When You Don't Have Words

This is a story by YellowfangWC, involved in the Gift Exchange. This story is for DramaDot.
A story of speaking up from a girl who can't.
Inspiration: Being Miss Nobody
== Chapter One ==
It started when I was nine. I had always been shy, but this was the turning point. I couldn't talk to anyone but my family. The words would be stuck in my throat or I wouldn't know what to say. I got teased in school, jeered at, and generally bullied. I'd hide in the library at lunch, losing myself in worlds where I didn't have to be myself. I could pretend I was normal, like my siblings.
But they didn't stay normal for long. Or, Will didn't anyway. 
One night, I woke up to hear wailing. An ambulance. It sounded so close. I peeked out the window, and watched as the emergency vehicle pulled up outside the house. I heard yelling downstairs. Banging.
"Mum!" I yelled, my voice hoarse. No reply. I sprinted down the stairs, panic seeming to fill me upright to my throat. My hands trailing on the rails, I stopped. Will, my sturdy big brother, was laying on the couch. His face was like death: pale and lifeless. For one horrible moment I thought he was dead. But no, my mother was beside him, sponging his forehead. He let out a low moan.
"Mum...￼?" I asked quietly. She turned, beckoned me and I ran towards her. She looked like she hadn't slept for a month.
"Will's sick," She told me softly.
With a crash, the door slammed open. A woman in uniform rushed over to Will, turning her gaze to my mum. 
"What happened?" She demanded. 
"He just..." Mum buried her face in her hands, "I found him like this."
I went to say something, but my words didn't come. Like normal. In the presence of this woman, of course not. The woman nods, her face grim, and goes on checking Will. 
"Check on Mira," Mum whispered to me, voice soft and scared. She nodded toward the hallway, which I creep into. It's dark, but I breathe a sigh of relief. Much better.
Category:Stories
Category:Content (Yellow)