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His grandfather would be the nicest person in the world one day, then the next, would send fly into a rage, and Bodhi and Ravi would take the brunt of the abuse.
Bodhi had never learned anything from him except how to be anxious and afraid.
“I can’t understand you,” he signed.
Both of them stared at him with open disgust.
“Speak,” his grandmother ordered.
He blinked at her. “No,” he signed back.
“Speak!” she shouted, her tone tense and almost hysterical. He heard her that time. “I don’t…doing…the…brother!”
He was almost delighted to know that he’d missed out on most of what she was saying, and that he didn’t care. He was tempted to keep signing, but what he wanted was for them to leave, and he had to use his voice to do it.
“Get out,” he voiced.
They might as well have turned into statues for how still they went. His grandfather ran his hand around his mouth as he spoke again, and for whatever reason, Bodhi started laughing and couldn’t stop. He could hear them both shouting at him as he fell onto his side, and he covered his face with both hands.
“…stoned! Do…drugs, Bodhi!”
Ah. Well, he supposed that made sense. They thought he was high. That made him giggle even harder.
He dropped his hands and stared at her, feelingactuallyhigh from the endorphin rush—and the fact that he wasn’t afraid. He probably would be later. He’d have a delayed reaction full of old childhood trauma, but for now, he felt…
Brave.
And powerful.
“Get out,” he voiced again.
“Bodhi!”
He sat up and swung his legs over the bed. He didn’t trust himself to stand, but he folded his arms and fixed them with a glower. “I don’t know what you want because I can’t understand you when you speak.”
“…you…hearing…on.”
Hearing aids, he assumed.
“No,” he said. “You have no right to be here and I’m going to text the campus police if you don’t leave.”
“Who…think you are?” his grandmother demanded.
Well. He understoodthat. He tried not to laugh again, but he was unable to stop a small giggle from escaping as he reached for his phone. He pulled up the emergency app that allowed Deaf students to text campus services for emergencies.
Bodhi: I have trespassers in my dorm. Jacobs building, room 27D.
He dropped his phone and offered them a small smile. “You have no right to be here.”
“Last night…called. Your brother…emergency…”
He waved her off. “He’s fine.”
“Where is he?” she asked very slowly.
He shrugged and signed, “I don’t know. Probably still at urgent care but it’s not your business.”
“Bodhi!”
