Chapter 3
A few kids came over, trying to get me to talk, but I stayed silent.
"Does he even talk?" one of them wondered aloud.
"Is he mute or something?" another kid chimed in.
"He's actually pretty cute. Too bad."
I finally spoke up, "I'm not mute."
The kids froze for a second, then burst out laughing. "Not mute, but he's probably a dummy."
They started circling me, calling me dumb.
"Who says he's dumb?" Michael climbed out of the water, hair plastered to his face, and stepped in front of me. "Knock it off."
The kids scattered as soon as they saw Michael.
Michael turned to me, his hair still dripping. "What did you say to them?"
"I told them I'm not mute." I said.
Michael paused, frowning. "That's it?"
I nodded.
Michael looked like he was about to say something, but bit back his words at the last second.
I could tell he was about to call me dumb again.
"They called you dumb. Why didn't you say something back?" he asked.
"Fight back against what?" I replied.
Michael rubbed his forehead. "tell them you're not dumb. If you don't speak up when you're upset, people will walk all over you."
I spaced out for a second. "Got it."
"That's it?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Seriously, Ice, you're so slow and clueless," he said.
That night, he snuck into my room to tell me a joke.
"Once upon a time, there was a duck. It was waddling along, and then, boom, it fell into a hole," Michael said.
He paused and looked at me.
I didn't laugh.
"Not funny? I'll try another one," Michael said.
"Once upon a time, there was a rabbit. It was hopping along, and then, boom, it fell into a hole," he said.
He looked at me again.
I still didn't laugh.
"Not funny? How about this one? Once upon a time, there was a chicken..." Michael began.
Michael kept throwing every animal he could think of into the hole.
I still didn't laugh.
Michael kept talking and ended up dozing off mid-sentence.
Not long after, I drifted off too.
It was the first time I'd slept this soundly since moving in with the Harts.
Michael didn't give up.
He kept trying to make me laugh.
One day, he tackled me onto the bed and started tickling me.
I tried to wriggle away, but he kept coming after me, determined to tickle every spot he could find.
He was relentless, he wouldn't stop until he finally got a smile out of me.
After all that, he collapsed onto my bed, gasping for air.
"Man, you really can't laugh at all, huh?" Michael said, shaking his head.
After more than half a year, he finally gave up on trying to make me laugh.
I'd been living with the Harts for a year, and they never once mentioned calling off the engagement.
My parents finally felt relieved and made a decisive move.
They called me back home.
The day I left, Michael flashed me that goofy, carefree grin of his.
"Come visit sometime. I'll take you tree climbing," he said.
As soon as he finished, Charlotte flicked him on the head.
*****
On the way home, it was way too quiet. Something felt off.
I spent the whole ride thinking, and finally figured it out, it was missing the guy who kicked open my door every morning.
When I saw my parents, I blurted out, "Can you bring Michael back and let him be my brother?"
It was the first time I'd ever asked for something, and my parents looked like they'd seen a ghost. After making sure they weren't dreaming, they finally said:
"Michael has his own parents. We can't separate him from his family.
"If you want him to be your brother, that's easy, once you marry Lily, he'll be your brother-in-law."
From that day on, I couldn't stop thinking about Michael.
After that, I ditched the private tutor and decided I wanted to go to school instead.
My parents were really glad they'd sent me to live with the Harts.
At school, I was still pretty quiet.
I wanted to see if there was anyone my age who could compare to Michael.
Turns out, there wasn't.
Sometimes, I even wondered if I should hire someone to kidnap Michael and bring him to my house.
But then common sense kicked in, yeah, that's a crime.
Before I knew it, I found myself thinking about Michael more and more.
Whenever my parents brought up the Harts, I'd sit there quietly, listening in.
Sometimes, when my parents were heading to Southvale, they'd ask if I wanted to visit the Harts.
I always said no.
I was worried someone would realize how much I kept thinking about Michael.