by Marian Tee
“We’ve got someone with no ears here.”
Slowly, I covered my own ears, but it was no use.
“This is where he belongs. Freaks for freaks.”
I pressed my hands to my ears harder, but it was no use. In my mind, other voices were becoming louder, inescapably so.
“Come on, surely there’s another freak inside. Don’t be shy. Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Laughter followed his taunt. Three…four other voices? And they had all stuck together the way bullies did.
Cold sweat crept all over my body. I struggled to stay in the present, but the words were too evil, too painful, too strong, forcing me to spiral back into the past.
Violent trembles afflicted my body as I struggled to get away, but it was too late. The past sucked me in, deeper and deeper—
The courtroom was quiet as a tomb, and in many ways, the place was exactly that. If it did not have Ashton in it, then that place was dead to her.
At Aria’s right, Dan’s eyes were on her. It had been so all this time. Did he really think she still considered herself as his daughter?
She was eighteen now. Old enough to be an adult, old enough to choose how she wanted to face them.
And she had made that choice today.
Today, she was the plaintiff, and they were the defendants.
Amelie was the first to take the stand, and confronted with questions that she couldn’t answer, she ended up in tears. “I loved him. He’s my son, how could I not love him?”
Aria wanted to scream. Liar! Liar, liar, liar!
So many times she had heard Amelie say she wished she had gone through with the abortion. That she was sick and tired of having to care for Ashton all the time.
How could she keep lying? How?
Someone knocked hard on the booth’s extended edge, the sound jostling me out of my memories. I came back with a silent shudder, and I looked up, disoriented, wondering if it was all over.
But it was not.
They were still there, and everything they did only reminded me of the people I desperately wanted to forget.
“Hellooooooo? Any freak in there? Or maybe you can’t hear us, too?”
Their laughter stabbed me, and I found myself sinking in an ocean of memories.
“Hahaha.”
Oh God, I didn’t want to remember.
“Hahaha.”
But I was weak and helpless, always was, always had been, and soon I was drowning under waves of grief.
When it was her turn at the witness stand, Aria was extremely careful not to look at Amelie and Dan. If she did, she would lose it. She would want to kill them, would want to summon the devil and trade them to get her baby brother back.
Her hand shook as she took hold of the marker and started writing on the whiteboard, her only way to communicate since “it” happened.
THEY NEVER LOVED HIM. THEY ALWAYS THOUGHT HE WAS A BURDEN. AND HE KNEW THAT. MY LITTLE BROTHER KNEW IT EVEN IF WE BOTH PRETENDED HE DIDN’T.
Outside the booth, someone helpless, someone who couldn’t speak, someone…someone like him needed my help.
The silence was deafening, suffocating. It was unbearable because I knew.
Even if you didn’t hear a thing, it didn’t mean someone wasn’t in pain.
I swallowed convulsively, knowing what I had to do. I had thought I’d forever be silent, but this – surely this was a good reason to break my vow?
But before I could speak—
“FUCK OFF.”
I jerked in shock at the words. The voice was menacing, mortally so. The guy who spoke hadn’t shouted the words, but he didn’t have to. If looks could kill, well, this man – he made it obvious that words could kill, too. Painfully.
Shuffling footsteps answered him, and I knew by the sound of it that the boys had scrambled away. Realizing it left me even more dazed. A part of me was incredulous, the other part awed.
Was he really that scary? I was tempted to see for myself, but I had a feeling if I tried to move, I would just end up falling.
“You okay?” It was the guy again, and he was speaking in a moderate voice. A normal voice, the way people should when speaking to the Deaf. It had been one of the first things Bobby taught me. With Deaf who were capable of lip-reading, there was no reason one had to speak abnormally slow or, heaven forbid, loud.
“Good. Sign language class, this club. Join, you?” The way the guy spoke, I knew he was adept at signing, knew that he was aware their grammar worked differently from ours.
“Cry. It’s okay. Scared, don’t be. Trust me. It’s okay.”
My chest tightened at his words. Like a bolt being screwed into place, forcing my heart to come back to life, it got so tight it was almost impossible to breathe without gasping.
“Hope, don’t lose.”
So, so, tight.
Why, I wondered painfully, did it feel like this guy was talking to me, too?
I looked around me, and the world I had known had turned into something different. It wasn’t as dark. Wasn’t as rotten. Wasn’t as…unclear.
“Not everyone like them. Shit on legs.”
I covered my mouth before a laugh could escape me.
So, so tight.
I wanted to laugh and cry, but it was beyond me. All I could do was breathe.
“Good. Strong, you. Good. Brave. Good.”
I pressed my hands harder against my mouth, trying to silence my gasps even as my chest felt close to exploding.
Somewhere along the way, between despair and anger, between grief and bitterness, I had made myself believe that everyone was like Amelie and Dan.
Selfish.
Murderously selfish.
Until this guy outside.
If this guy had been there—
If this guy had seen Ashton inside the car, had realized what was happening—
My baby brother would still be alive.
It was a…comforting thought.
Outside, the guy was still speaking. “Don’t forget. Me, in your corner.”
I touched my lips, and I started to cry, really cry, when I realized that my lips had curved into a smile.
Ashton, you got my letter, didn’t you?
Love you.
Thank you.
CHAPTER TWO
Dear Ashton,
You wouldn’t believe what happened tonight. Well, actually, I think you would. Because I bet you had something to do with it. Didn’t you? Prankster!
Love, Your Big Sis
KC: Was he cute?
Me: I told you. I didn’t look at him.
KC: You are so HOPELESS.
Me: Oh, you’re one to talk.
KC: Let’s change the subject.
Me: Thought you’d say that. Gotta go now. Eddie’s back and we still need to pack up our stuff.
KC: Don’t forget – lunch tomorrow with Lace.
Me: Yep.
I let my phone fall back against my hip. It was chained to the belt loop of my uniform, my only recourse since my waitress uniform didn’t come with pockets.
Again, I cursed Bobby inside my head. Evil redheaded queen. I was pretty sure she had chosen the uniform with me in mind. Not only was it super tight, the lack of pockets also meant I couldn’t have my portable whiteboard with me.
My teeth gnashed at the thought. Super evil redheaded queen. She always did the most outlandish things just to get me to talk. Thankfully, just blinking my lashes had done the trick for the guys while playing dumb did it for the girls. Take that, queen. I managed not to utter a single word the entire night.
“Aria?” Eddie was looking at me questioningly. “You need me to do something?”
I pointed at the crates at the other end of the industrial-sized kitchen.
His brow furrowed. “Yeah, I see them. So?” Aside from being one of NH’s beneficiaries, the eighteen-year-old also suffered from a learning disability, one that prevented him from processing information as quickly as others.
Realizing tha
t I had to elaborate, I pointed to the crate again and then tried acting my message out by squatting down halfway and clasping my arms over my shoulder.
Eddie’s eyes lit up a few moments later. “Heavy! You’re saying it’s too heavy for you to carry on your own, so you’d like me to help you with the crates?”
I gave him a thumbs-up.
Eddie gasped. “You’re smiling.”
It was my turn to gasp, silently, and I hastily covered my mouth. I was? That wasn’t good!
He said cheerfully, “You should smile more often.”
I tried not to frown. It was only because this was Eddie that I didn’t. I pointed to the crates again.
“Yes, I got it. I’ll get them to the truck.”
I nodded. Good.
“Do I wait for you?”
I shook my head.
“You’ll go home alone?”
Yup.
“Is that okay?”
I curled up my arm. I’m strong.
Eddie grinned. “Okay.” His brow furrowed again, and I waited patiently, knowing he was trying to remember something. “Oh!” His eyes lit up again. “Bobby says please wait for your paycheck.”
I nodded. Got it. As he loaded the crates on a trolley and headed for the exit, I waved at him.
“Bye!”
When Eddie left, that was the only time I allowed myself to frown. I had smiled. For the second time in the day, I had smiled.
I didn’t like it. I really didn’t like it. Ashton, if you’re the one making me smile…I don’t like it.
Behind me, I heard the kitchen’s main door swing open. A second later, someone was tapping me on the shoulder, and I turned around, expecting it to be Bobby with my paycheck—
But it was not.
The guy standing in front of me was easily recognizable since he figured in a lot of MJ and Bobby’s photos.
Kellion Argyros.
He was the Vice President of the Afxisi, and as with virtually all members of the bike club, his every feature reminded me of a Greek god. Tall. Shiny black hair. Fierce green eyes. Bronze skin. And, I thought uneasily, a body that was hard all over, a body that strangely made my throat dry.
I badly wanted to wet my lips but I didn’t since he was still staring at me. Usually, the way he was staring at me would have been repulsive, but when it was Kellion Argyros doing it—
I mentally shook my head. Vigorously. No, no, no. I had to stop thinking about the biker that way. Men like him were jerks. If there was one lesson to learn from everything that my friends had gone through when they fell in love with bikers, then it was that.
Bikers were trouble on wheels. Period.
Intent on saving my sanity, I started to turn away—
But then I saw him do something I had never imagined he’d do.
My eyes widened.
Still, his fingers moved.
He was signing at me?
Every movement of his fingers was precise, and the way he so confidently and speedily signed was impressive. I didn’t understand a word of it, but I had been around enough Deaf individuals to know the difference between someone who knew how to sign and someone who was pretending to.
As the biker continued signing at me, I wondered when it would be the right time to tell him I was not Deaf. That I didn’t even know how to sign.
ASAP probably. I didn’t like the way this Greek biker was making me feel, didn’t like the way he was making the world around me less blurry with every moment that passed, every instance his fingers moved.
The door to the kitchen opened again. “Aria?”
I automatically turned towards the sound, recognizing Bobby’s voice. The moment I did, I cringed, realizing how I had just given myself away.
Busted.
“Thanks for all the hard work for tonight. MJ wanted me to tell you that she loved everything you prepared! I have to go, there’s some fiasco with the wedding cake and I promised MJ I wouldn’t let anything happen to it.”
Before I could get a word in edgewise, Bobby had already switched her attention to the biker, wary surprise in her gaze as she asked, “Umm, what are you doing here?” Bobby shook her head. “Oh, never mind. I really have to go. Don’t flirt with her, Kellion!”
Wait—
I wanted to call out for Bobby, but the girl had disappeared as quickly as she had shown up, leaving me all alone again with Afxisi’s VP.
Behind me, Kellion Argyros drawled, “Well, fuck. You’re not Deaf, are you?”
I froze.
The whole world froze.
It couldn’t be. No, it couldn’t be. But I knew my ears weren’t deceiving me.
It was him.
It was him.
The one who had saved the Deaf person from being bullied.
The one who had saved...me.
Trembling, I turned to face him. I looked at him, really looked at him, and every thought I had of Kellion Argyros disintegrated, turning him into something both beautiful and abstract.
His green eyes were on me, intense and watchful. Did he look at all girls this way? Did he know that the way he looked at me made me feel like I was the only girl in the world that existed for him?
Muscles in my throat, unused for years, started to work. It took me several tries, but in the end I got it out.
“No.”
My first word in such a long time.
My first step away from the past.
My first step towards the future.
In front of me, life blazed brightly like a ray of sunlight. The radiance of it hurt, but the pain was vibrant and beautiful, like the first time I saw Ashton and his tiny hand had gripped my little finger.
Oh God,
Ashton.
Is this your work again?
As a sob tried to claw out of my throat, I whirled around, snatching my paycheck from the counter before running away, never looking back.
I’m sorry, kiddo, but I just don’t want to start living again.
Chapter Three
Dear Ashton,
I met a guy tonight. And yes, yes, I know it’s unusual for me to talk about a guy.
But I think you would have…liked him. And he would have loved you.
Love, Your Big Sis
I ran like the Devil was after me, but the Devil was fast, even without his bike, and I wasn’t too surprised when I felt fingers suddenly curl around my wrist—
A gentle but firm yank, and I was whirled around.
Kellion Argyros stood in front of me again. We had run quite the distance, which had left me panting, but the biker didn’t look the slightest bit winded, and even his tux didn’t have the slightest crease on it.
In other words, he remained perfect even while his voice sent my world crashing down around me.
His eyes suddenly narrowed, and before I could wonder why, he was pulling me towards the lamppost. Its light glared down on us, illuminating our faces. Kellion’s face turned grim. “Who the hell made you cry?”
Not wanting to answer, I tried tugging my hand away, but his hold on me was inflexible, an unbreakable bond between the two of us.
I glared at him, tugging more insistently. Let me go.
But his grip only tightened. “Tell me who made you cry, Aria.”
The way Kellion Argyros said my name made my spine tingle, in a way that I dared not think about.
In a bout of frustration, I pointed at him.
Kellion looked like I had just called him a four-letter word. “The fuck I did!”
I jabbed his chest. YOU MADE ME CRY!
“No, I didn’t.”
I jabbed his chest again.
“I fucking—”
Unused to hearing someone with such a foul mouth, I unthinkingly covered his lips with my fingers. Stop cursing!
Kellion stilled.
I froze, too, belatedly realizing what I had done. But before I could pull my hand away, he had let go of my wrist and instead captured the hand on his mouth.
Something
forbidden slithered inside me when I felt Kellion’s lips curve in a seductive smile against my hand, and I tugged more desperately. I glared at him as hard as I could. Let me go—
My thoughts evaporated when I felt something wet and warm against my palm.
In front of me, Kellion’s pretty green eyes turned wicked.
Oh my God, he was licking my palm!
Panic burst inside me. I put all my strength into tugging then, but it was pointless, and the more I struggled, the more it seemed to make Kellion want to lick even more. His tongue on my palm drove me wild, sending sparks of sensual pleasure shoot to every corner of my body.
Lick, lick, lick—
In a blur of movement, Kellion yanked me towards him, and my body slammed against his. It was my first time to be this close to a man, and I never thought it would feel this way. This hot. This vivid. This…hard.
Realizing exactly what made it hard had my head jerking up. If the thought of speaking didn’t make me feel so ill, I would have asked him. Really? I mean, really?
But even without me saying a word, it was as if he heard me. Actually, it was as if he more than understood me, understood that my incredulity was just a way to disguise my fascination.
How could he be so hard with just something this…simple? How could he make me feel the same when we haven’t even kissed, haven’t even seen each other naked? Was it really like this?
As if to answer me, the strokes of his tongue became languid, as if he wanted to savor the taste of my skin and remember it.
His touch messed me up, and my knees knocked harder against each other. Fear of the unknown skittered over my spine. Even though I no longer understood what was happening, I did know one thing.
This had to stop. Whatever it was, it had to stop, for the sake of my sanity.
Which meant I had to—
I saw Kellion blink when I lifted my knee. He shouldn’t have been able to block my move, but his reflexes were incredible, and his hand deflected my knee before I could hit him where it would really hurt.
I didn’t manage to hit him, but it did force Kellion to let me go.
That was enough for me.