Page 16 of Broken By Silence
But it’s hard. Oscar is the only one who has ever seen me as normal. He knew there was a reason for my silence, why I preferred to talk to people with my hands rather than my voice, but I never told him whattheydid to me, or why I tried to end my life.
Oscar’s shoulders are rigid. I think he’s still angry—not at me, but for me.
We step into the elevator. Archer presses the button for the ground floor, and the soft whir of the doors closing feels like the final click of a lock turning.
I dislodge my hand from Archer’s and turn to Oscar.“I should never have waited to tell you,”I sign.“But fear got the best of me. You were the only person in this new life who didn’t know everything, and I liked how that made me feel. You made me feel more like Lottie, and not Scarlett, who’s pretending to be someone else out of survival.”
He shakes his head slowly, a soft smile on his face.“You deserved peace, and if I was that for you, then I’m happy.”
The words hit deeper than I expect, and I have to look away from him as tears gather in my eyes. The elevator dings, and the doors slide open. I pull Archer’s hoodie tighter around myself as we step outside.
The world is still turning. People are still living their lives, oblivious to the turmoil that I can feel sinking into my gut.
Archer opens the passenger door to his car without a word. I slide in and buckle up, the leather cool beneath my fingers. Oscar settles in the back seat, still watching me.
The drive is silent, but it’s a good kind of silence. The kind that doesn’t need to be filled with empty words or useless conversation.
My mind drifts to the night I jumped into the water. The feeling of the ocean dragging me under, wrapping around me like a weighted promise—to rid me of everything that’s ever happened to me. The bitter cold.
The quiet…
And then Archer’s arms around me. The taste of salt and regret in my throat as he forced air back into my lungs.
The way he hasn’t let go of me since. Not once.
Archer and Oscar became my rocks.
“Thank you,” I say, signing the words too, my voice cracking.
Archer glances over at me, eyes still on the road. “For what?”
“Saving me. Staying.”
Neither of them says you’re welcome. No poetic answer. They just nod, jaws tight, and place their hands on my knee and shoulder.
That’s the thing about my men… I still can’t believe my luck in being able to say this, but neither do I need to say anything for me to understand them. That they will always be my silent protectors if I need them to be.
We pull into the driveway. Oscar’s already out of the car before we come to a full stop, ready to open my door and guide me inside. Archer isn’t far behind him, eyes scanning the street like the soldier he is, on high alert.
I’m grateful for it, especially knowing that Lorenzo knows I’m alive.
Oscar takes my hand in his, leading me into the house as Archer leads the way, always scanning for danger. Inside, the house is still. Claire and Will are nowhere to be seen. The lights are low, casting long shadows. I step inside, and for the first time in two years since I changed my name, I feel like I’m walking into a trap.
Archer locks the door behind us, and Oscar pulls the curtain shut. It’s only then that I exhale all the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
Safe.
I kick off my shoes with a sigh and turn to both men.“I just need a minute,”I sign, before I spin, beelining towards the bathroom.
The light in the bathroom feels too bright, too harsh against my already pounding migraine. I flick it off, turning on thewarmer light above the mirror. I stand in the muted glow, staring at myself. My eyes are red-rimmed, my skin pale. There's a line of blood in my hairline that I hadn’t noticed.
Roman’s blood.
I scrub at it with trembling hands until it’s gone, the dried blood flaking around me.
But the memory stays… they always seem to. Ready to haunt me when my mind gets too quiet.
I shower, the water as hot as I can stand, and lose myself in the way the water swirls at my feet. The water beats down on my back, scalding, relentless—like if I stay under it long enough, I can wash away not just Roman’s blood, but the weight of everything that’s come crashing down on me tonight.
