Six Ways From Sunday

Chapter 8

"Hey Charli, I brought your laptop like CC asked me to." Andy said as he set my laptop on my table. I couldn't read his lips, so I had no clue what he said until CC mouthed the words for me.

"Dude, face your sister when you talk to her." CC said, making it seem like he was ribbing Andy for being rude to me. "It's rude not to look at someone when you talk to them."

"How is that being rude? It's not like she can't hear me." Andy rolled his eyes at CC. "Why is it just because everyone in this band is older than I am you all feel the need to treat me like I'm five years old?"

"Because you act five years old." Ashley remarked. He was busy trying to get my laptop set up for me so I could use it. "There, I got your laptop up and running for you." Ashley gave me a thumbs up. I gave him one back.

"Hey Ash! Let's grab some real food for her huh? She's gonna be here for a few days and I don't think she wants to eat this hospital crap." CC grabbed Ashley's arm and practically drug him from the room. I knew what CC was doing, he was giving me a chance to talk to Andy alone.

Andy had his back to me and I assumed he was talking to me. When he turned around with an exasperated look on his face and glared at me before saying something else. This time I could read his lips. "Stop ignoring me."

I grabbed the board and wrote on it quickly. "I'm not ignoring you. I can't fucking hear you! I'm deaf!" Tears were streaming down my face, not from anger, but from embarrassment and frustration. I just knew my little brother would pity me now, just like everyone else who'd ever found out about my being deaf.

Andy grabbed the board and wrote on it. "Deaf? How long?" I took the board back.

"Since birth. It was the reason Mom and Dad put me up for adoption. They weren't equipped to deal with a deaf child at that time. I don't blame them, I probably would have to done the same." I wrote.

"How were you able to hear?" Andy wrote.

"I had a cochlear implant put in 10 months ago. That's why I wanted everyone on my left. I didn't have one in my right ear and couldn't hear on that side. But the implant site got infected and had to be removed." I wrote back.

Andy hugged me, then wrote on the board again. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I didn't want you to pity me. Like everyone else has always pitied me." I wrote back.

"I don't pity you. So you're deaf. You can still talk can't you?" I nodded and he wrote some more. "Can you read lips?"

I nodded again. "I can still talk, but I probably sound weird, nasal, or flat. And yes, I can read lips. But I'm rusty, so I might not catch everything right away. I can also use sign language." I said this out loud.

Andy nodded. "A bit weird. Just need to get used to it." Well, that was two people who said my voice didn't sound too bad, just needed getting used to. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Of course, the one person whose opinion mattered wasn't here either. CC and Ashley came back into the room, carrying containers from a sushi place. Andy groaned.

"You guys do know that Charli hates fish, right?" Andy asked. CC laughed.

"Yes, I know she hates fish. We got her veggie rolls." CC said as he handed out the food. I took the container with my veggie rolls, a cup of soy sauce, and a pair of chopsticks from him. I glanced over at my IV pole and frowned. The bag appeared to be empty.

"Is my IV machine making noise?" I asked, forgetting Ashley was in the room. Ashley looked at me weird.

"Yeah, it's making noise. Why would you ask that? Can't you hear it? It's six inches from your ear. What are you, deaf?" I'd never read anything on someone's lips that crushed me like those four words did coming from Ashley.

Gathering up my emotions, hoping to keep them in check, I looked straight at him and in my weird, flat voice answered his question. "Yes, actually, I am deaf."