Page 22 of Don't Speak
“Good, that sick fuck. I’ll follow up with Janet to let her know the task has been completed. I’m currently looking for your next target. I figured you would want to pay a visit to Nikki first,” he tells me.
“Thanks, David. I appreciate your hard work.”
“No problem, boss,” he says before promptly disconnecting the call.
I slide the phone back into my pocket and get to work cleaning up this mess. I just so happened to have found an old, abandoned crematorium to conduct this business in, so I toss Jason into the cremation chamber and set his body on fire before cleaning up the rest of the mess.
Once I’m satisfied with how things look, ensuring no DNA is left behind, I gather my tools and head out.
I’ve got a woman to stalk.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Eleven years old
“Mommy, I have to tell you something.” I can’t do this anymore. I have to tell her. He’s not home. Maybe if I tell her, we can leave and never come back. We can go to my Nanny and Papaw’s and stay there and be safe.
“What is it, Nikkibug?” she asks, using the nickname I’ve had since I was born.
“I’m scared to tell you,” I whisper, voice shaking. A lump forms in my throat, and I clasp my hands in front of me, wringing them back and forth.
“You can always tell me anything. There’s no reason to be scared.” She gives me the reassurance I need that maybe I can do this.
“Sean has been…. doing things to me…” I trail off, my stomach starting to turn, making me nauseous. My mommy is just staring at me, and before she can respond, I add, “And he’s been making me do things to him.”
The look in my mommy’s eyes is one of sadness. For the next twenty minutes, I tell her everything that has happened over the last four years, both of us in tears.
“Go pack a bag right now. We’re leaving,” she tells me, the urgency in her voice growing with every word.
I run to my room and grab my backpack. I don’t know how I’m going to fit everything in here. I can’t leave my stuffed animals. They all mean so much to me. They’ve never hurt me.
Before I know it, I’m filling up my backpack with all of my favorite stuffed animals. I don’t need anything else. Zipping up the bag, I start to leave my room when I hear the front door unlock. No. No, please, no. This can’t be happening.
Sean walks through the door, heading to the kitchen to put his things down. It’s quiet. Too quiet. The sound of my racing heart is pounding in my ears as I wait to hear voices. Seconds later, my mommy is screaming, and Sean is screaming right back at her. I run to my closet and close the door, Bode coming in with me, shaking just as much as me.
I can’t make out what they’re saying. Their room is on the opposite side of the house, and several doors block the sound. I grab my teddy, holding her close and crying into her fur. I just want to leave. Suddenly, it gets quiet again, and my stomachstarts to churn once more. I sit here for what feels like hours, curled up in the corner, trying to make myself seem smaller.
The sound of my bedroom door opening has me jolting upright, and I cover myself with my blanket. My mom’s voice calls my name on the other side of my closet door. “Nikki. You can come out.” She sounds calm. Too calm. This isn’t the mom I had earlier. He said he would kill us if I said anything. How is she so calm?
Opening the door, I peer out, seeing that it’s just her before opening my door all the way. I walk out, Bode following me but not leaving my side.
“I need you to come out to the dining room, honey. We need to talk.” Her voice sounds sad, and her face is red and puffy. I know she was upset, but why are we not leaving? Still holding onto my teddy, I leave the comfort of my room and walk to the dining room like she says; when I get there, I freeze. Sean is sitting at the table.
All at once, I lose all control of my emotions. Sadness, fear, anger, they all boil inside me, and I start screaming. “WHY ARE WE STILL HERE? WHY ARE WE NOT LEAVING, MOMMY? I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO HIM.” Mommy grabs my shoulders, looks me in the eye, and asks me to sit down. She tells me that everything is going to be okay.
Everything does not feel okay.
I sit down in one of the four seats, with Sean sitting in one and my mom in another. I can’t bring myself to look at him. At this point, I can’t even bring myself to look at my mother. Something inside me is breaking. Something I didn’t know would make me feel worse than living through what I have for three years. I feel… betrayed. My mommy is betraying me. The one person who is supposed to keep me safe is making me sit in front of the person I just told her was doing horrible things to me.
And just when I think it can’t get any worse, Sean says, “Come sit in my lap so we can talk.” I look up at my mom, begging her with my eyes not to make me do this. But she doesn’t look at me. She doesn’t say anything. A large bang snaps my direction toward Sean, who just slammed his hand on the table, shouting, “NOW!” Scrambling to my feet, I walk over to him and do just as he says. I sit.
For the next hour, we have a “family meeting.” I’m forced to say everything out loud while sitting on his lap, his arm around my waist. When I’m done talking, Mommy tells me that we aren’t leaving. She tells me we’re staying and that I can’t tell anyone about this. His hand tightens on my leg as she says that last part. She tells me that she loves him and that he won’t do it again. I feel numb. I don’t say anything else, nodding my head and getting up to go to my room.
I know I won’t be the same after tonight. Mommy broke something inside me that I know can never be fixed. Tonight is the night I realized that I am completely alone.
No one is going to save me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
