I Am Deaf

Chapter 17

Rin POV

Len turned to me, cerulean eyes accusing.

"Okay, what's going on?"

I put my knuckles in my mouth and curled up like a little girl.

"R-"

But I was too caught up in a dark flashback.

Flashback

"Why? Why, Rin? You weren't supposed to tell the police!"

"I'm sorry, Daddy!"

"Wait! Wait till I get my hands on you!"

I heard his footsteps. Tap tap, tap tap. I looked desperately for a place to hide.

"Rin!" Rinto ushered me into the space under his desk. "Shhh."

I squirmed. Dad's steps neared, then...

"WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BRAT?" I couldn't see him, but I could certainly hear his thundering voice.

A ticklish sensation soared through my nose.

No. No! No, no, no, no!

"AA-CHOO!" I sneezed violently, my pigtails flying forward.

"Gotcha."

And the last thing before darkness that I felt was a horrible, tearing, sensation in my ears, and the sounds of my screaming fading from them.

Flashback over

I was jerked into the present aggressively by Len's hands on my shoulders.

"Len!" I cried, throwing myself into his involuntary hold.

His mouth was in my hair, forming words that I (obviously) couldn't hear. I could feel my body shaking, so I assumed my voice was, too.

"D-d-d-don't l-l-let h-him..."

Len tilted my face to see his.

"Who, Rin?"

"D-d-don't l-l-let him g-g-get me... He'll make m-m-me b-b-b-blind, n-n-n-next..."

"Rin! Who made you deaf?"

Tears cut rivers through my cheeks.

He kissed my tears lightly.

"You can tell me anything, Rin."

"I know..." I sobbed. "Gimme a minute."

He waited patiently.

"My dad, Len. My dad made me deaf. My dad made me this." I gestured to my ears.

His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. His eyes were wide.

"He made you what?"

"Deaf." I took a deep breath, impatiently cursing the fact that Len was slow enough to say that last sentence. "He made me deaf."

Len got to his feet. "And he doesn't know it?"

"No." I stifled my shrieks of recurring pain in my torn ears. Len's fingers danced across them, touching the red scars.

"This is where..." He said.

"Yes." I held his hand, clenching it in my small one.

"I'm so sorry..."

"Why?"

"That I wasn't there to protect you..." He was getting upset for the wrong reasons! Baka! Of course he wasn't there! It's not like he spent half his life stalking me!

"Len!"

He met my eyes.

"And I'll never let him hurt you again."

"Len, you-"

And then he was kissing me again, and my words vanished.

His eyes were smiling, my eyes were wide. His lips were soft and gentle with mine. He slanted his head to get closer to me, and I inclined my head to kiss him harder. Finally, we broke apart for air, and laughed, my nose touching his.

"Thanks for that."

"I had to shut you up." he smiled warmly, then a brief note of seriousness entered his eyes. "But Rin, remember: You CAN tell me anything, okay? Whether it's bothering you or not. It can be personal, or about, oh, I don't know, your love life, or-"

I giggled.

"You are my love life, Len."

He chuckled.

"Guess I am."

"Guess? You are, baka."

"I'm glad," Len laughed. Then he stood up, stretching.

"Well," he said, kissing me on the tip of my nose, "we should head to bed, don't you think?"

"Yup." He scooped me up and plopped me into the bed.

"Night, Rin."

"...Night, Len."