Words of the Heart

by ShadowGrace

Emily Bryson was a head-turner with her beauty and musical skill. One accident, though, changes her life forever. She can no longer hear anything that is spoken to her. Now, she believes that she is damaged, and that no one could want her. In the windy city, she meets a rock star wannabe who could, very possibly, be everything that she ever hoped for. Experimental story. Rated T.

9. Mind Games

BreeTico – I felt like Max would really be a lot of help. Too bad he can't stay for more than a day.

I just wanted to let you readers know that Mrs. Crane has posted the first chapter on Independence on her blog. Go read it! It has a ginormous cliffhanger that will have you begging for December to come faster, but it is totally worth it!

The Significance Series belongs to Shelly Crane.

9: Mind Games

We rolled into the parking lot with fifteen minutes to spare. After Max had taught Derek and the rest of his family how to sign, he'd decided to take a break and wait until Robert returned home to teach him. The rest of us had dispersed. Zach had retreated to his bedroom to study, Madison told me, and Carissa obviously had plans with some friends since she darted out of the room as quickly as she could, calling out something that I couldn't hear in the process. Out of everyone, she and Zach seemed the least interested in their newfound language abilities. Jack and Derek disappeared to the living room, challenging each other to a vicious game on their Xbox while Madison and I stayed in their kitchen to help Victoria.

Madison enjoyed her sudden knowledge of sign language the best. While Victoria boxed up the leftovers, I opted for washing the dishes while Madison dried and put them where they belonged. Her mother and I had to keep getting her back on track, since she would paused and try to sign something out, usually just random words, at which she would giggle and then continue doing her job. I actually had a hard time stifling in my own laughter. I didn't want to egg her on since it looked like Victoria was slowly getting annoyed with her youngest daughter's antics.

After we'd done the dishes, we lost about two hours while Victoria went to do her own thing. Madison and I perched on the couches and watched the boys as they played some sort of covert ops game. Jack was pretty ruthless when it came down to the competition of it all, continually searching out Derek's little character to try and ruin his game, since the two of them chose to play on opposite teams. Derek, though, managed to keep his head instead of getting angry at his brother. Even I was getting annoyed with Jack and I wasn't even playing the game. Madison split her time in between ragging her brothers and talking to me. I discovered that it took all of them a moment to collect their thoughts into what they were about to sign the first time they signed it, but after that they were just fine. Whenever I introduced new words to them when I replied, they paused to translate it before replying. But the more we talked the faster they got. Particularly Madison, since she looked like she was never going to actually speak out loud ever again.

Now, back at the shop, I could see Xavier talking to one of the customers. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. I would easily put down money that my mom was in her office. She hid out in there like it was her own personal haven. I guess it could have been, since she had her computer there for whatever she wanted to use it for. My mom could be reading in there, too, but I doubted that she would pick up a novel over her favorite game – a bubble shooter. It was amazing, the things that kept her occupied.

Derek opened his car door (we'd returned to the classic car that he'd picked me up in the very first day) and I scrambled to get out before he could walk around to my door. I didn't want him thinking that I was some sort of damsel in distress that needed him to open the door for me. If anything, he needed to think of me as his equal. I could handle myself, despite the fact that all he wanted to do was protect me. He'd told me that it was ingrained in his blood to keep me safe, and that generally meant keeping me close to him. I wasn't exactly complaining about the arrangements.

Derek still started around to my side of the car despite the fact that I was already unbuckled and stepping out of my seat. I gripped the top of the door to steady myself since the car was so freaking low to the ground. He paused just on the other side of the door and waited until I looked up at him. Where Madison was like my mother, saying the words as she signed to me, Derek was like Xavier. He either chose to speak out loud and let me read his lips, or he chose to sign to me. He had never combined the two yet. Signing, he asked me, "What are you planning for tonight?"

Derek had sort of pressed for me to spend the night at his house, using at least Madison as a diversion for my mother. Madison had even offered to ride with us over to the shop. She had said that it was because she wanted to see where "the magic had happened" but Derek had shot her down on that and told her that she needed to stay home. I had no idea why he wanted me to spend the night at his house so badly, but he sort of looked nervous about the whole thing, as if he thought that there was a chance that something bad would happen if I wasn't at his side. Madison had been the exact same way and Jack had been uncharacteristically quiet when Derek brought it up. I knew them well enough that I knew it had to mean something was up. I had the feeling that protection was key to him. If he was acting this crazy (after three days, of course) then it meant that there was something he was worried about. Part of me said to tell him to get over it, and the other part was dying to rush home and pack my bag.

"I don't know yet," I said out loud, taking a deep breath. Derek had this smell about him, like boy and some sort of strong, somewhat spicy cologne. I liked it. A lot. I turned for a second and grabbed my purse off of the floorboards of the car, slinging it over my shoulder. I pulled my hair out from underneath the strap.

Derek reached out and took a hold of my waist with both hands. In all honesty, I'd dated a few guys in my past, some of them I wasn't too proud of. The majority of them were like me, either deaf or partially deaf, and we'd connected on a very basic level. Xavier was one of the only guys that had regular hearing that I'd ever kissed. But none of them had been very forward with me. The most any guy had ever gotten out of me was a make out session, and all clothes had stayed on. I wasn't easy, and if I was going to be honest with myself, there weren't that many guys that wanted to date me in the first place. So I was a little blown away by how Derek sort of commanded physical touch. I mean, I understood the reason behind it. But I liked the way he touched me without worrying about it. It was sort of like he'd not only laid claim to me with his imprint, but also in his head. And that was what I really liked.

Instinctively I put my hands on his chest. Underneath the soft fabric of his shirt I could feel his heartbeat in his chest. But there was something else there. It sort of felt like he had some sort of sped up irregular heartbeat, or even some major murmur. But I knew better than that. Nestled right next to his heartbeat was mine. They weren't exactly beating in unison, but they were beating together. The thought alone brought a small smile to my lips. Derek beamed down at me, and I realized that at some point I'd curled my fingers into his shirt. I released the fabric immediately, quickly smoothing out the wrinkles I'd created there. "Sorry," I said quietly.

In answer, Derek just leaned forward and pressed his lips to my forehead. Yes, he was pretty forward, but he was also extremely gentle and sweet. I had the feeling that he didn't want to force me into anything, but he needed this contact for himself. My eyes closed until he pulled away from me. He signed with one hand, so it was a little shaky and I had to think a little harder than usual to replace the hand that he kept around me. "Text me when you know? I'll even have Carissa and Madison come pick you up if I need to."

"We'll see," I told him conspiratorially. I wanted to say yes, send your sisters but I couldn't. Not yet, anyway. I had to see how my mom was taking everything and if she would even consider letting me go to a friend's house on such short notice. Besides, if Derek had his sisters come pick me up just so my mom could see that they were actual girls, she would be sure to pin Carissa as being older and Madison as being so young that she couldn't drive. Then again, I could say that Madison was one of the girls from some sort of deaf group, since she could sign well enough, now. But I didn't want to lie to my mom any more than I had to. And I was already lying so much.

On an impulse, I stood up on my tiptoes and threw my arms around Derek's neck, my chin resting on his shoulder. There was the touch of his hand on mine, but then there was a hug, and they were completely different. I'd had a few hugs with him, and every single time they felt like this. Full on contact made a simple touch feel a little less significant. It wasn't like night and day, but it was warmer, like a real hug mixed in with the comforting sensation of your significant. It was like being wrapped in a cocoon. Derek reacted just like I thought he would, burying his nose in my hair at my neck. For just a second, I let my eyes dart into the front windows of the shop. It looked like Xavier had happened to look out at about the same time that I glanced at him. I think he'd even stopped talking mid-sentence, cutting off for a few seconds before carrying on. I could imagine him nervously shuffling and trying to ignore the fact that I was hugging another guy. Part of me wanted to tell him to just get over it. The other part said that maybe I should be a little more sensitive.

I was sort of tired of having my mind ripped in two with completely different opinions on things.

I released Derek and took a step back. He smoothed his thumb over my cheek and then signed, "I want to try signing a release to you and see if it works. Do you think that will work?" He looked like he'd just stumbled over a good experiment, like he was itching to try it out.

I shrugged. "It's worth a shot, isn't it? Just don't get in the car and drive off if I'm stuck here on the sidewalk." I paused as he chuckled and added, "Why does that happen?"

I was starting to really like the fact that he could sign now. It made things ten million times easier. "The theory is that the imprints want us to stick together. They don't want us to separate for fear that we won't come back to the other. And I think it has something to do with who's walking away. I just haven't figured it out yet." He paused to make sure that I got everything before continuing. "So we're going to try this. Emily, I'll come back and see you soon. In fact, I'll be waiting for your text message. Depending on the answer, I'll be hiding in the back of a car waiting for you or I'll be sneaking up onto your roof."

I laughed, swatting at one of his hands. "You are enjoying this way too much," I told him. "You like sneaking around, huh?" I teased, patting his chest, "So when you were a kid, I bet you ran around and pretended that you were a ninja."

"So what if I did? Did you run around and pretend you were a princess?"

"No," I giggled, "I pretended I was a ninja, too."

Derek laughed and then glanced over his shoulder. "You should go inside. It's almost four, and I don't want your mom to think that I'm a bad influence on you. And don't forget to text me."

"I won't. I'm sure your tyrant side won't let me." I smirked at him as I glided past, letting our fingers linger together for just a few moments as I walked by him. I paused for a second and turned around to face him. Like a child, he stuck his tongue out at me. Surprising myself, I laughed so hard that my eyes blurred with tears. I reached for the shop door as he leaned against the front of the car, his hands stuffed into his pockets and his feet crossed at the ankle. "Go away and pine for me." I told him. He gave me a joking sneer as I slipped into the shop. And just like that, I was confident. I mean, I had flirted with people before. At least, I think. But with Derek I didn't have to think about what I was going to say or worry about how he was going to take it.

I stepped past Xavier without saying a word to him since he was still talking with a customer, motioning towards a small keyboard. Slipping behind the counter, I dropped my purse to the floor. I nudged it under the desk with my foot and swiveled around in my seat, wondering if I should read a book or go say hi to my mom and try to schmooze it up before asking if I could go spend the night with "Madison." I had the feeling that when Derek offered to let me spend the night with his sisters, he was really saying that he wanted me to spend the night with him. And just spend the night as in sleep. I needed my beauty rest, after all. And instead of being worried about it, I was sort of looking forward to it. All I had to do was make my mom think that I was going to be hanging out with Madison instead of Derek. Legally, I could have done whatever I wanted. But I didn't want to get on my mom's bad side. She was still my family, even if Derek and the rest of the Stantons were my future.

Finally, I decided that it would be best to ask earlier on than later. But first, I had to check and see what kind of mood my mom was in. She hadn't been bothered when I told her that I was going to hang out with Derek this morning. All she told me was that maybe I should make some time to hang out with Xavier or some other friends. She had liked Derek, and apparently I'd said the right things to her when we talked about him because she didn't seem to have any problems with him. But she didn't want the two of us hanging together all the time. She said that we needed balance, and that meant that for as much time that we spent together we needed some time apart. I had the feeling that the rules were different when you were an imprinted couple, but I couldn't bring that up with her. So I had just nodded and gone along with it. Maybe if I used Madison's name, she would relax a little bit when I told her I was going to hang out with Derek next time.

Spinning in my chair one last time, I got up and headed straight for her office. I peered in the slit of a window and could barely see her sitting at her computer. Her eyes were staring intently at the screen, and I was sure that she was playing her bubble shooter. I'd played it on the computer behind the counter and it did have some addictive qualities. My mom was just more susceptible to it than I was, I guess. Now would probably be the perfect time to step in. Unless she was losing, and then it would be the total wrong time. But I couldn't tell how her score was from the door, so I decided to chance it.

I knocked on the door for a moment. Mom motioned for me to come in, and I twisted the knob and let the door close behind me. "Hi," I said, taking a seat on one of the chairs opposite of her.

She hit the pause button on the computer and looked up at me. Lifting her hands, she signed, "How was your day?"

"Fine," I answered out loud. "I went over to Derek's house. We had lunch. His mom makes a pretty good stir-fry." I told her, hoping that a few menial words would make her think that everything about me and Derek was normal.

It didn't work as well as I thought it would. She peered at me over the top of her computer monitor. "Are you and this boy dating?"

"Mom," I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. "We haven't really talked about it. I just… I really like him, and he likes me."

"Well, has he kissed you?" She asked me, looking deadly serious.

I wondered if you could go pale and blush at the same time. This was not a conversation that I wanted to be having with my mom. I mean, she was better than my dad, but still. "Is it possible to die from embarrassment?" I asked her, my face still buried in my hands. When I looked up, she was giving me the expectant look that said she was still waiting for my answer. "No, mom, he hasn't kissed me."

"Well, how long have you two been doing this dating thing?" She signed. I was hoping that her game would make for a good distraction, but she'd paused it. Her attention was fully on me.

"It's not really a dating thing," I blurted out. "I mean, it sort of is." I had to think of a lie, and fast. "We've known each other for a while. He had a deaf grandpa," I told her, saying the first thing that came to mind. "He came by one of the deaf meetings a few months ago, and we hit it off right away." Well at least there was a truth in there somewhere. "It's just been… I don't know, more like I want to be with him." I said, hoping that I could smooth the lie over some other time. Derek didn't know his grandfather on his mother's side very well. According to him, his mom only saw her side of the family for a week every year, the only other times being when she was personally invited to Tennessee or when they came to visit her here in Chicago. "Mom?" I thought about continuing, and then I thought against it. And then I decided that I might as well slip some sort of foreshadowing in there somewhere, because it was bound to happen one day. "I think he might be the one."

Her eyes grew as big as the breakfast plates at the house. I realized right in that moment that this was what she feared. Not just me growing up and moving away, but me falling in love and risking my heart. She and my dad had a good run, but it didn't last forever. I knew that sometimes she still hurt over their divorce even though it had been years. I knew that she wanted to protect me from that kind of pain. But the only way to do that was to keep me from living. "You haven't even kissed him and you think he's the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?" She asked. Her expression said that she was sort of swept away by the romance of it all, but she was still kind of worried about me. Derek had been right when he said that nineteen was young. But I knew what I wanted. And unlike the rest of the world, I basically had a guarantee that said it would last forever.

I shook my head. "When you say it like that it sounds bad." I barely held back the snort at my own cliché. She hadn't said it and I couldn't hear it. That seemed to fly over her head, though. "It's just… God, mom, he really does care about me." I thought about when we first met, the first few times we'd touched and it had been tentative. "The first time he held my hand, he asked permission. And when we're together, it feels almost magical. Like anything could hit the world and we'd be just fine because he would take care of me. I feel warm when I'm with him. He gives me butterflies and he makes me laugh and I don't have to think about what I'm going to say to him because it's so easy to be with him. And I want to be there for him. I want him to come to me if he needs help with anything." I tried to explain what I was feeling in words that she would understand. I couldn't tell her that I liked it when he held my hand because he took away my anxiety or that I looked forward to the moment when he could talk in my head. She would think that I was insane. But I could twist my words to make me sound completely love-struck.

I had been staring down at my hands, particularly at the navy blue nail polish that had been on for weeks and was cracking off. Most of it was gone. I needed to repaint them. But the navy blue reminded me of the silky soft shirt Derek had been wearing the day we imprinted. I smiled to myself, biting my lip, and looked up at her. My mom sat behind her desk, looking down at a picture frame. I knew that it was the two of us, both of us smiling brightly at the camera last time we'd decided to take a short trip to the beach. When she looked up, I could see a faint hint of tears coating her lower lashes.

She shook her head and gave a small laugh, wiping her fingers underneath her eyes. "Sorry," she signed out to me, "I'm just so blown away. You're only nineteen, but that's what love feels like." She said. "Honey, I know you want him to be the one, but your first love most likely isn't going to be the one you stay with. Look at me and your father. He was my first love and we ended up divorcing."

"Derek is different," I told her. "He's not like dad, I swear." Dad wasn't a bad person, but he was somewhat selfish. I believed that a lot of my parents' fighting had stemmed from me and my accident. They'd never fought before I lost my hearing. It was only after. And that was what led up to their divorce. Both of them told me it was because their relationship had gotten strained over the years. They'd only separated at first, but after a year they mutually decided to divorce. And even though my mom had agreed with it, she'd still been heartbroken over it. Like she said, my dad had been her first and only love. "Derek's family doesn't believe in divorce, mom. And you should see them. Even his grandparents look like they just got married yesterday."

"Just because his grandparents have that kind of love doesn't mean that you two will," she signed out. The look on her face said that she was sad that she was the one that had to tell me this, but she didn't want me to get in over my head and be crushed later on. Like Derek, she just wanted to protect me.

"It's not just his grandparents. It's his entire family. His parents, his aunts and uncles…." I let my voice fade away because I was getting dangerously close to letting her know things that she shouldn't be privy to. I was being honest in saying that every single one of Derek's family was happily married, but I didn't want my mom to look at that and think something bad of it. There was a possibility that she would think that there could only be trouble coming from that kind of devotion to each other. She was my mom, for God's sake, and she would do anything to keep me safe, even if it meant telling me things that I didn't want to hear.

I shrugged. "We'll see." I told her, deciding to end it at that. If I wanted to go shave my head and wear black lipstick I could. I could go live with Derek if I wanted to. If it came down to choosing Derek or my mom, I knew that it would be Derek hands down. I couldn't live without him and he was the love of my life. Or, at least, he was supposed to be. My mom had said that what I told her I felt when I was with him was the very definition of love, but I wasn't sure if I loved him. How do you know? Does someone else tell you or is it just something you know when the time is right?

I brought my knees up to my chest in my chair and rested my chin on them, watching her for a moment. "Hey, I have a question for you." She inclined her head towards me to let me know that she heard me and was waiting. In the awkwardness of the moment, she'd returned to her game, putting up a buffer between us. "My friend Madison wants me to spend the night at her house tonight and hang out with her tomorrow. Is that okay? I already made sure that I have the late shift tomorrow." I bit down on my lip while I waited for her answer.

She glanced over at me. She leaned back in her seat, clearly pleased with herself. I would venture a guess that she had won her level and had a short few minutes before the next one started up. "Who is Madison?" She asked, her hands moving in front of her.

"She's just a friend. We just sort of… hit it off, I guess." I nearly winced since I'd used the same words to describe Derek, and I sort of wanted to keep him out of my mom's head at the moment. "She asked me earlier today." I added, as if that would make it any better.

Mom sat there for a second, before saying, "Sure, honey. And don't worry about coming in tomorrow. You hang out with your friend. You deserve a day off."

"Really?" I asked, truly shocked. I hadn't had a sleepover with a friend since I was about sixteen, and that had been a party of deaf girls. We'd watched movies with subtitles and painted each other's nails. It had been years ago. But then again, she hadn't met Daisy, the girl who'd thrown it before, either. She just introduced herself to Daisy and her parents when she dropped me off. But that had been three years ago, and I was old enough to make my own decisions now. Technically, I could be roommates with someone I didn't even know. I guess it had something to do with my mom's vow that she would let me have as much of a life as I could while still living under her roof. "Well, thanks." I said. "I'll text her and tell her to come pick me up at the house after closing."

Mom just nodded, returning to her bubble shooter game. I sat there for a moment longer before thanking her quietly and slipping out of the room. Plopping into my chair, I smiled to myself and spun around a few times before reaching my phone. PICK ME UP TONIGHT AT 8:30. BRING MADISON.

# # #

My shift at work was slow. Xavier had gotten a coffee on his way to the shop, but unlike yesterday he didn't buy me a cookie. Apparently he'd been pretty sure that I wasn't going to show up at twelve like he did every day and had decided to let me know that he wasn't pleased with me by not buying anything, not even one of those healthy bran berry things. He must have been really mad at me.

But I didn't linger on it for too long because in about five minutes, Derek and Madison were going to be rolling up to the front of the house. Derek had texted me to let me know that Madison had chosen out the car so that my mom wouldn't put two and two together too early and realize that Derek and Madison were brother and sister. I could only wonder what they would pull up in. I'd rushed home and had stuffed several pairs of pajamas into a bag (it was too late to wish that I'd gone with something more adult and modern than super soft sleep shorts and camisole tank tops) and had made sure to toss in a change of clothes and toiletries for tomorrow. Now I was sitting on the stairs, about halfway up, so I could see out the window.

At exactly 8:29, I saw headlights pull up at the curb. I stood up sharply, alerting my mother who sat in the living room. She was waiting just like I was. She stood up as I pulled my bag over my shoulder and took the last few steps down the stairs. She met me at the front door. I opened it and leaned forward to give her a hug. "I'll text you," I told her, stepping out onto the front porch.

My jaw nearly dropped when I turned to look at the car. My mom had snapped on the porch light and I could see that they'd decided to take one of the bigger cars that I hadn't seen in the garage where Derek's bike was parked. It must have been one of their mom's or dad's personal cars, one of the ones that was parked at the house instead of the secondary garage. It was huge, a monster of a vehicle. The front window rolled down and Madison leaned out.

She waved at the two of us. From the short distance, I could see her call out something to my mom. She paused and signed a quick hello to me. I glanced back at my mom and she looked surprised. I hadn't mentioned that Madison could sign, but I figured that it would make her feel a little bit better. My mom had always been worried about letting me go hang out with people that didn't know how to sign. She was worried that they would make fun of me when I wasn't looking at them, I was sure.

"Who's driving?" My mom asked, her hands moving quickly as she peered into the dark.

I shrugged. "Her brother, I guess," I told her nonchalantly. It wasn't a lie. "Bye, mom," I said as I headed down the steps. I noticed that the windows were darkly tinted like the other cars' windows had been. Apparently the Stantons liked their privacy. I pulled open the back door and climbed inside. Madison rolled up her window and turned around to face me. Derek was sitting in the driver's seat, and he reached back to touch my hand, keeping the other on the wheel. My mom stood on the porch and waved until we got down the street.

Madison turned around to face me. "You know, I'm not sure how much I like being your decoy," she signed out, a grin across her face. "But I know you'll return the favor one day. I can tell." She burst out into laughter and I couldn't help but join along.

We drove in relative silence to Derek's house. Madison would turn around to sign something to me and I would answer, but the conversations never went very far. I couldn't tell what it was, but I had the strange feeling that they were hiding something from me. It was almost like it was tangible in the air. There was just that awkward sort of tension that made me nervous. I sat there in the back seat, my hand wrapped comfortably in Derek's, and waited for the right moment to tell them that I wanted in on the secret.

We pulled up into the driveway. Derek had to unbuckle his seatbelt and lean out of the window to type in the code to the gate since the SUV was set up so high. When the gate slid open, Derek carefully drove in and parked in the garage connected to the house. Madison stepped out of the car and I hurried to slip out on the same side. She looked up at me as a nearly pinned her in between the two cars. When we didn't make our way around the front of the car, Derek wedged himself between the front end of the car and the far wall where all of the lawn supplies were.

"What's going on?" He signed, a single eyebrow raised as he looked at me.

"I want to know what you two are hiding from me," I accused. I looked up at Derek. "Don't tell me you think I'm that stupid. I know that you guys are keeping something from me. And if I'm a part of this family like you say I am, I deserve to know." I knew that my words were a little sharp, more so than I'd intended. They had been nothing but nice to me, inviting me into their family. Robert had even told me that this was my family now, and what was theirs was mine. It was probably hitting below the belt.

Madison glanced over her shoulder to her older brother. Derek sighed and shook his head, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. I knew that movement. He did it in the storage room right after we imprinted. I'd been so sure he was going to kiss me then but he'd just stepped back and pinched his nose. I'd heard somewhere that it was supposed to help people when they were angry, but I had the feeling that Derek did it when he was anxious. I wanted to leap forward and draw away his negative feelings, but I needed to know what it was he was trying to protect me from.

Derek shook his head and motioned for Madison to go inside. She did, sliding past me in the narrow space in between cars. Derek took a hesitant step forward, as if he wasn't sure if I would allow him closer or if I would turn around and run. I stood my ground and he took another slow step forward. With an exasperated sigh, I closed the distance between us.

"Tell me, Derek. I'm your significant, you know. I know that you want to protect me, but it would really make me feel better if you tell me what you're trying to protect me from." I told him quietly.

Derek sighed, relief crossing his face. He started signing feverishly to me. "I didn't want you to worry about it. There's nothing really to worry about, but I just wanted to cover all of the bases. We told you about the Visionary rewriting the rules. Well, she belongs to Max's clan, the Jacobsons. Their rivals were the Watsons."

"Were?" I repeated, my eyebrows drawing together. From my understanding, once a rivalry was in place it lasted forever. There were never any imprints in between rival clans, and having any sort of relation with them outside of an imprint was downright disgusting.

"The Visionary has abilities that none of us even knew were possible. They tried to kill her and her significant so that they could take control over the council. She and Caleb stripped them of their abilities and their tattoos. They are no longer Aces." He said it like it was sort of a fairytale, something that had never really happened. But obviously it had, because this was history.

"What does this have to do with my protection?"

"You know our clan has a rivalry." Derek signed. For a moment I couldn't even focus on what he was telling me because he'd said our clan. It wasn't his clan, it was ours. It meant that he really did think of me as part of his family. I had become a permanent fixture in his life, just like that. From my knowledge, it meant that there was another Ace family living in Chicago. Rivalries were created over things like ancient tiffs or territory. It was sort of stone age and animalistic, but I couldn't go stomping all over tradition. I was the newbie here. "Just like our clan is good friends with the Jacobsons, their clan was pretty tight with the Watsons. They aren't as twisted or anything, but they're not exactly friendly. The Watsons were the bad guys, if this were a story. The Watsons were way out of line." He explained to me. "And ever since the Visionary made a move on them, there have sort of been… lines drawn." He signed, his eyes searching mine for panic. "They were close with the Watsons, we're close with the Jacobsons. And since the Watsons are no longer Aces, there are people jockeying for their positions. The Visionary wants to change things around here, but she's younger than you. And even though she's strong, there are plenty of people that want to pull the hood over her eyes. Our rivals haven't gotten any imprints back because they aren't as deserving as the other families, apparently. They must have broken some of the sacred Ace rules. And they're upset. Now that we've imprinted, they have a reason to mess with you and me and our family. I don't know if they're going to do anything, but it's just for your protection."

I took a deep breath, taking it all in. "Okay," I sighed. "I can handle rivals." I told him. Derek looked relieved. I patted his chest. I wish he would have just told me earlier.

"If I would have known you were going to take this so easily, I would have." He admitted.

I stared to reply before I realized that his answer made no sense to what I'd said out loud. However, it did make sense to what I was thinking. I stood there, sure my eyes were huge, and stared up at him. Derek looked down at me. I could tell that he was confused by the way my heart started beating a little harder. And then he realized it.

"I just read your mind!" He exclaimed, forfeiting his signing skills to call it out in the garage. He looked so happy about it that I found myself grinning like an idiot. Derek scooped me up in his arms, lifting my feet off the ground as he laughed, spinning me around in circles. It was only a tiny step forward, but we were in it together. And it really made me happy that he just wanted to experience it with me.

Wow, this is truly the longest chapter I've written for this story, perhaps even the longest chapter I've written in my history of fanfiction chapters. Yay!

Anyway, you know what to do. Leave me a review because you guys know I love them. Remember, you don't have to have an account to leave me something. Thanks for reading! Peace (: