The Mute

Chapter 3

In the morning she awoke to an unfamiliar site. It took Sophia a moment to realize where she was, she must have a fallen asleep at Olive's last night. She was wrapped up in a blanket on a brown sofa.

"Morning!" came an unsuspected voice. Sophia shot up to see Olive sat on an armchair opposite her. Again she had that warm smile on her face, that instantly sent a shiver through Sophia's spine. "Didn't mean to scare you, but you looked so peaceful that I felt cruel if I woke you. Oh and don't worry about your mum, I called them after you fell asleep and asked if it was alright for you to stay over. They were fine with it!"

"Thank you," Sophia answered whilst yawning. She lazily sat up and then realized she probably looked an absolute mess. Quickly she said "Do you mind if I go freshen up, I always look horrible in the morning!"

"Yeah that's fine, I picked out some of my clothes I thought you'd like. I'm sure we are about the same size," Olive stated, motioning to the end of the sofa. Sophia got up, picked up the clothes and rushed to the bathroom. She was right, she looked a mess. Her hair was all frizzy and static plus, her breath was bad...really bad. She felt so embarrassed. Sophia put on the clothes Olive provided. A blue t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. Luckily they fit perfectly. Her teeth!! She didn't have a toothbrush with her and she wasn't going to go rooting around for a spare one. Sophia remembered in her jeans pocket was a box of mints. She downed the whole load, it was very very minty but it sorted out the bad breath problem.

Slightly embarrassed, but feeling more presentable she returned to the living room. "Sophia, I was thinking," Sophia knew this wasn't going to end well. "You have to tell Harry, he has a right to know. He lost his twin after all, and he's probably still beating himself up."

Sophia knew that Olive was right, he did have a right to know. "He lives about half an hour away if we go by bus. We could go see him today, if you want" Sophia inquired. Olive nodded her head. They packed their things and told each others parents they were going to visit Harry. Sophia's parents seemed surprised but didn't question it. So they set off on the 30 minute bus ride to Harry's house. It was a nervous journey for Sophia. Not only had she not seen her brother in 2 and a half years but she was about to tell him that their father killed his twin!

Before she knew it, they were standing outside the door of her brother's house and Olive was ringing the bell. "SOPHIA!!" two large arms wrapped around her and pulled her in "What are you doing here? Who's your friend? AHH I can't believe your here, it's been so long! Stop standing outside, come in come in!" This was surprising, the last time Sophia had seen her brother, he was packing his stuff and moving. He was distraught and crying all the time. It was strange to see him so happy. Sophia, of course, would rather see him happy but it was still weird.

Olive walked behind Sophia as she walked into a small but cosy living room. It had cream walls and chocolate coloured sofas. Opposite the largest sofa was a fireplace surrounded by a mantelpiece. All over the walls were pictures, some of the family some of his friends. It was nice for Sophia to see him settled and having a good life. "So, Soph what's the nature of this unexpected visit?" Harry questioned whilst sinking into an armchair.

"Um, I need to speak to Olive a second. In private!" Sophia replied. Harry nodded with a confused expression on his face. Sophia led Olive to the kitchen and closed to door behind her.

"What's going on?" Olive asked.

"I can't tell him, he's so happy and he's in a really good place at the moment and I don't want to ruin that. Olive seriously it will break him and I can't set him back." Olive nodded but she knew it had to be done.

"I understand that but Sophia, he needs to know. He has the right to know who killed his brother. He may seem happy now but how do you that's not just an act so you don't worry. Sophia he needs to know!" Sophia broke down. She couldn't hold the tears in any longer. Olive pulled her into a securing hug and consoled her. Olive knew that it could break Sophia's family but it was a risk she was willing to take in order to get Sophia's father where he belonged. In prison!

They both walked back to the living room, Olive leading the way this time. Harry noticed instantly that Sophia had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy and they still had tears in them. "Soph what's wrong?" he looked over to Olive "Sorry, I don't know your name, but can you tell me whats going on!"

"My name's Olive. Uh..Sophia has something she needs to say to you," Harry looked over in Sophia's direction, his eyebrows raised.

"Harry I'm so sorry, you seem so happy now but I know you have to know the truth." Harry seemed concerned "I.....I.." Sophia took a deep breath "I know who killed James,"

Tears instantly formed in Harry's eyes. He tried to block any thoughts of James. Of course he would always be in the back of his mind but, he spent so many days beating himself up that his mental health deteriorated. Therapy helped him a lot, it taught him that nothing he would do could bring his brother back and that he needs to get on with his life. Since those therapy sessions, Harry has lived everyday to the fullest. Never wasting a second or regretting choices he made.

Sophia went on to explain the story. Continuously, she tried to read the expression on Harry's face. She didn't know whether he was angry at her or at their dad. A stream of tears constantly fell down all their faces, including Olives. "Are you mad at me for taking so long to tell you?" Sophia asked after the story finished.

Harry wiped the tears from his eyes and took a large breath in. "Don't be silly of course I'm not mad at you. I just don't get why it took you so long to tell me?" Sophia could tell Harry was trying hard not to cry. He was also gritting his teeth in an attempt not to go a beat the crap out of their dad.

"There's more. I heard dad threaten mum if she told anyone, and I was scared she was going to get hurt if I went to the police." Sophia replied nervously. Immediately, Harry stood up and stormed out the door. He shouted for Olive and Sophia to get in the car.

"Whe..where are we going?" Olive hesitantly asked.

"Home!" No one spoke for the rest of the car journey. Every now and then, Olive and Sophia would turn and give each other worried glances. Olive was scared she just started something worse then tearing the family apart. Sophia was scared her brother was about to murder her father!

They haphazardly pulled up the driveway of the Gray residents and Harry slammed his fist repeatedly against the door.....

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A/N - Thank You to everyone that has been reading the book. I would really appreciated any comments or messages on things I could improve. 

  - Jess xx