He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 38

She wasn't going to allow that!

Her heart pounding, Macy immediately looked down and posted a status update on her social media.

She knew Nelson still had her added as a contact.

Even though they hadn't exchanged a single word in four years.

*

Macy's house was right next door to Juniper's. If she went back to pack, she would inevitably run into people.

It was a thirty-minute drive into the mountains from the town center, usually taken by bus.

Juniper absolutely refused to get on it. She wasn't mentally prepared to return home, so she told Macy, "I'll wait for you in town."

Macy pouted but waved it off. "Fine. Last month I visited a specialist in town for my mom's prescription, and I asked him to mix some herbal medication for you too. Go pick it up, and we'll meet at the bus station."

"Okay."

Seeing Juniper look so indifferent, Macy felt a flash of annoyance. "People travel all the way from the capital just to see this guy! It took me two years to get an appointment. Didn't you say you've been having trouble sleeping? I had him make you something to calm your nerves."

A genuine, warm smile broke across Juniper's face. "Yeah. Thank you."

Macy finally looked satisfied. She intended to make it a quick trip, eager to avoid exchanging a single word with the town gossips.

Forty minutes later, she unlocked her front door.

She had barely started packing clothes when voices drifted in from outside.

"Isn't that Macy? Why did she come back alone? Is her mom still sick?"

None of them actually cared about her family; they just wanted gossip.

"Macy, I heard you're going to college in the city. Have you seen Juniper? She hasn't been back in over two years. Who knows what she's doing out there. She's sent her parents tens of thousands of dollars. She didn't even graduate, so how is she making all that cash?"

The neighbors all made a few hundred bucks a month at best. Seeing Juniper send back tens of thousands in two years made them violently envious.

Coupled with the fact that she hadn't earned her degree, everyone naturally assumed she had gone down the wrong path—that she was selling herself.

Macy was furious. She stepped out and slammed her front door shut. "I haven't seen her!"

She packed up quickly, only to hear the voices immediately pitch higher.

Beatrice's face cycled through shades of green and white, but since she still had to live next to these women, she forced a tight smile. "We just have bad luck."

"Oh, please, don't say that! At least she knows to send you money. Even if the money might be a little dirty."

Everyone chimed in, practically cementing the rumor that Juniper was working as an escort.

The sound of shattering bowls erupted from inside the Lane house. The man didn't dare yell at the gossiping women outside, so he smashed his own dishes to vent his rage.

The crashes echoed violently.

The women outside rolled their eyes, finally shutting their mouths and scattering.

Beatrice walked back inside and pointed a shaking finger at the man smoking a cigarette. "You only ever act tough inside this house. Couldn't you have yelled at them?"

"Why didn't you? If you hadn't birthed a daughter like her, would we be getting mocked like this? I should have drowned her the day she was born!"

He took another drag of his cigarette, cursing venomously, though his eyes slowly turned red. "I told her to study hard, but she wouldn't listen. What kind of future does she have now? She's just like us—destined to be dirt-poor for the rest of her life."

A heavy sigh filled the room.