Deaf Wish

Chapter 25

Carefully, I take a sip, cringing at the bitter, rather disgusting flavor, but still emptying the whole cup I one go. It tastes awful! Feeling a burning sensation go through my mouth and stomach, I look at Nathan, who's leaning against the kitchen counter smiling at me. "So how is it?" he takes a sip of his, yet again filled, cup. I stick my tongue out in a disgusted manner, earning a laughter from him. "It'll get better." he assured me, taking my cup from me and filling it up again. "Take it easy, though." I just nod at his statement, smiling a little. "Do you want to go somewhere more quiet?" he asks me, looking around slightly. We were alone in the kitchen, only once in a while there were people grabbing some drinks. "Well, I don't mind either way, it's already pretty quiet here, for me, you know." I couldn't help but laugh at the shocked expression in his face. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry, Sky! I didn't mean it like that!" I giggled lightly. "Don't sweat it. Lead the way."

With a last apologetic look, he turned around and started walking to the back of the house., but was soon stopped by a group of girls, chatting, laughing and dancing at him. They had to be really drunk or just very thirsty for his attention. The way they started to cling onto him, shoving their cleavage into his face, made me feel angry and sick at the same time. Stupid bitches! From where I was standing, I couldn't see his face,but I bet that idiot was enjoying himself. I don't want them that close to him! Angered I turned around and left, chugging down the content of my cup, before throwing it on the already pretty dirty floor. Occasionally, people were blocking my way, but I just rush past them. I was being pulled back my arm slightly twisted, as I leaned against a muscular body. Turning around, I looked at Nathans sheepish smile.

"Where do you think you're going?" He pulled me after him not stopping even as I kept on thrashing around. "Let go, Nathan! I said don't touch me!" I was pushed into an empty bedroom, no one there, to my surprise. "Calm down. Why did you run away?", his grip around my arm was finally vanished. "Because you were busy!" Feeling quite dizzy I sit down on the bed, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment. The alcohol is doing a crappy job, I never intended to say that aloud. "They were just asking for my name, I'm new, after all." He comes closer, sitting down next to me. "It's just... I feel so weird... whenever...you know...you talk to or flirt with girls." Brain! Stop it! You are not supposed to say stuff like that out loud!

Nathan grins. "So, do you want me to talk to you?" He leans a little closer, his vibrant eyes shining in joy, as I nod. "Then what do you want to talk about?"He looks at me with a straight face, before immediately smiling again. "I don't know... I want to learn more about you."Blushing madly, I scratch my head. "Well I also want to get to know you better." he holds his hand towards me. "Hey, nice to meet you, my name is Nathan Walker. I'm seventeen years old and just recently moved here." I laugh, shaking his hand as I answer.

"Hey, I'm Skylar Hunter or Sky for short. I'm sixteen years old and... I'm deaf." We smile at each other, before continuing our conversation. And thanks (more or less) to the alcohol I had already consumed, I was more open than I'd usually be. "How did you loose your hearing, Sky? Or were you deaf since birth?" Nathan leaned back, resting on the bed. "No, I was sick, but never went to see the doctor. Much stupid! The infection in my ears spread and so the bones, you know, the tiny ones you need for hearing, just kinda dissolved.", I lay back next to him, turning to my side.

"I'm sorry." I shake my head gently before taking my turn in asking him a question. "Why didn't you name your rats?" He chuckled at my question, taking of his cap and placing it behind him, pushing back his silky black hair. "I love animals, I always have. The dog I grew up with, Bully, he died when I was... eight? I guess. My older cousin, he was 16 at the time, told me you would get overly attached to things with names. I was so sad after my dog's death, that I never wanted to experience that ever again, so every pet I got was unnamed.", he grins at my puzzled look. "I never thought of it that way. Did it help?" He shakes his head in denial, before adding: "But it just became a habit, I guess."

He ruffles through my hair, earning a sheepish smile. It felt right. Everything! Telling him about me and even letting him touch me. Everything made me happy. "You don't have to answer this, but where do these scars come from?", he grabbed my arm softly, tracing the thin lines on mywrist. I felt a sting inside my chest. I didn't want him to know about this side of me, but... I want to be able to trust him... to know he'll protect me. My mind fights with itself, on whether I should tell or not. If I can trust him or not . "Hey, you don't have to tell me, I was just-"

I scoot closer to him, nuzzling into his warm chest, surrounded by his scent, as I close my eyes, ready to answer his question. His arms wrap around me, holding me close to him. "I never really cared about others, all I was interested in was achieving my goal. Music. I wanted to be a musician, so I practiced every day. Then the infection took my hearing, it was like a punch in the face. I realized my dream will be unachievable, so I gave up. Soon after I was molested by those guys and that's when the depression hit me.", I was calm, only once in a while I'd stumble over a word. "I basically stopped existing, I never really ate or drank, I never left the house, just sitting in my room all day. Every day."

Nathan starts to stroke my hair, sending shivers down my spine. "I was numb and couldn't feel anything, but I missed it. So bad. That's when I started to cut, I wanted to feel something, I didn't care what. So I chose pain." My fingers clenched the soft material of his shirt. "I almost killed myself. Unintentionally. That's when I snapped. So I talked to my parents for the first time in months."