Page 24 of Saving You

Oz nearly laughed at the question. How the fuck did he know? He’d given his family pushback before, but he’d neveropenly defied them like this. Which was probably why his mom felt like she could pull a stunt this ridiculous.

‘I don’t know.’

“Osric!” He winced at the shrill shout from twenty feet away. He turned to see his mom walking toward him. “This isn’t funny. Your practical jokes are?—”

Oz didn’t hear the rest. He reached up and yanked his processors off and shoved them at Ridge, who fumbled before taking them into his free hand. His mom’s eyes went wider, face redder, her mouth moving in a way that told him she was shouting.

It was funny because she knew without his processors, he was completely deaf. It had been the one warning that had given her pause when she was agreeing to the surgery. But in the end, having a kid who functioned with her version of normal was better than preserving anything natural about him.

But the fact that she raised her voice like maybe her will alone could overcome his total and complete deafness was so hilarious he started to laugh. He couldn’t help it. He knew it probably sounded hysterical and a little wild.

And everyone’s faces told him that, yeah, he looked like he was about to lose it.

Shit, maybe hewas.

He needed to get out of there.

He turned his back on her and asked Ridge though his giggles, ‘Can we go?’

Ridge nodded frantically.

Oz was still laughing when his mom grabbed his shoulder and spun him. She was speaking with exaggerated movements now, like somehow that was going to make him understand better. He held back another rush of laughter and shook his head.

‘Can’t understand. Sorry. I’m leaving.’

“Don’t you dare,” he saw her say. It was one of the first phrases he’d ever memorized while learning to lipread. It was her absolute favorite thing to say when she wasn’t getting her way.

He tapped his ear, shook his head, then turned and began to push through the crowd. He could feel the energy of everyone behind him. He knew his mom well enough to know she was screeching for someone to stop him, and he knew that no one was brave enough to do what she asked.

In all honesty, the only thing that mattered right then was the feel of Ridge’s hand in his own and the fact that the man was matching his pace as they walked through the side gate, around the pebbled path, and stopped on the driveway.

His heart sank when he realized his car was boxed in.

Oz turned when he felt a tap on his arm, and he looked at Ridge. ‘Your car?’ Ridge asked, pointing to it.

Oz nodded. ‘What do I do?’

‘Come with me. I’m parked around the corner. I’ll drive you back later this evening when everyone’s gone. You won’t have to see them or talk to them.’

Oz wanted to cry. In fact, he probablywasgoing to cry the moment he got somewhere safe and solitary. The emotions in his chest were overwhelming, and he hadn’t even begun to start dealing with what his mother had done to him.

She’d always been slightly out of line, butthis?

He shuddered, swallowed past a lump in his throat, then gestured for Ridge to lead the way. Each step he took felt like a mile, each house length between himself and his mom an ocean. And by the time they turned the corner, Oz felt like he’d reached a different planet.

He followed Ridge to his small car, which was badly in need of a wash, and before he could reach for the passenger doorhandle, a firm grip on his arm stopped him. He looked to his left and met Ridge’s concerned eyes.

‘Are you okay?’

Oz swallowed past a boulder lodged in his throat. He licked his lips. He shook out his fingers like maybe that would somehow make forming words easier, but it was like a heavy weight was on his chest, and he couldn’t breathe.

Fuck.

“Hey,” he saw Ridge say. He took a step closer to Oz and aborted a reach for him. ‘Can I hug you?’

Oz wasn’t sure if he should say yes or no. Comfort and tenderness might very well break him, and he didn’t want to fall apart there. He hated showing emotion in front of people. The closest he’d ever come to breaking down was when he’d been pinned to the hospital wall by uppity cops after a nurse falsely reported him as being the man who hurt Rex. But he’d kept a lid on that too.

He’d waited until he got home before he fell apart, screaming his throat raw into a pillow so no one could hear him. Then he’d cried, but only in the shower where the water could hide the evidence, even from himself.

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