Chapter 6

My body was a battlefield. Every muscle screamed in protest, every bone ached with a dull, throbbing pain. I lay curled at the bottom of the embankment, the cold rain washing over me, the terrifying silence my only companion. He had left me. Jermain. The man who had promised to be my shield. He had abandoned me to the storm, to my fears, to the crushing silence.

I screamed his name again, a silent, futile cry. My vocal cords worked, but I heard nothing. Only the deafening roar of my own despair. I tried to push myself up, but my body refused to obey. He was gone. A flickering shadow, swallowed by the darkness.

Then, mercifully, blackness.

I woke to blurry figures, their mouths moving, vague sounds reaching me like static on a distant radio. The world was still mostly silent. Later, I learned they were rescue workers. I had a concussion, a sprained ankle, and countless bruises. My sensory aids were nowhere to be found.

The hospital room was sterile, white, and suffocatingly quiet. The days blurred into weeks, a haze of painkillers and fitful sleep. My family sat by my bedside, their lips moving, their hands holding mine, their faces etched with worry and unspoken grief. I learned that Cheri was completely unharmed. Of course.

Jermain tried to visit. Many times. My family, their faces grim, turned him away. I saw him once, through the cracked-open door, his face pale, his eyes haunted. He tried to speak, to gesture, an unspoken plea for understanding. I turned my head, my gaze fixed on the blank white wall. I had nothing left to say to him. Nothing left to feel.

Weeks later, he tried again. A long, rambling text message to my parents, an elaborate excuse for his actions. They read it to me, their voices strained with a mixture of anger and weariness.

He claimed panic. Cheri's screams. A "reflexive" reaction. He swore he' d come back for me, but got lost in the storm. It was all a lie. A flimsy, transparent shield for his cowardice. He was still avoiding responsibility.

I listened, my face devoid of emotion. When they finished, I simply typed a single word on my phone. "No."

My family understood. They contacted Jermain's parents, demanding he cease all attempts at communication. I deleted him from my social media, changed my phone number. I asked my friends not to share any information about me. The cut was clean. Absolute.

I craved a new life. A new identity. A voice that was truly my own. My family, seeing the fierce resolve in my eyes, supported me unconditionally. Secretly, they arranged for me to apply to a prestigious arts conservatory abroad. A place that valued individuality, that saw my speech impediment not as a defect, but as a unique aspect of my identity.

The paperwork was handled swiftly. Acceptance. Departure. I felt a lightness I hadn't known in years, a profound sense of liberation. I was shedding the suffocating skin of my past, ready to sculpt a future where I was no longer a burden, no longer "damaged goods," but a powerful, independent artist.

Meanwhile, Jermain's world was slowly crumbling. He was a ghost, haunting the empty spaces I had left behind. He stared at my vacant seat in class, at the silent stage where we once performed. He sent countless texts, emails, desperate pleas for forgiveness, explanations that never reached me. He drafted long, rambling letters, confessing his fears, his insecurities, his profound regret.

He imagined me reading them, finally understanding, finally returning to him. He was convinced I would come back. Our bond, he believed, was unbreakable. He checked his phone every hour, waiting for a message that never came. He drove past my house every day, hoping for a glimpse, a sign. He rehearsed elaborate speeches, apologies, carefully crafted words that would win me back. He even bought a small, intricately carved wooden bird, a peace offering.

He waited outside my house for hours, soaked to the bone, teeth chattering, but still stubbornly clinging to hope.

Then, my family's car pulled into the driveway. His heart leaped. This was his chance. He moved forward, ready to beg.

But then, a familiar figure stepped out of the car with them: Dr. Evans. She was talking to my parents, her voice low and serious. And then he heard it, a terrible, crushing blow. "Elia's transfer to the conservatory has been finalized. She left this morning."

Jermain's world stopped.