"Karl Anderson, report for duty!" A raspy voice sounded through the house.
"I should have locked the front door!" Karl shouted back.
A grinning man walked into the kitchen and looked at the two people standing on the other side of the island. He knew Karl but not the woman hiding behind him. She looked like an angel in that long, white dress with long sleeves. Her hair was dark brown, so dark that it almost looked black. Her eyes were pale green and there was an uneasy look in them. She almost seemed scared.
"Dean Ambrose, you son of a bitch!" Karl laughed.
The two men shook hands over the island before Karl looked at the woman behind him.
"It's alright. This is Dean I served time in the military with. I've told you about him before," he said.
The woman nodded and took a step forward to stand next to Karl. Dean eyed the scar on her throat, wondering what on earth could have brought a scar in that weird shape on a woman's throat. It wasn't a clean line like when someone had their throat cut.
"This is my sister Grace," Karl said.
"Pleasure to meet you, angel," Dean put on his most kittenish smile.
He reached his hand over the island again but she just looked at it before looking back at Karl with question filled eyes.
"Go ahead. I'll keep the bastard here," Karl said.
She nodded and walked around the island. Her eyes found Dean's again and she managed to give him a little smile before leaving the kitchen. Dean's eyes followed her until she was out of sight before he looked at Karl again.
"What's wrong with your sister?" He asked.
"Nothing's wrong with her," Karl answered.
"Is she a mute?" Dean asked.
"No, she just doesn't talk," Karl answered.
"Isn't that the same?" Dean asked.
Karl sighed and walked over to the kitchen door to make sure she was out of reach. He noticed her through the windows. She had walked outside so she wouldn't hear them. He turned around and walked over to Dean.
"This really isn't any of your business but since you'll be staying with us for a while and I know how your mouth always runs away with you, you're bound to cross the line if I don't tell you," he said.
"It sounds serious," Dean said.
"It is," Karl sighed.
"Does it have something to do with that scar on her throat? Was she in a freak accident that took away her voice?" Dean asked.
Karl walked over to the fridge and took out two beers. He handed one to Dean and pointed at the kitchen table. Both men sat down and Dean now knew that there was something really serious about it all.
"Grace has always been an animal lover. Like, a huge animal lover. If a dog and a person are drowning and she can only save one, she'll choose the dog," Karl started.
"My type of girl," Dean chuckled.
"I swear she befriended every single dog and cat running around town," Karl said.
He took a sip from his beer. It was still hard to talk about. Mainly because he never did. He didn't like digging up the past.
"She befriended these three German shepherds owned by some weird ass hillbillies living close by. I don't know what they are. For a long time I thought they were gay but they call themselves brothers although they don't have the same last name. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan," Karl said.
Dean didn't say anything. He had a feeling he shouldn't cut in if he wanted the full story.
"She loved those dogs and they ended up being her downfall. I don't know if Luke and Erick lured her to their home or forced her there but she got there somehow," Karl said.
"Fuck," Dean mumbled when he realized where the story was going.
"I don't know the details but they raped her, Dean. They destroyed my little sister and then threw her outside naked and had their dogs attack her. That's why she has that scar on her throat. Her entire body is covered in scars from their teeth so she always covers up. Somehow she managed to protect her face all the way through so that's still intact," Karl said.
Karl took another sip of his beer. The need of getting drunk and forget everything was suddenly there.
"They called the dogs off once they thought she was dead and then they called the cops," he continued.
"They called the cops themselves?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, they claimed it was an accident. That she came there willingly for sex and then their dogs attacked her out of nowhere. It made no sense since her clothes was still inside the house and she had marks from human hands as well but since she clammed up herself, they couldn't get the truth," Karl sighed deeply. "They walked, Dean. They raped and nearly killed her and they fucking walked."
"That's just fucked up!" Dean couldn't believe it.
"You're telling me," Karl shook his head. "The cops all know they did it and the sheriff has become a personal friend of mine in all this but there's nothing we can do."
"So she hasn't spoken since?" Dean asked. "How long ago was it."
"A little over a year. I'm not even sure if she remembers how to form words anymore. She's not stupid, Dean. She understands everything and she communicates in her own silent way. I've gotten used to it," Karl said.
He emptied the rest of his beer while Dean pushed his still untouched beer towards him.
"Take mine," he said. "I'm gonna go outside and clear my head. It's a lot to take in."
"Try living with it everyday," Karl said.
"Sorry, man," Dean said.
He walked outside, not to clear his mind as he had said but to find her. He didn't know why. He had felt drawn to her the second he had laid eyes on her and now he just wanted to see if she was alright. A stranger in their house, a male stranger, had to scare her with what he had just learned. He walked around, silently cursing all the land they had, until he finally spotted her standing down by a fish pond. She had pulled the sleeves up and her scars were on full display. There was so many of them. He had never seen anyone that covered in scars and he couldn't even begin to imagine how the rest of her body looked.
"Hi angel," he called out as he walked closer.
She turned around fast and quickly pulled her sleeves down. It was sad to see that she was so uncomfortable in her own skin. It was hot Summer and she covered up like that.
"Don't," he shook his head. "Your scars don't repulse me."
As he came closer, she started backing up.
"But I scare you, don't I?" He stopped.
She nodded slowly and he did the only thing he could think of. He pulled out his knife which only made her look more scared.
"Relax, I won't hurt you," he grabbed the blade and held the handle towards her. "Take it. You can stab me and leave me in the fish pond if it's called for but I promise you I won't hurt you."
She slowly reached her hand forward and took the knife.
"There you go, angel," he said.
She shook her head no.
"You don't like being called angel?" He chuckled. "Stop looking like you just fell out of heaven then."
A little smile tugged on her lips.
"Yeah, I know. My pick up lines suck. I've been out of game for way too long," he said. "Anyway, I'm Dean as you already know. I'm gonna stay with you and Karl for a little while. I hope you don't mind."
She shook her head no again and then handed the knife back to him.
"Oh, you trust me now, do you?" He took the knife. "That's good. Nice, quick start. I bet you we'll be the best of friends in no time."
He put the knife back in his pocket and looked at the fish pond again.
"It looks good. Karl told me you're a huge animal lover. I like that. Animals are the best. We can't trust most humans but get a good companion in a cat or dog and you got a friend for life," he said.
Her eyes suddenly shone bright. He knew he had hit her right where it counted with those words. She started moving away but waved for him to follow. She walked fast towards a forest near by.
"Where are you taking me? Are you gonna murder me and leave me to rot out here?" He joked.
She placed a finger on her lips and sat down on the ground. He shut up and sat down next to her. For a couple of minutes he didn't speak until she pointed at a tree. He looked in the direction and couldn't help but smile. A squirrel family, a mom and four babies, were running around. He instinctly knew this was a big deal to her that she had trusted him enough to show it to him. He suddenly felt her hand in his, her fingers lacing in between his, while they watched the squirrels run around and disappear up into a tree.
"Thank you for bringing me here," he said lowly.
She looked at him, blushing and pulling her hand out of his as if she hadn't realized she had taken it in the first place. She stood up and motioned for him to get up as well.
"You're right. We better get back before Karl thinks we've been kidnapped by aliens," he said.
It was weird talking to someone that didn't answer and still it felt like he communicated better with her than he had done with any other woman before. Karl was right. She had her own silent way to communicate.