Read Silence :: Chapter 1 | Tapas Community

Kaitlyn's POV

24 years earlier….

We sit on my bed in my room. It is made out of thick old oak and I have thin plaid sheets. My twenty second birthday was two weeks ago and my parents have given me time over the summer to get a job before I have to move out. I'm savoring the time with my sisters.

It is a hot summer day and we are going down to the village. The blue sky is accented with a few white fluffy clouds. Outside my window, green fields stretch for miles over rolling hills. Water turns the water of our small pond gold. Below, koi and other fish swim, propelling themself through amber water. The sweet smell of freshness drifts on the warm summer breeze. The animals outside in the barn create a soothing background noise. We have a few chickens and cows which we use for fresh eggs and milk. Occasionally we sell what is left but in our family of five that is a rare occurrence.

I have my little sister Lily in front of me, her hair in my hands as I braid her wavy hair. She has our youngest sister in front of her as she does the same. Violet has her phone and texts her newest boyfriend Zach. We stay like this until the braids are done then we separate and change into summery outfits. I put on a pastel green thigh lengthed dress, Lilly a baby blue one made out of a jean material that went to mid thigh and Violet a pink floral matching crop top and skirt.

We go downstairs chaotically racing each other determined to get down first. Running into the kitchen, I collect money, a bag and say bye to our mum. She is cooking a curry for dinner which smells spicy and delicious, she stops to give me and my sisters each a hug. Our dad is at work but will be home when we come back. It's the summer so we are going to the village to get Lilly and Violet school supplies and to stock up on sweets. I have today off work but normally I work at a toy shop in the center of the village.

We run through the green fields stopping to stroke the tabby cat that appears in front of us. We have competitions on who can go over the gates in the coolest way. Our braids fly behind us in the wind. As we pass under the canopy of the forest we stop and climb up some trees with low hanging branches while we wait for Alex. We have been climbing trees all our lives so we easily scaled to the top after I used a rock to mark the tree so Alex knew which one we were up.

Alex is my partner of two years and I love them with all my heart. They have thick black hair that just reaches their shoulders. On their 20th birthday they got a really cool eyebrow piercing and we got matching tattoos. They are on our wrists. I have a small moon and they have a sun tattoo. I talk to my sisters about what they are going to buy until Alex calls “Kat” up into the tree we are sitting in. We jump down and I hold their hand as we walk.

When we arrive, there is a bustling market. Bunting dances in the breeze connected to multicoloured stalls. Each stall holds produce straight from the farm. People are everywhere crowding around each stall. The smells and colour overwhelm my senses. I start to feel dizzy and squeeze Alex's hand. They notice and lead me and my sisters away to a shortcut through a system of alleyways.

Further into the alleys we notice there is a guy following us. He is tall, with tanned skin and wears all black. We quicken our pace and come to a crossroads. More guys appear (all sharing a small X tattoo on their wrists) at each exit. There are four in total, Alex moves forward using their body to protect us as I draw my sisters closer.

One of the men draws a small switchblade and bellows, “If you don’t wanna get hurt give us all you have!”

I start to shake and Alex starts to call the police with shaking hands. One of the men notice, and punches them causing them to fall to the floor.

I help them up as the man sneers, “ If you don't have to pay cash I can arrange getting a different time or more at a later time although I might need something extra in return,” as he grabs my arm.

I start to cry as he drags me closer to him and starts to move his hand over me.

I cry, “STOP. Someone HELP. HELp-p!” He covers my mouth with his hand.

The others have Alex, Lilly and Violet. Alex has a knife pressed to their throat, a bruise already forming around their eye.