Chapter 76 A girl with a headphones
Chapter 76 A girl with a headphones
Milie's POV
"Dad, why doesn't Grandma love me?"
His breathing faltered only for a second. Then he kissed the top of my head.
"I don't know."
It was the first time I'd ever heard an adult admit they didn't have an answer.
"But I know something else."
I looked up again. He smiled. "Love isn't something you earn by becoming someone else."
I blinked. "You don't have to dress like Kelly."
"You don't have to like the things Kelly likes."
"You don't have to become someone you're not."
Another tear rolled down my cheek.
"Anyone who doesn't love you..." He smiled with a sadness I was too young to understand. "...that's their loss."
Something warm settled inside my little heart.
I realized that day that, whether someone loved me or not, my parents loved me unconditionally, and that was enough.
Suddenly, he looked at his watch dramatically. "Oh! I almost forgot."
He reached into the backpack lying beside him.
"I have something for you."
My watery eyes widened. "For me?"
He nodded. He pulled out a bright blue box. I immediately recognized the picture printed on it.
"Headphones." My mouth fell open. "You remembered!"
"I promised, didn't I?"
He carefully lifted them out of the box and placed them over my ears.
"They're a little big."
He then reached into his phone, pressed a button, and a soft piano melody filled my ears.
The music wrapped around me like a blanket. All voices disappeared.
I smiled widely.
"Better?"
I nodded.
He laughed. "Good."
He then gently tapped one side of the headphones. "Whenever the people get too loud… put these on."
I looked at him.
"When people yell… When life feels scary... When everything around you feels like too much… smile and put on these headphones."
"You draw, read, play basketball, climb trees." He grinned. "Even if your grandma or anyone hates it.
A tiny giggle escaped me.
"There she is, my girl."
He kissed my forehead. "Always remember, no matter what's happening outside your room, don't stop smiling."
I wrapped my tiny arms around his neck as tightly as I could.
Dad wasn't teaching me to ignore life. He was trying to protect a frightened little girl.
Neither of us realized I'd keep wearing those headphones long after I stopped wearing the real ones.
A few months later, we simply packed our things, left that neighborhood behind, and started over somewhere else.
And it was just a few days at my new school; I was sitting alone during recess.
I quietly unwrapped my sandwich and kept my eyes on the boys playing soccer.
I felt so tempted to go and play with them, but I couldn't gather the courage to ask.
But a few minutes later, a soccer ball rolled to a stop beside my sneaker.
I looked up. A boy with messy curls came jogging toward me. It was Sammy.
"I'm so sorry!" He had picked up the ball, then looked at me. "You wanna play?"
I blinked. "...Me?"
He looked genuinely confused. "Yeah." His eyes narrowed dramatically.
"You've been staring at us for, like... ten minutes."
"I wasn't."
"You totally were."
"I wasn't."
He grinned. "You know what? Doesn't matter." He pointed toward the field.
"Still wanna join?"
I rose instantly, and a hearty laugh escaped him. "You were staring."
I smiled. "Whatever."
I joined the boys and played, but a few minutes later, I tripped over my feet. "Ow..."
The soccer ball rolled away, and a hand appeared in front of me.
I looked up. A serious-looking boy stood in front of me. The same boy who was watching when Sammy approached me.
His eyes were calm. No teasing, no laughter. Just patience.
"You okay?"
I nodded.
He didn't rush me. Didn't pull. Simply wait.
I placed my hand in his, and he pulled me effortlessly. It was my Daxton.
I smiled. It was the best moment of my life. That day I got my two boys.
They accepted me as I was.
They didn't comment on my messy ponytail.
They didn't compare me to the other girls.
They didn't tell me to sit properly, and with time, without realizing it, they became my world.
Mom, Dad, Daxton, and Sammy.
That was it. That tiny circle became my home. They felt safe.
I never wanted anyone else until a boy, Alan Parker, walked into my life.
He never knocked. Never asked for permission. Never demanded a place.
He stood there and patiently pushed through the walls I had built over years I had never opened for anyone.
I smiled, and a chair scraped across the library floor. The sound pulled me back to the present.
I blinked. The internship page was still glowing on my laptop screen.
Only now, it looked different. I slowly closed the laptop.
Until now, every difficult conversation, every uncomfortable truth, every responsibility- I'd muted them all.
Maybe it was finally the time to take the headphones off.
I wiped my cheeks with the sleeve of my hoodie when the familiar voice made my heart skip.
I looked up. Alan stood beside the table.
His hand reached forward, gently brushing a strand of hair away from my face.
"You've been hiding in here."
"I skipped one lecture."
"You skipped two."
I looked away guiltily. He pulled out the chair beside me and sat down.
"You okay?"
I nodded.
"I think..." I took a slow breath. "I finally understand what you were trying to tell me."
He reached across the table and squeezed my hand.
"You don't have to figure everything out today."
"I know."
"But..." I looked at him. "I want to become better. For them."
His thumb brushed gently across my knuckles. "You will."
"I know you will."
His confidence in me felt stronger than my own.
Maybe that's what love did. It made someone believe in you...
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For taking my headphones off."
He frowned. "My what?"
I laughed softly. "I'll tell you someday."
Before he could ask again… His expression changed.
His eyes shifted past me, toward the library entrance.
I turned instinctively. Daxton stood there.
Watching us. Watching Alan's hand still resting over mine. Watching the smile on my face.
Alan slowly withdrew his hand. I stood up so quickly my chair nearly toppled backward.
"Shit." I murmured.
The silence in his eyes hurt more than anger ever could.
And I knew the moment I'd been trying to prepare myself for had finally arrived.