I could tell that Kolt was thrown back by my response and stood there staring me down. He was giving me a look that I had never seen before. His honey brown eyes turned a lighter brown than normal to the point where they almost were yellow. His lips were pressed together as if we wanted to say something, but he couldn't.
And he just stood there.
Staring.
I couldn't look at him and his empathetic filled pity any longer. I shrugged my shoulders and let out an apologetic sigh. I tried to control the volume of it so it didn't seem more dramatic than it had to be. I hate when the tension is on me, I never was a dramatic person.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Angela, what are we going to do?" Annaya signed to me.
I don't know.
I don't know what we are going to do Annaya, but of course I can't say that to her. She is only eighteen and has always come to me with problems. If I didn't know how to answer one she wouldn't know what to do. 435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBPz44xSiC
Annaya isn't special needs. She is able to solve problems on her own, but she uses the fact that she is mute to throw herself a pity party. That irritated me about her, but I guess living with my dad made her think that she was helpless on her own. That's what my dad would tell me, and of course Annaya could hear him. She wasn't deaf she was just hard of hearing. This made things difficult, but she was able to take care of herself if she needed to. She just doesn't believe it because she grew up with the only person taking care of her telling her that she will always have to rely on other people.
Annaya is still a sophomore in high school. Again, not because she isn't intelligent, but because the school was slacking on their programs for mute people. The amount of teachers that knew sign language was too limited and they only had one interpreter for the entire school. This didn't help Annaya realize that she can do things on her own either.
I sighed again and rubbed my hands over my face to try and wipe the stress off of it. As my face was covered Kolt wrapped his arm over my shoulders and drew me into him.
He kissed the side of my forehead right on my pulsing temple. "Hey Annaya."
Annaya didn't respond.
He cleared his throat. "Annaya!" He said louder.
Annaya looked over at him.
"Why don't you go inside and wait for us, we will be in shortly." Kolt slid my bag strap off of my shoulder and dug around in it until he found my apartment. He then held out his hand with the key in it to Annaya. "Here, go inside." He said louder and tossed her the key since she didn't grab it.
Annaya nodded and picked the keys off the ground where they landed. She looked back at me with those big blue sympathetic eyes of hers and went inside.
I stood there letting myself be comforted by Kolt for a few minutes then loosened myself from his grasp so I would be able to make eye contact with him while we talked. "Kolt." I was thrown off by my own voice. It was only a whisper and seemed raspy.
I cleared my throat and straightened my pose. "Kolt..." I repeated. "What am I going to do?"
Kolt walked back to his car. "I don't know, Angela."
Uh..where is he going?
He opened his car door and got in. He pulled down his sun visor.
Is he serious right now?
He looked at me and could see that I was getting aggravated, so he held up his hand with my extra set of keys. He shook them around a bit loud enough for me to hear the jingle and see that was what he was getting from his car.
I walked over to the front door of my apartment and I stood there staring at my window on the first floor.435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhl9JkAF11x
I'm overwhelmed. I can't handle his sarcastic actions right now. I need to figure out what I am going to do. My father left no note saying where he would be. He waited until Annaya was eighteen for him to drop her off on me. I could have her stay in the extra room. I would just have to move my computer stuff out into the living room. That would be a full day job. I'll have to do that tomorrow, good thing it's the start of my weekend. What else is there for me to do?
I heard Kolt clear his throat. He was already standing the doorway with the door open for me.
I must have zoned out.
He took my hand and walked with me down the hall into my apartment.
It isn't the best apartment but it is a nice deal for a two bedroom. I pay 975 a month and my place already includes electric so all I have to additionally pay for is internet and cable. Which, of course, comes in a bundle so that isn't horrible. The living room is big, the kitchen is moderately big, the bathroom is okay, and the bedrooms are both a good size. I have nothing to complain about so I never got a new place.
When we opened the door and walked into the living room I saw that Annaya wasn't there. "Annaya?" I shouted out.
No response.
I started to walk down the hall and heard papers crinkling in my computer room. When I peeked my head inside I saw that she was straightening up my papers and picking stuff up from off the floor. She always was a nervous cleaner. I also think that she may have slight OCD, but we never had that diagnosed. 435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KSqWWqdi2
I heard Kolt talking, but I couldn't make out what he was saying so I started to walk down the hall back towards the living room. "What?" My tone of voice sounded strict. I need to calm down. This is no one in this apartments fault. I took a few short breaths then noticed that Kolt was on the phone and wasn't trying to get my attention in the first place.
"No thanks."435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5kagP1iGm
"Yeah, and just a cheese."435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVb1f3BBdIw
"And. A. Cheese."
Kolt hung up the phone and shook his head looking over at me. "You never wonder if the people that work at the pizza places are mute also?" He sighed out a chuckle.
I know he was trying to lighten the mood, but it was too soon for jokes.
I smiled slightly at him to avoid more tension. I sat down on the couch and rested mt elbows on my knees, so i could hold my head with my hands. I knew I looked like I was pouting, but if there was any time to pout this was it. The couch sank down a bit when Kolt sat next to me. He did the same pose I did, but instead of holding his head he just turned it and looked at me.
"So, I don't know what kind of pizza Annaya likes. I got her cheese."
I tried to look through the small holed pattern in my light blue curtains to look outside. It took me a while to respond, but I realized that in a sense I was taking the situation out on Kolt without making an effort to.
"That's fine." I said just above a whisper.
Louder crinkling noises came from my computer room. Kolt looked over the back of the couch and positioned himself awkwardly enough to see into the room. "What is she doing in there?"
I removed my face from my hands and placed my arms at my sides so I could sit properly. "She's a nervous cleaner." I explained without much effort. I smiled to myself and leaned against the couch. This couch was filled with so much cotton that it sucked me into it every time I pressed my back against it. "I remember a few years back, after I moved out, I went back to Annaya's house to go see her. It was 4:00 so I knew that she had been home long enough to have finished her homework. Anyway, I got there and the house door was wide open. I had no idea what was going on, but when I got close I could smell a huge stench of carpet cleaner. When I got into the house I saw that Annaya was on the ground surrounded by a huge powdery mess. She looked like she was playing in the snow." I let out a small laugh. "She had it all over herself. It was on her clothes, on her face and all the way up her arms, it even got in her hair. Parts of her hair weren't even black anymore. It looked like she was scooping it back up and trying to funnel it back into the cleaner bottle." I paused and closed my eyes for a second or two to recall how she looked that day and let out a louder giggle. "I guess she heard me laughing because she looked up at me with her eyes wider than I have ever seen them."435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ952pTAOLL
Kolt smiled at me. He could see that I was enjoying this memory again as I retold it to him.
"I told her all we would have to do is vacuum it up more than once." I took a few breaths to get the rest of the giggles out. "She frowned at me and told me that she cleaned the whole house and couldn't find the vacuum. I told her I would help her. I looked around the house and it was spotless. She told me she was panicking because dad wasn't home and he wasn't home when she left for school in the morning. She said cleaning calmed her nerves." My face became more serious. "I stayed with her that night because our dad didn't come home until earlier in the morning, around 4 or 5. He was so loud, Kolt. It's a good thing Annaya is hard of hearing or it would have woken her up."
"Isn't that what she was worried about...her dad not coming home?"
"He was drunk."
Kolt's lips pressed together firmly and he did one stern head nod. The nod was sarcastic as if we was trying to say, "good one Mr. Krispaur."
It was enough to make me crack a smile without intention.
"What did you do?"
"I blew up. I dragged him outside and blew up at him. I told him that he needs to straighten his act up or he was going to loose Annaya just like me. I told him that she needs him more than he realized it. Hell, I guess whatever I said stuck because his drinking habit wasn't nearly as bad. By the time I was twenty-two he was more bearable for me to talk to again. We talked more like we used to before I left." I paused and focused back on the hole filled pattern in my curtain. "Now that I think about it, he talked about how frustrated he was with Annaya and the fact that she was mute. I always got so mad at him because disliking someone for something they are born with is cruel." I wiped my hands down my face to help my eyes focus on Kolt. "I should have seen this coming." I smiled at him. Not because I was happy but because I calmed down.
"What your dad did is inexcusable, Angela." Kolt said sensibly then his voice became more stern "But you need to figure out what you are going to do now." He then stood up and walked over to the window, moving the curtains to look out.
It almost felt like, at times, that Kolt was trying to take the place of my father. As if he felt I didn't get enough life lessons from my dad before I left.
"I know that." I said just as sternly. "I have no choice but to have her stay with me in the extra room."
He was silent.
"For now, at least." I added waiting for a response. "maybe it can be permanently"
He stayed silent, but turned to look at me.
"It could work, if I get this management position. I would be making more money and I would be able to afford to have her live here with me. I already can right now. I would just have more spending money. We would both be more comfortable." I started to babble and say my thoughts out loud, one after another.
"Yeah, what was with that?" Kolt said. He was staring me down now.
I was thrown back by his expression and literally confused by his response. "What was what?"
"You never told me that you were looking for a different job." His posture straightened himself up and I could see that his jaw was clenched.
"Oh."
Is this seriously what he's mad about? "Uh, I'm sorry, babe, I didn't think it was a huge deal."
"A huge deal? Hah.." He said in a slight mocking tone, but nothing too noticeable. No one else would have noticed it, but I did. "What if you had to move, Angela?"
"You know that if I had to move I wouldn't take it. I had to stay here to watch over my sister.-"
Before I could completely finish my sentence he snapped out "What about me?" his arms were now folded over his chest and his eyes were cold. The honey brown had turn into a dark almost black brown.
I paused.
"Perfect." Kolt scoffed and turned to look out the window again.
"I wasn't going to move out of Wyoming, Kolt." I said softly.
He didn't respond and continued to stare out the window.
"I thought you would be happy for me. I was going to tell you, but Micheal-"
"I don't like him." Kolt snipped.
The tension in my shoulders softened and I felt my eyes turn into a warmer gaze.
Was he acting like this because he was jealous? Is that really the whole reason he was giving me a weird vibe on the ride home?
I stood up, but stayed where I was standing. "I'm not too fond of him either."
Kolt let go of the curtain and turned to look over at me. He had a baffled look in his eyes.
"But, he is my manager. I can't ignore him." I walked closer to him.
"He flirts with you." He stood up straighter.
"No he doesn't." I said with certainty in my voice.
"Are you really going to argue with me about this?" He threw his arms to the side of his body. He was making it obvious that this was upsetting him.
"Babe.-" Before I could reply to him we heard loud banging coming from the back rooms. I heard papers being ruffled and when I looked down the hallway I saw papers fly out of my computer room. The banging became louder and more constant.
It was Annaya. She always had to bang on walls or tables to get peoples attention since she couldn't say anything.
The banging grew louder and I could hear the spot that she was hitting. I heard books falling onto the ground. I also heard things hitting the window, though I wasn't sure what was hitting the window I just heard the difference from the thumping of the wall to the tapping of windows.
I ran down the hallway into the computer room. I stepped on the papers that Annaya had thrown on the ground. The paper was making loud crinkling noises and sliding noises when they slid between my foot and the carpet. "Hey!" I shouted to get Annaya's attention.
Annaya looked at me from the corner of the computer room between the closet and the window. 435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ904SSnJwRP
I felt like there wasn't time for me to have to repeat myself if I spoke to her so I signed. "What's the problem?"
Annaya signed to me with big hand movements and sharp hand jesters to show the emotion in what she was signing. "There is a huge spider in here!" She pointed to the corner by the door that I was standing next to.435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zGCJFgJef
I was frustrated because I thought it was something more important but at the same time my heart jumped up to my neck because I was just as frightened by spiders. I side stepped to the wall that was father from the one that she pointed at without looking. I drew as much air into my lungs as I could then held my breath to brace myself at what I was about to see. I slowly turned to the door and then I saw it.
The spider was huge. It was a long-legged sack spider. I have only seen one of those once before and it was when I first moved into this apartment. I was on the front step waiting for the landlord to open the door and I saw one of them on the side of the house right next to the doorbell. I felt like I had to warn the landlord and when I did he made a surprised noise and then just flicked it away with his clipboard.
Just flicked it.
Like it was nothing.
This one had longer legs than the one I saw when I first moved in to this place. I looked over at Annaya and saw that she had a big, thick, dictionary next to her.
"Slide over the dictionary." I signed to her.
She grabbed the book and slide it half way over.
Oh, gawd.
I slowly moved over to slide the book the rest of the way to where I was standing and picked it up. I began to slowly walk over to the spider, but once I did I saw its leg twitch. I let out a little yelp and before I knew it the book was over my head and I had my eyes shut. I threw the book down as forceful as I could then opened my eyes after a few seconds passed. The book landed on it. I saw a few of its legs out from under the side of the dictionary.
I looked over at Annaya who had her mouth open and was staring at the book. She slowly looked over at me
and I returned the same shocked expression.
"Did you aim for that? Your eyes were closed." Annaya signed to me.
We both let out giggles of built up tension.
I looked back at the dictionary. "So, do you want to check if it's dead?" I said out loud knowing that she probably didn't here me. I smirked at myself then looked over at her with the same smirk.
She looked confused at first then must have connected two and two together and got herself up then ran into the living room.
I laughed to myself then pushed my foot down onto the dictionary with enough force to hear crunching noises. The noise made me squeamish, but I had to know that the spider was dead before I could leave the room. 435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17qSTdaCZK
I walked out of the computer room and saw that there was forty dollars on the kitchen counter and a note next to it. I could tell by the hand writing that it was Kolt's without even having to pick it up.
Here's money for pizza.
Oh, Kolt.
looked over and saw Annaya laying on the couch with her eyes closed. She must be tired. I don't blame here after all the drama that went down for her today. I can only imagine what was going through her head on the way over here. I'll have to ask her how dad explained to her what was going on, or if he explained anything to her.
No, that doesn't matter now. I'll let her tell me if she wants to.
I walked down the hallway again to my room. I might as well do something in there until the pizza comes. I don't want to bother Annaya.
I looked into the computer room, which was across from mine, and saw the dictionary on the floor close to the door.
There is no way I can keep that book.
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