The Mute Girl's Tutor

Progress

"These potstickers are amazing, Mom." Aaron comments, mouth full of cooked dough and meat. She rolls her eyes at him but smiles all the same.

"You can thank Miss Yumeko for that, and chew with your mouth full! You have company." She points her fork at me from her recliner to which I fight the urge to turn red. The food in my mouth feels hard to swallow but I manage.

"Trust me, it's nothing she hasn't seen before. If anything, she's the messy eater," he chuckles looking at me.

"As if!" I squawk elbowing him hard in the side. Shuffling in my seat a bit to appear smaller I make sure I give him a deadly glare. I feel Miss Scott's eyes on me and my heart pounds a little harder. If it were just the two of us I might not have said anything, I might have even laughed, but Miss Scott is here and we aren't alone. I'm not quite sure why I want her to like me so much either, but making me seem lazy and gross probably won't get me in her good graces.

"What?" Aaron asks defensively looking between me and his mother. She chuckles at the both of us and uncrosses her legs to stand.

"Well, I'm getting seconds. Do you guys want any?" I manage and smile and a small "no thank you" while Aaron rubs at his stomach and nods his head. She smiles brightly at both us of before sashaying down the hall toward the kitchen. As soon as she's out of view I punch Aaron hard in the bicep.

"I want her to like me!" I hiss putting my nearly empty plate on the coffee table.

"She does?" He replies, furrowing his brow in confusion. He genuinely looks confused, rubbing the spot I hit as if it were sore. I glare at him.

"You don't know that," I grumble crossing my arms and shuffling my feet to fit under my bum.

"I do know," he grumbles back mockingly crossing his arms as well. "She talks about you all the time! She loves you."

"No, she doesn't!" I deny eyes widening. No freaking way. Absolutely not.

"Oh, my bad. Do you live here?" He taunts in between laughter. "She does I promise, she thinks you're cute."

"...cute?" I repeat feeling my cheeks warm. Miss Scott thinks I'm cute? I feel Aaron elbow my side lightly, prodding me to look at him. He's still chuckling at me but he has a new look in his eyes.

"You seem happier that my Mom thinks you're cute than that I do." He comments, presumably to be offhanded. I feel my lips tilt down a bit, he seems off. As much as he claims to have studied me these past few weeks, I've studied him as well.

"No..." is all I can think to say. Now it's my turn to furrow my brows at him. "No," I say again as if to affirm it.

He sees me struggling in my half-assed attempt to reassure him and his usual grin creeps back onto his face. Swing the arm out that was lazily hanging on the back of the couch over my shoulders he drives me into his side and I feel his lips press against my temple lightly. "Relax, I was just kidding."

He wasn't kidding, at least not completely anyway. I saw the insecurity flash in his eyes and his body shuffle a little closer at the thought of me not being as interested in him as much as he is me. I'm probably not.

But I could be, I know that now.

"You're important to her," I say feeling myself relent and relax into his side. "I- I just want her to know that you're important to me too."

I avoid eye contact and I'm picking at my nails again, bruising my cuticles. Feeling his hand move to grip under my knees I hold in a yelp as I'm all but hoisted into his lap, my face buried into his shoulder. Aaron wraps his arms around me tightly and I feel questions bubbling in my throat but Miss Scott returns before I can ask them. Trying to pull back to retreat to my corner of the couch her devil of a son only hardens his grip on me.