Fan Fiction ❯ Room 316 ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5

     The entire day, Deirdre refused to move from her position. She kept her head buried in the pillow even though her tears and sobs had subsided around lunchtime. Out of some respect, Abby stayed in the room, and quietly looked over her class options. When lunchtime came around, she opted for having two of her drinks over going out for food. It’s not that she was all that worried about Deirdre, but more along the lines that she had a nagging feeling telling her to stay. She just waved off and when Duncan asked her about it she merely told him what she thought was the reasoning behind it.

     "Us girls have to stick together." She shrugged. "I don’t know how she is, but if I was just traumatized by a guy, the male species would be the last thing that I want to be left alone around. So, I guess you could call me feminine support." She paused. "Wait, that makes me sound like some sort of undergarment." Duncan just smiled at her.

     "Thanks." He said, then laid back on his bed. That’s when Deirdre ‘spoke’ again.

     ‘It was Vince.’ She kept her head buried in her pillow. To the casual on looker, she was still sulking. Not telling her life story. Duncan shut his eyes and allowed Deirdre to continue. ‘He took me to his home. It turned out that he believes he is a reincarnated form of RA. So, in saying that he was the R.A. To himself, he was telling the truth. Anyhow, he brought me into his home where only he resided. Even though I was a cat, he taught me things. Mostly simple vocabulary, and how to turn off my ‘speaking’ ability. It was when I turned four, that I gained a human shape. At that point in time, Vince didn’t seem so bad, he had taken me in and showed me what I really was. Even though I looked human, he never actually spoke around me. Almost all of my life, I’ve communicated through grunts, growls, or as I’m speaking to you now. He never really allowed me out of the house, though sometimes I would get curious and wander around the back yard, just chasing leaves, or something like that. It was in this way I met Athelstan.

   & nbsp; He was a small boy next door to Vince. One day, I snuck out of the house since Vince wasn’t around, to lay out in the grass. I felt a strange presence watching me. There stood a small boy. He just stared at me with crystalline eyes. I growled at him, but he didn’t react. He stared at me quite strangely as I approached him. I looked at him, and decided to ‘speak’ to him.

     "Hello." was all I had said. He jumped back with a little bit of fear now covering his face. Then, a woman, that turned out to be his mother came out. As she spoke to him, her voice was drawn out, and she made hand movements. He responded with a nod and he ran into the house. It turned out that Athelstan was deaf. In the long run it worked out for me. Since I would not speak to her, his mother assumed that I was deaf as well. She signed something to me, even though I heard her spoken words, I ran in fear.

     However, within a few weeks, Athelstan and I were almost inseparable. That is when ever Vince wasn’t around. The years went on fairly well, I even made it to where I could read Athelstan’s mind as well as project my own thoughts, and it made his mother happy that he had a friend. Eventually though, she realized how little she knew about me. I was twelve when she came knocking on the front door. Vince seemed extremely aggravated that anyone would come up.’ At this point, her voice faded, and the scene seemed to play itself out.

     "Hi," She smiled brightly, "I know we’ve never actually met, but I’m you neighbor."

     "Yeah, so." He took a swig from his beer. Deirdre sat in the stairwell facing the door, her eyes wide with fear.

     "Well, I just wanted to talk to you about your daughter." She stood in the doorway, waiting to be invited in, but that wasn’t about to happen.

     "I don’t have any children." He stated flatly.

     "Sir, I know better. She’s been coming to my home almost everyday," This caused Vince to glare in Deirdre’s direction, and she cowered further into the stairwell. "And that’s one reason for my visit." I’ve noticed that she doesn’t go to school, but with her special condition I just figured you home schooled her." This statement grabbed Vince’s attention.

     "What condition?" He growled.

     "Why the fact that she’s deaf and mute." The woman seemed confused by his response.

     "Oh, that condition." He sent Deirdre a menacing glare that caused her to whimper, and run to her room. He turned back to Althestan’s mother. "Yeah, she’s home schooled."

     "Anyhow, she and my son have become quite good friends, and I was wondering if she might be able to come over for his birthday dinner tomorrow evening, and possibly spend the night? Oh, I’m sorry, my name’s Abigail." She extended her hand and he only glared, so she withdrew it. "Anyway, I thought that it would just make his day, it’s only once that someone turns thirteen." Anger grew in Vince’s eyes as she mentioned his age. "And since she’s never been able to make his other.."

     "No." Vince cut her off and slammed the door in her face. He slammed the glass bottle in his hand against the door and stomped up the stairs. He barged into Deirdre’s room, where she was cowering in the corner. He didn’t say a word, he just began beating her. He smacked her across the face, leaving small gashes where his nails touched her skin. The image faded away, and Deirdre’s voice could be heard once again.

     ‘That went on for hours. Until the police came and took him away. Abigail had called them after she heard the glass break against the door. They were about to put me in a group home, since Vince wasn’t my legal guardian, but Abigail saved me from that too. I lived with them happily for about six months. Before things changed, and by things, I mean me.’