Fighting Silence (On the Ropes #1)(70)

The doctor glanced at Till before looking back at me.

“He’s eligible for an implant? He could hear again?”

“Well, that part is up to Till. But yes, he is eligible.”

Till shook his head and stood up, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I wiggled out of his grasp as tears of joy sprang to my eyes.

“Oh my God, you’ll be able to hear again!” I laughed, but he watched me blankly. “What?” I asked as my smile faded.

He grabbed a pen and paper off the doctor’s desk. No implant. It costs too much money.

I snatched the paper from his hand. “You have insurance now,” I spoke out loud as I wrote. Then I turned to the doctor and asked, “Insurance will cover the implant, right?”

“Well, yes. Most of it. However, it could still be quite costly. There are programs that can help patients who can’t afford the procedure.”

“It’s not the money,” Slate chimed in from behind me. “He knows I’d pay for it.”

Till lifted the pen to write again, but I stole the paper before he had the chance.

“Talk,” I demanded, and he narrowed his eyes at me. “Why won’t you get the implant?”

He just shook his head, so I turned to the doctor.

“What’s the catch here?”

“I’ll step out for a minute so you all can discuss this alone.” He walked from the room, leaving me even more confused and irritated than ever.

I took a deep breath and picked the paper up.

What is going on? What am I missing? You could hear again! This doesn’t have to be permanent!!!!!!! I nearly broke the pen as I forcefully added each exclamation point.

Till’s eyes flashed to Slate, who was looming behind me. I had no idea what the hell was going on, but I honestly didn’t care. There was only one thing that mattered.

You’re getting the implant, I scrawled definitively.

Till finally found his voice in the tone of an angry snarl. “No!”

“Why. Not?” I growled right back at him.

“Because he can’t box anymore with the implant,” Slate said, unleashing the venomous snake of truth into the room, before stalking out and slamming the door.

Oh. My. God.

You would rather fight than hear? I tilted my head, incredulous.

His answer was a shrug that apparently said it all.



The tension was thick as Eliza drove us home from the hospital. I could feel the anger radiating off her, but she didn’t once leave my side. She did, however, put the pen and paper back in her purse, effectively ending any further conversation. She might not have communicated, but she’d held my hand when the doctor had come back in and scheduled a follow-up appointment for the next day. He’d filled a bag with books and pamphlets, including a schedule for sign language courses at the local community center.

It was so f*cking surreal.

When we walked through the door to our apartment, the boys both jumped off the couch. Quarry’s mouth was moving a million miles a minute, and just the sight wrenched my chest. Flint quickly elbowed him to make him shut up. They both stared at me, just as unsure of how to react as I was. So I tossed them a forced smile and headed to my room. I could see the concern in Flint’s eyes as I passed him, so I reached out and punched him in the shoulder. It was playful and hard, but judging by his face, it wasn’t comforting in the least.

Normal. I just needed things to feel normal even if they didn’t sound it.

I flipped off the light and fell into bed. My mind was all over the place while trying to figure out how the hell I was going to function with my new existence. I was pissed at myself for not having prepared better for this day. I knew it was coming; I just hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

After a half hour, I got bored of being alone and went to find Eliza. She was probably still mad at me, but I could live with that as long as she was at my side.

I found her sitting on the couch, surrounded on both sides. Flint sat on one side with his elbows on his knees and his head cradled in his hands as Eliza scratched his back. Quarry was on the other side tucked under her arm. His body was stiff as if he didn’t want the physical sympathy, but his head was resting on her shoulder as if he’d never needed anything more. Tears were running from his eyes.

Jesus. Quarry. He had gotten so big recently that, sometimes, I forgot that he was still just a twelve-year-old kid who faced my same fate.

When I cleared my throat, they all looked up. Q immediately began drying his eyes and looking away. I casually strolled over to the couch and ruffled his hair. He hated it when I did that, but this time, he didn’t squirm. Using both hands, I signaled for them to part the sea and make room for me. Squeezing between Flint and Eliza, I tossed my arms over the back of the couch and roughly dragged them all in for a group hug. Their heads clinked together, and I was sure they all groaned, but I wanted to keep it light. However, those three seconds when my entire life was secure in my arms would be etched into my memory for all of eternity. Tomorrow didn’t seem so scary when I was on that couch with them.

We sat uncomfortably squished together for several hours. As far as I knew, no one said anything. We were all lost in our own imagination of what the future would hold. The sun was starting to peek through the window when Eliza nudged me and pointed down to Q, who was asleep on her shoulder. I glanced over to Flint, who was also racked out, his head flopped back and his mouth hanging open. It was time to put the entire day to rest. I scooped Q off her lap then carried him to bed. Flint sleepily stumbled into the room after me, and Eliza leaned against the doorjamb, watching me toss the blankets over them both.