The Silent Scream

 The Silent Scream She had always been the girl who filled the silence with her words. Whether it was a random thought that popped into her head or the latest drama at school, her father was her sounding board. He was the one who would listen, patiently, to everything—no matter how small or how trivial. But there was one thing she never spoke to him about: boys. She had always known her father would be protective. He would worry, maybe even get angry. So, she kept that part of her life to herself. She had never mentioned the butterflies in her stomach when she first met him, or the sweet feeling of holding his hand, or the late-night talks that made her heart race. She kept it hidden, tucked away like a secret she wasn’t ready to share. And then, the inevitable happened. She fell for him. At first, it was small moments that made her heart flutter, like the way he smiled when he saw her or the way he looked at her like she was the only person in the room. She let herself get swept a...