Sealed and Silenced (Watty Awards 2012)

Sealed and Silenced: Chapter 13

My dreams were filled with frightening things. Horrible monsters and cold winds that froze me where I stood. Occasionally, there would be gentle light, and then it would fade back into dark. I felt so alone, so cold. It seemed like a millennium before I awoke.

Slowly, my eyes flutter open. The swelling seems to have gone down, but I’m sure my face is black. The sky above me is dark. A brilliant dance of gold pierces the dark to my right. My head lifts itself off the ground and starts to quiver with effort.

A hand gently pushes me down. At contact, I realise just how sore my body is.

“Rest, my Adalyn. My brave, brave, Adalyn.”

“Carter,” My voice is unbelievably quiet and even rougher than it was before I was taken from the basement. It’s like my voice has resealed itself into silence.

“Yea, I’m here. How do you feel?” Carter’s voice is soothing and calm. His hand tightens around mine.

“Rea-lly sore.” I try and smile and feel my facial skin crack. I don’t think I’ve moved for a long time.

“No doubt. You were really brave up there. I’m so proud of you.” Carter’s free hand comes up to stroke my hair.

“What happ-ened? When I got down here?” I ask. My voice breaks and cracks, but it’s at least audible.

“You passed out. I got Natalie to help me carry you over to our corner. Mia brought down some first aid materials. We cleaned the blood off of you and bandaged you up. You’ve been out for quite awhile.” He pauses.  “Mia told me lots of stuff when you were out. She told me what happened to you up there.” I swallow. I feel guilty for what happened upstairs. It was my fault that Viktor did those things.

“Carter,” He holds up a hand.

“I’m not finished. I’m sorry that he did those things to you. And if that bastard were down here, I’d do some bad things, Adalyn.” He seemed to be shaking. “But, Mia, she told also told me about her past. How she grew up. We’re a lot alike, you know.” I feel a pang in my stomach. “Her mom left her around the same time my dad left. We are even the same age. But that’s not the point. She told me, that Billy is her dad.”

I cough in shock. Again I try to lift my head and am pushed back down.

“Rea-lly?” Carter nodded.

“She seems nice, but I thought you should know. You might know her better than I do. I thought she was lying at first. But honestly, why would you lie about that?” My mind is buzzing. It just seems too weird that Mia is the daughter of such an evil little bitch.

“Yea...” I trail off. Moments of queer silence follows. We are both deep in thought. I wonder for a moment if Carter is thinking about Mia.

“Carter?” I hear a gentle voice call from above me. I turn my head slightly and see it is Mia. Think of the devil and she shall appear?

Mia looks down at me.

“You’re awake!” She smiles down at me, happy that I’ve regained consciousness. She looks back at Carter and something unspoken seems to pass between them. He nods and turns back to me.

Carter kisses my forehead gently and leans towards my ear.

“It’s okay to talk her. I’ll be back soon.” He whispers. Carter stands and faces Mia.

“That little girl you are taking care of, Sammy, she’s asking for you.” She says. Carter nods, but before he goes, he gently caresses Mia’s face. It’s so sweet and gentle; it’s almost if they were in love. A rock seems to drop in my stomach. Mia smiles.

She then kneels beside me.

“I’m glad you awake. We were starting to get worried. I’m going to change your bandages now, okay?” I nod, suspicious of her and Carter.  She reaches for something above my head. Mia busies herself with unwrapping my wounds, checking them, making sure their clean, and rewrapping them again.  When she is done, she turns to face me.

“I don’t know if you were conscious, but after I pushed Viktor off of you, Billy came into the bar. He fired that asshole.” In the dimness of my memory, I do remember Billy coming back. But I don’t remember much after that. I am relieved that Viktor’s gone. I am filled with joy actually. I’d jump up and dance if I could move without aching.

I nod towards Mia. I don’t want to speak just yet. I don’t know what holds my tongue exactly, but now isn’t the time to speak in front of Mia.

“Ah, anyways. Um, Natalie wanted to talk to you.” Mia leaves in an awkward rush. She leaves me confused. Her actions seem like... I can’t even admit it to myself. Maybe she and Carter...

I’m spared from my cloudy thoughts with the arrival of Natalie.

“Hey, newbie” I give a faint grin. I can’t seem to help it. Natalie seems so strong, but so cheerful at the same time.

“How you feel?” I lift my hand an inch off the ground and move it side to side, trying to indicate I’m alright.

“Aw, sweetie.” Natalie kneels beside my head and stokes my hair. “You’ll feel better soon, I promise. Especially with such a handsome caregiver.” I know she’s talking about Carter. My face contorts with a cross between a smile and a look of jealousy. Natalie notices my face before I can revert back to neutral.

“You know, when Mia and you came down yesterday, Carter came so fast for you. He pushed anyone who got in his way. He didn’t even pay attention to Mia until she was beside you with bandages. I think he really loves you. How or why is beyond me. But love does crazy things to people, don’t you think?” I nod and smile.

Carter came to rescue me. He didn’t even notice Mia. The weight in my stomach is lifted slightly. Maybe nothing is going on between them. Perhaps there is nothing to worry about.

Nevertheless, I can’t help but grin for a long while.

| A/N: Hello everyone!!!! Thank you for reading my chapter!!! Sorry it took so long, I suffered from some serious writers block. I want to thank my wonderful editor and bestie, Emma for helping me get through this chapter!! Please comment/vote/fan!