Jesse, who was born mute, has moved from city to city many times before. As she does so again, she considers it pure luck that she gets in the same school as Cheeto and Lewis, two best friends who immediately take her under their wing and don't trea...
!!CHECK THE TW IN THE AUTHOR'S NOTE BEFORE READING!!
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I'm so damn lucky Cheeto noticed the obvious problems I have with math at the moment. Earlier in class, it asked me if I needed any help with the homework, and now we're at its house and, to be honest, I'm starting to get it.
As we sit on the couch-bed-fusion and decipher task after task, the ringing doorbell makes me flinch and look up. Jayden, who walks past the living room on his way to the door, just says "That's gonna be the mailman, I'll get it."
It's not the mailman.
I notice because Jayden curses and tries to shut the door as the steps coming upstairs stop, but something seems to stop him.
"Sweetheart, you don't even want to talk to your mother anymore?" A cool, disappointed-sounding voice sounds through the apartment.
I look up from the paper. Cheeto next to me is frozen, gripping its pencil so tight I fear it might break, staring in the direction where the voice came from.
"No. No, I fucking don't." Jayden hisses.
"Your father passed away."
There is a moment of silence. I shouldn't be here right now, should I? I think. Is he grieving? Cheeto's expression has barely changed.
And finally, Jayden says something. It's not what I expected, though.
"...And?"
"And? He's your... He was your father! He's the reason you're alive!" "And he's the reason I didn't want to be alive!"
What?
"What makes you think I give a shit about him anymore, or you!?" Jayden continues. "I broke contact for a fucking reason! Why are you even here?"
"Where's my daughter?"
"No." Cheeto whispers before realizing it said that out loud. Its pencil breaks in two and the pieces fall to the ground. My friend's hands are shaking. What do I do?
"You don't have a daughter, you never had one. Can you get your foot out of my doorway now?" Jayden responds.
"You know what I mean."
"Well, my sibling's not here."
"And what about that noise I just heard?"
Shit.
I have absolutely no idea what is going on, but I do the only thing that seems mildly logical to me in this situation, even though my heart is pounding in protest.
She doesn't look like her children at all. That's the first thing I notice as I enter the hallway, unsure how to act. She's tall like them and has a similar skin tone, but that's really it. The way she stands and her face and... Everything is just different. The second thing that comes to my attention is the expression. As though she's above anyone she talks to.
