Page 16 of Silent as Sin
Silence fell. Holly looked away, Truly ducked her head, and Tabby just smirked, but none of them spoke again.
Throttle pushed off the bar and crossed the room, dropping into the chair beside me. Not too close. Just near enough that I could feel the heat of him. I trusted him too, not as much as Ashen, but it was there.
He didn’t look at me right away, just tapped ash into the tray, voice soft. “Don’t listen to them. They don’t know shit.”
My eyes flicked to him, wary. He caught it, and this time he did look his dark eyes, steady, not smirking. Curious, yes, but not cruel.
“Clubhouses are loud,” he went on, running his fingers through his black hair. “Full of people who think they know everything. You don’t have to answer any of it.”
My throat tightened. The words I didn’t have sat heavy there, burning. I wanted to tell him I remembered everything, that words weren’t gone from me, they were waiting, dangerous. But silence held.
Throttle leaned back, smoke drifting from his mouth. “Ashen’s solid. If he says you’re safe, you are. I’ll back his word.” He gave a small shrug, lips twitching like the ghost of his usual smirk. “Hell, I’ll back it even if he doesn’t ask me to.”
Something eased in my chest, just a fraction. He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t push. He just sat there, letting me know without saying it that I wasn’t alone.
Jewel appeared then, hands on her hips. “That’s enough for tonight. You need rest.”
Throttle stubbed out his cigarette, stood, and gave me a nod. “See you around, little bird.” Then he walked off, shoulders loose, like he hadn’t just shifted something in me I couldn’t name. It wasn’t the same pull I felt with Ashen, but it was something.
Elara came to my side, hand brushing her belly, her smile soft. “Come on, honey. Let’s get you settled.”
I followed her down the hall. The quiet there felt heavy again, but different than the bathroom—less waiting, more unknown.
She opened a door and gestured me inside. A small room with a tiny bathroom. A bed made neat with clean sheets. A nightstand with a lamp. Curtains drawn over the window. Simple. Ordinary.
But to me, it looked alien.
I stepped in slow, my breath catching. The mattress loomed too big, too soft, too foreign. I hadn’t seen a bed in years, not one meant for me. My knees locked, my chest tightening with panic.
The floor was safer. The floor was known.
Elara’s voice broke through, gentle but firm. “It’s yours. No one’s gonna touch you here. No one’s will dare bother you.”
I wanted to believe her. God, I wanted to. But my body shook with the memory of cold floors, of dirt, of nights curled in corners because corners meant safety.
I touched the bedspread with my fingertips. Soft. Clean. My throat closed, tears burning hot, unspilled.
I didn’t know how to lie down in it. Didn’t know how to rest in something that wasn’t a closet.
Elara stood in the doorway, patient as stone, worry in her features. “Let me know if you need anything. I’m in the fourth door on the right.” Then she softly closed the door, leaving me alone.
I stayed standing. Watching the bed. Trembling with the truth of it.
I didn’t remember what it was like to be normal.
***
THE DARK WASendless at first.
When I woke after the truck door slammed, there were no windows. No sun. Only a single bulb that flickered above me, casting shadows long enough to swallow me whole.
Venom’s shadow was the worst of them.
He leaned in close, his breath sour, his hands always ready to cause pain. He didn’t have to shout. His whisper was worse.Silence or pain. That’s your choice. Open your mouth, and I’ll make you regret it.
At first, I screamed anyway. My throat tore until it was raw, until the walls vibrated with my voice. I thought someone would hear. Someone would come.
But no one did.
