The Quiet

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

*Athena's Point of View*

           Dean stood there, unsure of what his next response was going to be. I stood there waiting with anxiety. That arrest is what set my reputation in this town for the rest of my time here. Everyone heard about it because nothing goes on here, therefore they have to find something to dwell on. To the rest of the residents here, I am the murderer who killed her relative. So many parents hated me, they even made a petition to get me kicked out of school. The police assured them that it was not necessary but of course, they went against what the police said.

           "What do you mean arrested? As in you did it?" Dean questioned me as if he couldn't believe what I was saying. There was a spark in his eyes that made me tingle. He wasn't frightened, he wasn't angry. He was proud of me if what I was saying was true.

           "When the police arrived, I was there, and they assumed the worst. I was only there visiting him, and I found him." I dug my nails into my hand, pushing myself not to cry. "They wouldn't listen to me when I said I didn't do it. I was a scared girl who was being prosecuted for murder, no one believed me. My family understood I wasn't like that, I wasn't mental like others thought." I explained, making my nails dig deeper into my tan skin. I felt various emotions rising in my body. To this day, I can't stand police for that reason. When I finished my sentence, it seemed that he took the last part as a serious insult. When I said that a murderer is a mental person. I thought about it in my head, did he not think that way?

           I pushed away from the unwanted thoughts and continued my explanations, "the police didn't like my grandfather or me, so they tried to make me go away. They saw an opportunity and took it, but the judge was more understanding. I had to go through a mental evaluation many times, but they were all biased, I went to a juvie for a while until I was cleared. I couldn't do that to someone, especially someone I loved. That's why everyone thinks I am a lunatic around here, but I don't blame them." There was no reason for them to think otherwise, I would have been scared if someone else did that. Yet, they only believed what the liars spread through the town.

           "I don't understand how some people can walk around like normal people even though they killed their loved ones. I don't understand how someone could think I could do that. I felt horrible and I didn't even do anything wrong." I stated my thoughts. I could never truly understand someone else's thought process. A random person can hurt someone, kill someone and walk into a store, living their normal lives.

           Dean stared down at the granite counter, thinking over what I had just revealed. I despised talking about what happened. It was a bad time in my life, a time I relive in my dreams. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. My boyfriend looked pained at whatever was going through his head. "I-" He started but shut his mouth once again.

           "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, Dean."

           "I have to tell you something and I know you aren't going to enjoy hearing it. I don't want to go on with this relationship until you know this." I was worried that he would leave me just like all the other ones. He finally knew what happened, what I went through, and he still thought I was crazy.

           "Tell me, you know I am not going to look at you differently." He looked up from the counter and straight into my eyes. Dean mumbled something under his breath, but I couldn't hear him. "What?" I egged him on. My curiosity was eating away at me.

           "Please don't run away from me, - please." His voice cracked, begging me to understand. As the night goes on, I lose a little bit more of my heart. First, I tell him I am dying and then the murder and it keeps getting worse.