fragile [PREVIEW ONLY]

Chapter 14

The next day at school, I tried (read: failed) not to think about Theo. The evening before, I decided that he must have had some kind of family emergency that explained his behavior in the morning and his disappearance in the afternoon. It made sense, really. Maybe his grandma died or something, and he was upset about it. Understandably. Regardless, it was none of my business, and I wasn't about to ask him about it.

After my third period AP Economics class ended, I grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder to leave the classroom. The hallway was crowded with hordes of gossiping teenagers moving like a herd of cattle through the tiny space, so I took a deep breath before stepping into the masses.

A hand grabbed my elbow, tugging me backward and throwing me off-balance, so I tumbled to the side before I could right myself. In the blink of an eye, I prepared myself for the fall that never came. A warm arm was wrapped around my waist, and I took a deep breath before turning to face the owner of the arm.

"Hey," Theo said, smiling as my eyes grew wide in recognition.

Smiling back at him, I lifted my free hand and gave him a small wave of my hand to sign 'hello'.

"Sorry," he told me, speaking slow enough for me to read his lips without being obnoxious. "I didn't mean to scare you."

I raised an eyebrow, still holding my breath from the fact that his arm was still tightly wound around my waist, and pointed at my back pocket where my trusty purple notebook was stored. Theo picked up on my question of whether or not he had time to "chat", so I reached back and slid out the notebook along with a pen and smiled at him.

He moved his arm while I did so, slowly taking a step back so there was more of a normal distance between us, and I resisted the urge to take a step closer to him once more. His arm had been warm around my waist, his presence steadying, and - to be honest - I'd never been that close to a guy before, let alone a guy like Theo. Every bit of him invaded my senses, and I could still smell the hint of cologne lingering in the air between us.

Don't worry about it, I wrote on the notebook. My balance is pretty terrible, so a three-year-old could easily knock me over.

It's true. I'm not one of those cute and clumsy girls you read about in stories, like Bella in Twilight who would constantly trip over a twig on the floor and practically break her neck. In fact, I spend a lot of time doing yoga in my bedroom in an attempt to work on my coordination, but the sad fact of the matter is that my deafness has messed up my equilibrium enough that I can't help it. I hate it, but I couldn't help but notice that Theo seemed to think it was pretty funny.

"That bad, huh?" He replied with a smirk, the corner of his mouth tugging upward in a hidden smile.

I glared at him, and he raised his hands in defeat.

"Okay, okay," Theo said. He tucked his hands in his pocket, glancing at the floor before continuing, "I, um..."

Watching him carefully, I waited for his next words. When in conversation, I'd gotten pretty good about staying focused - you can't really let your mind wander until you hear someone talking when you can't hear. Instead, I have to keep my eyes glued to their lips in case I miss something.

In that moment, I completely blanked. Something about staring at Theo De Vries lips completely threw me off in the most cliched way, and I didn't realize that he had spoken until his hand brushed mine sending a ripple of electricity up my arm.

"You okay?" He asked, his face marked with concern.

I nodded, inwardly slapping myself for being so stupid. Getting distracted by Theo's lips? One, c'mon. I wasn't that kind of girl. Two, even if I was, the chances of him being interested in me are slim to none. It's not that I'm horrible looking - I'm no model, but I think I look decent - but, in my experience, not many high school boys are interested in deaf girls.

Except assholes like Zach and his friends who want nothing but sex.

"I wanted to apologize for yesterday," he told me. "I didn't mean to brush you off, I just...I wasn't having the best day, and I let it get the best of me."

He was apologizing for that? Really?

I was surprised that he would take the time to find me in the hallway to apologize for yesterday's encounter, but I couldn't help but be pleased that he did. After getting ignored by so many of my peers, it's kind of nice to have someone treat me like a human being again.

It's nothing, I scribbled on the paper, showing it to him.

The bell rang, or at least I assumed it rang considering the number of students in the hallway just halved in the last five seconds. Theo sighed, his shoulders dropping at the sound, and I definitely felt the same way. I wasn't a fan of school, but I also wasn't a fan of being late to class.

Smiling at him, I pointed at my ear then to the ceiling indicating the bell, then I tucked my notebook back in my pocket. We always got a warning bell, meaning I had less than a minute to get to my creative writing class. I watched Theo for a second, both of us waiting for the other to do or say something to end the conversation, before nodding and taking a step backward to turn away from him.

His hand snaked out, grasping my wrist, and I turned back to face him. With his right hand, he raised his fist in front of his face - opening it up so his fingers flared out in the number five with his palm facing him - and moved it in a clockwise circle around his facial features before dropping it to his side.

Stunned, I stared at him for a split second as he smiled, released my wrist, and turned away from me to go to class.

Beautiful.

Theo De Vries just told me I was beautiful in sign language.

Hey friends,

Unfortunately, I've switched Fragile to a preview only. However, the ebook is completely FREE everywhere ebooks are sold. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple iBooks (yep! Get a copy on your phone!), or the Google Play store.

Thanks for your love and support! Please consider downloading a free copy, as it helps my career more than you could imagine.

Much love,
Jandra