The Mute Girl's Tutor

Truck Beds

"Do you want to talk about it?" My dad asked looking over the island at my pizza slice that had hardly gotten eaten.

"I still don't feel good, I thought I could make it through school." I mumbled picking at the crust. He quirked a brow and looked at me closer.

"Is there anything going on you'd like to tell me? You can you know, is it that boy? School?" He hesitated. "Your mother?"

"Just sick is all." I lied avoiding eye contact and his questions. He made an unsatisfied noise and took a bite of his pizza refusing to give up.

"You were crying today." He deadpanned ignoring his phone that started buzzing.

"No I wasn't. I threw up." I was telling half the truth, tired of constantly being interrogated since he came home. Maybe a weekend away would be good for me. "You should get that."

He grilled me for another scarce moment before taking his phone out of his pocket and tapping the answer button.

"Hello? Yes of course, I'll look at those immediately and send them over... Mhm. Right right, okay Sam, you have a good night now. Goodbye." He hung up the phone and stared at it for a second before slipping it into his pocket. His eyes slid to me and he sighed.

"I have to go to my office." We said in unison making his eyes widen.

"I'm sorry kiddo, but we will talk about this-" he motioned to my still swollen face with a finger, "later."

"Yeah." I replied getting up to go back to my room deciding I needed a hot bath.

Grabbing a fluffy towel and some soft clothes I searched through one of my dressers until I found some lavender bath salts before settling myself in the bathroom. Switching on the faucet I turned on a soft playlist and poured in my salts. Getting undressed slowly I gripped the edge of the tub and slipped into the warm water with a sigh. Closing my eyes I urged my mind to relax and the blood to stop rushing to my head so fast.

Tipping my head back I took a deep breath and submerged myself completely. Floating eerily under the surface I felt my mind go blank, underwater was too quite for me to think, the suffocating silence eating away at my thoughts. I stayed under until my chest burned and my lungs were threatening to fizzle out before quickly sitting up and taking in a harsh gasp of air, water splashing hastily over the sides of the tub. Wet locks of hair stuck to my forehead and eyelashes as I tried to blink the droplets away while trying to force the air back into my lungs.

My eyes stung and I was coughing, small waves forming around me due to the disturbance of my body heaving and shaking. Quickly pulling the plug on the drain I waited until all the water had disappeared before tentatively standing and pulling the curtain so I could start the shower. Standing under the spray I wiped the hair from my face and urged myself to at least wash up before leaving the bathroom. Lathering my body up rapidly I scrubbed a bit too roughly at my skin leaving it red and hot. The water burned my body as I washed my hair but it was hard to care once my shower was over and the faucet was turned off.

Shoving my limbs into another pair of sweats I sluggishly walked into my room and settled down in my bed. I heard a vacuum distantly turn on in one of the dozen room and assumed Martha our part-time maid had stopped by. She was a nice enough woman, soft features and a plump face, and she made me dinner or small snacks in her free time but she chose the worst of times to stop by.

Sleep crept further and further away from me as the machine continued throughout the house and I groaned in annoyance. Grabbing my phone that had somehow found its way to my bed side table I checked the time and realized I had three texts from Aaron.