Even a Scream Has A Musical Scale - Chapter 1

“Dani.”

Whenever her name was called, Dani responded like a trained dog.

It wasn’t the name that mattered. What mattered was that Remington was the one calling it.

She looked up to see him smiling at her with a champagne glass in hand. As always, Remington sat elegantly, surrounded by a crowd of admirers.

The room’s attention inevitably gravitated towards him. Following his gaze, everyone at the party turned to look at Dani. She felt her breath catch.

“Come closer.”

His gentle beckoning was irresistible. Dani put down her book and approached him, powerless to resist.

“What’s going on?”

“The others want to see you.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and smiled, proudly turning to the crowd. His eyes seemed to say, ‘See? She comes when I call.’

Remington pulled her onto his lap, handling her carelessly like a broken doll. He pinned her shoulders in place, presenting her to the crowd.

“Everyone, this is Miss Dana Robertson.”

The boys jeered and clapped as if he were presenting an auction item. A wave of humiliation surged through her, but she didn’t dare defy him. She couldn’t defy him.

“Have you been drinking a lot?” she whispered worriedly in his ear, but he ignored her, tightening his grip.

“Why do people think you’re so cold? You’re so sweet and gentle.”

“Ouch, that hurts…”

“Answer me, Dani. Why do they misunderstand you?”

As he bound her, his other hand caressed her head. The man’s eyes darkened with interest. They looked at Remington with reverence and at Dani with lewd curiosity.

Sticky, silent gazes. Imagining their filthy thoughts made her want to scream, but she bit her lip and endured. She would play his game. She would be good and obedient.

“Everyone seems upset because you’re just sitting here reading. You never give them a chance to get to know you.”

“…Sorry.”

“You should thank them. They want to be friends.”

“…Thank you.”

Even though she complied, Remington still seemed dissatisfied.

“You should smile when you say thank you.”

His hand slid up to her cheek, pinching it lightly as he smiled.

“Come on, smile.”

“Now?”

Her lips trembled with confusion.

Remington pretended not to notice.

“Show Eddie, the guy who mast*rbates thinking about you every night, your smile.”

She stared at Remington.

Before she could protest, his large hand grabbed her chin and forced her to face Eddie.

“You don’t know him, do you? This is Eddie. Say hello, Eddie. This is Dana Robertson. Isn’t she prettier in person?”

“Hello, Robertson. Nice to meet you.”

Eddie greeted her with a curious expression, seemingly unaware that Remington was holding her captive.

Be good. Be obedient.

Fighting back tears, she managed to force a smile.

“…Hello. Nice to meet you.”

As soon as she spoke, Remington’s grip on her jaw loosened. When his hand fell away, it felt like she was released from a long imprisonment. She exhaled the breath she had been holding.

“Good job, Dani. One smile and you’ve made three d*cks hard.”

Remington pointed at the boys’ crotches, chuckling. They mimed jerking off in the air, laughing. Some even licked their lips like beasts ready to pounce.

Her mind spun. She wanted to scratch at her skin to rid herself of the crawling humiliation. She moved her hands from her skirt to the sleeves of her blouse, pinching and scratching her wrists. When the pain became sharp, Remington gently took her hand.

“Shall we go somewhere quiet?”

As he led her out, the boys cheered behind them. Some clapped, others whistled mockingly, while others openly expressed envy.

Remington moved forward without a hint of disturbance, like a seasoned politician unfazed by slander. Dani followed him like a child, staring at their joined hands.

He took her to a bedroom on the second floor and locked the door. Silence fell, replacing the previous noise. Remington stood her against the wall, gently holding her wrist.

“Don’t scratch. You’ll hurt yourself.”

She slowly raised her head, desperate to see his face—the face that had humiliated her so thoroughly.

Remington tenderly rubbed her reddened wrist, whispering.

“Dani, are you okay?”

It felt like he was asking, ‘Do you still love me, even after this?’

She nodded stupidly, tears welling up. A bitter smile played on his lips, and she stood on tiptoe to kiss him. Kissing him meant she didn’t have to see his cruel expression.

The s*x that night was sweet and painful. He called her ‘Dani,’ and she loved hearing that name. His body tore into her fiercely, and she even liked his savage touch, wanting to be destroyed by him.

As long as she could be loved again, she would kneel beneath him repeatedly, regardless of the pain, the wounds, or the ruin.

But despite the lingering haze of their intimacy, she couldn’t sleep that night. Her mind grew clearer.

An overwhelming thought swelled inside her: ‘This can’t go on.’ This isn’t right, this isn’t right, this isn’t…

Eventually, she bolted out of bed and ran out of the house. The once-crowded mansion was now deserted, leaving only a chilling silence.

She ran aimlessly until she reached the vast, empty sea under the black sky.

Panting, she clung to the railing, the cold sea air filling her lungs and tearing at her throat.

She didn’t know why she had to come to the sea in the middle of the night. She just felt the need to breathe. To take a deep, cleansing breath.

Where did it all go wrong? The tangled mess of her life was impossible to unravel. Misery rarely offers clues to its origins.

As she took a deep breath, the sound of the waves was shattered by her phone’s ringtone.

“Was it you?”

Seeing the message, she shoved the phone back into her coat pocket with trembling hands. Calls and messages continued to pour in.

Dark, unpleasant thoughts spread through her like mold. She wanted to vomit. Her body demanded it.

Gripping the railing, she screamed into the black sea with all her might.

But everything remained silent.

As if no one had ever screamed at all.

***

Dear Daniel,

I hope this letter finds you well. But I don’t know where to start.

I don’t want to think about the sins I’ve committed. Instead, I want to talk about the horrible screams I’ve heard.

The tiresome ghosts scream without anyone to hear them.

This is about Remington Howard.

To some, he is ‘Howard,’ to others, ‘Remy’ or ‘Rem.’

But to me, he is simply Remington.

She had liked him for a long time.

Remington often boasted, ‘You fell for me at first sight,’ but she could assure you that’s not true. Every time he said something so pathetic, she realized how ignorant he was about himself.

He didn’t know he was an annoying person in high school. No sane girl would fall for such a moody, arrogant, and inscrutable boy, no matter how handsome he was.

Dani felt the same. She had no desire to befriend Remington, even though the entire school seemed desperate to be close to him.

He just slightly annoyed her. Little did she know that this small annoyance would lead to such a great downfall..