The breath caught in his throat. He inched back one step, then another until his back hit the wall. He whipped around, gasping when the wall was actually Julian.
“What did he say to you?” Julian signed. “He didn’t speak out loud.”
Ben turned back toward three pairs of prying eyes—two questioning and one mentally shredding each piece of clothing off his body. David had either wanted to tease him and test his lipreading skills or this was a hint of what was to come.
He just wasn’t sure which.
Oftentimes, he ignored his instincts, trying to seek the positive in a person. But sometimes, regardless of how hard he tried, there was no good in sight.
He returned his attention to Julian, still battling with himself if he should stir up trouble in the house. This was a new start and he didn’t want to screw it up. But this was one time he couldn’t ignore the warning flags in his head. After taking a deep, centering breath, he signed to Julian what David had said to him.
Julian inhaled, a breath so deep it swelled his body to his full six-foot-three height. Matt wrapped an arm around Ben’s shoulder and pulled him close, as if shielding him from the wrath Julian was ready to unleash. The control tightening the muscles along Julian’s jawline was mesmerizing and stole Ben’s attention. The house owner took a step closer to David, then another. He spoke to David, but Ben couldn’t make out the words with the different way Julian’s lips moved, as if he were gritting his teeth to hold back his temper.
David slid a casual glance over toward Ben. He winked and slowly turned toward the stairs, taking one leisurely step at a time as if unfazed by whatever Julian had said.
Ben’s gaze skipped from one man to another, waiting to see who would be the first to speak, desperately wanting to know what had been said.
Calvin waved his hand to get Ben’s attention. “He’s an asshole.” He turned his face toward Julian and shrugged. “Yeah, I know, but whatever. I said what everyone else was thinking.” Calvin returned his attention to Ben. “You have to show me how to sign bad words so I won’t get in trouble.” He side-eyed Julian as he bit back a smile. “Those are the rules. Right? I get in trouble if I say them out loud?”
Ben rolled his lips into his mouth, holding back the rising bubble of laughter, thankful Calvin’s comment brought lightness to what had just happened. Julian scowled and shook his head. He narrowed his eyes at them, grumbled something under his breath Ben couldn’t decipher, and then stormed out the back door into the yard.
Matt tapped him on the shoulder. “I’m going to go check on him. You two behave,” he said before leaving to follow Julian out the back.
Rocking back and forth on his feet, Ben looked at Calvin and smiled, hoping to convey a thanks for lightening the tension David had created.
Calvin withdrew his phone from his back pocket and tapped at his screen, turning the display toward Ben to read the text message he had drafted. Be careful with him. Calvin aimed his thumb up the stairs when Ben looked up at him. Calvin typed out another message, glancing over his shoulder as if his message were revealing a secret. The only reason he’s out is prison overpopulation. He’s trouble. He and Julian have butted heads a few times already but David’s slick, never gets caught. Try to avoid him if you can.
Ben nodded after reading the message. He rubbed his arms, a sudden chill rippling through his body, the warning cementing his suspicions about their fellow housemate.
Calvin typed out another message and turned his phone toward Ben. You’re going to have to give me your number so I can text you. Ben smiled as Calvin handed him his phone. He saved his phone number in a new contact record and texted himself a quick message to save Calvin’s number.
“Are you okay reading my lips?”
He nodded.
Calvin stuffed the phone back into his pocket. “If I say something that doesn’t make sense or you need me to repeat something, you let me know. Okay?”
Ben nodded again, more eager than he wanted to admit.
Calvin pointed to his black eye. “Were you in a fight or did someone hit you?”
He slowly pushed a fist through the air toward his own face and shrugged.
“Guess you’ve already run into a few assholes. Want to steal one of Julian’s chocolate chip cookies?” Calvin’s green eyes gleamed with mischief. “He keeps moving them from one place to another. But the man doesn’t think like a thief.”
Ben’s eyes rounded as he pointed toward Calvin and raised his eyebrows. Was that why Calvin served time?
Calvin shrugged. “I think I was born with sticky tape on my hands, but I’m trying. Taking a cookie from Julian is better than stealing from my job.”
Ben typed out a quick message on his notepad app and held his phone up to Calvin to read the display.
It’s still stealing.
Calvin frowned. “Got a better idea? I’m bored. And that’s usually when I get in trouble.”
Ben pointed toward the television in the living room.
“Only if I get to pick what we watch.”
With a quick nod, they both plopped themselves on the living room couch. Calvin snatched the remote off the table and immediately cued up a program, he then zipped through the menu to turn on the closed captioning.
At least one housemate appeared to be welcoming and nice. He just wished he could say the same about the other.
Hours later, Ben sat at the dining table in the kitchen with Matt, reviewing job listings from the work program. Ben exhaled, releasing a deep breath along with the day’s worth of negativity.
David had managed to turn their dinnertime into a test of wills. Ben hadn’t been the only one picking up on the palpable tension. Calvin had scowled at David, Julian’s shoulders had remained square, and Matt had worriedly glanced between everyone. David’s stare had been unnerving. His gaze wasn’t curious or questioning. It was meant to challenge. Unsettle.
And the jerk had succeeded.
Julian had sent David back up to his room for the rest of the evening. Calvin had voluntarily retreated to his bedroom for the night, likely wanting to escape the tension. Ben would have loved to have done the same. Instead, he sat at the kitchen table, going through the boring list of jobs with Matt while Julian cleaned everything up after dinner.
He rubbed the back of his neck, ready to pass out from the exhaustion. Matt had told him it was best to ease back into things slowly, and he wished he had heeded the suggestion. Seemed his time in prison had dulled his skills. Having a routine and seeing the same faces day in and day out for two years was a far cry from the single day of different lips to read, speech patterns to decipher, facial and micro-expressions to consider, and body language markers to interpret with each sentence.
And even though Matt and Julian used ASL, it had been two years since anyone had spoken to him with their hands. He was rustier than usual. That, or everyone was signing too fast. Thankfully, they usually voiced their words when they signed or just wrote out their questions.
He rubbed his temples, fighting the start of a headache.
He pulled away his hand when Matt tapped his shoulder and then pointed to the laptop screen.
Ben shrugged. Another data entry job. They had been reviewing the job listings for over an hour since the end of dinner. Matt was determined to find him a job Ben would love, but that was easier said than done.