[ 18+ ] Adrianna Lee's whole world had come crashing down, unexpectedly, all around her. Losing all stability in her life, she's questioning what's the next steps to take.
That is, until an adorable seven-year-old comes bouncing into her life-which...
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When I put my mind to it, I'm really good at avoiding people. Scary good, really.
I have a knack for just simply ignoring their existence.
It's what I've been doing with Jesse and Raina. The past few days, Jesse has been blowing my phone up. Probably because he's still pissed about seeing Daniel and I kissing. But I'm not his business. And he has no right to be mad, not one.
I had to just turn off my notifications on my socials and mute his messages. It was bothersome and I didn't have time for him anymore. Raina has let up, though. She gets the hint.
I don't want to talk to you.
Which is great. I've been good at avoiding either of them on campus and our old hangout spots...mostly because I haven't really been out much. Not since that night.
Daniel on the other hand, he's a hard one to ignore. I live with him, take care of his daughter. It's been civil between us, but awkward.
Every time I look at him, I just remember the way it felt when he kissed me like he owned me, and I wanted that again. But I won't risk it. Not again.
So, really, I've been mostly hiding out in my room. I hang out with MG a lot when he's not home. But when he does come back, I usually make myself disappear. Go study. Read something. My grades have been benefiting from the extra study time, which is a good thing.
But my heart hurts.
"Adri," Mary Grace looks at me from her notebook. "Can we take a break?"
I nod. "Sure."
Mary Grace has been studying her ASL a lot harder since her trip with her mom. I worry that Nancy said something to her, but I haven't had the courage to ask. So I have been hanging out with her, learning behind her shoulder.
I've already learned the whole alphabet and to introduce myself properly. Which is pretty impressive for only a few days.
I check the time. It was after seven, Daniel should be home soon. I chewed on my thumb nail gently. "What do you wanna do? Get some ice cream? Watch tv?"
"Actually," she looked so shy, so vulnerable. A lot of the time, I forget that she's only seven. "Can I try something with you?"
"What's that?"
She looked down before saying, "I want to try to turn off my hearing aids and see if I can read your lips."
"I thought you could still hear without them on?"
"I can, just not as clear as with them. I just...want some practice, and I'm scared to ask my dad because he always looks so...scared when I talk to him about this stuff."
