Chapter 3

3.

In front of the mirror.

I practiced my mouth movements over and over again.

I kept practicing one name―Bennett.

Finally, a harsh, ugly sound rasped out of my throat. I shut my mouth quickly, unable to continue.

"What? You think if you learn to talk, Bennett will actually choose you?"

I didn't expect Ivy to show up, especially not when I was at my most vulnerable.

I reached for a pen and paper, but she kicked them away before I could write a word.

"He's not here. Why are you still acting?"

"He only kept you around because I wasn't here. You were just a stray cat to him. Don't get ahead of yourself."

I bent down to pick up the pen. I wrote a question on the paper.

"Then why do you care so much that I'm here?"

She looked at my messy handwriting and laughed. Then, her sharp stiletto heel came down hard on my foot.

"You think you can compare yourself to me? You're just garbage he picked up off the street. You probably haven't even finished middle school."

Her insults pierced my heart, just like her heel was piercing my foot. Blood began to soak into my sock.

Bennett had tried to send me to a special school once. But since I didn't have a physical disability, no one would take me.

Everything I knew, Bennett had taught me. That was why he thought I couldn't live without him.

Ivy's heel twisted, grinding into my flesh. I hissed in pain and shoved her away by the shoulders.

As I tried to limp past her to get out, she fell to the ground and stopped moving.

A memory flashed through my mind―a scene of blood and violence from my childhood.

My breathing hitched, and my hands began to shake uncontrollably.

I knelt beside Ivy and shook her, but her eyes remained closed.

Help! I need to find help!

I panicked and ran out of the room, desperate to find someone.

I ran right into Bennett as he was coming home.

I signed as fast as I could, pointing toward the room. His face went pale, and he shoved me aside with brute force.

My head hit the doorframe with a sickening thud. My vision blurred.

Bennett had already scooped Ivy into his arms. When he saw me blocking the way, he was livid.

"Get out of the way!"

"Do you have any idea what you've done? If anything happens to Ivy, I'll kill you myself!"

He knocked me down as he ran past. I sat on the floor, my mind a complete blank.

I remembered a time when he held me and joked.

"If she never comes back, maybe I'll just stay with you forever. That wouldn't be so bad."

I always forgot the most important part: "If she never comes back."

Blood from my foot stained the floor. I hugged myself in the silence.

That night, Bennett brought Ivy back from the hospital. She was fine; she had just fainted from being slightly anemic.

Their bedroom door was shut tight. I stood outside all night, but it never opened.

In the morning, Bennett finally stepped out.

I cautiously signed, asking if Ivy was okay.

"Kneel."

I thought I misheard him. I stared at him, but he repeated it.

Then he grabbed me and forced me down onto my knees in front of the door.

"If you won't talk, fine. But you can apologize."

"Bow your head to Ivy. Make sure it hits the floor hard enough for her to hear. Then maybe I'll forgive you."

He searched my face, then grabbed a handful of my hair to force me to look at him.

"Was it that hard to call 911? Was it that hard to yell for help?"

"Anya, if I were dying in front of you, would you just stand there and watch without making a sound?"

He slammed my head against the floor, over and over.

Warm blood ran down my forehead. In the face of his accusations, I managed to nod.

I wanted to tell him that I would cry. I would scream.

He stopped, and I used my hands to sign a single sentence: "I love you."

He laughed as if I'd told the funniest joke in the world.

"Love me? Anya, if you loved me, you'd be able to at least say my name."

I closed my eyes in agony. For the first time, I wished I were actually, physically mute.

Just then, the butler came upstairs and called for Bennett.

He said a disheveled woman was at the door, claiming to be my mother.