The Mute Girl

Chapter 7

I look at my sisters, tilting my head inquisitively.

"We can't risk you getting hurt. And I swear to Grandmother, we will send those jerks to their graves and have Grandpa Noah deal with them," Marmara growls.

If you're confused, our grandmother is God. Her name is Stacy. Mom is her daughter. Grandpa Noah, he's Satan. Grandma and Noah are in love. They had our uncles, Simon and Sebastian. It's weird to say, but our family is very messed up. But I can save that story for later. Just don't forget to remind me.

Anywho, I stare at my sisters in shock. I blink at them, confused.

It's not like I purposefully meant for the populars to come up on me. I was just minding my own business and they came up to me. And now my siblings are taking it out of control and telling me I can't come here anymore?

Kassie's phone buzzes next. She picks it up and reads the text. I look up at my her.

"Bells, Zander is here," she says. "We're getting you out of here."

I nod, watching them. Picking up my stuff, they lead me out to Zander's car, a black Hellcat with flame designs on the side, which is his pride and joy. Besides his girlfriend.

"Zander, take her straight home. We have to discuss this with Mom and Dad," Kassie says.

"We have smaller fish to fry right now," Marmara growls.

Zander looks between the girls and me. "Understood. Now, make sure you don't use magic. And cover up your tracks, got it?"

Kassie and Marmara nod, set my stuff in the back seat of Zander's car, and head back inside the school.

I slip into the front seat and buck myself up. The seats are a really cool red colored leather that has shiny black leather on the edges.

Zander's car is pretty cool, and the ladies really like him. It's gross how slutty they act with him. He didn't even date when he was younger. I'm proud of him.

"Bells, you know that if I could, I would have taken you with me to my school, right?" Z asks, his voice quivering slightly.

I nod, looking out the window as we drive. The trees and cars turn into colorful blurs as we go by.

"I love you, Clarabelle. Don't ever forget that, ok?" He tells me. I can tell he's getting emotional. I turn my head and take a good look at him.

His eyes are red and puffy, the kind that you know are tired and have just cried. His face is stained with the reminents of tears that have dried up on his dark cheeks. His hair is messed up, like he's been running his hands through it constantly. His hands grip the wheel tightly, the way that an angry/sad person who's trying to control their emotions would.

I reach my hand out to him and rest it on his. I watch as a wave of fresh tears run down his cheeks.

Never in my life have I wanted to speak more than right now. I want to console my brother. I want to see him smile instead of cry. I hate seeing his tears. It tears me up inside. It makes me feel so bad.

Soon, we arrive back home. Zander climbs out of the car and comes around to meet me. He grabs my stuff, then picks me up like I'm 4. I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist as he sets me on his hip. He heads inside the house and takes me up to my room.

"Bells, do you think I should propose to her?" Z asks as he sets me on my bed.

I plug in my phone as I look up at him.

Zander's been with a few girls in his lifetime. He's referring to his most recent girlfriend, Danielle Zarriman. She is the absolute sweetest, funniest, most amazing girl Zander has brought home. He's got good, refined taste in women. Danielle is a great cook, too. She bakes me cookies a lot.

I nod a lot.

He smiles as he looks in my vanity mirror, wiping away his tears. "Where should I do it? And when?"

I think for a moment. I grab a pad of paper and a pencil, then begin writing. When I'm done, I hold out the pad of paper to him.

He turns to me and grabs the pad. He reads what I wrote and a grin breaks out across his face.

"That's an amazing idea, Bell Bell," Z says, bending down to hug me. He kisses my cheek. "You're so smart, just like Mom," he tells me.

I shake my head. "If I were smart, I wouldn't have problems with bullies," I sign.

"You'd still be bullied. People will be mean. You remember cousin Ryan?" Zander asks. I nod. "He still gets bullied for being such a momma's boy. He's my age, Bells. People are gonna be like that."

I sigh.

Zander sits next to me. "You wanna know why nobody messes with me?" I look at him and nod. "It's because I've made a name for myself. I instilled fear into the hearts of people who look at me. But that's not how my family sees me. You don't see me as a monster, because I don't make myself seem that way."

I look at my feet.

Zander has made people fear him, so he's not messed with. He's like Uncle Alex, the notorious mafia leader.

I look back up at him.

"Bells, you know everyone loves you, right? We wouldn't let anything happen to you on purpose."

I lay my head on his lap. He rubs my shoulder and we just stay like that, in silence.

I jolt when I feel something wet on my cheek. I reach up and touch my cheek, looking up at Zander. He's crying again. I sit up and grab my phone. I quickly send Danielle a text, asking her to come over for Zander.

Within 10 minutes, the doorbell rings and I run down to get it. Dani comes in, taking off her heels and suit jacket.

"Hey, Bells," she says, kissing the top of my head. "Where is he?" She asks, setting the jacket on a coat hanger in the closet by the front door.

I take her hand after she sets her heels down and take her up to my room. Zander looks up and his eyes go wide. He quickly wipes away his tears.

"Hey, Dani," he says, his voice shaky. "What are you doing here?"

"Your sister ratted you out about crying," she says, sitting on my bed next to him. "Z, you gotta stop doing this to yourself. You can't hold all this in," she whispers, kissing him softly. "Come on, let's go to your room and talk." She takes his hand and guides him to his room.

I watch after them.

After they go in, I go to my bed and lay down, wrapping my arms around my pillow. My phone buzzes and I pick it up, reading a text from Dani. I frown and read it.

Dani💙: Bells, would u mind going to a friend's? Z doesn't want u to hear him yelling

Me: ok

I grab an overnight bag that I keep for just in case, then bail on the house with my phone.