Aria's hands trembled, her heart racing. The sharp pain in her ribs pulsed like a cruel reminder of her reality, and the words seemed to blur before her eyes.
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸?
The thought hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.
𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦? 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 . 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?
"Aria, do you have any relatives you know about? We will try to contact them."
The social worker asked gently. Aria shook her head.
𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦.
"Okay, Aria. Let me do some background checks and a DNA test too. Maybe we can find someone who is ready to take care of you."
After saying that, she left the room with the police officer. The words they spoke felt foreign. She had spent her life in silence, unable to voice her thoughts, and now they were discussing a future that seemed as murky as the shadows creeping along the walls.
As the pain in her ribs and hands sharpened, she leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes to block out the memories that threatened to flood in, memories of strict rules and unforgiving hands.
Flashback:-
𝘈 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦
𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘤𝘬. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘱,𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘺, 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.
"𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶"
𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘵, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘯.
"𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴."
𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥.
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵, 𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦.
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The silence of the room was shattered by Lila's sudden entrance.
The social worker sat across from Aria, her voice soft but steady.
“Aria, you have brothers. Your older brother, he’s ready to take you in as your guardian. He wants to look after you, Aria. ”
Aria blinked, her mind struggling to process the words.
𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴?
Aria’s heart pounded.
𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.
She didn't know their face, their names or even their voices. Yet somehow, the thought of them filled her with a starnge mix of fear and longing.
𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦? 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦?
She wasn't sure how to feel. She had just learned she even had brothers and now they are ready to be....... family.
She nodded slowly, her fingers trembling in her lap.
A flicker of hope mixed with hesitation rose within her, but she quickly pushed it down, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. The years of rules and silence held her back, filling her with doubt. She barely managed a nod, but deep inside, the thought settled fragile but real. Maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t truly alone.
The social worker contined,
"They live in Italy. Your elder brother has already made arrangements for you to travel there. A flight has been booked, and you’ll leave today.”
Aria’s eyes widened, her fingers tightening around the edge of her chair.
𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘺.
It felt so far away, like a world she couldn’t even picture.
The social worker continued, her tone steady.
“I know it’s sudden, but everything has been prepared for you. Your brother wants to welcome you into his home as soon as possible. You’ll be meeting him and your other brothers shortly after you arrive.”
Aria barely nodded, still processing the news. Leaving today, traveling across the world to a place she’d never been, to meet people she only just learned existed. Her heart raced, but beneath her nerves, a tiny spark of something unfamiliar flickered.....hope.
Lila took Aria to her house so thats she can take all her belongings before going to Italy.
As they arrived at the dimly lit house, Aria hesitated at the threshold. The walls felt like they were closing in, memories of pain and silence haunting her.
“Take your time.”
Lila called from outside, sensing her apprehension.
Aria stepped inside, her gaze falling on the bare room that had served as both her sanctuary and her prison.
She moved to her small closet, carefully picking up the few items she had, a faded jeans, a threadbare sweater, and a simple shirt. On her nightstand, she picked up a bottle of painkillers, the only thing that provided a semblance of relief from the physical and emotional agony that had consumed her.
As she reached the hallway, her eyes caught sight of scattered cigarettes and an empty beer bottle littering the floor. Bloodstains marred the walls, dredging up painful memories that clawed at her insides. Overwhelmed, she stepped back outside to Lila, unable to remain in that haunting space for even a second. Her heart raced, uncertainty gnawing at her.....what would happen next?
YOU ARE READING
Silent Scars
Teen FictionAfter enduring years of neglect and cruelty from her mother and stepfather, Ariana's life changes drastically when tragedy brings her under the guardianship of five brothers she's never met and they never even knew they had a sister. For her brother...
