Page 55 of A Silence So Divine

There’s a lull, and I study a string of syrup that stretches between the edge of the table and my plate.

Creed snorts.“Wait—what? You’re saying Eden has a superpower?”With a roll of his eyes, he shakes his head.

My bottom lip quivers. I grab the plates, standing from the table to escape the conversation. Turning on the sink, I avert my eyes from the reflection of them in the window. There are mumbled curses from Cecil and grunts of aggravation from Creed.

I take my time, drying each dish and placing it in the cupboard. My movements are slow, methodical. Wiping the sink until it gleams, I count the seconds in my head. Ten minutes have passed, so I abandon the safety of the faucet and turn back towards the two men. The looks I receive make me wither, but not for the reason I expected. Creed wears such a look of sadness, I think I might have preferred disgust. For God’s sake, I don’t deserve anyone’spity.

“You can’t make her do that,”Creed insists. He looks at me expectantly, as if he’s waiting for me to jump in and plead my case.

I learned long ago that my fate will never be up to me. I shrug pathetically in his direction.

“I won’t let anyone hurt her,”Cecil assures. “I have a plan.”Grabbing the newspaper from the edge of the table, he unfolds it and flips through the pages. Dropping the rest to the floor, he spreads out one sheet, skimming his fingers along a photo of two young girls.

MISSING SISTERS

On January 21st, at approximately 2:15 a.m, Evaline (16) and Bonnie (10) Shrauder were taken from their home in Wisnaw County. Evaline was last seen wearing an oversized pink sweater, and polka dotted fleece pants. Bonnie was wearing a floral nightgown, her hair in two braids.

If you have any information on their whereabouts, please contact the Wisnaw County police department.

Below the article is a more detailed description of the girls’ appearance: hair and eye color, height, weight.

“I don’t understand,”I admit. My eyes skim the article again, searching for anything I might have missed.

“I took them,”Cecil’s face is impassive, while Creed’s is anything but.

He throws his hands up to interject.“You kidnap children?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Cecil growls. “Will you let me finish?

It’s a lie. They weren’t taken from their home, they were taken from a holding house that the Brothers use. That day that I came home with the gash in my side? A Divine caught me sneaking them out.”

A gasp passes my lips.“What if he tells the others?”

Cecil’s eyes darken, and he averts his gaze.“He won’t.”

My face blanches. There’s no telling how many people have met their death at Cecil’s hand, and I certainly won’t ask. Not that I have room to judge, though, do I?

“So where did you take them?”The younger of the two brothers asks, deliberately changing the subject.

Leaning further back in his chair, Cecil gnaws at his cheek. Not one for sharing the truth, he’s fraught admitting years worth of secrets.

“An orphanage. There’s a few dozen of us… a resistance. We try to get as many victims as we can before—”He pauses, sniffs. “You know.”

The influx of information is making my skull throb. Resting my elbows on the table, I bring my fingers to my temples and press firmly.

Papa always warned of the world’s dangers, but I never expectedthis. How can the same place that homes flowers and sunrises and butterflies allow room for such ugliness?

Cecil shoots me a look, racking his knuckles along the table in an anxiety-induced tempo.“There’s one more thing,”he admits.

Creed groans, dropping his forehead with a dullthunk. A full minute passes before he has the nerve to straighten and ask the dreaded, “What more could there be?”

It’s then that the subject of all of my grievances intertwine to create an impossibly complex conundrum.

Cecil makes quick work of telling his brother about my father. How he knew Papa, how he found the house, and how my father is undeniably dead because Cecil saw the body with his own two eyes.

I feel ill, and Creed looks it.

“Oh, my God. This is…”