They Said I Was Lying, They Forgot I Couldn’t Speak Chapter 09

They Said I Was Lying, They Forgot I Couldn’t Speak Chapter 09

“Tessa, I didn’t look closely at them at the time. I… I know now. You weren’t pretending. Can you give me a

chance to really talk this through with you? Just once?”

I looked at the records on his screen, then at him.

“So now you know. What difference does that make?”

His voice trembled.

“I know I was wrong. I should’ve believed you. I shouldn’t have gotten so close to Sienna. I shouldn’t have

called your gift worthless.”

“I still have the recorder. I listen to what you recorded every day.”

“Tessa, I really regret what I did.”

I was silent for a few seconds.

I remembered that little recorder. I remembered all the nights I’d spent secretly practicing that vocal

technique over those six months, just so he could hear my voice for himself.

He hadn’t even opened the box.

“Derek.”

I looked straight at him.

“You kept the recorder. You listen to it every day. You regret what you did. That’s your problem.”

“I gave you your chance. You wasted it.”

“I’m leaving. Don’t come looking for me again.”

“And for what happened with Sienna, I don’t hate you. After all, I was the one who pushed her into your arms.”

“But that doesn’t mean you deserve my forgiveness.”

“That’s all.”

Derek stayed where he was, watching me walk farther and farther away.

Under the streetlights, my shadow stretched long across the pavement, then shortened until it disappeared around the corner.

Almost a month later, my phone rang from a number I didn’t recognize.

Sienna’s voice came through, urgent.

“Tessa, Dad had a heart attack. He’s in the ER. Mom wants you here.”

I held the phone in silence for a few seconds.

Then I went to the hospital.

By the time I arrived, Dad had already been moved out of the ER. He was awake in a hospital bed with tubes

still attached to him.

Mom sat beside him wiping away tears. Sienna stood on the other side of the bed, her eyes red.

Derek was there too, leaning against the hallway wall.

When he saw me, he straightened, but he didn’t come any closer.

I’d heard from my director that Derek hadn’t been himself lately and had blown a major project.

In the end, the company let him go.

But none of that had anything to do with me anymore.

I walked past him and stopped on the other side of Dad’s bed.

When Dad saw me, he froze.

His lips trembled as he said something, but his voice was too faint for me to make it out.

Mom looked up at me.

“Tessa.”

“Yes.”

Dad’s eyes went wide the moment he heard my voice.

He struggled to lift one hand and pointed at me, making a strained, wordless sound.

Mom hurried to explain.

“Where have you been all this time? Your father’s been talking about you…”

I looked at Mom’s exhausted face, then at Dad lying there with tubes attached to him.

A faint ache stirred inside me.

But when I spoke, my voice was calm.

“I went away for treatment. I had surgery and spent a long time recovering. I can speak now.”

Mom’s lips trembled.

“Why didn’t you tell us? We could have-”

“Could have what?”

I looked at her.

“Mom, didn’t you say I was faking it? Didn’t you say I embarrassed you? Didn’t you say Sienna was your only

daughter?”

Tears spilled down her face.

“We were angry. We didn’t mean those things. We only said them because we were upset…”

“Whether you meant them or not, I don’t care anymore.”

My voice stayed quiet.

“I came today to see how Dad was doing. He’s going to be okay, so I’m leaving.”

Sienna’s head snapped up.

“Tessa! Look at Mom and Dad, and you’re still leaving? Do you have any heart at all?”

I turned back to her.

“A heart?”

I held her gaze.

“Sienna, where was yours when you hid my medical records?”

All the color drained from her face. Her lips trembled, but nothing came out.

Mom stared at us in confusion.

“What medical records? What do you mean she hid them?”

I wasn’t going to argue about it anymore.

I pulled up the photos of my medical records on my phone, sent them to Mom, and turned toward the door.

Behind me, my mother broke down crying while Sienna started frantically trying to explain.

I didn’t stop.

Outside, I hailed a cab, gave the driver my address, and leaned back against the seat with my eyes closed.

My phone buzzed.

My director: [How’d it go? Everything settled with your family? Don’t forget the team outing tomorrow.

Everyone’s waiting to hear you sing!]

I smiled and sent back a voice message.

“I’ll be there. And I’ll definitely sing.”

The cab moved through the rain as neon lights slid across the windows in streaks.

I opened my eyes and watched them pass.

For a moment, the city seemed different from the one I’d left behind, and yet somehow exactly the same.

But I was different.

I could speak now.

I could say what I wanted to say.

I wasn’t going to keep backing down in silence, and I wasn’t going to doubt myself just because other people

refused to believe me.

The little girl who used to stand there with her mouth open, unable to make a sound, was gone.

Now, even standing in the rain, I could turn away with a smile.