Page 40 of Make the Play
Jason
hey
I thought maybe this might be easier. talking without talking ;)
Being hyperverbal means Emerson is rarely lost for words, but the few times this has happened to him in the past, he was met with misunderstanding and confusion. Yet here is Jason meeting him where he is, without demand or judgment. Suddenly the words trapped in his mind have a place to go, and his fingers fly across the screen.
Emerson
How did you know?
Jason
you’re not the first person I’ve seen go nonverbal before. Matty before a game, my brother when he was younger
Emerson
I’m sorry.
Jason
dont ever apologize for how your brain works
but if it was something I did or said tell me so I dont do it again
please
Emerson hesitates, glancing from his phone to Jason who he catches staring. Jason’s face has that same easy smile he always gives Emerson on it, which makes what he types next just that little bit easier.
Emerson
The nickname.
Jason
shit that bad?
Emerson
No. Not bad.
He looks up, watching the crease lines that form between Jason’s eyebrows as he reads the message. He can’t blame him for being confused when Emerson hardly understands himself. Does he like it? Maybe. He’s not sure. He’s so rarely sure about his feelings.
Emerson
When I was a kid my mom got me these feelings blocks. I used to get so frustrated that I didn’t know which one I was feeling that I’d knock the tower down.
It’s an innocuous enough confession, but it’s the closest Emerson has ever come to sharing anything about his mom with anyone since she died, about his life before. Chewing on his bottom lip, he looks up and watches Jason. There are no typing bubbles, but he’s doing something, and Emerson is content to wait, resuming his petting of Stella’s back while watching Jason tap and swipe at his phone.
Eventually his phone buzzes and Emerson drops his gaze, lips tugging up in the corner when he sees that Jason has sent him a feelings chart. Except he’s modified it and Emerson has to tap it to zoom in, curious what he’s written. There at the bottom, instead of the word confused, the little emoji face has been crossed out and replaced with the blocky, messy handwriting he now knows belongs to Jason along with the words “needs to pet a dog.”
Laughter bubbles up out of Emerson, startling Stella and Jason judging by the way his eyes dart up. His smile is hesitant but pleased. A second later a new text comes.
Jason
pretty sure petting a dog cures all
Emerson fights off a smile, typing his own return message.
