Chapter 23


The moment my lips touched hers, I feel like somebody has thrown a bucket of cold water on my face, harshly waking me from the dream which I was in. If I was an old Jason I wouldn't have let my brain control my heart, I would have blindly given in to my heart's demand. However, I am not that Jason anymore.

And for the first time in many days, I regret not being normal like others as my heart sinks thinking about my disability.

"I am sorry." Creating a distance between us, I rest my forehead against hers, while the feeling of her soft lips still fresh on my mind, "This was a mistake, I shouldn't have done that." Closing my eyes, I let out a small sigh feeling ashamed of my action.

I open my eyes when I don't hear any response from her. But then a quiet humorless chuckle leaves my lips when I realize how I have forgotten that I will never be able to hear her voice even if she's speaking to me.

"You make me feel normal." I smile sarcastically, "However, the truth is that I am not." Caressing her cheek with my thumb, I kiss her forehead as I slightly push her away from me.

She instantly stands up and steps back from me, while looking anywhere but me.

I have truly made my self look like a pervert in front of her.

"I think I should leave." Standing up, I rub my sweaty hands on my thighs, "I will call you later." Forcing a smile on my lips, I rush outside the door as I don't have the courage to look in her direction.

As soon as I walk outside, thrusting my fingers into my hair I pull them in frustration feeling annoyed by myself. Groaning I punch the wall next to me, as the fear of losing her friendship grips my heart.

What if she doesn't want to talk to me after this? What if she thinks that I am trying to take advantage of her?

The more I think... the more I regret letting my heart control my action.

I couldn't sleep the entire night, as a strange fear swirls inside my heart. I know I shouldn't have kissed her, but why does a part of me doesn't regret it? Why does my heart say it was not wrong?

Jessica was somewhere right it is not easy to live with me because living with someone with no hearing can only make that person's life difficult. And I can't be a burden in anyone's life. I may have accepted myself, but this doesn't mean anyone should also lead a difficult life because of my disability.

Unlocking my shop, I step inside with the hope to drown myself in work. I can just pray that this will help me to forget about that kiss, and clear my mind from all these thoughts which are driving me crazy.

Thankfully, these days the shop is busy so I don't have to do much to keep myself occupied.

Nearly two hours have passed when a girl, probably around sixteen to seventeen years, enters seeming a bit uncomfortable as she looks around the shop.

Excusing myself from the customer I am dealing with, I walk to her.

"Hey." I politely smile at her, "Do you need any help?"

She bites her lower lip looking more nervous, then she nods her head.

"So, tell me what are you looking for?" I motion towards the shop.

She quickly shakes her head, making me slightly frown in confusion.

"Please, tell me how may I help you?" I ask politely, not wanting to scare the girl as she already seems tense.

"Are you in trouble?" I ask her while looking outside the shop to check if someone is following her.

She shakes her head with a small smile which makes me relieved to find that at least she is not in any kind of trouble.

"Listen, if you are not going to speak then how will I help you?" I sigh.

After a moment she makes a phone gesture with her hand.

"You need to use the phone?" I raise my eyebrows and this time she responds by nodding her head in yes.

"You can use the shop's phone." I point at the phone on the cash counter table.

Giving me a small smile, she walks to the phone as I watch her.

She picks up the phone and dials the number, looking slightly anxious. When someone answers the phone, I see her just opening and closing her mouth. I can tell she is not speaking anything.

Momentarily, I feel annoyed when I thought that this must be some stupid prank or dare by her friends, however, when tears gather in her eyes I know this not the case.

Carefully, approaching her I place a hand on her shoulder. She looks at me helplessly, then puts the phone down disconnecting the call.

I watch her again opening her mouth as if she wants to say something, but then she closes it as a tear slips from her eye.

"Hey, what's the matter?" I can't help but feel concerned.

She points at her mouth then shakes her head as embarrassment settles on her features. My eyes fractionally widen as I realize what she means.

She can't speak.

"It is okay, no need to be embarrassed about it." I smile, then I point towards my ears, "I can't hear, so I will not judge."

I can understand, the biggest fear when you live with any kind of disability is the thought of what others will think about you. Will they accept you or will they reject you because you are different from them?

It takes a lot of courage to accept yourself with your flaws, however, it takes almost all your entire life to make people accept that you might be different but you are not any lesser than them.

Her postures relax slightly, after finding out that I am also not much different from her.

"I am lost, I need to contact my boyfriend." She quickly signs, explaining the matter. "My phone battery is dead, so I can't text him."

Before I can answer, she suddenly picks up the phone then again I see her trying to speak.

"Your boyfriend?" I ask, she quickly nods her head then extends the phone in my direction then pulls the phone back when she realizes that I may not be able to help her.

Shaking my head with a smile, I turn on the phone's speaker.

"Hey, I am Jason," I lean down while speaking into the speaker, "Your girlfriend is here at my shop." I glance at the girl whose name I still don't know.

"What's your name?" I ask her, moving my face away from the speaker.

"Emma," she quickly signs her name.

"Okay, Emma, can you tell me what he is saying so I can answer him?" I arch an eyebrow at her.

"He is asking what I am doing at your shop?" She signs as she rolls her eyes.

"She got lost so she came to use the phone as her phone is dead." I run my hand through my hair while scratching my head. "You can come here to pick up her from my shop."

"He is asking the address of the shop." She informs me.

After telling the address of the shop, I hang up the phone.

"He said he will be here in fifteen minutes." She smiles looking more at ease than earlier.

Not even fifteen minutes have passed when I see a guy walking inside the shop while his eyes moving around the shop like he is searching for something. Instantly, I understand that he might be Emma's boyfriend.

When he finds Emma he directly walks to her as he says something while looking mad. Emma wraps her arms around him as he continues to speak. After a moment, his expression softens as he kisses her head.

Suddenly, she looks at me and smiles at me, and drags her boyfriend with her towards me.

"He is Jason and he also knows sign language." She signs looking excited. I think her excitement is more because even I have to use gestures to communicate.

He is about to speak when Emma interrupts him while mentioning that I can't hear.

"Hey, I am Marvin," He signs, "Thank you so much for helping Emma." He smiles.

"No problem." I shake my head with a small smile.

After talking with me for a while, they leave. Meeting them has definitely made my mood better. Somewhere, they reminded me of myself and Lina. The way they look completely at ease with each. Marvin doesn't care about her being unable to speak, while she is not bothered that she can't talk normally with him. Just like most of the time I forget about my disability when I am around Lina.

Thinking about her an uneasy feeling settles inside my heart while I can just hope I don't lose her friendship because of my stupidity.

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Thank you for reading.

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