He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 266

Tiny Moonlight anxiously circled Nelson's feet, even snapping her jaws, trying to bite his ankles.

But her teeth hadn't fully grown in yet; even if she managed a bite, it wouldn't hurt.

Nelson felt like a complete failure. Despised by the woman, and despised by her dog.

He turned his head to kiss her again, unwilling to let go, regardless of her total lack of response.

Juniper could smell the copper scent of blood coming from his injured hand.

She frowned. "Don't get blood on me."

"I won't," he murmured, sinking back into the desperation.

At three in the morning, Nelson gently picked up the hearing aid and slipped it back into her ear.

Juniper was utterly exhausted. As he laid her on the sofa, she muttered, "Lock the door when you leave."

With that, she fell completely asleep.

Nelson sat beside her, quietly adjusting his suit.

There was a damp patch on his trousers.

He took a tissue, carefully wiped it away, and tossed it into the trash.

Using his uninjured hand, he reached out to wipe the sweat from her forehead, but she instinctively flinched away in her sleep.

He slowly pulled his hand back and leaned in to kiss her lips. "Should I carry you upstairs to bed?"

She didn't answer.

He hesitated for a few seconds. Just as he reached to slide his arms under her shoulders, she turned over, her back to him. "Just go."

He withdrew his hands. Listening as her breathing settled back into a steady rhythm, he knew she was dead tired and desperately needed sleep, but was forcing herself to stay half-awake just because he was still there.

Nelson finally stood up and walked out without another word.

Only after he left did Juniper sit up and go find her contraceptive pills.

As she swallowed it, a wave of intense nausea hit her—her body's physical rejection of the situation.

She stood over the bathroom sink, gagging until her eyes were bloodshot. In the mirror, she could see the dark bruises scattered across her neck.

She blinked hard, rinsed her mouth out, and forced down another pill.

Once she was sure it would stay down, she gripped the edges of the sink, her fingertips trembling, the tendons in her wrists pulled tight.

Ignoring the aching soreness in her body, she grabbed her keys and drove straight through the night toward Oakley.

While driving, she called Brooks again.

He was audibly gulping on the other end, his words slurred and panicked.

Juniper took a deep breath. "Calm down. Take a breath, and tell me exactly what happened."

Brooks was half-laughing, half-sobbing, unable to form a coherent sentence for a long time.

Juniper put the phone on speaker, tossed it onto the passenger seat, and kept her eyes locked on the road.

About ten minutes later, Brooks finally managed to string words together. He swallowed hard. "I've been so wrapped up fighting with Nadine's family—she refuses to give me a dime of that million dollars and wants both of our houses. Because of that, I haven't been talking to Mom much. She's been staying with me, leaving early and coming back late. I thought she had found a job. I only found out a few days ago that she'd been going to that mental institution."

At the mention of the institute, Juniper's hands jerked on the steering wheel, and it took everything she had to steady the car.

A massive thunderstorm had broken out outside. Lightning flashed, thunder cracked, and driving on the highway in this weather was incredibly dangerous.

But she couldn't care less. "Keep talking, Brooks."

Hearing her still call him by his name, a wave of guilt hit Brooks. Tears streamed down his face.