downstairs to make breakfast. Do you want to join me?" The woman asked, leaning against the doorframe.

The sheets crackled softly as Sage stood up and nodded. She watched as the woman's smile grew even bigger when Sage went to fetch her whiteboard and pen. They walked downstairs in a comfortable silence before Scarlett walked into the kitchen.

"So, what do you want for breakfast?" She asked, tugging at the fridge door so it swung open.

Sage simply shrugged but instead of getting frustrated like her past foster parents had, Scarlett just smiled softly.

"Would you like some yoghurt?" She asked, pulling out a container and turning to Sage.

The girl nodded before quickly scribbling down 'that would be great, thank you'.

"Okay then, do you want some granola with that?" Scarlett closed the fridge and walked over to the pantry.

She pulled out a box of granola and turned to Sage to show her. The girl nodded again so Scarlett poured the yoghurt and granola into two white bowls and sat one down in front of Sage. Scarlett sat down next to the girl before handing her a spoon.

"So, Sage," Scarlett started after a comfortable pause, "what's your favorite color?"

Taken aback by the question, Sage tilted her head as her eyes glittered with curiosity.

"Just curious." Scarlett chuckled and watched as Sage reached for her whiteboard.

The girl quickly scribbled down 'I like blue and green' before turning the whiteboard so it faced Scarlett.

"Smart choice." The woman agreed before shoving another spoonful in her mouth.

Sage turned her whiteboard back around and quickly wrote: 'Can I ask you something too?'