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Adelina rolls her eyes. “Sure. You just keep telling yourself that.”
“Enough, you two,” I jokily scold. “Let’s get back to the lesson. Pia is graciously teaching us sign language. Let’s respect that.”
“How did you learn sign language anyway?” Serafina asks Pia.
I had to learn on my own,she signs.
“Sorry. Still don’t know it very well.”
I translate for Pia. “She said she had to learn it on her own.”
Serafina looks Pia over in a new light. “Oh. How come no one taught you?”
My father kept me locked up. Remember?
After I translate again, Serafina nods. “Right. Sorry.”
“Yeah, sometimes Serafina can be a little insensitive,” Adelina says pointedly.
“Hey, I’m just asking questions here. Is that a crime?”
“It is when you’re being rude,” Adelina shoots back.
I’m fine answering,Pia signs.I’ve been mute for most of my life. If I hadn’t learned how to sign, then no one would be able to understand me.
Adelina shakes her head. “That’s so sad.”
“So, you weren’t always mute?” Serafina asks. “You could talk at one point.”
Pia nods. I squeeze her waist, letting her know she doesn’t have to answer if she doesn’t want to. Whenever the subject of Pia’s past comes up, she tends to shut down and direct the conversation to something else. I know it must not have been easy being locked up most of her life, so I get why she’d want to avoid it.
“So, what happened?” Serafina continues. “What made you mute?”
Pia pauses, ducking her head.
I’m honestly curious to know the answer, too, but I don’t want her to push herself.
Something terrible happened,she signs.
My chest constricts. “What?” I ask gently.
She sighs, lifts her head, and looks directly into my eyes. I can sense she’s come to some kind of decision. She lifts her hands.
But before she can tell me, a booming crash comes from the foyer.
I jerk on instinct. Everyone else freezes. I don’t have my favorite gun on me. I left it upstairs in my bedroom. There are guns all around my house, but none are within my reach right now.
“What was that?” Serafina asks, clinging to Adelina.
I hold up a finger to silence her. “Stay here,” I whisper, stepping toward the doorway. Pia scrambles up and grabs my arm, shaking her head. She doesn’t want me to go out there. I cover her hand with mine, hoping that it provides her some small, but then I grip her hand harder and take it off my arm. I motion for her to sit on the couch and wait.
She shakes her head.
I sigh. “Pia, please. I’ll be safe.”
She searches my eyes for a moment, and upon finding her answer, she inhales shakily before nodding and taking her place next to my sisters.
I edge toward the doorway, keeping my footsteps light. As I get closer to the foyer, I hear the sound of someone grumbling.
