Radio Silence | Scarlett Johansson X OC Daughter

24 | Rapist.

The world seemed to stop, the only thing existing was Sage's heart pounding against her ribs.

Her father.

Her mother's rapist.

A lump formed in her throat, taking up so much space she could barely breathe.

Her father.

No.

She snapped back to reality just as the man, her father, stood up. He approached her, his steps long and loud. His face held a hard smile, not quite reaching his brown eyes. The fine lines at the corners of his eyes didn't move, somehow making the smile empty, invisible.

Sage swallowed, resisting the urge to take a step back. She needed to create distance between them. Fear consumed her, her chest filling with something cold and uncomfortable.

"Hello Sage." His voice was as cold as his empty smile, his yellow teeth baring. "It's nice to meet you."

Staying silent, Sage swallowed again. Her throat feeling dry and rough, almost painful. Daniel scoffed at her lack of reaction, a hand reaching up to run through his greasy hair.

"I'm sure your mother has told you a lot about me. Hasn't she?" The question hung in the air, his brown eyes piercing her like a dagger in her chest.

When she didn't respond he scoffed again.

"God, she was always such a drama queen."

The word 'rapist' clawed its way up in her throat but Sage swallowed it back down again p. Instead, her eyes fell on the officers standing beside the principal. She hoped they would understand the question in her eyes. What was he doing here?

The other officer, a man with blonde floppy hair and pale lips, stepped forward. He seemed nervous which didn't exactly calm Sage's racing heart.

"Mr Hawthorne is here to take you home." His hand flew to the back of his neck.

Sage's heart dropped, sinking like a stone in her chest. Her eyes went wide, her pulse picking up even more than before.

"He never signed away his parental rights, therefore he has full custody of you."

The sentence echoed through Sage's head. This couldn't be real. She swallowed again, a lump forming in her throat.

Finally, she managed to speak up. "But all of my stuff-"

Her father interrupted her with a wave. "I've already bought you some things, and we'll go shopping tomorrow for new clothes and such. I don't want you going back there."

Back there.

Back home?

Back where it's safe.

Back to Scarlett.

Back to mom.

The female officer cleared her throat, Sage's eyes shifting over to her.

"You will be homeschooled for a week, just to help you settle in, and then you'll be coming back here as usual."

She spoke about it like it was a homework assignment, not Sage's life, her future.

"Are we leaving-" Sage started, her sentence once again interrupted by the man in front of her.

"Right now, yes."

The officers bid farewell before Daniel led Sage to his car in the parking lot. A black BMW, with tinted windows, stood parked near the entrance. He didn't say anything, just gestured for her to get inside. Sage chose the back seat to create as much distance between them as possible. Silence hung in the air as he pulled out of the parking lot and started driving.