A Silent Heart

Chapter 4

Irene.

Wednesdays are always more exhausting than other days.

Maybe because it's the midpoint of the week. The weekend seemed so far, and the tiredness of the days that had passed washed all over me as I cleaned the stairs again. These days I felt like my back and my feet weren't my own. And it was about to get worse.

It was almost two in the afternoon when I got a text message. It was from Jim, but not his own number. Why? Because he was contacting me from the police station.

I almost dropped my phone. I was literally shaking as I made my way to the fifth floor, where I could find Mrs. Doolittle.

I located her quickly and told her to cover for me. I knew I would eventually answer for why I had left early before finishing my work. But at the moment, I didn't care. I just needed to get to Jim quickly.

"Don't worry. I got it. Just go, I'll get your cleaning supplies for you," Mrs. Doolittle said after I had explained the situation.

'Thank you! 30th floor, stairs.' I wrote. She nodded, and I rushed to the lockers, changing my clothes in record time and then rushing out. I ignored all the weird glances I got from people I passed by. I must have looked like a mess.

I hailed a cab for the first time in my life in the city. It had always been cheaper to travel by bus or subway. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

The cab got me to the police station, one close to where I lived. I paid the cab driver and hurriedly made my way inside.

I spotted him as soon as I stepped in. Among the crowd of police officers and scruffy men, a bunch of teenagers were easy to spot.

I was heading for him when someone tapped my shoulder. I turned towards a man who was probably in his late twenties. I guessed he would be considered handsome in his black hair and light hazel eyes that stood out against tan skin.

"Are you here for one of them?" he asked, frowning as he pointed to the teenagers.

I nodded and then fished out my notebook. My hands were still shaking when I wrote.

'Jim Hooper. I'm his sister.' I held up the notebook for him, and he frowned, looking between the notebook and me.

'Deaf.' I wrote hurriedly. He nodded, his brows lifting for a second, then ushered me to follow him.

"You know what I'm saying?" he asked when we got into another space, a less crowded one with only officers in.

'Lip read. Why is he here?' I wrote down. I wasn't in the mood for chit chat. I was worried about what was going to happen, about what had happened.

"Underage Drinking. They were caught outside on the corner of a street, in plain sight. Weren't even trying to hide it," he said, gesturing for me to take a seat in front of a desk. His, I realized. He sat on the rolling chair across from me, looking around the chaotic desk.

'Is he in trouble? What's going to happen?'

He frowned, looking at the notebook then at me. "This is the first time, so he's going to get away with a fine," he replied. "But he should be careful in the future."

I sighed and slumped back in my chair, nodding. The officer gave me a kind smile.

"What about your parents?" he said, glancing down at a paper on his desk. "I know he said you're his legal guardian, but he didn't mention anything about your parents."

'Passed away five years ago,' I replied, although it wasn't exactly true. Jim was my half-brother, we shared a mom. I never knew who my biological father was, but I had always considered Jim's dad my own ever since my mom married him when I was five.