Love To Deaf (COMPLETE)

Chapter 27

My hand knocked furiously on the door.

I didn't care if it was nearly midnight. I'd texted but that wasn't enough, it wasn't enough to express myself. How long had i felt this way? It dawned on me that I could've been suppressing this for years without even knowing about it. Years. Years that I'd let slide by.

My watch read 12:03.

I was using the knocker on the door that connected to an app that vibrated when someone knocked. It was basically an asset for deaf people.

12:04

I texted too, just to tell him to open the door. There was so much I had to tell him, so much I had to ask, and so many feelings that I wondered if he felt too. Everything in my entire life and pointed to Marco - how could I have not seen it?

He was the one who was always there for me. He got me out of my room when the Jasper case got too hard to bear. When Chris left home early and we never heard from him again, Marco was there. My heat was beating so quickly in my chest, I thought it might explode. Somehow though, it got worse when I stopped knocking.

"Marco..." I breathed. My hand slowly came to a stop as I realized how stupid this was. 12:06.

There was no way he was awake. And there was no way that he'd feel the same way. Slowly, I turned my back to the door and started down the steps. Every few seconds I would glance behind me, looking at the door. 12:07. He lived sort of far away now and I'd driven a long time to get there. It all felt futile now.

Maybe Blaire was wrong. Maybe I took her advice too quickly.

Memories flooded my mind. For once, they weren't of horrible incidents in my life that centered around toxic people. It was blissful as I recalled that they revolved around Marco.

"Hurry up!" He cried, tugging on my shirt.

Sixth grade. School performance of Beauty and the Beast. We of course, were not in it. But we went to see it. It was the first time my parents let me go somewhere without them. Marco and I had ridden our bikes there.

"I am hurrying!" I replied in sign and scooted into a seat next to him as the fake red drapes pulled apart to reveal the young prince character.

Marco and I exchanged glances.

We didn't understand a word they said; they were way too far away. But we'd spent the last few days reading the script in advance, so we'd know what was going on and clap when we were supposed to.

"I can hardly see." I signed in annoyance. I wanted to see the beast turn into the prince at the end and Belle kiss him. High schoolers played the main roles of course.

Marco had grabbed me and set me on his knees, like a dad would to his kid.

It wasn't a romantic gesture, not that we knew of at the time.

My eyes were wide as I saw the mask be ripped from the Beast's face and revealed a handsome young high schooler playing the prince. Belle looked so happy. Marco and I looked at each other as the two actors grabbed hands and said their lines. We'd memorized them.

"Is it really you?" I mouthed.

Marco smiled like it said in the script. "My eyes glance this way and that, for I know not if you know me as I am. But I tell you dear beauty that I love you now, as I did a thousand agonies ago."

"My prince." I finished the line.

I ran a hand through my hair, flabbergasted I remembered every detail so sharply. High school, freshman year came to mind. We were both really nervous, but I had Marco by my side and I was confident in that he'd always be there for me. At the time, I had Blaire problems like crazy, and he knew about them all.