Fractured Silence (Sounds of Silence #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

What the heck…? Evan Jameson stamped his foot while throwing a spoon at his roommate’s head. Adam Clarke looked up and scowled.

What was that for? Adam signed in American Sign Language.

Holding up the sheet of paper that announced their eviction from their shared apartment, Evan glared. Evicted? What for? We paid the rent for July on time. I brought the check over to the rental office myself.

It says on the paper.

Adam turned away and Evan growled, the sound vibrating in his throat.

Reading wasn’t his thing. Glancing at the sheet in his hand, the word “fire” jumped out.

He threw another utensil since Adam didn’t seem to want to have this conversation.

That was a benefit of being deaf: ignoring other people.

Not so great when you were the one trying to get the attention.

Fire? You had a fire here? We don’t have a fireplace.

We were trying to grill some burgers. Adam’s mouth twisted, and his eyes rolled up.

We don’t have a grill either. Where did you try to cook?

Adam smirked. We used a toolbox with some wood inside out on the porch.

Evan closed his eyes and let his head drop. How idiotic could he be?

This building is over a hundred years old. What the heck were you thinking? The place could have gone up in flames in seconds.

The smirk stayed put. Yeah, that’s what the manager said. He wasn’t too pleased, especially since all the smoke alarms went off. ‘Course, I didn’t hear them.

His stupid roommate was resorting to deaf humor. Seriously? He should ring his neck.

Where the heck are we supposed to move to? The rent in this place was locked in for the next three years. We won’t find any place cheaper than this.

Adam shrugged. Maybe mooch off my parents for a while.

Shaking his head, Evan signed, You hate your parents and haven’t talked to them in forever.

The smirk transitioned into a scowl. Yeah, because they’re tools who never even learned to speak my language.

You suddenly have a desire to hang around them? I can’t believe you did this. Got us kicked out of the apartment.

Adam waved his hand like he was shooing a fly. We’ll find another one. My parents owe me at least a month or two of sleeping on their couch.

How could he be so casual? Evan stomped his foot on the floor for effect. I’m not sleeping on their couch. What am I supposed to do?

Your parents still have your old room set up, don’t they?

I’m twenty-eight. I’m not moving back in with my parents, even for a few days. He was beginning to think he didn’t want to move back in with Adam again at all. This wasn’t the first bonehead stunt he’d pulled in the two years they’d lived together.

As he glanced around at his dive of an apartment, Evan wondered if he should try and talk the manager into letting him stay if Adam moved out.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford the rent by himself.

Medford was too close to Boston, and the rents were sky high, even in dumpy places like this one.

The other major issue? The manager never understood what he said, because his voice wasn’t clear.

He could write a note with his request, but his writing was worse than his reading, and he wasn’t certain he could plead his case effectively.

Would Mercedes write a note for him? His sister’s roommate had helped him in the past with reading and writing stuff, though she had no idea how horrible his skills were. He’d hidden that his whole life.

She’d be at the party tonight to celebrate Blake and Carli’s engagement.

He could mention it and see what she said.

Thank God she was fluent in ASL. Maybe he could even get her to talk to the manager for him.

She was gorgeous with her tousled curls, expressive gray eyes, and amber skin tone.

She might be able to convince him to let Evan stay.

But then he’d still need a roommate to help split the cost. Too bad he couldn’t find a rich doctor from a wealthy family like his sister had.

Evan threw another glare at Adam, then headed to the shower.

His work on the crew for the highway construction left him filthy at the end of the day.

He’d been on the front loader today, moving large chunks of concrete around.

There were times he honestly wondered what the plan was for these roads.

Seemed they dug them up, then covered them again, only to dig them up once more.

Whatever. It was job security, and he’d been able to stash away a small nest egg with the overtime money.

Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to use it for another apartment.

If he couldn’t get someone to sweet talk the manager into letting him stay, he’d have to fork out first, last, and a security deposit for another apartment.

Chances were he and Adam wouldn’t be getting their security deposit back from this place.

If the worst came about, could he convince Carli and Blake to let him bunk in their spare room for a while?

Would he want to? Blake had a high-end condo in the Back Bay, and it wouldn’t be a hardship to live there.

Except there was no street parking at times and Blake only had a one-car garage, which he used for his fancy vehicle.

Not to mention, his sister and her fiancé would be all lovey dovey now that they were engaged. The last thing he wanted was to interrupt the happy couple or keep them from being together.

Funny how a few months ago he’d had a different opinion.

He hadn’t been Blake’s biggest fan, but that was mostly because the man was hearing and wealthy.

Sour grapes and envy didn’t mix together too well.

Yet the man had specifically sought Evan out for help winning Carli back after doing some bonehead stuff.

Once he’d seen how much Blake truly loved his sister, and what he was willing to do to win her back, Evan had gladly helped.

Since one of the things was for Blake to become more proficient in ASL, he’d worked with the man to perfect his communication skills.

Now if only Evan could get his communication skills in better shape and use them to convince the manager to let him stay. If that miracle happened, then all he’d need to do was find someone else willing to live with him and share the expenses. Easy, right? Sure.

Mercedes Martineau stepped through the double doors into the two-story entry hall of the Wentworth home and gasped. She’d known Blake was wealthy, but this was ridiculous. In the foyer alone, they could fit her and Carli’s entire apartment a few times over.

Carli, smiling from ear to ear, rushed her way.

Fancy! Mercedes kept her voice off in case anyone nearby took offense.

Carli looked around, then faced her. “I know. The first time I came here I almost turned around and left. It’s a bit much. Even Blake thinks so.”

“Great place to have a party, though. Thanks for inviting me.”

Carli rolled her eyes. “You’re my best friend and roommate. We’d hardly cut you from the list.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t, but what about his parents? They’re the ones hosting this shindig, and they might not want the riffraff here.”

“You’d still make the list. My brother, Evan, on the other hand, is a different story. He kept saying he wasn’t planning to come. I’m not sure if he was kidding or not.”

“Your parents would skin him alive if he didn’t attend your engagement party. Which is nothing compared to what I’ll do to him if he’s a no show. Who else is here?”

Carli took her elbow and guided her to a large dining room where several tables were filled with enough food to feed most of the state.

“My family, except Evan, are all here already.” Carli’s younger sister, Deanna, and oldest brother, Brian, stood on the other side of the room with her parents. Relief crossed their faces when they spotted her.

So good to see you, Cheryl Jameson, Carli’s mom signed. Her husband, Mike, strolled over next to her and each wrapped her in a quick hug. She loved this family. They’d always been so warm and caring toward her.

Brian and Deanna came next with equally warm embraces.

“Haven’t seen you in a few weeks. How’ve you been, Mercedes?” Brian asked while also signing. Brian was the only hearing one in his family, yet he grew up signing, so he was fluent in the language and used it often even when no Deaf person was around.

“I’ve been busy. Summer is when the college library cleans and sorts the books that haven’t been checked out in a while. Got to make room for all the new ones they order.”

Mercedes had an undergraduate degree in English Literature and had finished her Master’s in Library Science last year. The advanced degree would hopefully help her move up in her position at the college library at Tufts University.

“Where’s Evan?” Mercedes scanned the room, hoping for Carli’s sake her other sibling had found his way here.

Cheryl tipped her chin up toward the opposite side of the room.

Blake sauntered across the foyer heading their way, the prodigal son in tow.

Wow. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen this Jameson clean up so nicely.

With his light brown hair and startling blue eyes, Evan was a good-looking guy, and she was pretty sure he knew it, yet he didn’t strut around like a peacock trying to get everyone’s attention.

As outgoing and easy as he was to talk to if you knew ASL, he mostly hung out with a small group of friends.

Fancy, she signed again as Evan got closer. Her lips automatically formed a grin to show she was teasing. It’s what she did best around him.

He signed her name, which was a combination of “drink” and “drive”, like Mercedes martini. She wasn’t a fan, but sign names had to be given to you by a Deaf person. It was in bad taste to make one up on your own.

Not bad yourself. He pointed to her dress, scarves, and dangling jewelry.