Silent World

by Natalie Warren

  "So the Christian girl does condemn people," Brittany smirked. "It doesn't matter what you do now. No one is going to believe you."

  "We'll see about that," Elaise growled and stalked off to find Raven.

  *.*.*

  Raven yawned as she sat up from her bed and stretched. She rubbed her eyes and got up, feeling drowsiness claiming her again. She groggily walked out of her room to get a glass of water and was disappointed that Monday had come again; she didn't want to go to class today.

  "Morning," she looked up as Elaise appeared from her room, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

  "Morning," Raven muttered and got a glass, filling it with cold water from the fridge. She downed it quickly and felt the refreshment starting to wake her up.

  Elaise had tried apologizing to her the night before. She had tried telling Raven that it was all Brittany trying to split them up. Raven had been shocked when her brunette friend had even apologized about the werewolf thing as well, telling her it had all just been a misunderstanding. Raven hadn't known what to make of it. Elaise really looked like she was trying to fix things, but the blonde didn't know whether to believe it or not.

  "Are you coming to breakfast?" Elaise asked quietly.

  Raven nodded but kept her guard up. "I'm just having a shower first."

  Elaise dipped her head. "Well… I guess I'll see you there." She headed for the door but called for Raven as the blonde headed for her room. Raven looked over her shoulder and stared into the calm blue eyes of her friend. "I really am sorry."

  Raven responded with a tilt of her head and Elaise left, shutting the door behind her. Raven sighed and went into her room, grabbing some fresh clothes for the day and putting them on her bed. Questions buzzed in her head and she tried to make sense of everything through her tired mind.

  Elaise would never just drop a subject and let it go for no reason. She was never the type of person to let herself be so wrong, so what was going on? Was Brittany putting her up to it? She shook her head. Elaise was the superstitious one, and no one could make her think something wasn't real when she was convinced it was. Elaise had been so sure that Jason and the others were werewolves, and now she was saying she was wrong. That was definitely not like the brunette.

  Raven shrugged it off and went to the bathroom, quickly undressing and turning the shower on, testing the temperature before stepping under the stream. She soaked in the heat as it pounded against her back. Her muscles relaxed and soothed and she soaped through her hair with shampoo, rising it out before doing the same with her conditioner. She was slowly waking up with the heat of the shower and she washed her body with the strawberry scented soap. She rinsed her hair off and she savored the warmth before she regrettably turned the shower off.

  She grabbed a towel and dried her body, wrapping it around her like a dress and got out her hairdryer. She flinched from the sound it gave off when she turned it on and wished it wasn't so loud. Whenever she was home alone and she turned it on, she felt unsafe, thinking that someone could have broken in and she couldn't hear anything. She felt that way now.

  She left her hair half-dry and combed the knots out of it, wincing from the pain. Just before she was going to go back to her room to get dressed, her body almost shut down when she saw him in the mirror. Her skin crawled and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end when she saw him standing behind her, a sinister smirk on his face.

  "Hello, Raven," Kyle smiled.

  She didn't dare speak and she had to remember how to breathe as he bent his head down and lightly kissed her neck, his hands tracing up her arms. She heard him take in a long inhale through his nose and he exhaled deeply.

  "You smell as good as you look," he commented and grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him, fear taking hold of her again. She knew what was going to happen now. Elaise would think she was just taking a long shower and Jason would think she was skipping breakfast because she was upset that he wasn't speaking to her… But she was trapped in her room with Kyle, no one else around to save her again.

  "I won't cooperate," she threatened quietly, trying to keep her voice from trembling and failing.

  Kyle smiled and the wind was suddenly knocked out of her as he punched her in the ribs. A loud crack sounded and Kyle covered her mouth when she tried to scream in pain, doubling over. "That's okay," he chuckled. "When you're crippled you can't do much anyway."

  Tears filled Raven's eyes as she was dragged out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, pain filling her entire body. She yelped as the towel was ripped from her and Kyle tossed her onto her bed, quickly moving on top of her and covering her mouth when she tried to scream again. Shivers ran through her body and she watched as Kyle bent forward to whisper in her ear.

  "Shhh," he whispered. "I was going to be gentle with you last time, but because you didn't cooperate, this time will be different. I told you, I always get what I want."

  She shut her eyes tightly and groaned as more pain erupted in her body and a tear ran down her face when she heard Kyle laughing.

  A Strong Friendship

  15. A strong friendship

  Elaise stuffed her hands in her pockets as she walked down the hallway. Her class had been given an early mark and they were waiting for the bell to ring so she could go to her English class. She stopped when she heard an angry shout and peered into the room with no desks; just Jason and his teacher. The green-eyed boy was shirtless and covered in sweat, as usual, and he was trying to get the best of his teacher, aiming a series of attacks that were blocked without much effort.

  "Focus, Jason!" his teacher said.

  "How can I when I can never beat you?!" Jason snarled at him and Elaise blinked. He was more temperamental than usual lately.

  She thought back to the day before when he had held her necklace so confidently in his hand without getting burned. Elaise had been completely wrong. There were no werewolves. If there were, then Jason should have been burned. But Jason had been so angry and it usually took a lot more for him to lose his cool like that. And to hold Katie by the throat… What was wrong with him?

  "If you focus-"

  "I'm so sick of hearing you say that!" Jason swept his teacher's feet out and the older man crumbled to the floor. His teacher jumped back up but Jason punched him square in the face and sent him flying backwards. Elaise flinched as the teacher hit the wall at the end of the room and sank to the floor again, leaving a large crack in the wall. Elaise tried to catch her breath as she watched Jason approach the older man with his hands curled into fists, looking ready to brutally rip the man apart.

  "Jason?" Elaise murmured and his head snapped up to look at her, his eyes narrowed. He seemed to calm down when he recognized her and he looked at his teacher, stepping back and taking deep breaths.

  "That's how strong you can be," his teacher chuckled and Elaise rushed in to help him back to his feet. "But it's your temper, Jason. You need to control that as well as channel your power."

  Jason was breathing heavily and Elaise supported the man as he stumbled. "I'm sorry," Jason said. "That was an accident."

  The bell rang before they could fight again and the teacher dismissed him. He grabbed his towel and wiped the sweat off his face and chest, pulling his shirt back on and putting on some deodorant. When he picked up his bag, he led Elaise out of the room.

  "Thank you," he mumbled to her.

  She blinked up at him. "For what?"

  "You…" he visibly chewed on his lip. "You stopped me from doing something stupid."

  Elaise forced a smile and he glanced down at her, his emerald eyes much more calm now. "You're welcome."

  "I'm also sorry," he frowned. "What I did to Katie… And the way I was with you. I was angry, that's all."

  "You're forgiven," Elaise sighed as they walked through the crowds of students. "I guess I deserved it after my accusations."

  "Raven warned me that you were superstitious so I can let it slide," he shrugged. "Yo
u just scared me a little because I thought you were going to try and choke me with your necklace."

  Elaise laughed. "No, I'm not that cruel. But, if it's alright, can I ask a question?"

  "Hmm?"

  "Why haven't I seen you and Raven together for a while?" she hoped she would get an answer. "You haven't spoken to each other and I definitely haven't seen you both with your routine closeness."

  Jason was quiet for a few moments and Elaise waited patiently. "I snapped at her…" he answered with a hint of grief in his voice. "I lost my temper and I snapped at her. I don't want to approach her again and risk…" He didn't finish.

  "Risk what?" Jason didn't answer and Elaise grabbed his arm, stopping him in the hallway as kids moved on to their next classes. "What are you worried about?"

  "I don't want to hear her say that she doesn't want to be near me anymore," he admitted, looking down at the ground.

  Elaise frowned and knew that, even though she was scared of this boy, she felt sorry for him. "She's not like that. Jason, she's been through so much in her life and snapping at her isn't going to make her hate you. You are the first guy that has ever paid so much attention to her and actually wants to be with her instead of using her for sex. To her, that is super special and she doesn't want to lose that. I'm sure that if you went to talk to her now that she would be more than happy to see you."

  He smiled slightly. "I have Math with her now. Maybe-"

  "Hey," they both looked up at Der' approach and Elaise felt her heart race. "Have you guys seen Raven?"

  "Not since I left the dorm this morning," Elaise shook her head. Raven hadn't turned up at breakfast and when Elaise had gone back to the dorm to get ready for classes the blonde girl was already gone. "Weren't you just in History with her?"

  "She wasn't there," Der told her gravely.

  "That's not like her," Jason narrowed his eyes. "She always turns up for class. I'm supposed to have class with her now."

  "Maybe she'll be there," Elaise prayed. "But Brittany is in Math too…"

  "She has to be somewhere," Jason looked worried and Elaise wondered why. Yes, it was unusual for Raven to skip classes, but it couldn't be that bad, could it?

  "Check the forest?" Der suggested to Jason and the green-eyed boy nodded.

  "If I find her, I'll bring her back," he turned and rushed off. Elaise wondered why there was so much concern over it. There weren't many places for Raven to hide in a boarding school.

  "We'll find her," Der promised and turned to leave but Elaise called him back before she could stop herself. He turned back around to face her and her breath became hitched in her throat. "Yes?"

  She took a deep breath and knew she couldn't avoid him forever. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I accused you of something that I shouldn't have and avoided you just after you asked me out. It was wrong of me to do so."

  "Don't worry about it," he chuckled. "You're just one of those girls who overreact." Elaise's mouth fell open but Der cut her off before she could say anything. "But I like you for it so it's okay."

  Elaise smiled and didn't have time to react as Der quickly bent down and pecked her on the lips, dashing away to avoid getting in trouble. She watched him go and blinked, reaching her hand up to lightly touch her lips. She turned and headed for her English class, wondering why Raven hadn't turned up for classes.

  It was lunch by the time Elaise was tired and she sat down at the wooden tables to wait for Mandy and Katie to show up and annoy her. She hadn't seen Raven all day and had looked for the blonde at recess when Jason said he couldn't find her. Where was she?

  "And here you were saying that we were being bitches by making Raven's life miserable!" Elaise looked up as Brittany's minions approached. "Well done, Elle!"

  Elaise blinked. "Excuse me?"

  "Raven's just gotten out of sick bay," Katie grinned. "Rumors are going around that she has three fractured ribs."

  The brunette rose from her seat instantly, the blood draining from her face. Someone attacked Raven? "From who?!"

  Mandy glanced at Katie. "Everyone's saying it was you…"

  "I would never harm my friend!" Elaise hissed. "Where is she now?"

  "Brittany told us she went to the dining hall," Katie mumbled.

  Elaise left them and almost ran through the school as she made her way towards the dining hall. Who had harmed Raven? Elaise narrowed her eyes when she thought that it might have been Brittany.

  She found the dining hall and she saw a few kids sitting at tables, eating some snacks that were provided at the food bays. She spotted Raven sitting alone, her head down with one arms around her stomach and a small tray of food in front of her. Raven was simply toying with it, not eating it at all.

  Elaise walked over to her friend and sat down beside her. The blonde's head turned slightly before she looked up at Elaise, her face half hidden with her hair. Elaise felt her own heart break when she saw the pain in Raven's eyes, red-rimmed and bloodshot.

  "What do you want?" the blonde asked, her voice breaking.

  "I heard you were in sick bay," Elaise kept her voice light. "Is it true? Your ribs are fractured?"

  Raven slowly nodded. "One was almost broken," her voice broke again.

  Elaise looked down as Raven slowly pulled her shirt up slightly to show her the bandages wrapped around her ribcage. She let her shirt fall back down and the brunette had to remember how to breathe. "Who did it?"

  Her blonde friend looked like she was going to reply but she bit her lip fiercely and tears welled up in her eyes. She looked back down at the table and Elaise reach up, hesitating at first, and put her hand on Raven's shoulder. Raven tried to hold back her sobs and Elaise thought she herself was going to cry when Raven turned to her and leaned on her, crying.

  Elaise hugged her lightly so she didn't hurt her and concern for her friend took hold. "Raven? What happened?"

  Raven was trying to hold herself together as she cried on Elaise and she stuttered at the beginning. Elaise strained her ears to listen but felt so helpless when her friend spoke. "J-J-Kyle… It w-was him…"

  "He punched you?" Raven nodded. "Why? When?" In what timeframe had Kyle been able to get to her without anyone else knowing?

  "Just after you l-l-left this morning," her voice cracked as her sobs continued. "H-he got into the room…"

  "What else happened?" Elaise regretted to ask. "What did he do?"

  "H-h-h-he…" Raven clung on to the brunette and her sobs became louder. "I didn't have a choice. He said he was g-going to get what he wanted, w-w-whether he h-had to cripple me or not."

  Elaise shut her eyes tightly. "Did he… did he rape you?" Raven slowly nodded and held onto the brunette as strongly as she possibly could. Elaise sighed deeply and felt tears well up in her own eyes. Her heart went out to her friend. The blonde had been through this before and Elaise hadn't been there to protect her. Why did this have to keep happening to Raven? Why was she always going through so many problems that she wasn't able to handle on her own?

  "Elaise, I'm so sorry!" Raven whispered. "I never meant to be a horrible friend. I'm sorry."

  "It's okay," Elaise breathed. "I'm sorry too. I promise that I'll never fight with you again."

  Elaise was slowly interpreting what had happened. Kyle had raped Raven in her own dorm room and tried to cripple her just to get what he wanted. How could anyone be so vile? She took a deep breath and knew what she had to do now. She couldn't be Raven's friend; she had to be Raven's parent.

  "Did Miss Clarence suggest you eat this?" she gestured to Raven's food and the blonde slowly sat up, looking at it with bloodshot eyes, nodding. "Then come on. It's time for you to eat. I'm not taking no for an answer," she added as Raven tried to shake her head. "You need to eat."

  Slowly, Raven gave in and picked up the spoon with a shaky hand. She stared eating the soup that was on her tray and Elaise broke up the bread for her, treating her like a child. Raven had been this way when Elaise first met her she knew how to look after
the blonde. She helped Raven recover once, she could do it again.

  When Raven was finished, Elaise ushered her back up to the dorm room, stopping Sally on the way to ask her to tell Jason that "she found her". Sally had looked confused but didn't ask questions, dashing off to find the green-eyed boy.

  Elaise took her friend all the way back up to the dorm and seated her on the couch, getting her a glass of cold water. "Is there anything you want from your room?" she asked, knowing Raven wasn't going to want to go in there.

  "Can you get Rover?" she asked quietly.