How the hell do I get Elena to forgive me?
To move forward without the pain eating her alive?
I didn’t want her recoiling every time I touched her, I didn’t want her haunted by my mistake, and I sure as hell didn’t want her leaving me.
Not now. Not ever. Because she was it. The only one.
CHAPTER 11
Elena
I still remember it clearly. The day, the hour, even the second when I became certain Adrian wasthe onefor me. We had only been dating for a year, when love began to shift from thrilling intensity into something calmer, warmer, and quietly certain.
We had planned a trip to Florida during our work leave. A vacation, technically, but also something more. Adrian had never met my parents before, and I wanted him to. I needed him to understand where I came from, who shaped me. I had told him early on that I was CODA (Child of Deaf Adult). That my mother couldn’t hear. That communication in my family looked a little different. He listened, asked a few questions, and said nothing more.
When we landed, my parents were waiting near baggage claim. My mother spotted us first, her face lighting up the second she saw me. She pulled me into a tight hug, the kind that made the world disappear for a moment. I hugged her back just as hard, breathing her in, grounding myself in something familiar. My father wrapped an arm around us both, squeezing my shoulder gently, his presence warm and steady as ever.
I turned to introduce Adrian, but he stepped forward before I could say a word.
He smiled at her and signed,“Hello. My name is Adrian. Nice to meet you.”
I froze.
My mother’s eyes widened in shock before she broke into the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face. Her hands moved quickly as she signed back, excited, almost disbelieving.
“You sign?”she asked.
Adrian nodded, a little shy.“Yes. I’ve been learning.”
I stared at him, my heart pounding. “You... you know sign language?” I whispered.
He glanced at me, almost sheepish. “Yeah. I took an ASL course.”
“For how long?” I asked.
“Almost six months.”
Six months.
For a moment, I couldn’t say anything. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shrugged lightly, like it was nothing. “I wanted it to be right. I wanted to be able to talk to her myself.”
My mother signed again, slower this time.“When did you learn?”
Adrian answered honestly.“After Elena told me about you. I wanted to learn everything about her. About her family.”
My heart skipped, then raced, overwhelmed by something warm and unexpected. When he started those classes, we had only been dating for a few months. Long before promises or certainty, even before forever was a word we dared to say out loud.
I turned to him, eyes burning. “That’s... that’s the most meaningful thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
He laughed softly, nervous. “I just thought, if I’m serious about you, this matters.”
I didn’t think. I didn’t hesitate.
“I love you,” I said, the words spilling out before I could stop them. “I love you so much, Adrian.”
He blinked, clearly startled. Then he laughed again, softer this time. “I love you too, Elena,” he said.
