Muted

Chapter 8

My mom and her magic savior didn't even know where I spent most of the night. Nothing inappropriate happened. I still had butterflies from last night. It felt great to feel safe in Monroe's arms. I knew that he would eventually want more from me and I'm not ready to do that, but laying in his arms made me feel safe. I haven't felt safe in so long. After my incident, Monroe was just going to have to wait for a bit.

I put on jeans and a sweatshirt for some college that I visited and got into. It's not important. I want to go to some school in Canada, far away from him, but I'm going to New York, again, not really important. After I was dressed, I walked downstairs and grabbed my backpack. "I'm just drinking coffee. I can drop you off at school if you'd like. My office is near your school. We just need to wait for the nanny." I shrugged. I can accept a ride. 'He pities you, Sadie. He's trying to make it up to your mom. Make nice with her fucked up daughter.' I walked to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Callie joined me in brushing my teeth, although, she forgot the toothpaste. "Clean!" She showed me her teeth. "Sadie!" I smiled and picked her up. I gave her a kiss. "Smell good!" I put her down. She skipped off to meet the nanny who had rang the doorbell.

The drive to school was really awkward. George was too caught up in my silence and he kept asking questions. When we finally arrived at the school, I ran out, but he tried to stop me. "Did you forget lunch?" I shook my head. "Here take this." He handed me twenty bucks. "Buy breakfast too." I pocketed the money and nodded. I proceeded to enter the school. 'Car rides, money, wow, he must really like mom.' There were some girls trying to sell prom tickets. "People, prom tickets are on sale! Buy them now before they're gone!" I walked past them and to my locker. Monroe was there already. "We need to talk, now."

"They matched the fingerprint to someone. His name is Ren Nherdu.” My heart dropped. I shook my head. “He disappeared. They say that he used to live in Presque Isle. Maybe you knew him. Hannah said that you used to live in Presque Isle." I was shocked. He tried to kill Monroe. That bastard!  "Someone tried to kill me. That freaks me out. I wonder if I’m the only one. He had attempted murder charges on his record, Sadie. I wonder who else he tried to kill." 'Sadie, maybe you should tell him it was-' I was pulled out of my thoughts when Monroe grabbed my hand. It was weird holding hands with him. It felt so right. I really liked the sense of security he offered me. God knows I needed it.

“You also may hate me after I tell you this, but I tested out one of my suspicions, on you.” I stopped walking. “I had a feeling you were abused and I tested you. I’m sorry. I just wanted to understand you more. I can't exactly read minds.” I gave him a hug. I wanted to tell him so badly, but I can't. “You forgive me?” I nodded. ‘It’s my fault he wants to know me more. I should have never let him in, but at the same time, I want him to know.'

He left me when the bell rang. I walked into calc and noticed a few kids there already,  but the surprising thing was that there was a note on my desk. I flipped it over. It read 'Silence is no longer a cover up. I can no longer trust your silence. You know what must happen. From Him.' I shook my head. I was not going to leave Monroe because of him. "You must promise to stay loyal. You're my bitch and I expect you to act like it."  I put the letter in my back pocket and listened to the teacher. I just was curious. He tried to kill Monroe before I really knew him and now he was back. I was scared to death. Unsure of whether or not to warn Monroe, I re-read the letter to determine the amount of harm. I deemed it dreadful and decided to write to Monroe.

The next time I saw Monroe was at lunch and he seemed different. He was a bit on edge. Dan walked in and put his backpack on the table. He left to buy lunch. Monroe then opened the backpack and there were daisies. "Sadie, will you go to prom with me?" It felt like everyone was looking at me. I nodded and when I consented, he kissed me. I felt stares on us. "Guys, no pda." Hannah warned through smiling teeth. We stopped. 'You can't lose him. You know what to do.' I knew I was screwed.

Hannah and I walked up to English a bit early so we could "get our books." We went to spy on Laine. We peeked through the door, they were getting dressed really quickly. Hannah gasped loudly and they heard it. I pushed her out of the way and into the bathroom. "Thanks for the save." She said. Just then, Laine walked in. She was wearing a teal dress and sandals. Her hands were on her hips. "So, what did you see?" She asked. "Just you two getting dressed. Did I disrupt some sort of ritual, becaue I know Elaine would never break the rules?" Hannah smartly responded.  "Why were you even up here? Lunch isn't over for another ten minutes." "Sadie had a question about The Scarlet Letter." I nodded making the cover-up believeable. "Oh, so you didn't plan on exposing a scandal to our friend group." Laine asked. "No, not at all." Hannah said in a way that made Laine question her motives.

We awkwardly entered the classroom. "They came up to ask a question." I pulled out my board and wrote 'Why does the reverend carve an 'A?' Couldn't he just wear the fabric?' "Okay, I know you aren’t here to ask questions. I also know you saw us. Listen, this cannot get out. I love Elaine very much and I plan to marry her after she graduates. We've been together since January of last year. We never really see each other outside school and I can't deal with that. Every chance we get, we meet up. I really love her." Mr. Halone said. He grabbed Laine and kissed her. When they pulled away, he spoke again. "That's why I moved. I moved closer to where she lives. I have a job offer close to her college. I'm going to take it to be close to her." He was holding her from behind. "Wait, so you guys are getting married? What the hell? Your parents will disown you, Laine! How will you pay for Brown?" Hannah asked. "I'm getting a second job during the summer and she's going to get one too. After she graduates with her degree, she'll get a full time job and we'll start a family." Mr. Halone said. The bell rang. We sat down in our seats. I wrote a note to Hannah. 'He used to live in my house. He left a lot of stuff there.' "Like what?" She whispered. 'Condoms, oxytocin, an acceptance letter from Brown.' She giggled. "Really? That's funny. Well, we know he's having sex." "Students separate your desks. It's pop quiz time." Mr. Halone announced. I separated from Hannah and prepared to take a test.

I went to Monroe's after school. He was talking to me about prom. "It's going to be great! I can buy the tickets and you'll get a dress. You should wear that navy blue one!" Riley walked in. “Hello, Sadie, Monroe.” “Riley, I asked Sadie to prom.” Riley dropped her cup. "Sadie, you are going to prom and you are getting a makeover." Monroe was rubbing my back. I put my head down. "She'll take you up on the offer." Monroe answered, not giving me a chance to write my opinion. Riley squealed and left the room. Monroe kissed me. He tried to put his hand up my shirt, but I grabbed his hands and made sure they wouldn't wander. We heard the door slam and a car start. I assumed Riley left for practice. I stopped, out of breath. "Do I get a say in this?" "No, we do whatever I want whenever I want it. You are mine and-. He let me go and put on music. It was soft music. He grabbed my hand. "May I have this dance?" He asked. I nodded, smiling like a school girl. We swayed back and forth to the music. It was truly romantic. I never wanted to leave.