They sign about making plans, but I’m not paying attention. I’m still caught up thinking about yesterday. Maybe I should text Jackson.
Shay nudges me. “What’s going on with you?”
I take a deep breath, knowing my story is dramatic. “I ran into my ex.”
All three of them wince in response and drop what they were doing.
“From Brandview?” Shay asks. “Where did you see him?”
“The football game.” I pull up the article about Cody on my phone again. It’s just as self-serving as I remembered. I hand it over to her, making a sour face. “He’s their special player now. Thinks he’s the shit.”
“Is he the only Deaf there?” Izzy asks.
“Probably getting a bunch of hearing girls because they think he’s all quiet and mysterious,” Shay signs.
“I don’t know if he’s the only one, but with the hearing girls, yeah, that seems like it.” I’m really worked up recounting all of this. “I mean, this girl was kissing him, then just watching us have an argument in sign and looking like”—I angle my shoulders to role-shift and sign from the girl’s perspective—“ ‘Oh, how cool.’ ”
“Ridiculous,” Izzy signs.
“This is that guy who dumped you over FaceTime?” Alex asks.
I scrunch my nose. “The very same.”
“Wait, who did you go to the football game with?” Shay asks. “Not the guy you ran off with at the 5K?”
Holding the back of my hand up to my face to sign my frustration, I make my eyes go wide. “And I messed that up now.” I don’t want to go into the specifics. “Plus, when I got home from the trip, my parents were the worst, as always. I really, really hate living at home again.”
Shay purses her lips in contemplation. “Do you want to move out?”
“Absolutely.” I shake my head. I’ve dreamt of moving out ever since I got back and had to make myself at home in my sister’s room. “But I have nowhere else to go.”
“We were just talking about renting a place near ACC.” Alex looks toward Izzy. “And you and I would share a room?”
“Right.” Izzy nods, reaching for her phone to find pictures. “It’s a three-bedroom house.”
“Yeah, we need someone for the last room,” Shay signs to me. “I didn’t realize you needed a place.” She turns for unanimous approval from the others. “It’s yours if you want it!”
I could move out. I don’t have to live at my parents’ to finish out the year at Amber. This would make life so much easier.
“Yes.” I don’t need to consider it a minute longer. “One hundred percent yes.”
“Deaf house!” Alex adds a flourish of applause.
Izzy shows us the rental listing for a cute little house less than a mile from the community college. It has super outdated appliances, a splintering porch, and a small backyard with patchy, browned grass. To me, it’s perfect.
But I hesitate when Shay shows me the monthly rent. “It would be split cost?”
“Yeah.” Shay nods. “You can have a roommate for your room if you want. Since Izzy and Alex will have the main bedroom with their bathroom, you and I would share the hallway bathroom. I’m fine with another person sharing that bathroom, too.”
“Okay-okay.” Even though I have absolutely no idea who I could possibly room with. Or how big of a fit my parents will throw when they find out I want to move. They only just got me back home, but it’s their fault that I want to leave. “When do you need to know?”
“The owner said we can tour next week,” Izzy signs with a shrug. “And if we like it, sign the lease a few days later.”
All right, so not much time to find a job and a roommate. Or at least a job that pays well.
“I’ll figure it out, for sure.” I take a sip of coffee, the plan already taking shape in my head, though I’m not sure how quickly it couldall come together. I try not to seem too emotional when I share my gratitude. “I’m so lucky to have found you all.”
Izzy waves her hands toward the others excitedly, as if recalling something. “I was just saying the other day how you fit into the group so easily.”
