He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 5

It was so bare it made her eyes sting.

She turned her head away and lifted her foot to leave, but Nelson stubbornly returned to that one question. "Why were you looking for me back then?"

Juniper gripped her purse tightly, gathering every ounce of courage to meet his eyes. "Nelson."

But right at that second, the door was pushed open, and a little girl's crisp voice rang out. "Daddy..."

Lydia's voice followed from behind the door. "Sweetie, Daddy's just looking for your hair clip. Don't go tossing it around again."

"Okay, Mom."

Juniper's face drained of color in an instant. She stumbled back several steps in a panic and rushed out the door.

As she brushed past Lydia, Lydia offered her a polite smile.

Lydia was sophisticated and gracious, perfectly highlighting just how pathetic and petty Juniper was for still obsessing over an answer.

It was pouring rain outside. Juniper recklessly bolted into the downpour and yanked open the door of a random cab.

The early spring air was biting cold. Her lips were pale from the chill just as her phone rang. It was her best friend, Yara Jenkins.

"How did it go? Did you see him? Did you get the answer you wanted?"

Juniper stayed silent, staring blankly at the relentless rain outside, unsure of how to speak.

Yara sighed heavily on the other end. "If you ask me, you shouldn't have gone tonight. He's married. He has a kid. June, don't blame me for being harsh, but you're cheapening yourself. It looks like you're practically begging to be the other woman. Stop degrading yourself."

The phrase 'the other woman' struck her like a branding iron, instantly fraying her nerves.

Yara was her best friend. If she wasn't so profoundly disappointed, she never would have said something so cruel.

Juniper's lips trembled as she gripped her phone tightly. Lowering her eyelashes, her voice came out barely above a whisper. "I won't do it again."

She just couldn't give up without seeing him one last time.

Being dumped so brutally had festered over the years, turning into a thorn lodged deep in her throat.

Pulling it out would cause agony, but swallowing it would kill her.

By the time she returned to her rented apartment, her chin was dripping with rainwater. She grabbed a towel and numbly dried her hair.

Now, there was no point.

She exited the group chat and quietly went back to wiping down the bathroom floor.

Once the apartment was spotless, her phone rang again. Seeing the caller ID, she ignored it.

But it rang again, as if refusing to stop until she picked up.

Finally, she pressed accept.

It was her brother.

"June, Mom's birthday is the day after tomorrow. You haven't been home in two years. Are you seriously still mad about the psychiatric hospital thing? She did it for your own good. You know how much she cares about saving face."

Juniper absentmindedly picked at the fabric of the couch, having zero desire to talk about it. "She's the one who said to pretend she never had a daughter."

A heavy silence stretched over the line before he sneered coldly, "You didn't even manage to get your diploma back then. The family had to support you for over a year. You know exactly what a mess you were. All the neighbors were just waiting to watch our family become a joke. Mom and Dad still can't hold their heads up in public! What's the point of having good grades when your education was a total waste?"

Juniper seemed to hit a nerve, and she snapped, "I paid for my entire college tuition through part-time jobs! During that one year I was home, I spent a grand total of a few hundred dollars from her, and she still holds it over my head! She brings it up constantly! Haven't I been sending her money this whole time?! Have I still not paid her back?! I am not going back!"