52. Broken Heart
If anything, Lightning had no use for words. While he enjoyed laughing and the occasional mocking of skills, Lightning preferred using his body to get his point across. Usually, people, including his own brother, nagged at him for his less than appealing language. Lightning gave little thought to what others thought of him, gave no concern to what the world and Robin wanted him to be.
However, there was a situation where Lightning needed to speak, but his voice failed him. How he tried to open his mouth and get his statement out there. He tried screaming, wailing, whispering, but nothing emerged. It was as if his voice box just collapsed and died. Lightning tried speaking in front of the mirror, but, like always, his voice stammered and broke off.
Why was it so hard?
Why was saying 'I love you' so blasted hard?
Lightning tried practicing to his brother, and that worked fine. Of course, Thunder was a little more than worried when Lightning flat out stated that he loved him. Thunder mistakenly took it for the other, romantic meaning of love where Lightning had to slap him to get his mind out of the gutter.
Still, he tried to say it to her before, but his voice died out again. She teased him because of it, laughing childishly that made a small slit in his heart. He attempted to speak again, but his voice cracked and broke off. Shock flooded through his body as concern came to her fair, beautiful face. She attempted to get him to talk, but Lightning ran off with scarlet streaking through his cheeks.
When Lightning finally got his vocal chords to cooperate, when he found the courage deep inside to speak, it was too late.
That tiny, musical mute said it first. She nearly cried, told him she loved him back.
The slit spread into Lightning's heart, along with the misery and hatred. He watched as Jericho stole Kole from him, gazed as the girl of his dreams was taken without so much as a single afterthought. Lightning wanted to run, but found his body failing while his vocal chords screamed with unbridled, emotional rage at the sky when he was alone.
It was too hard to say 'I love you,' and Lightning would never say it again.