All I Hear is the Beat of Your Heart

~Chapter 1~

(Not Edited)

Brooklyn go get in the car, my mother signed to me.

Ok, I replied.

Yes I said signed, as in sign language. Hi, I'm Brooklyn Ryder, Miami's local deaf freak, or at least that's what the kids at school call me. I turned deaf when I was only 6, that was about 10 years ago now, and so I am the target for all the kids at school to pick on. There isn't anything actually wrong with me like with some kids, I haven't had 7 miscarriages like Tina Roberts, or a serious lice condition like Jackson Lee. No i am only deaf... different to them. They are afraid or uncomfortable around me.

For the first few years everyone was super supportive and all of my friends even learned sign language so the could talk to me.... but the eventually got bored of it, well except for Lina, she has stuck by me for 12 years. Anyway, after the first few years... I became the freak who couldn't hear anymore, people started making fun of me, saying mean things right in front of me, calling me names while pretending to talk to me as if i cant read their lips. It hurts, I didn't ask for this, I don't want to be deaf, it wasn't my choice.

I got into the car and waited on my mom.

She got in after a few minutes and we pulled out of the garage. I remained quiet and didn't look in her direction although I could feel her gaze drifting to me every now and then.

After a few minutes I felt a light tap on my shoulder, You ok honey? she asked while we where stopped at a red light.

Ya just fine mom.

Are you sure your usually not this quiet?

So ya the quiet thing. I do talk, because I lost hearing when i was 6, I knew how to pronounce most things properly so my speech was pretty good. Although I occasionally pronounced a few things wrong if you hear me talk and didn't know I was deaf you probably wouldn't be able to tell I was.

Yes mom im perfectly fine.

Im sorry for pestering you Brooklyn you just haven't been as energetic lately.

Ya, thats because yesterday there where like 400 sticky notes on my locker calling me a freak, i thought.

Mom the light is green.

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We pulled into school about 10 minutes later and I got out of the car waving goodbye to my mom.

I had my head down while walking through the main hall, trying not to attract any attention to myself. I felt a suddent sharp pain in the palms of my hands as the smacked the floor. Someone tripped me. I looked up to see the culpret, but all i saw was laughter. I just wanted to go in a cornner and cry when a hand feel into my field of vision.

I looked up at the owner of the hand to see a very, and I mean VERY hot boy offering me help up. No he will just push you back down, I thought. But I hesitantly took the offer for help and he pulled me up. I looked around to see everyone staring at us, I felt a tug and the boy was pulling me into a unoccupied classroom.

"Hey are you ok", he asked me. Yes I read his lips. Which where so, how do I say this, perfect. He had soft pink lips and his teeth where straight as though he had braces before, and they where a perfect shade of white... I could get used to reading his lips indeed.

"Oh um yes, thank you", I replied shyly while signing it at the same time. O shit I signed, now he knows, I could have totally played that off, I thought to myself crossly.