Breaking the Silence

Three

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before slipping the photo back into the box. I tied the ribbon around it and gently placed it in my backpack.

I zipped up the suitcase and grabbed my backpack before heading to the stairs. To say I struggled up the stairs is an understatement. I had to pause multiple times trying to get up and eventually Jack came down and picked up the suitcase with ease.

He rolled his eyes when he saw me panting as I tried to drag it over each stair. "I'm surprised you're not stronger than this." He muttered under his breath, but I still heard it. What's that supposed to mean?

After a long struggle slowly pulling the bag over each individual step and then out the front door, I made it to his truck and placed my bag on the floor before climbing in. I buckled my seatbelt as he did the same and then we were off.

Aimlessly, I stared out the window as the trees and houses wizzed by. I didn't know where we were going, Jack would never tell me these things. I suppose it didn't matter where we ended up, it wouldn't change anything. Jack would continue to be the villain, and I his victim. It was an endless circle of silence and pain. With a small huff of breath, I relaxed my head against the seat, trying to fight the itch to sleep. I was terrified of relaxing near him. Soon, the exhaustion overwhelmed me and my eyes became too heavy as sleep took over my fragile body.

* * *

Some time later I woke up to find three hours had passed. I was glad, because I was in dire need of the extra rest. Surprisingly, Jack hadn't said anything and just let me sleep.

The radio was on now, some country station streaming quietly through the speakers. I turned my head to the window and noticed the forest we were speeding past seemed thicker than the woods near our old house. If I were smarter, I would have fought harder to stay conscious to discover where we were heading. It might have helped me get away at some point. Then again, maybe not. I guess I would never know now.

A flicker of movement between the pines caught my eye and I squinted, trying to focus on it. We were going too fast and the forest was too dense for me to see it clearly, but I could've sworn it was some kind of huge, dark animal. A bear maybe? While plausible, that didn't seem right. A wolf? That seemed doubtful. Wolves can't be that big!

I blinked again and it was gone. Jack hadn't seemed to notice anything and was silently staring at the road in front of us. I searched the forest for anymore signs of movement similar to what I saw, but gave up after fifteen minutes of nothing else.

Another half an hour passed before we were getting off the highway. Jack turned down a narrow road with small houses lining each side. But they were far apart with trees filling the space between each one, making them feel more secluded with bigger plots of land.

Another half a mile and we pulled into a driveway. I looked up to see a little one story house that was just barely big enough to not be considered a trailer. A couple windows were boarded up and the yard was unkempt, looking like it had been vacant for a while.

There wasn't a garage so Jack stopped at the top of the driveway and turned the truck off. Yanking the keys from the ignition, he abruptly left without so much as a glance in my direction. I sighed and got out as well, stretching the stiffness out of my limbs the best I could without causing further damage to my day-old injuries.

Jack grabbed his luggage and left me to deal with my bags on my own. Swinging my backpack onto my shoulder, I stumbled a little as I pulled the suitcase from the backseat and tried to lower it to the ground. I nearly dropped it on my foot. Slamming the truck door and hauled the bag inside, nearly tripping a few times on the way.

I entered the house and stopped, glancing around. Straight from the front door was a small living room; an old couch was the only piece of furniture there. To the right of me was a tiny kitchen holding a table pushed agains the wall with three chairs. To the left was a hallway which must lead to the bedrooms. To my relief, there didn't seem to be a basement, which meant I would get a real room this time!

I pulled the suitcase down the hallway where I passed a bathroom on my way to the empty bedroom. Another door was at the end of the hall, but it was closed to show Jack had claimed it as his.

I entered the empty bedroom to find a twin bed already set up in it. It was parallel to the window and a small closet was across from it. I dropped my bags to the floor and sat on the bed. It was covered in a fitted sheet and one pillow sat on top, but that was it.

With a sigh, I knelt on the floor, sliding my backpack off my shoulders and unzipping my suitcase. Looking over my shoulder, I held my breath. No noise had come from Jack's room, suggesting he was too tired to deal with me at the moment. I exhaled a breath of gratitude to whatever might be watching from above. But, just to be safe, I got up and closed my door softly, in case he did feel like coming in and yelling at me.

Returning to the bag, I opened it up and took out my ragged quilt. I threw it on the bed and started taking out clothes. There was not a dresser or even a few drawers here like I had in the last house, so everything I had I found a place for in the closet. Shirts I hung up and pants I stacked neatly on the shelves. Undergarments I left in the suitcase, which I placed on the floor in the closet.

I moved to my backpack, taking out the box and leaving my iPod and school supplies in it. I silently groaned to myself as I remembered school was tomorrow. Another new school meant more embarrassment, more questions, and more overly-friendly people. I hated it, but I knew it was the way it had to be.

The bed frame sat too high for me to be able to hide a box underneath and since I didn't live in the basement, I'd need a better hiding spot. The last thing I wanted was for Jack to discover this and take it away from me too. I scanned the room but nothing seemed like a good hiding place for it. In the end, I stashed it on a shelf in the closet, behind my pair of jeans.

I decided not to make dinner that night. If Jack needed food, he would come get me to make him some and I would suffer the consequences later. But at that moment, I was too exhausted to do anything else. I climbed under the ratty quilt, the only form of cover and comfort I owned, and gave in to the darkness that was calling my name.