“Back to your brother's house?”
She nodded again and I felt relieved that she hadn’t meant home as in my house. Whether I liked it or not, this was home and Rylee had to get used to accepting that it was.“Yes, we can go home.”
After the purchases were paid for, I let Ryland know she was ready to leave. He didn’t want to let one bad experience disrupt our day but gave in and we left the mall, heading back to the house.
On the way, he stopped at a rolled ice cream place and we got an order to-go, which made me so fucking happy, because once again, he was doing the work. He remembered me telling him how I took her to a rolled ice cream shop by my house because it was one of her favorite things.
Rylee was over the confrontation at the mall by the time we finished our ice cream at the house and asked to play in her room, leaving me with Ryland. I was grateful because I needed to explain to him why I was being so adamant about not allowing the situation at the store to escalate.
“You sure she’s okay?”he asked, his body stiff and expression tight.
“She’s fine. It’s not the first and won’t be the last.”
“I can’t believe that people are really that ignorant.”
“I can,”I responded and shrugged.“What did she say?”
He frowned and hesitated before his hands started moving.“She told her daughter to give Rylee the K because she was Deaf and didn’t understand. She also expressed that she had to be nice to people ‘like that’ because they don’t know any better. Her ignorant ass didn’t know any better, saying stupid shit like that.”
He was pissed, and after hearing what was said, so was I. But I also needed him to understand why his reactions mattered when Rylee was around.
“People are cruel and ignorant. They don’t understand simply because they choose not to. Today was the first of many. Rylee will have to learn to defend herself and not allow others’ ignorance to affect how she feels about who she is. If you fight her battles, it makes her rely on you always doing so. It could also make her feel as if you had to defend her because she’s incapable or that being Deaf is something she needs to explain or safeguard. It’s not. Being Deaf is not an infirmity or impairment. Rylee is beautiful, smart, and very capable. She simply speaks another language. If people choose not to understand our world, that’s on them. It’s not our responsibility to defend who we are. The best we can do is educate people when they’re willing to learn.”
“Fuck. I didn’t think about that.”
“You wouldn’t. You’re hearing,”I signed.“But you love her and want to right the wrongs in her world. That’s a good thing. Sometimes you will be her hero and sometimes she will have to be her own.”
He brushed a hand over his head.“I know I keep saying this but you know you’re never leaving, right?”
I grinned.“This is new and a lot. Eventually you’ll have it all figured out and you won’t need me.”
A call interrupted the moment, which I realized when Ryland dug the device from his pocket and turned to me so I could read his lips when he said he had to take it. I nodded and decided to clean up our empty ice cream containers and find something other than Ryland to occupy my time. Being with him was getting dangerously problematic for my heart.
Chapter 11
Ryland
“Yeah?” I answered when I hit the hallway heading upstairs. Coach was the last person I felt like talking to but I couldn’t avoid the obvious.
“You didn’t respond to my text.”
“What the hell was I supposed to say?”
“You were supposed to acknowledge that you’ll be there. This is a requirement, Ryland, not a request. You know that.”
I snorted. “Exit interviews are for returning players. According to the owners, that’s not me.”
“You’re a Shark and that’s not changing until someone tells me otherwise. Make sure you have your ass here tomorrow at nine-fifteen. If you don’t show, I will be at your house dragging you back to the stadium. Understood?”
I smirked because Coach had his moments, but when it came to certain things, he did not fucking play. Apparently this was one of those moments.
My career being uncertain was pissing me off but I couldn’t be upset with Coach. The decision wasn’t on him and there was no way he wasn’t fighting for me in every way he could. I owedhim an apology but that would be delivered in person tomorrow when I made it to the facility.
“I’ll be there.”
“Alright, see you in the morning, Parks.”
After I ended the call, I dropped my phone into my pocket and climbed the stairs, heading up to my sister’s room. What happened today fucked me up. I couldn’t control other people’s actions but I could control mine. My instincts were to shield and protect. That ignorant ass woman was out of line and raising her child to be just as ignorant.