silenced - m.g.c.

two.

two.

"you just need something that can take the pain away." -unknown

another day, another horrible shift. new customers were here. ones that questioned my signing and freaked out. one older couple thought i was doing cult signs and called the cops. it took awhile to explain and almost cost my job.

i was halfway through my shift when it happened. this boy bumped into me, as i was carrying a whole tray of coffee cups, spilling it all over my shirt, in my hair, and breaking the cups. he mumbled curses under his breath while looking down at the mess he made. then he looked at me and his eyes locked with mine. i could feel myself start to blush as he looked at me longer.

"shit, im so sorry." he says, still looking me straight in the eye. i bite my lip and look down at the floor.

'it's okay,' i sign.

"she said, 'it's okay'." eli tells him. i look back up at the boy and he looks confused.

"wait, is she deaf?" i smile and shake my head.

"she doesn't speak." his lips form in a perfect 'o' and i notice how pink they are. his dyed red hair makes them pop out and seem even more prominent.

"i'm michael, by the way and okay um i want to make this up to you." he runs to the counter and grabs a napkin, then pulls a pen out of his pocket, and scribbles something down on it. next, he comes back over here and hands me the napkin. i look down and a phone number is scribbled on the bottom.

'is this real life?' i sign to eli and he laughs loudly. michael has a sad look on his face. 'what's wrong?'

"she said 'what's wrong?'" eli tells him.

"are you too, like, together?" he points to us and eli starts laughing loudly again. i shake my head again and smile widely.

"no, man, she's like my sister, she's all yours." michael smiles, then waves at me before turning and walking away.

'no one ever gives me a glance, what the hell was that? am i dreaming?' i sign to eli and he shrugs.

"i know one thing, you sure as hell weren't dreaming. he is into you." i smile, beginning to blush and cover my face with my hands. "oh, and you better clean this up, boss man is glaring at us." i roll my eyes and push eli over. i bend over and start cleaning and eli tries to walk away. i grab his leg and tug on his jeans a bit. he looks down at me with a grin on his face.

'help. me.' he groans but complies and gets down and starts to pick up the shards of glass.

. . .

i finally get done with my shift and eli drives us home. he lives with me and my 'family'. my parents took him in off the streets and hired him to translate for me. they aren't the greatest parents since the accident. it's like they're whole other people. they drink, smoke, hit me, belittle me, and emotionally hurt me along with physically. i do have a cell phone, but i pay for it myself with my job at the coffee shop. as soon as we walk in the door we see my parents sitting on the couch with a bottle of whisky in one hand and a cigarette in the other. eli covers his nose and runs upstairs. i go in the living room to confront my parents but before i can get a word in, my dad stands up and smacks me.

"that's for what you get for letting that happen to them!" he screams, then grabs my hair pulling it and then throws me down to the ground. the alcohol does this to them. my mom then stands up and kicks my stomach, causing me to cough to regain a breath. surprisingly they let me get up off the floor. i stay cautious, knowing that they wouldn't let me go this easy. my dad finishes off the last sip of whisky then looks me right in the eye. then, he raises the bottle and throws it. i immediately cover my face and bite my lip, hoping it doesn't hit me. i feel no pain, and look behind me and there is the broken whisky bottle. i count my lucky stars, before taking off up the stairs. eli is sitting outside by his room, with his knees pulled up and his head resting in his hands.