They Said I Was Lying, They Forgot I Couldn’t Speak Chapter 04

They Said I Was Lying, They Forgot I Couldn’t Speak Chapter 04

“Just play the quiet, aloof type. I’ll do all the talking for you.”

At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it. I’d assumed he was only trying to protect me.

Now I understood.

By then, Derek was no longer the earnest, passionate guy I’d fallen for in college.

He’d already begun to feel embarrassed by me.

When I didn’t respond, Dad, who was standing beside Derek, snapped at me.

“Where are your manners? Derek is talking to you.”

“Is this how I raised you—to ignore people when they’re speaking to you?”

“And don’t go around telling people you’re my daughter. I don’t have a daughter like you.”

Dad clutched his chest, visibly worked up, and Sienna immediately hurried over to steady him.

“Tessa, this is all my fault. You’re Derek’s girlfriend, and I shouldn’t have tried to steal the spotlight.”

“If you’re angry, blame me. Just don’t upset Dad.”

“You hardly ever come home, so you don’t know he’s been having health problems. He can’t handle getting this worked up.”

She was always the dutiful daughter when our parents were around.

But she’d never really thought about hardship, much less experienced it herself.

After college, Mom and Dad gave her thousands of dollars a month so she could stay home and live off them.

I’d stopped getting any financial help from home by my junior year.

Since then, I’d worked whatever jobs I could find, and with work that precarious, missing a single shift could cost me the job.

I quietly watched the picture-perfect family on my screen.

Sienna and Mom supported Dad on either side while Derek hovered nearby, fetching drinks and fussing over him.

They really did look like one happy family—if only Derek weren’t my boyfriend.

Mom turned on me too.

“Look at Sienna, then look at yourself. How did I end up with a daughter like you?”

“If you’re going to be this heartless, then don’t come home again. From now on, Sienna is our only daughter.”

Then she ended the call.

I kept packing until well after midnight. Derek didn’t stumble home drunk until the early hours of the morning, leaning heavily on Sienna.

The moment he saw me, he started complaining.

“Tessa, why do you never think about how any of this affects me?”

“Back in college, people used to make fun of me for dating a girl who couldn’t speak.”

“But I loved you. I took all of it and never complained. Now your own family is telling me you were faking it. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”

He pulled me into his arms and buried his face against my shoulder the way he used to.

It only made me sick.

Sienna tried to smooth things over.

“Mom and Dad were angry. They didn’t mean what they said, so don’t take it to heart.”

“You and Derek should work things out. He’s a good guy.”

I ignored her, pushed Derek away, and signed:

[Did you open my birthday gift?]

He was clearly annoyed that I’d pushed him off and barely bothered to answer.

“What gift? Oh, that crappy little box? I don’t even know where I put it.”

“You always try to save money by giving me cheap handmade stuff anyway.”

My heart sank.

I reached over and took his phone. He didn’t try to stop me; he’d never cared if I looked through it.

It didn’t take long to find his messages with the doctor in Germany.

Just as I’d suspected, every question he’d asked was about hearing.

Not once had he mentioned my voice.

That was all the answer I needed.

Derek had always been good at sensing the smallest shift in my mood. His tone immediately turned coaxing.

“So, did you actually get me something special this year, Tessa?”

I shook my head and signed:

[No. Same as always.]

[If you don’t like it, just throw it away.]

That was a lie.

I’d actually spent six months secretly teaching myself a vocal technique online, all because I wanted him to hear my voice.

But now, I looked at the expensive watch on his wrist.

It was the same one Sienna had posted on Instagram the day before.

That was the moment I was finally done with him.

Just as I’d expected, Derek immediately lost interest. He went into the bedroom, collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep.

Sienna still hadn’t left.

I could see the smug satisfaction in her eyes—the kind she only ever let me see.

This time, I didn’t ask why she kept doing this to me.

I simply signed:

[If you want him, just say so. Aren’t you tired of pretending after all these years?]