The Mute

Chapter 4

He chuckles and hugs me back. It has been so many years since I’ve seen him. I can’t believe that he’s here. I thought I would never see him again. I thought I had lost him for good. That night had taken so much away from me, but now I know it didn’t take everything. I still have my big brother.

He lifts my chin to look at me better and says, “You haven’t been sleeping much, have you, lil sis? One of the first things I’m going to do is make sure you sleep properly.” I just shook my head at him. I can’t tell him that I don’t sleep much at night because of the nightmares I have in my sleep. He just looks at me with a frown. “Why won’t you speak? Did those kids threaten you into silence or something? You don’t have to worry about them anymore now that I’m here. They won’t ever hurt you again, lil sis. I promise you that.”

I wanted to speak for the first time in ten years, but I couldn’t. I have to keep my promise and not break it, no matter how badly I want to. Just because my brother is still alive doesn’t mean I can break my silence. I wish I could tell him all this in writing, but I can’t; he will have to deal with me being mute. I took out my pen and paper and wrote a reply to keep him from worrying. Nick frowned again and shook his head but didn’t protest to me staying silent. He took my hand and started walking again.

I didn’t look up at him because, even after ten long years, I still knew when he was angry, and this time I was the reason for his anger. When we got to my apartment, he went straight in and started messing around in the kitchen. I went to my room and started my homework like I always did when I got home from school. I started with the more challenging subjects so I would have less to worry about tomorrow at school, knowing that I wasn’t going to finish everything tonight.

After two hours of doing my homework, it was time to start getting ready for work. I put my things in my school bag and got dressed for work. I heard a knock at the front door and checked the time. My ride was early today. I came out of my room and walked towards the door, only to see that my brother had already answered it. I walked up behind Nick and looked over his shoulder, and Monica, my co-worker and ride, looked relieved to see me.

“Thank goodness, Lizzy. This guy here was saying something about you not coming to work today. He said he’s your brother. Is that true? I thought you said your brother died?” Monica said. I looked at my brother and frowned, mentally asking him to explain.

“What? I’m not letting you go to work with how little sleep you’ve been getting. I looked at your work and school schedule. You need a day off, and that’s today. No buts about it.” I just gaped at him and glared at him. I was not going to be bossed around like some kid, especially not by my brother, who left me for ten years. In response, I stormed back to my room and grabbed my work bag. Then, I stormed into the living room and out the door. Monica followed me as I ignored Nick’s shouts at my back, telling me to get back inside. He ran after us, but he was too late to catch us. By the time he caught up, the elevator doors were already shut most of the way. We left him standing there like a fool as we went down to the parking lot.