Page 83 of Miguel
I frowned at her choice of words. “Is he bothering you? Because I–”
She huffed out a breath and made a face. “He’s just so… persistent.”
“Has he hurt you? Made you feel unsafe?”
She waved those words off. “No, no, no. None of that. He’s just so determined to have me, and I don’t know how to feel about it.” She stared back at Mayan with unabashed curiosity. Like he was a puzzle she couldn’t quite figure out how the pieces fit together.
I breathed a sigh of relief and my lips lifted. “I think I know what you mean.”
If Mayan was anything like Miguel, I was sure they’d be wrapped up in each other in no time. I tried not to laugh at Desiree’s rigid posture. She was a harder nut to crack than I was, and I was sure Mayan was doing everything he could to break down those defenses of hers.
I’d never seen her with a love interest before. She’d never even displayed an interest inanyone, but seeing the way her feathers ruffled at the sight of Mayan by the grill made me want to laugh.
“Shut up,” she huffed, shoving me in the arm as she looked away from Mayan. Her eyes caught on someone and she gestured in that direction with her chin before signing, “Zeke is coming this way.”
I blinked twice at her signing. At the zig-zag of the letter Z combined with gentle gestures.
I echoed the sign back at her, the question in my eyes obvious.
She smiled. “Zeke’s sign name,” she elaborated.
Tears pricked behind my eyelids at the obvious love and acceptance with which she had made those delicate gestures. In the way that her eyes warmed as she took him in.
Sign names were an important part of Deaf culture and only someone who was a part of the community could assign one. It was a unique part of the person, often mirroring a feature, characteristic, or even a personality trait. Zeke was a part of this culture. This would be part of his identity. This was his future and it warmed me to know that Zeke was being accepted into the community that would play an integral role in the rest of his life.
I bit back my emotions, sniffling as I turned and caught sight of Zeke from across the crowded yard. He was walking in my direction with a wide smile on his face. I went to meet him halfway but we never made it to one another.
Because at the moment, an explosion rocked the earth. The ground trembled. Blood sprayed.
And absolute chaos ensued.
Chapter Thirty
Miguel
Iglaredatthehearing aid left on the table.
“Fucking shit.”
My gaze darted around, but I didn’t catch sight of Zeke. Something in my chest tightened, something that felt like panic. I tried to keep my eyes on Zeke when we were here. He still didn’t know how to fully sign. We kept papers with hand signs taped to things, not only to help him, but to teach everyone else here to communicate with him. Still, I didn’t want him hiding and unable to hear, or some accident happening where he couldn’t call for help.
Fuck.
I pulled out my phone and signed onto the hearing aid app and powered up the GPS. Both aids connected directly to my phone so I could track them at any time.
Chema had told me about it. After showing my hermanos how the aids worked, he’d deep-dived into research about them, found the program online, and had set it up for me.
While the app powered up, I grabbed the aid and put it in its case before pocketing it.
My gaze scanned the yard while the app on my phone loaded. Lorena was next to Desiree over in a corner. I hadn’t known her friend was coming. It seemed as though Mayan had been busy wooing her into our fold. My gaze bounced from face to face, passing over Ink and Xiomara practically devouring each other at a lone table.
“Do you see Zeke?” I asked Loco.
“No.”
“Fuck!”
“Relax, Migue.” Cubano clapped me on the back. “You’re too fuckin’ serious. I’m sure he’s fine.”
