He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 370

She climbed into the backseat of his SUV and immediately closed her eyes to sleep.

Since she was finally in his car, he didn't push his luck. He slammed on the gas and sped off.

Alistair remained parked in the middle of the road, shaking his head slightly.

But in the end, he didn't say a word.

At 10 PM, the SUV pulled up outside Juniper's studio.

Juniper pushed the door open and stepped out. As she walked toward her front door, she heard the heavy, persistent footsteps right behind her.

Nelson completely dropped any pretense of shame. "I've been driving for hours. I'm exhausted. I'm coming in for a glass of water."

A flash of sheer disgust crossed her face—a look that stabbed directly into his chest.

But considering she had just buried her father, he didn't want to start a screaming match.

Juniper unlocked the door, and Moonlight came bounding over excitedly.

She swapped her shoes, crouched down to scoop the puppy up, and threw an order over her shoulder. "Drink your water and get out."

As soon as she was upstairs, she locked her bedroom door.

Nelson wasn't thirsty at all. He toed off his shoes and collapsed onto the sofa. He hadn't slept in two days either. The moment he hit the soft cushions, his body begged him to shut down, but his phone started vibrating relentlessly. It was Lydia.

"Nelson, Josie still refuses to interact with anyone. She hasn't said a single word in two days."

Nelson leaned back against the pillows, his voice thick with exhaustion. "I'll be back tomorrow morning."

Lydia instinctively wanted to ask, 'Where are you?'

But the answer was excruciatingly obvious.

She lowered her gaze, forcefully suppressing the vicious rage boiling inside her, and adopted a gentle, understanding tone. "Okay. Get some rest."

Nelson passed out immediately. In the middle of the night, he was jolted awake by Moonlight's frantic barking from upstairs and sprinted up the steps.

The barking was coming from outside Juniper's bedroom. He pounded on the door. "Juniper?!"

There was no response.

Nelson frantically searched for the spare key. When he finally threw the door open, he found Moonlight running in circles around the bed. Juniper was burning up with a terrifying fever, completely delirious and mumbling in her sleep.

He pressed a hand to her forehead, immediately scooped her into his arms, and sprinted for the hospital.

Nelson, who had been frantic with worry, instantly froze. The panic in his chest snapped into icy fury. He threw the towel into the basin of water. "Then let that dead man take care of you."

He stood up, furious, fully intending to storm out, but stopped at the door. He was losing his mind, getting jealous over a hallucinating woman with a 104-degree fever.

He dragged a chair to her bedside. Exhaustion finally won. He grabbed her hand, rested his head on the mattress, and passed out, only half his face visible in the dim light.

Juniper's nightmares lasted until dawn. She dreamed of the slap from her childhood, of trying to swallow candles to kill herself, of the sky slowly turning pitch black, and of herself, curled in a ball, utterly terrified. Every horror from her childhood violently resurrected in her mind.

She tossed and turned, her fever refusing to break.

When Nelson woke up, she was still unconscious.

He took a cotton swab, dipped it in bottled water, and gently moistened her cracked lips.

Juniper finally opened her eyes at noon. The very first face she saw was Nelson's, and she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.

Nelson was resting his head on one hand, watching her with the exact same quiet intensity he had back in Oakley. Back then, whenever she fell asleep studying, she would wake up to find him propped on one arm, staring at her affectionately. 'How do you sleep like a little pig?' he used to tease.

The intoxicating romance of their teenage years used to be her entire world. But looking at that face now, she realized Brooks was absolutely right.

Getting close to Nelson Saint only brought absolute ruin.