Page 68
On closer inspection, Declan had the same bone structure as Ducky. High cheekbones, chiseled jawline, tapered waist. While Ducky was lithe, Declan was muscled. While Ducky had long hair, Declan had short, at least on the sides. While Ducky was pale, Declan was tanned by consistent sunlight exposure.
While Ducky could hear, Declan was deaf.
But...
But the birthmark. The crescent shaped brown patch marring his skin. Ducky, too, had that on his neck, almost caressing his collarbone.
Something made me lean forward to brush my fingers against Declan’s skin. I didn’t know what I was hoping for. For it to be makeup? For it not to be?
The birthmark was real, and the fact sent an undefinable tingle through my body.
Voice quiet, as if I was afraid anything louder would force him to laugh in my face, I murmured, “Ducky?”
“Addie.”
And then he wrapped his arms around me, extra mindful of my injuries. I pressed my face into his neck, crying, relishing in the comfort and heat he emitted.
This was Ducky. My Ducky. My best friend, and the only person I had ever truly loved.
I pulled away from him, eyes bloodshot, to see he wasn’t faring much better. His own eyes were glassy with unshed tears. With a trembling hand, he pushed a strand of knotted hair behind my ear.
I didn’t care that I was in pain. I didn’t care that I had a broken leg, a scarred back, or an arm that was losing feeling by the second.
All I cared about was the handsome boy in front of me.
“You’re alive,” I whispered, pulling back to face him. His eyes remained focused intently on my lips as he read my words.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you...why didn’t you tell me?” I sobbed, my relief transforming into anger. I had spent years - years! - believing I had killed my best friend. I knew he had been pissed at me, I wouldn’t have blamed him, but this? Ignoring me after I witnessed him get hit by a truck? Making me believe him dead? That was borderline torture.
“I tried!” Declan - Ducky - insisted. His eyes grew wide. “Your parents said you didn’t want to talk to me. They said you...” His hands faltered as if he was unsure what else he wanted to say.
“They said what?” I asked calmly. Too calmly.
“They said you never once asked about me. They said you laughed when the truck came.”
I exploded. “And you believed them? After everything we’d been through?”
I knew I was yelling, and I knew the effort was futile, but I couldn’t help it (and yes, I understood the irony of yelling at a deaf guy). Ducky and I had spent years together. He was my best friend and I, his. How could he just believe I would throw that away? That I faked it for all those years?
“What was I supposed to think? After what you said to me?”
“I did that to protect you!” I screeched. Calax, on the opposite side of the room, looked as if he wanted to run towards me, but Asher held him back.
“I didn’t know that.” Declan’s movements turned jerky, his agitation reflected in his sign language.
I didn’t know what to do. One part of me wanted to burrow myself inside of Declan, to relish in the familiarity of my best friend, while another part of me wanted to run in the opposite direction.
Despite my outburst, I knew my anger wasn’t directed at him but at myself.
It occurred to me suddenly that Declan hadn’t escaped the accident unscathed. He lost something when the truck came barreling toward him, more than just a pathetic friend. He lost his hearing.
It was all my fault.
I had felt guilty before, every day since Ducky’s accident, but this was a different type. This was something physical, something I could reach out and touch. Seeing Declan now, his attention riveted on my lips as he read my words, I wanted to cry.
Scream.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68 (Reading here)
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95