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Heading to my normal spot, I just sit there without lunch. I couldn’t take the tray from Atlas, nor did I want to go back to my locker to get my packed lunch.
Getting lost in my thoughts, I don’t notice Kade come up and drop the tray that Atlas had.
“I’m sorry about Atlas. He just wanted you to sit with us. We all want to spend more time with you and get to know you better. Hopefully you can sit with us sometime soon?”
I give a slight nod, and Kade turns around and walks back to his brothers. Picking at the food that Atlas gave me, I try to eat as much as I can. The pizza tastes the best, but I do love the banana.
Once lunch is over, I put the tray back up in the cafeteria and go to the Art room.
“Paisley, can you come here for a second?” Mrs. Dae says to me as I pass her. “I was apprised of your situation. You are to stick to drawing until that cast comes off. Do you understand?”
Nodding, I head to my seat. I see Atlas and Mateo sitting on opposite sides of it. They both wave to me, and I want so desperately to ignore Atlas, but I know that he truly did nothing wrong. Waving back to both of them, I give them a slight smile and sit down.
Class drones on and on, and I’m using my charcoal set again. Not realizing what I’m drawing yet again, I look down, and it’s my old bedroom.
That bedroom.
Quickly closing my binder, I get frustrated with myself. I need to stop getting lost in my drawings in school. This is the second time I’ve drawn something in reference to that night.
With half the class still to go, I pull out a piece of paper from the desk. Focusing, I try to draw the meadow that I go to when I need to escape. The closest thing to my happy place. When the bell rings for class to be over, I glance down to see how the drawing went and am flabbergasted. It’s Mateo at the track from last week. I look up at him, and he is staring at the drawing. Before I can hide it, Mateo takes it away from me.
“Can I keep this? It looks amazing, and I loved that day. I would be proud to have it on my desk in my room, since you drew it,” he asks me.
Blushing, I agree. I don’t know what this feeling is, but I want to bask in it.
CHAPTER19
LUCA
SeeingPaisley walk into ASL with all the bruises all over her body infuriates me. I have no idea what happened to her, but I want to know. Ineedto protect her.
* * *
Walking through the school hallways is always so difficult for me. I see people talking, but I never know what they are saying. It’s one of the few times that I am by myself, and it’s a mistake.
As I head to my next class, someone comes up to me and is saying something, but I can’t understand him.
“I’m sorry. I can’t understand you. I’m deaf,” I sign to them.
No matter what, they just keep coming into my personal space, so I try to move around them to ignore them. Everyone in the school knows I’m deaf. Yay. Go me. More reason to be isolated.
Next thing I know, I’m getting punched in the gut. In the face. All over.
I try to defend myself at first. I really do. I keep my arms up to block the punches. That is, until someone kicks my knee out and I fall to the ground, and they kick my stomach. I curl up into a ball, trying to protect my face and everything else that’s vital.
Barely breathing and with my eyes starting to swell shut, I can barely make out Mateo and Kade coming to my rescue. Seeing Atlas beside me, I black out.
I wake up in the hospital the next day with three broken ribs, a broken wrist, multiple bruises, a concussion, and scrapes and cuts all along my arms.
* * *
Hating that I took myself back into that nightmare of a day, I shake it off and focus back on Paisley. I motion for her to come sit me with me. Hope fills me to the core. I want to talk to her about what happened to her. Not that I think she will be up for it, but I still have to try. I want her to know that she can trust me and I understand.
Paisley sits beside me, and it takes everything in me not to bombard her with questions about what happened. But I know that if I do, she will shut me out and shut down like last time. So I plan to take a different approach this time.
“So, are you excited to work on our English project?” I sign questioningly.
“I guess? I need to get a slip from the teacher to prove that we actually have a project that requires outside studying,”Paisley signs.
