He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 195

Juniper's wrist ached for two days before it finally started to feel better. She stayed home by herself, occasionally responding to clients on her work account.

Eleanor called her. The last time Juniper had tried to call, Eleanor had fallen into a coma.

Eleanor's voice sounded incredibly weak over the line, yet her very first words were full of concern. "June? Did you call me? Is everything okay? *Cough, cough.*"

Eleanor had been forcing herself to stay strong for a long time, practically living on medication for the past few years.

"No, Eleanor, I just called to check on how you're doing."

"Just my old ailments. I've left your family's matters to Nelson. He promised to handle it. Lately, I've been feeling like my time is coming to an end. If you have the time, could you come keep me company?"

A lump formed in Juniper's throat, and she felt the sudden urge to cry.

Eleanor quickly tried to backtrack. "Knock on wood, I shouldn't be saying such depressing things. When I get better, I'll make you some stew. It's been so long since I cooked anything myself, and my hands are itching to try. I keep thinking back to our days in Oakley. That wild mushroom soup you brought me was the best thing I've ever tasted."

"You need to rest more, Eleanor."

Eleanor rubbed her temples. She knew her own body perfectly well. She genuinely felt that her time was running out.

Maybe when people reached this point, they couldn't help but look back on the past.

She couldn't stop worrying about that stubborn grandson of hers, Nelson, and she couldn't stop worrying about Juniper either. If only Juniper could find someone reliable to spend her life with before Eleanor passed away.

"You should bring Alistair to see me sometime. I'm still not entirely at ease. I need to interrogate that boy properly."

In the past, Eleanor always kept her boundaries. Although she had funded Alistair's upbringing, she had never meddled in his personal life.

Juniper blinked away her tears. "Okay."

But all she could think about was Eleanor saying she wanted to eat Oakley's wild mushroom soup.

Juniper was incredibly stubborn. Back in Oakley, Eleanor had been so kind to her, always gently and quietly listening to her vent her frustrations. Back then, Juniper always felt like she was a bad kid because she would sometimes catch herself resenting her parents. They had given her life and raised her—how could she possibly resent them?

From a young age, she had been boxed into the "good girl" persona. She had to be obedient, do whatever the adults demanded, study hard, and never talk back. So whenever she felt wronged, she just held it in.

Those bottled-up emotions never had an outlet. They festered and brewed inside her, turning her into a gloomy, unpopular outcast.

The first time she ever broke down crying in front of Eleanor was after suffering a massive injustice at school.

Her teacher had never liked the quiet, withdrawn Juniper. Seeing her grades suddenly skyrocket, the teacher immediately accused her of cheating.

"June, have you completely lost your mind?"

Juniper wanted to scream. Hadn't she told her? She was framed. It wasn't her fault. Her grades only improved because Nelson had been tutoring her. So why did her mother have to humiliate herself to grovel to the person who wronged her?

She had felt this exact betrayal from her parents so many times. And every time, they just assumed she was getting too big for her boots and acting out.

Her despair screamed loudly in the silence of her mind.

Unable to bear the judgmental stares in the office—as if everyone had collectively decided she was a delinquent—she ran out of the school crying. But she couldn't bring herself to go home.

So she ran to Eleanor's place, buried her face in the table, and sobbed uncontrollably.

It felt so unfair. Why was being a child so suffocatingly unfair?

Eleanor was as gentle as always. Seeing Juniper's shoulders shaking with sobs, she softly patted her back.

"June, stop crying. Tell me what happened."

Juniper looked up with swollen, pitiful eyes and haltingly recounted the incident. But a deep wave of guilt immediately washed over her. She felt like she was badmouthing her own family. Maybe her mom was just trying to protect her.