Road To Happiness ✔

FOURTEEN

His father hummed in response and stared at the wall in thought. "Why?" he asked, and Hugo blanched. He could feel it coming, the anger and the disappointment. For some reason, his father wanted him to stay.

"I want to be able to look after myself. I'm going to uni, I have a job and friends. I'm twenty-three now, dad. I want to be a bit more independent."

Moments passed in complete silence. Hugo couldn't tell what his father was thinking and his bit his lip nervously. With clenched fists and a stiff body, he waited in the chair with his father mulled things over.

"I don't think it will go well if you can't even talk to people, Hugo," his father finally said, his voice quiet and monotone. Hugo went to sign something, but the older man held up a hand. "I'm not done yet. You're right, you are more than old enough now, you do need to be independent. If you think you can handle it on your own, then I'll support you. Just know that there will always be a place here for you."

Hugo hesitated, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. He hadn't expected his father to agree so readily. "Thank you, dad," he finally signed.

His father shrugged. "I can't exactly stop you. You are an adult after all," he said. "And don't worry too much about Robert, I'm sure he'll give you that raise." Hugo wasn't convinced, but he still had to ask. He was just going to wait a couple of days. "And if you need help getting settled and paying rent, don't be scared to ask, okay?"

Taken aback, Hugo took a few seconds to reply. "Okay. Thank you." There was no argument, there wasn't even any anger in his father's voice. He would have thought there would be more than just a little jab at his muteness. Maybe he thought that if Hugo moved out, he'd eventually learn to talk again.

But that wasn't going to happen. Nothing his father said or did would ever force him to speak again, not if he didn't want to. The block in his throat would never let him. He knew there would be times where he struggled because he didn't speak, but it wouldn't be too bad. Other mute people were able to live their lives perfectly fine, he could to.

And he said as much to Renee the next day after class. She watched patiently as he explained everything. She didn't know the details of everything that went on with his father, but she knew enough to understand why he wanted to leave. He and his father hadn't said much of anything after he'd asked to move out and he hadn't minded it. If anything, it made it easier.

Renee pursed her lips at him when he finished explaining. "Well, he definitely took it better than expected," she said. "How are you feeling about it?"

He shrugged. "I really don't know. It went so much better than I thought it would," he answered and drummed his fingers against the table. "I just thought there would be some kind of argument and I'd have to prove to him that I could handle all this stuff on my own, but there wasn't anything."

"Are you really going to complain?" she asked.

"No, of course not, but I don't want to wait around thinking something is going to happen." It could make his house even more tense than it already was.

Renee shook her head, her hand coming to rest on his. "I don't think it will, Hugo," she said in a soothing voice. "If he says he's willing to let you move out, then I think he's telling the truth. I mean, I don't know your dad, but you're twenty-three. You're more than old enough to be on your own.

"Besides, if things don't work out, I don't want you going back there. He doesn't treat you the way he should. I can talk to Stefan later about it, but we can always get a three-bedroom place and split the rent."

Hugo pulled his hand away instantly. "You don't need to do that," he signed in a rush. "I've barely known you six months, Renee. Stefan, I've known even less."

"And? You're already one of my best friends. I know Stefan likes you too so what's the big deal?" she asked, and Hugo blushed at the words. He already knew there was no way Stefan saw him the same way he did, so he wasn't even going to address it. "Look, it's just in case everything goes wrong, alright? You don't need to worry about it."

It was a nice offer, but one he wouldn't have to worry about. Life was hard, he knew that for a fact, but he would be able to handle anything that came at him. He had help. Renee and Stefan were there to help him if he desperately needed it. He could live on his own, apply for a place on his own, ask for a raise on his own.

"Thank you, Renee," he finally signed. The voice in the back of his mind continued to dwell on Renee telling him that Stefan liked him. He knew it wasn't like that, they were just friends. Stefan was just kind to him, and funny, and sweet, and stupidly attractive. But nothing would come of it, nothing could come of it. He wasn't ready for a relationship. Making friends was still too stressful for him. And besides, Stefan only saw him as a friend.

Renee shrugged and beamed at him. "It's what friends are for," she said and pried open her laptop. "Now, we've done all the notes, so we better get started on the application."

"We don't need to do it now. I haven't even secured a raise yet."

"So? The applications take forever to get sorted through. Might as well do it now and you can get your raise later. When do you have work again?"

"Tomorrow."

"So, do it then." It was worth a shot. There was always a chance he may not be approved for a place on campus. If that happened, then he was going to look into housing close by that wasn't too expensive.

He pursed his lips, lost in thought. "I might as well. I'll never get it done if I don't do it soon." It still terrified him. Robert had been so kind to him for years. It felt wrong to demand something like that of him.

"That's the spirit. Now, let's get to this." She thrust the laptop towards him with a raised eyebrow. On the screen was the application he needed to fill out to be considered for a place. He smiled at her, small and shy, and began filling out the form.