Goodbye, Mr. Regret

"Herbert, you don't need to worry about me. I've made it to Aetherion, but..."

Jessica's hands stilled mid-sign.

Herbert knew all too well how much she'd suffered with Timothy, and he'd been hoping for the day she could finally break free. Yet, now that she was here in Aetherion, he didn't feel as relieved or overjoyed as he'd imagined.

He remembered Timothy's threats, written all over his face that day-he'd made it clear he wouldn't let anyone take her away. For her to escape Timothy's grasp, Herbert could only imagine what it had cost her.

He didn't know the details, but the evidence was there: bruised fingerprints on her cheek and a small split at the corner of her mouth.

Jessica noticed Herbert watching her in silence, and continued signing, "My throat hurts..."

Herbert snapped out of his thoughts, concern sharpening his voice. "Is it bad?"

Jessica nodded.

"All right, turn on a lamp and use your phone to take a picture of your throat for me. Let me have a look. And what happened? Why does it hurt so much all of a sudden?"

Jessica's expression faltered. The memory of that night-the humiliation-made her chest tighten. She'd barely had the strength to seek out Vince afterward. As for anyone else, she could never bring herself to say a word.

signed, "I strained my voice too much.

always followed his instructions, doing her vocal rehab exercises as prescribed. She'd wanted so desperately to speak again, but he hadn't expected her to push herself to this

press her. Instead, worried she was in pain, he said, "Okay, I'll let you

the call ended, Jessica searched the room, eventually finding a small flashlight. She tied it to the

she could manage to open wide enough, snapping several photos and picking out the

could tell-the

evident in the terse set of

was bad. From the looks of it, her throat had

was just

prescription was

quickly sent him her

minutes later, Herbert called

Mute, I've arranged for someone to bring you the medicine. For now, you need to stick to a soft mild diet soups, purees, nothing too hot room temperature is best. I've seen the pictures-there's more than just vocal cord irritation. You're hurt, aren't

flushed with embarrassment. She looked away, unable to meet

want to talk about what had