Chapter 7
When I was 14, I lost my hearing on the final stage of a national music competition.
My mom gave me a seashell she had found when I was a kid.
She used to listen to the sound inside the shell and dream of escaping the mountains.
She held the shell to my ear and, trying not to cry, said, “Baby, do you hear it? It’s the sound of the ocean.
“You have to study hard and get into a good college, so you can go see the ocean one day, okay?”
She was trying to give me something to dream about, to bring me back to life.
But I said, “Mom, I can’t hear.”
She had been scammed. The expensive hearing aid was a waste.
For me, my mom ended up with Caroline’s dad.
She had no status and lived under his roof.
Caroline hated me, but she hated my mom even more.
She knocked over the soup my mom had worked so hard to make, scalding her arm with blisters, and then laughed it off with an apology. “Sorry, my hand slipped.”
Then she turned to the servants. “This bitch sells her body. She should see how dirty she is. Even the soup smells bad. It’s disgusting!”
My mom could hear Caroline, but she pretended not to for my sake.
She tried to be nice to Caroline and humbled herself to serve Caroline’s
dad.
One day, Caroline humiliated my mom in front of the whole class.
I grabbed a dictionary and lunged at her.
Caroline, now injured, had her friends grab me and push me into the lake in winter.
I didn’t die, but my ears got damaged from the cold, and my hearing aid
was useless.
My usually gentle mom got mad. She broke through the crowd, slammed. Caroline against the wall, and slapped her while pulling her hair.
Then, like being shot, she collapsed.
My mom was dead, killed by a sudden heart attack.
That day, Caroline took away my mom and my last hope of hearing.
When I got to the building of Caroline’s agency, a bunch of reporters suddenly surrounded me with their cameras.
“Copycat! You’re deaf, but you still copy other people’s songs. How shameless!”
I stood there stunned, getting pushed around, and the medicine I was. carrying spilled all over the ground.
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Suddenly, the crowd parted to make a way.
Caroline walked in. her eyes glistening with tears. “Everyone, please don’t blame Vanessa. With hearing issues, she had no choice but to steal my sheet music.
“Vanessa, here’s the seashell Mom gave you. Don’t lose it again.”
She reached out her hand.
I didn’t care about anything else. I struggled with all my might to break. free.
“Don’t give it to her. She doesn’t deserve it!”
Caroline’s assistant grabbed the seashell and threw it at me, smashing it against my head.
I watched helplessly as the seashell fell, now stained with my blood, and shattered into pieces.
I thought about how, even when my mom was dying, she couldn’t stop worrying about me. She said, “Baby, you have to live on.
“There will come a day when your ears will be fixed.
“All the things I want to tell you are inside that seashell. You have to wait for that day.”
My ears were fixed, and I was about to hear again. So why?!
I lost it and started punching and kicking everyone around me.
As soon as I broke free, I lunged at Caroline and grabbed her collar.
I screamed like crazy, “Give the seashell back! I’m about to hear again. I
Chapter 7
can hear my mom talking! Give it back!”
My voice sounded weird, and no one could understand me.
All they saw was me crying like I had lost my mind.
Right in front of me, Caroline had a fake smile on her face.
She mouthed silently, “Serves you right.”
I swung my fist, but someone grabbed my wrist.
Caroline hugged the person next to me and pointed at me, acting all wronged. “Trevor, you’re finally here. Vanessa copied my song and tried to get back at me by killing me!”
Trevor pulled her into his arms, his face fierce and protective. “Don’t be afraid. With me here, no one will hurt you.”
He turned his head, looking angry, and froze when he saw me.
He signed, “What are you doing here? Who hurt you? Did you copy Caroline’s song?”
I stared at him, my eyes red, not believing he was questioning me.
Trevor avoided my gaze.
He turned to the reporters behind me and growled, “Get lost! Whoever reports on this can forget about their career!”
The crowd dispersed. Caroline clung to Trevor, cooing, “Trevor, make Vanessa apologize. And that earring should be returned to me.”
I sneered, took off the earring, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it a few times. I pointed at the shattered pieces. “Caroline, if you love it so
Chapp
much, come pick it up from under my feet.”
Trevor’s face darkened as he studied my expression.
Behind him. Caroline poked her head out and yelled at me, “What are you so proud of? Il Trevor and I hadn’t fought back then, he wouldn’t have got close to you to make me jealous!”
I looked up at Trevor
He pursed his lips and made a soft sound, like he was saying, “Yeah.”
So even our first meeting was just a side story in someone else’s life.
The past ten years were so absurd that it made me laugh.
I laughed as I picked up the seashell from the ground.
The next second, Trevor’s face changed. He pushed Caroline aside.
He bent down and grabbed my shoulder hard. “You can hear now, can’t
you?”
It hurt. My forehead, bruised from the hit, throbbed, and my shoulder ached from Trevor’s grip.
Something warm was flowing from my ear.
“Get away! Don’t touch me!”
Trevor narrowed his eyes. His hand trembled as he touched my earlobe, his voice shaking. “Vanessa, your car is bleeding.
“Why? Don’t close your eyes. Talk to me!”
He watched as the blood from my car soaked his palm.
He picked me up in his arms, his voice filled with a panic I didn’t
understand. “Quick! To the hospital!”
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