Silently Falling (Original): Chapter Sixteen

"Ready for the ultimate revealing?" He jokes, smirking down at me.

I chuckle at him and nod, "Just open the door so I can see how much of a pig you are."

He turns the knob and swings the white, splotchy door open.

West walks into his room and switches on the light, and out of everything, the first thing I notice is his color of choice that fills his walls; dark blue.

One would think dark walls would make the room itself dark, but with the white comforter that covers his bed, and the white pillows and white blinds to go along with it, his room is nowhere close to dark. The two colors contrast beautifully.

It's bigger than his brother's room, but is still only half the size of my room. His bed is pressed against the wall and takes up the far corner, and across from it rests his dresser. He doesn't have a desk in his room for homework, there's no room for one, but he does have a small bedside table. His room is barely able to occupy what he has in it now. The walls of his room are only partially covered up by a few posters. Two of The Eagles, one of Queen, and one of Green Day, the rest of his dark walls open for more.

What I find the most interesting is how clean his room is. There's not a single stray sock on the floor nor a wrinkle on his bed. Not one of his posters are hanging off the wall, and even his bedside table is neat.

I was more than expecting his room to look like a tornado had run through it.

"So, what do you think?" He asks, sitting down on his pristine bed.

I turn to him with a smile, it's honestly not what I expected, but in a good way. It's a nice room; his house is, in a way, nice.

Sure it's a little beat up and not in the best area, but it has a comfortable feel inside, it makes me feel welcome.

"I like it," I sign, leaning against the wall.

West lays down on his bed, one arm behind his head as he looks over at me and smirks. "You can sit, you know. Just take a seat on the bed, I promise it's clean."

"I don't know about that one." I sign, glancing at his sheets with mock worry.

He chuckles, "Suit yourself. But I'm damn comfortable." He shuts his eyes with a smug smile.

I roll my eyes and sit down on the corner of his bed. He cracks one eye open and smirks. "That's what I thought."

I get out my phone and pick on the voice memo icon.

"Onto the questions." I sign, switching to my notes to pull them up.

"You literally interviewed me the last time I saw you." He says, sitting up slightly.

I deflate slightly, he's right. There isn't much more I can ask him, I just don't want to start actually writing my story. Procrastinating is fun until the day the project is due.

He chuckles, "How about an actual lesson? I have some stuff I want to learn." He says, sitting up all the way to free up his hands.

OoO

"No." I sign, "That is definitely not how you sign it."

West huffs, "Then why don't you show me again?"

I look at him incredulously. "I just showed you, like, five times!"

"Then once more shouldn't be too difficult." He retaliates.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Sometimes I really don't like you."

He smirks, "Are you insinuating that you like me all the other times?"

I reach out and slap his shoulder in response.

He starts laughing. "Oh come on Sunshine, just admit that you don't hate me."

"I did when I said we were friends. Friends usually don't despise one another." I sign slowly in order to make sure he gets every word.

"Then I guess your brother and I aren't friends." He hums.

I cock my head and he expands on his statement.

"I'm not stupid, Raine. I see that he doesn't like me all that much."

I frown, "He's just very protective of me."

"I can tell." West mutters before meeting my eyes. "But he doesn't have to worry when you're around me. I would never hurt you."

My breath gets caught in my throat and my heart starts pounding faster. Before I have the chance to respond, my ears pick up the sound of the front door unlocking and then opening up. I freeze in confusion and fear, but West just glances at the door to his bedroom with a small smile.

"West! I'm home." A feminine voice hollers. But there really wasn't any need to shout, if she simply spoke the words we would have been able to hear her easily. The same can't be said about my house.

He stands up and walks towards the door of his room. When I hesitate to follow, he looks back at me and nods towards the hall.

"Come on, it's just my mom." He says, stepping out into the hallway.

I bite my lip before standing up and following after him.

I'm meeting West Love's mom.

I didn't imagine my junior year going quite this way.

I enter the hallway and see West embracing whoever just entered the house, and when they pull apart from the brief hug I get a look at Ms. Love, and I'm taken aback.

She's beautiful.

Her hair is long and dirty blonde, falling all around her shoulders in a slight frizz. Her eyes are bright blue, much different from the light brown that associates itself with West. She's clearly in shape, for she has the body of a teenager. She could pass for a college student. If West hadn't mentioned she was his mom, I would have assumed her to be an older sister.

"She's...a girl." Are the first words from her mouth.

I'm so glad you noticed.

West raises a brow at his mother. "Yeah..."

That's when she gets excited.

"Oh my gosh! My little boy brought a girl home! And she's so beautiful! This must be the girl that's got you in such a good mood!" She squeals before running the short distance towards me.

I let out an 'umph' as she pulls me in for a hug. I awkwardly hug her and pat her back as she squeezes me half to death. When she pulls away, she keeps her hands on my arms and her head turns towards West who's watching us in pure amusement.

"Why wouldn't you tell me you have a girlfriend?" She pouts.

Uh.

"Why did you keep denying when I asked? How long have you two been dating?" She continues to question him, leaving him no room for an answer.

He smirks widely and looks at me, a light bulb appearing above his head.

Shit.

That look is never good.

"I wanted to wait for the right moment." He drawls and I narrow my eyes at him.

He wouldn't.

He walks towards me and throws an arm around my shoulders, making his mom's hands fall from my arms and cover her lips to hide a squeal. "I thought the appropriate time would be when we both finally admitted our undying love for one another."

I'm going to kill him.

"Oh my gosh! I need to get my camera!" His mom cries happily.

I shove West off of me with a deep scowl. "Tell her we aren't dating!"

He pouts, "Babe, don't be like that." He whines, trying to pull me in for a hug.

I put my arms out in front of me to keep him away. I'm sure we look like fools to his no doubt confused mother.

I send him a hard glare that gets my message across since I can't talk while holding him back. He laughs and takes a step back from me, placing his hands up in surrender.

"Damn Sunshine, if looks could kill I would be six feet under." He chuckles. I continue to glare and point to his mother.

He sighs and turns towards her. "As much as she wants to be, we aren't dating. We are just friends. This is Raine, the one I told you about." He introduces.

She watches us with a bemused expression, her lips pulled into a small smirk. "Uh huh..." She drawls, and then she walks back to me with her wide smile back on. "I'm Libba, West's mother."

I smile and stick out my hand, but she just pulls me back in for another hug. My eyes widen as I get pulled against her chest and I awkwardly hug her again. I smile at her as she pulls away, and I see the slight confusion in her eyes as I don't say anything.

I glance at West who seems to just now be realizing the dilemma here and he steps up.

"Raine is mute," he explains. "She uses sign language to talk." He says, smiling down at me.

His mom's eyes widen and she looks at her son. "How did she hear you when you were talking then?" She asks in amazement.

I bite my lip to hide my smile.

West face palms. "Mom. I said mute, not deaf. She can hear, she just can't talk."

Now Libba's eyes widen in realization and she blushes. "Oh...well it's wonderful to meet you Raine."

I offer her a friendly smile and glance at West. "Translate?"

He seems a little surprised I asked, but then he nods.

"It's nice to meet you too." He says aloud, and I smile in approval.

Libba's eyes widen a considerable degrees as she looks at her son. "You know sign language? West, how did I not know this?!" She exclaims, slapping his shoulder.

He flinches back. "Goddamn, between the two of you I'm going to lose an arm."

Now I slap him, "Don't curse in front of your mother."

He scowls at me and holds his arm before looking back at his mother.

"What did she say?"

He rolls his eyes. "Don't curse in front of your mother." He mutters.

Libba smiles widely at me. "I like you. You have my permission to slap him anytime you wish." She says with a small smirk.

I chuckle and nod, silently saying "will do."

"Such a great mother..." West sulks.

Libba ignores him and turns to me. "Are you staying for dinner?" She asks, her bright blue eyes light with welcome.

I glance at West as he keeps his expression unreadable. "I don't want to be a burden." I sign, hoping for him to translate.

Instead, the beginnings of a smile fill his lips and he turns to his mom. "She would love to."

Libba's eyes brighten even more. "Perfect! You aren't a vegetarian or anything, right dear?" She asks.

West laughs, "I've seen her devour three McDoubles and a large fry in two minutes. She's definitely not a vegetarian."

I roll my eyes at him and stick out my tongue.

"How mature." He deadpans, winking at me. "So, I'm sure this was fun for you both, but Raine and I really need to get back to our lesson." West says, backing into his room.

Libba watches him rather suspiciously. "Lesson? In your room? How could you expect me not to be suspicious of that?" She asks, raising a single brow at West.

He smirks at me. "You should be, Raine can't keep her hands off of me."

I think it's his life goal to aggravate me.

I send him my greatest glare, but it just results in his smirk turning into full blown laughter.

"Sunshine, you make it was too easy to get under your skin." He chuckles.

"Just with you because everything you do is aggravating!" I exclaim.

He crosses his arms and leans against his door frame. "And yet you don't hate me."

I just let out a huff of air and push past him into his room, indignantly sitting on his bed. I hear Libba laugh slightly and peek out his door to see her walking past it.

"I'm going to start on dinner."

About a half hour later, West's mom appears in his doorway with a dish towel in hand.

"Hey, it's six o'clock." She says, nodding to him.

He and I had just started wrapping up our lesson and finished his daily quiz. I was sitting sideways on his bed with my back pressed against the wall while he sat much too close next to me. Not that I was complaining...

He nods at Libba and she walks back into the kitchen. West sighs and pushes himself off his bed, standing and stretching. He glances around his room and grabs his shoes that he placed neatly next to his door. He grabs them and sits back down on his bed before putting them on.

"I have to go pick my little brother up from daycare." West explains once he ties his shoes, glancing over his shoulder at my confused expression. He stands back up and turns all the way around to face me. "You wanna come?"

I bite my lip and shrug, scooting off his bed to stand up. I'd rather go with him than awkwardly sit in his room since I can't entirely communicate with his mother. He waits for me to walk up to him before he walks out of his room and towards the front door.

"We'll be back in a half hour mom!" He calls, grabbing his keys from the small table.

He unlocks the front door and steps out, closing it behind me and locking it back up with his keys. I wait close by him as the fall chill hits me at full blast. It makes my cheeks freeze and then go numb, and I quickly throw my hands in my pockets so they don't suffer the same fate.

West finishes locking the door and walks down his sidewalk with me right next to his side. He speed walks to the passenger side and opens it for me before jogging back to his side. And I can't tell if he did so because of the cold weather or because the same two teenagers were still standing down the road- this time starting straight at us.

He starts his Jeep and we pull out of the gravel driveway and onto the gravel road. I notice the lack of a second car in his driveway and a question pops into mind. Once my hands warm, I begin to sign my question.

"Where's your moms car?"

West glances at my hands once we reach a stop sign and then starts driving forward again.

"She rides the bus to and from work. That's why my brother goes to daycare, neither her nor I can pick him up from school and no busses drive close enough to our house." He explains, his car bouncing along the cracked and failed road.

I nod, soaking in the information. Who knew there was this much to the famous West Love?

"Where's his daycare?" I ask as he approaches another stop sign.

"I'm going to assume that last word was daycare. It's about fifteen minutes from my place. It's closer to your house." He explains, reaching for the radio as we exit his part of town. "As a matter of fact, it's just down the road from your place. Like five minutes." He says as he turns it on and finds a station he likes.

I glance out the window as we drive back the way we came down the highway. Then, as we approach a stoplight, my head swivels to face West.

"How old is your brother? What's even his name?" I ask.

West chuckles as he turns down a road just a few before my own. "He's in fourth grade, which makes him nine. His name is Casper, named after my granddad."

We pull into the parking lot of a building painted with a smorgasbord of colors. It looks like the rainbow puked on it, leaving a beautiful disaster in it's place. The sign resting just above the two front doors is made to look like an elementary school kid wrote it, complete with letters written backwards and a dripped paint look.

Kids 'R' Kids.

I smile at West as he parks, all of the sudden feeling giddy.

"I love that sign!" I exclaim, unbuckling along with him.

"Really?" He asks, giving me a weird look as we get out.

I nod, "It's cute."

He smirks as we cross the parking lot. "Like you." He says slyly.

I roll my eyes and shake my head at him. He opens the door for me and we enter the lobby. West walks right up to the front desk, confidence pooling off of him as it always does. He doesn't seem to let the rumors that float around him bother him, and it makes envy burn within me. I was a shell of my former self all through ninth grade because of the rumors that were told about me.

"Hey West." The girl at the desk says with a light smile.

She looks to be in her mid-twenties and her smile is worth a million dollars. I wonder if she was blessed with such perfect teeth or if thousands of dollars were put into them. Her black hair is pulled into a side braid, resting gently on her shoulder. Her eyes are dark green, making the tan of her face much more prominent.

"Hey Grace," he greets with a welcoming tone; nothing like how I've heard him address the girls at our school.

I get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach from the smiles they share.

Grace's eyes drift from West and land on me where I awkwardly stand off to the side. Question fills her eyes as her smile directs itself at me.

"Who's this?" She asks.

West glances over at me and smiles lightly. "This is my friend, Raine. She's been teaching me sign language." He explains, nodding for me to come closer.

"It's nice to meet you Raine." She says kindly.

I smile and nod at her to give my greeting.

"Raine is actually a mute, she communicates with sign language." West explains, his voice void of any judgmental qualities. "Hence the lessons."

Grace's green eyes light up with interest and she looks back at me. "That's amazing, were you born without a voice?" She asks, tilting her head slightly.

I shake my head and begin to sign, wanting to give West a chance to show off his knowledge. "I've been mute since 9th grade."

West translates for me, his posture showing the slight pride he feels. Grace's eyebrows lift in amazement and she smiles at him.

"Look at you, learning sign language for a girl." She says, winking at him.

I start to chuckle and cover my mouth with my hand, glancing up at him. He blushes slightly and shakes his head.

"Let's just go get my brother." He mutters, walking down the hall.

"It was nice to meet you, Raine!" Grace says as I rush to follow West.

I send her a smile over my shoulder and then fall into step beside him.

"So you pretend we're dating to your mom, but then get all flustered when she suggests it." I tease, smirking up at him.

But in truth, it kind of bothers me. Why would he be embarrassed at the thought when a beautiful girl suggests us being together?

West just shrugs, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Do you like her or something?" I ask, nudging him. I try to play it off nonchalantly, but the thought of him having a crush on someone else puts an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

He snorts, "Grace? No. She's happily married anyways, her husband is in the army. He's been deployed for a year now." He says, turning down a colorful hallway. Then he glances down at me. "Why? You jealous, Sunshine?"

Maybe.

I smirk, "You wish."

He chuckles and winks. "Hopefully it will come true. I think jealousy would look sexy on you." Before I can respond, West stops in front of one of the many rooms and leans against the door frame with a lazy smirk.

I peek over his shoulder into the hectic room. There are at least fifteen kids; some are coloring, others are playing with Lego's, and a few are playing on the computers. But my eyes take special notice to the one kid sitting off to the side reading a small chapter book.

He glances up when the other kids shout West's name, and as he does a wide smile fills his mouth. He jumps to his feet, setting his book down on the beanbag he was occupying and runs towards West.

"Hey little man, you ready to go?" West asks, smiling down at the boy I assume is Casper.

He nods widely. "Let me get my backpack!" He exclaims before running towards the back to grab a small, Superman backpack. He shoves the book he had been reading inside of it and runs back to West. "I'm ready!"

He grins and pushes off the door frame, "Let's go. There's someone I want you to meet."

I wait outside the door and as they exit the room, Casper's eyes land on me. He has his mother's eyes, a light and icy blue that accentuates his brown hair.

"Hi." He says shyly, staying close to his brother's side.

"This is my friend Raine." West says, kneeling down next to his brother.

Oh my gosh, West Love is a good older brother. Am I in a parallel universe?

Casper avoids eye contact with me and nods. West sighs and looks at me rather apologetically.

"He's shy." He signs.

I chuckle, "I can tell."

West rolls his eyes at me and stands up straight. Then he seems to get an idea and nods at his brother. "Hey, Casper. You wanna learn the alphabet in sign language?"

Casper glances at his brother in question. "Why?"

West looks at me. "Raine uses sign language to talk."

Casper looks back at me and tilts his head. "Really?"

I nod, "It's true."

His eyes brighten in excited curiosity. "What did she say?" He asks, tugging on West's leather jacket.

"She said it's true." West explains.

Casper glances back at me in amazement. "Wow..."

"Mom has dinner ready back at home so we've gotta go, but maybe, if you ask nicely, Raine will teach you a few things at dinner." West says, beginning to walk down the hallway.

Casper follows along with me and looks up at me. "Would you?"

I smile at him and nod, "Of course."

His head swivels back to his brother. "What did she say?!"

"She said of course." West says, messing up Casper's hair.

He looks back at me and smiles widely.

Well I guess that moment of shyness was short lived.

He tugs on West's leather jacket again and gestures for him to lean down. He does so and Casper whispers something in his ear. West looks over at me and smiles. "I definitely agree."

I raise a brow, "What did he say?" I ask.

He smiles and shrugs, "It's confidential."

OoO

'Thank you so much for dinner, it was delicious.' I write on my phone, showing it to Libba as West and I walk to the front door.

She reads it over and smiles at me. "It was no problem, you come over whenever you want." She says, pulling me in for a hug. "It's about time my boy brings a girl home." She says as we pull apart.

I chuckle softly and let a smile overcome my lips. 'It was nice to meet you.'

"You too, sweetie." She says.

"Raine!" Casper calls, quickly walking up to me. "Goodbye." He signs, a proud smile on his lips.

I chuckle, 'You remembered!' I type, showing him my phone.

He nods, blushing slightly. "When can we have another lesson?" He asks.

I glance at West and then back at Casper. 'I'm not sure, maybe the next time I come over.'

He frowns as he reads it. "Well when will that be?"

'That's up to your brother.'

Casper walks up to West. "You had better invite Raine over soon! She's awesome."

West places his hands up in surrender, "Okay, okay. Just take it easy man."

I chuckle and he glances over at me with a smile. "I'm going to take Raine home, I'll be back in about a half hour." He says, opening the front door.

I wave another goodbye at the two of them before stepping out into the cold weather. It's pitch black out, the sky covered with clouds. I pull my small sweater tighter around my body as we walk down his steps and sidewalk and finally to his car.

"I had fun." I sign as he cranks up the heat.

"My mom wasn't too annoying?" He asks, backing out of his driveway.

I chuckle and shake my head. "Not at all. She was sweet."

"You know, I think Casper may have a crush on you." He jokes.

"I'm just that amazing." I shrug as he pulls onto the main road.

"Well...." West trails off doubtfully, laughing when I reach over and slap him. "I'm kidding! Don't hit the driver, don't you know that?"

"I made an exception."

West glances over at me and smiles thoughtfully before placing his attention back on the road. "So did I." He hums.

I scrunch my brows in confusion at his statement and I try not to let myself think too much of it.

We arrive at my house a short while later and I thank West again as I unbuckle. I get out of his Jeep and wave at him as I walk up my front steps, trying to get away from the cold air and indoors. When I open the front door, unlocked now that Toby is home, West begins to back out and flashes his lights as his way of waving and saying bye.

I step inside and, as I close the door behind me, I become aware of the giant smile on my lips.