Breaking The Silence

Braelyn quietly sat on the pew as the stared. It was only now when she begun realizing that the Church she was staying in was a traditional one – glass windows and a cross of where Jesus was killed. Slowly, the brunette began admiring it, but it was only when a familiar voice interjected her thoughts.

“So what’s this about you and your dad I hear?” Carmella asked casually, as she sat down on the pew besides Braelyn.

Inevitably, Braelyn took out her notepad, and shook her head, not believing what she was hearing. Who told you? she wrote.

“Well, you see,” she explained. “I overheard Nick talking to his brothers. I tried my best to block out their conversation, but I couldn’t. You know, Nick is actually going to try and help you find your father.”

Braelyn craned her neck at the blonde, surprised at the last sentence. Why? she wrote.

“Because he wants to help you,” Carmella answered, then cleared her throat. “Braelyn, I know what mark is on you, and that your father did it – the acid burn. But it doesn’t make any sense – why do you want to find your father if he was the one who gave you the burn?”

Braelyn let out a breath of air. So now Carmella and Nick’s brothers also knew about this. Couldn’t someone here keep their mouth shut tight enough to not let any secrets out?

Don’t you think it’s time for you to be admitted to a Rehab center? Braelyn quickly scribbled onto her notepad, secretly hoping it would shift the subject from her to Carmella.

Carmella shook her head. “There’s no way I’m going to a Rehab center, okay?”

Suddenly, Braelyn found a way to convince Carmella to get help. Well, it was only because the brunette guessed what Carmella’s decision would be, and all Braelyn had to was to write the right words.

Then there’s no way I’m going to tell you anything about my father and I.

Carmella hesitated for a moment, then sighed to herself and nodded. “Alright,” she agreed. “How about we make a deal, if you tell me the whole story behind this, then I’ll… I’ll go to the Rehab center, okay?”

Braelyn smiled, happy that she decided on her final decision. She nodded once before looking down at her notepad again to begin writing as the scene played over in her head.

***

“Just say what you feel is right, okay, honey?” Braelyn’s dad said, slightly nervous.

Braelyn nodded, as she quickly tied her hair into a bun. “Of course I will,” she said.

“So you’ve chosen who you want to stay with?” Mr Summers asked eagerly.

The brunette shook her head. She didn’t know.

“Well, don’t push her, Jimmy,” she snapped impatiently, before turning to her daughter. “Sweetheart, all you have to do is to just say ‘mom’ when you’re up on the stand.”

Braelyn nodded again, unsure of what to say about that. She loved her parents too much to even choose who to stay with. She couldn’t decide. They both treated her equally as one another.

“Braelyn Summers,” the judge called up. “Please, come up to the stand.”

As the brunette anxiously walked up to the stand, she felt all the eyes in the room watch her. She tried to ignore them as she sat down on the chair. Still, she hadn’t decided who she wanted to live with.

“Braelyn,” the judge said, as he turned his attention towards the fourteen year old. “This is quite simple. All I want to know is who would you like to live with? Who do you want more taking care of you?”

The brunette thought hard for a moment, trying to choose who. But after realizing that she couldn’t no matter what, she shut her eyes and let the first name come out of her mouth. “Dad,” she choked out. “I’d like to live with my father, your honor.”

The judge nodded, indicating that she could go back to her seat. Once she sat back down, the judge raised his mallet, and spoke, before it became a gavel again. “Braelyn Summers, daughter of James Summers and Lucinda Summers will be staying with her father, James, by request.”

Suddenly, everyone in the room stood up from their seats and began to talk to one another again. Just as Braelyn pushed her chair in, the back of her father’s hand slammed into her face, causing her cheeks to turn a bright pink.

“It was an accident. Are you alright?” he apologized. “When we get back home, we’ll put some ice on it, okay? I’m just really sorry.”

“Dad, it’s alright,” Braelyn assured. “Don’t worry, I believe you. It’s just a small whack in the face anyway. No harm done.”

But Braelyn was wrong. As soon as Braelyn finished her sentence, the judge slammed his mullet again, declaring for order in his court. Immediately, everyone in the room was silent again.

“Mr Summers, as just been witnessed by everyone in this room, is it true that you just abused your daughter?” he interrogated. “Accident, or not, Mr Summers, either way, you still hit your daughter.”

“Sir, it was an accident,” Braelyn spoke up, only wishing that she was home now.

“I’m very sorry, Braelyn,” the judge said. “I know you want to live with your father but I’m afraid I’m not allowed to let you do that. Just to be clear on this, it is for your safety Braelyn, that I put you under your mother’s custody.”

The voices in the room were turned up again, shocked to hear the hasty change. As Braelyn approached her mother, head hung low, she blocked out the thoughts around her, wishing whatever was happening now was just a dream.

Suddenly, Braelyn felt a painful burn on her neck, gasping in pain as she felt the liquid slide down her back as it burned her skin.

“Braelyn,” her father said, quickly running up to his daughter as she stood on the spot in pain. “Listen to me. That wasn’t for you, and you know how deeply, and truly sorry I am for it. You understand me?” He paused, hesitating before speaking again. “The acid burn, well, it was… It was for your mother.”