Talking Loudly

Chapter 11

Beth walks into the court house only to see August with a panicked look on his face. She raises her hands to ask him something, but he sweeps her into his arms and carries her outside.

"What happened?" She asks confused.

"They came early," August signs. Beth tenses up and takes a step closer to him.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," she signs loving how protective he was. She couldn't be mad.

August couldn't either, "I'm sorry. It's your story." She nods her head and looks at the ground.

She looks back up at August. "What did they want?"

"For you to meet your siblings," he signs back to her.

She was mad, "They brought them?" He nods his head. He knew why they did it. That way they would drop the charges.

"You can't let those kids determine anything," he says. She leans forward and smashes her face into his chest. He wraps his arms around her and she suddenly felt warmer.

He then pulls away, "Ready?"

She nods and they go in. She sees her true family and rushes over hugging them.

"Are you ready?" they ask. She nods her head.

Beth reads what her parents were saying. Both sets. Her foster mom's speech made her cry.

"When I first saw her. She was sleeping all curled up and her face she looked like she was in peace. My husband had told me how he had scooped the poor tiny thing off the ground with blood coming out of her ears. He had said he loved her just by looking at her. We were already becoming foster parents at the time as our kids were in college. I just knew. I knew I loved her. Right there and then. Even though I didn't give birth to her or was there when she is little. She was my baby." Liza says into the microphone. Lola was singing for Beth and Phillip. Beth didn't trust the teleprompter but used it as a last resort when she had to.

Beth's foster dad went next, "You guys left her there. Her eyes opened when I picked her up and she cried a little. I was covered in blood, but I didn't care. I wanted to make sure this girl was okay. We found an ID on her and she was fifteen. This small tiny human was fifteen and I couldn't believe it. I thought I was going to break her. It took her a month after living with us to get used to the food. She then started to grow more and had terrible growing pains. And then she had to get her appendix removed and she was a trooper. Leland and Francis came home and met her during Christmas break and they immediately loved her. The two oldest ones used to fight all the time, but after Beth came around they stopped and took care of each other more." Dean was looking at Beth and she looked at him back with all the love she could muster.

"You weren't there though. When she would wake up screaming because of the nightmares. She couldn't even hear herself that she was screaming. She didn't even know. When she tried to learn how to lip read she would get so frustrated. But she loved to cuddle. She still does. Beth tended to sleep better when someone held her. She didn't always needed to be held but she did like the heat of someone else. She played some sports on the local team that would allow her on and she did track. She was great at it like Leland was. Even though she had fire as hair. She is my daughter. And I love her. You weren't there. You never were. We know her better than you. You just know her by her face. We know her by her heart," Dean says.

Her parents went on and talked about how much they loved her. And their current kids now. Then it was Beth's turn.

All she could remember was what August had said yesterday.

Would they actually hear her?

Who she was?

And then she was thinking of what her dad had said. Her biological parents only knew her face. This was her.

Beth sits at the stand and stares at the ground in front of her. When she looks up she sees her biological father standing up and yelling. Then she looks at August who looked at her confused.

She looks at Lola who was sitting and nodded.

"No matter who loud you talk I will never be able to hear you. So keep Talking Loudly. Your voices were a thing in the past," Beth signs and Lola says to them. Beth looks to August and he smiles and nods his head.

"You are cruel to come back into my life. To want to. You leaving me wasn't cruel. This is. This is terrible. This makes you terrible people," Beth says.

"You left me there. There was dreams where I thought you would come back. And it scared me that you would. That you would want me. And it terrified me. Like you were a disease that I couldn't get rid of. And I was so desperate to get rid of you. Because you hurt me. I don't understand why after ten years you would want me. When you found out that somebody wanted me then it showed to you that I was worthy? You were negligent and I was starving. Right there. Dying. And then here I am. Happy. I hope you love these kids. They deserve that love that I get from these people. I am not yours. I am on fire. Do not put me out. You coming back in my life will put me out and down. I will become cold again. I won't know who I am. You thought I couldn't handle anything good, but I am good. I am kind. I am loved." Beth felt tired. She no longer wanted to be there.

"Do not put me out," Beth signs angrily.