AFTERMATH

Chapter 3

I woke up with my body aching and half-dressed; Kameron slept beside me, shirtless. I rolled over, squinting at the clock on the bedside table; it was three in the morning. Kameron shifted, but he did nothing else, telling me he was still asleep. I grabbed my phone off the bedside table, face down, but it turned on as I turned it towards me. I thought, why did we drive two thousand miles to Arizona to stay in a hotel? I wondered if we were staying in this hotel or if we would do something besides going to the Grand Canyon, which we did yesterday.

A shadow moved as soft light from the lamppost outside gently shone through the curtains. I cursed at myself since I forgot to leave a little bit of light in the room, so I had some sense of my surroundings and stayed relaxed. At first, I questioned if Kameron had gotten out of bed, but he slept soundly. Someone else was in the room! I grabbed my phone, turned on the light, then shone it into the person's face. Realizing it was my dad, I quickly turned off the light as he beckoned me to join him. After feeling around with my hand, I grabbed and put on my pink bathrobe. Afterward, I clutched my dad’s hand, then together, we walked into the lit hallway. "SORRY. I DID NOT MEAN SCARE YOU, L-E-X-I.” Dad signed, smiling a little, “I HEARD YOU AWAKE. I NEED TO TALK, BUT WE BUSY YESTERDAY.” We quietly walked to the lobby and sat on a leather couch where I joined him.

“IT THREE IN MORNING YOU COULD NOT SLEEP EITHER.” I sighed, “YOU WANT TALK, RIGHT?”

Dad nodded, “Michael told me you weren't using sign language as much, so I was wondering if—”

I put a hand up stopping him, “Don't ask, the answer is no, and it will never change. Being deaf is who I am.” I sighed, turning away. Why is he asking that question? Because I use sign language less? That doesn't mean I don't want to be deaf or at least hear a little. I don't want to hear. I felt a hand on my shoulder, making me jump again, so I turned around and saw Dad sign sorry.

The look on his face made it seem like he cared, so I said it was fine. Dad hugged me and walked back to his hotel room. I walked outside and sat down on the top step, staring at the stars. An hour passed before I finally felt tired again, so I padded back to our room in my socks. Kameron was awake when I entered, and he sat on the couch reading a book called SAS Survival Handbook by the lamplight. “Hey babe,” he said once I looked at him, “what were you doing out?”

“Dad heard I was awake, and he wanted to talk to me. We didn't want to wake anyone, so we moved quietly to the lobby.” I sighed, “Did I wake you? It's four in the morning... You should be asleep.”

“I should be asleep,” Kameron asked, laughing. I could tell with his smile and chest and shoulders moving.

“What about you, my love?” I smiled, and grabbed his hand, making him put down the book as I pulled him toward the bed.

I began kissing my boyfriend's neck as he took off my bathrobe. Now I only wore the pajama shirt reaching past my knees. Kameron kissed my lips softly, and he sometimes nipped my nose, making me giggle. Soon, I fell asleep again, but this time I used his chest as a pillow. I found his chest moving up and down and the rhythmic thud of his heart relaxing. With Kameron's arms wrapped around my waist, we snoozed until morning.

****

The clock read 10:00am the next time I woke up. At that moment, I remembered today was Independence Day, the 4th of July. Maybe we were staying in the hotel until the 4th of July. I got up, took a shower, then got dressed in a blue and red 4th of July dress sprinkled with white stars. Kameron tied the red ribbon and helped me do the half-up, half-down braid, which he happily did after he brushed my hair. Kameron did nothing with his hair, which was normal for him because the way his hair was cut, it always looked great.

After we got ready, we met my family out in the hallway. Mom wore her blondish-gray hair in a double-twisted ponytail with a red hair clip to hold back her bangs. She wore a white shirt and blue jeans which made her look twenty-seven and not forty-nine. Michael's hair was down, he looked like Cisco Ramon from The Flash, but with blonde hair. I told him, and he looked away, probably embarrassed, but I couldn’t tell.

“WHAT WE DOING FOR FOURTH?” I signed, hoping no one in my family would say something like, “I thought you weren't using sign language anymore.”

“WE WILL PROBABLY WATCH 4TH JULY PARADE FIREWORKS,” Mom signed and said. “K-A-M-E-R-O-N WILL PROBABLY MAKE LUNCH BEFOREHAND, SO WE CAN HAVE A PICNIC.”

“SOUNDS GREAT,” I signed as Kameron slipped his hand into mine, gently squeezing it.

I turned to Kameron and signed with my back to the others, “THANK YOU FOR LAST NIGHT.”

“NO PROBLEM,” Kameron signed back with a twinkle in his hazel eyes. Mom, Dad, and Michael got into their black van while Kameron and I got into Kameron's silver car. We followed my parents' van to the center of Arizona City. I couldn't stay focused at all. My head kept replaying scenes with Kameron last night; my parents had said Kameron and I moved too fast in the past, but we'd been dating for four, almost five years.

When we arrived in the town square, there were already hundreds of people there. I perceived the excessive vibrations from the lively conversations and festive music. Michael instantly covered his ears, but he quickly signed, “YOU LUCKY, L-E-X-I. YOU CANNOT HEAR ALL THIS NOISE.” Then he pressed his hands over his ears again.

I glared fiercely at him, “I CANNOT HEAR IT, BUT I FEEL VIBRATIONS. IT LIKE MY CHEST BEING BEATEN WITH A HAMMER.”

My concerned parents stared at me, but I merely waved my hand like I was swatting away a fly. This was my way of telling my parents it was all right, not to worry about me, and to have fun. We stood near the road since some brown-haired man in his thirties had asked us if he could trade spots so he could talk with some young red-haired girl. I guessed it was his daughter or a friend's daughter or his sister.

“WHEN PARADE START,” Michael signed so swiftly I only caught the first part before he clasped his hands over his ears again. I glanced at him and saw tears streaming down his super-pale face. His hands were white, pressing against his ears hard. When he signed, his hands shook, and only I noticed.

Mom said the parade would start soon after turning toward us. “IT WILL BE FUN,” but I instantly understood why Michael asked. I signed the reason for my mother before asking if I had permission to take my younger brother somewhere quiet. Mom only nodded and told Dad where we were going; Kameron stayed with my parents to watch the parade while agreeing to record it for Michael and me. Dad told us to meet them back here after this was finished, and he texted to tell us. I knew Michael had phonophobia, a fear of loud noises, and I was the only one who knew that. Michael never told me, but I figured it out after living with my brother for several years. It genuinely surprised me when he said nothing about going to view the parade or the fireworks. I guess he didn't want Mom and Dad to know about his fear of loud sounds. Michael and I walked far from the festivities and once we did, he hugged and thanked me.

At some point, while easing out of the embrace with my brother, something in the air shifted, followed by a terrible, unnatural, and hot gust of wind. My normal life would be forever changed.