Page 29 of Broken By Silence
But it doesn’t spare her.
I close my eyes, flex my hands, and steady them before I sign again.“I refuse to be like them. I won’t steal her voice. Not ever.”
Claire exhales through her nose, the closest she gets to a sigh. Then her hands move, slower now, but no less certain.“Good. Then don’t. You think being here is taking? You think protecting her and loving her is stealing something? You and Archer are giving her something she’s longed for, for so long…”Her hands pause, staring at me expectantly, but I wait her out.“Love Oscar. You’re giving her unconditional love. No strings. No conditions. Just love because you love her for who she is.”My throat tightens, but she doesn’t wait for me to answer.“You have always been family. Always. Act like it.”
Family…
The word lodges in my chest like a stone. Too heavy, too sharp, like it could splinter if I even tried to hold it the wrong way. My hands curl around the edge of the counter until my knuckles ache.
Family is what was stolen from me.
Family is what was ripped from her.
How could I claim it now, like it’s that easy? Like a word can undo all the fractures…
Claire doesn’t flinch under the weight of my silence. She just stands there, arms crossed, as steady as a soldier. Her expression doesn’t waver, but her stillness speaks louder than anything she could sign. “You’re out of excuses.”
Finally, my hands move, jerky at first, then smoother.“I don’t know how to be that. Not the way she deserves.”
Her eyes sharpen.“Then learn.”
It hits me with the same force as a slap. I stare at her, throat thick, but before I can shape an answer, she steps closer, close enough that the steam from the kettle blurs between us. Her hands rise again, slower this time.“She doesn’t need perfect. She doesn’t need you to have all the answers. She just needs you here. Present. Not halfway. Not running when it hurts.”
I close my eyes, and behind them I see Lottie’s face—her guarded smile, the way she curls into Archer’s chest at night, the small, unconscious movements that betray how much she aches.
And I see her strength.
God, she’s strong. Stronger than all of us combined. But strength doesn’t mean she should have to stand alone.
My hands rise before I can think better of it.“What if she doesn’t want me here?”The truth rips out of me, raw and unguarded.“What if I’m just… one more weight she has to carry?”
For the first time, Claire’s lips soften, her mask cracking just enough to show the woman beneath the blade. She shakes her head.“Oscar. You are not her weight. You are her anchor. Don’t you see thedifference?”
Something in me stumbles at that, like I’ve been knocked off balance. Her mouth curves, like she knows I’m finally listening.“You were a boy when I met you. Now you’re a man, and she needs you closer. Not just there to guard her body, but to be there beside her day and night while she rebuilds herself.”
I flinch, because I know what she means. I don’t need Claire to tell me why Lottie strips. I’ve known since I watched her dance for the first time. The stripping isn’t about shame. It was about power… About taking back her body on her own terms, on her own stage with her own rules.
And I respect it.
God, I’m proud of her for it, but that doesn’t stop the fear.
Every night she walks into that club, my chest tightens like a vice. Every man who looks at her like she’s a thing and not a person makes me want to break something.“She’s strong. Stronger than me, but I hate seeing her there. I hate knowing she was hurt, and this is the only way she feels free.”
Claire steps closer to me, her face unreadable.“You do not get to hate her strength. You don’t get to wish she found another way. This is hers. Not yours. Not Archer’s. Not theirs. Hers.”
I drop my gaze. She’s right. Of course she’s right. Her hands move again, deliberate.“So you’ll stay here. You’re going to go back to college, and you’ll protect her at the club. You’ll learn to stand the way she needs you to because she’s carving her own path, and she chose you to walk it with her.”
The breath leaves me in a rush. College. Family. Protection. All of it at once.
I look up, desperate, searching her eyes for any hints of deception.“Why?”
Her reply is immediate.“Because she loves you and you love her enough to fight your own fear. That’s why.”
The words shatter something in me. My chest aches, my throat burns, and for a moment I can’t even breathe. All I can manage is a shaky nod.
Claire studies me, then smiles, sharp and dangerous, like a blade catching the light.“Good. Don’t make me regret it.”
And just like that, she’s gone, leaving me alone in the kitchen with my tea forgotten and my pulse still racing.
