Silent (Story)

*Short story from the Time Out AU.*

**Warning:** this story is a parallel with Loud (Story). It is advised to read Loud first as this story might contain spoilers that could ruin the experience of both stories.

## Silent

**Point of View: Ryver Reagan**

“Ryveeer, I can’t sleep with the lights on.”

Ryver Reagan rolled his eyes, and responded at his sister: “But I can’t pack my suitcase with the lights off.”

“It’s late, can’t you pack your suitcase tomorrow?” Rae complained. Ryver just sighed as a reaction. “I’m tired, ok Ryv? I just wanna sleep.”

“I wanna sleep too, Lin. I want it to be tomorrow.”

“I don’t,” the girl firmly answered. “because it feels like I’m barely gonna see you again.”

Ryver smiled, but nothing in his body smiled with him. The dim light in the room shone on his older sister’s face, which looked nothing but tired and sad.

“I’m just glad I never have to see mom again,” he muttered, with the intention of his sister not hearing him. But as she answered: “Why? I don’t understand,” he came to the conclusion that he failed in that.

“Mommy is sweet, Ryv. She loves me, and she loves you too, you know. Don’t worry, she assured me.”

“Mommy never talks to me. She hits daddy, Lin. Even if mom loves me, I don’t love her. I hate her.”

“Don’t say that, Ryver…” Rae looked genuinely scared. “Mommy is just playing with daddy. She always tells me that. And mom is always right, you know that, don’t you?”

Ryver didn’t want to answer that question. “I need to go to the toilet,” he just said as he shut the lid of the small dinosaur suitcase. He switched off the light. “Goodnight, Rae.”

“But, Ryver…”

“Ryver said goodnight!”

Ryver lied restlessly in his bed. When he had come back from the bathroom, Rae was already vast asleep, and now he felt bad about yelling at her.

He turned around once again, and as he finally closed his eyes he felt freedom - and something else. It was something heavy, something that felt like it crushed his tiny five-year-old body from the inside while he was trying to fall asleep. And the emotion only grew when he would stare into the darkness to the place where his sister was supposedly sleeping. But, Ryver couldn’t place it.

It was dark, and it should have been silent. And it was, except for the tapping. The consistent, soft tapping on the hardwood floor.

Ryver recognized the tapping. It was the sound of footsteps. But that didn’t make sense. Who would walk around the house this late at night?

“Lin?”

He didn’t hear an answer, but the footsteps stopped.

“Lin, please don’t. I’m scared.”

No response. Ryver sat up, his hand searching for the light switch when he felt the warm breath of his older brother on his face.

Before he could ask anything, he felt something cold drawing a line on his back. And then, more pain then Ryver had ever felt.

His entire back screamed, and though he internally did too, his mouth was covered by a hand. He kicked, tried to scream, but all it did was making the pain worse. His feet dragged across the floor, as he lied still in the arms of Rhory. Ryver’s breathing was shallow and irregular, and his head was spinning and pounding like it was about to explode. His heart was beating like crazy in his chest, and though he sweated profusely he felt incredibly cold.

“Ryver?”

The voice sounded like it came from afar as if his dad was shouting from the door while Ryver was laying in his room, but the unclear face with the familiar bald head right above his said otherwise.

“Rhory? What have you-”

All of a sudden the tightly wrapped arms around him let go and dropped him straight onto the floor. The dim light in the living room reflected in the steel blade nine year old Rhory still had in his hand, who was holding it shakingly in front of him.

Ryver could only hear voices he didn’t understand, could only see the smaller figure slowly backing away. His vision became more blurry and blurry, and by the time daddy held his hand, he couldn’t see one bald head anymore.

Ryver lied on the hardwood floor, his back feeling warm as if he was lying in a bath, but the rest of his body shaking because of the cold. The world was spinning around him, he blinked while trying to stay awake. The only thing he could hear were sirens wailing in the distance while his father’s voice next to his head kept telling him he was going to be alright, it was all going to be okay…

He wanted to cry, but the pools behind his eyes were all dried up. He could see people in bright green jackets storming into the house, lifting him and laying him down on a cold sheet that soon became warmer right under his back. And as he closed his eyes, his mouth formed the only name he could think of.

“Lin… Raelin…”