My Second Chance Alpha Mate

(Yashira) I sigh silently as I look out the car passenger window. I’m going to be living with my grandma for now on here in the states. My parents died six months ago in a car accident on highway 344, located in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico. They were coming back from one of dad’s fights and this one had taken place in San Juan, when they were hit by a drunk driver who thought it would be fun to drink and drive with his lights off. The hit to my parents' car was so hard that my parents' car exploded. By the time first responders got there, the man had tried to escape but my father’s manager, who also happened to be our neighbor, was able to hold on to him, but the messed-up part is that by the time the fire fighters and ambulance got there… there were hardly any bodies to bury. My brother came back from his tour with his band to attend the funeral, but after the funeral I had gone into a deep depression and had stopped talking. He stayed for a month until his manager started telling him he needed to go back on tour. He left, but we text every day. He and the band even learned sign language for me little by little, since I still don’t talk. “We will be there in five minutes, Yashira” Jeffrey, my grandma’s boyfriend, says. I can tell he loves my grandma. When he says her name or thinks about her, I can see the love in his eyes for her. ‘Good because I’m starving’ I signed, making him chuckle. Yes, he and grandma also learned sign language because I have a cousin who is deaf, so we all had to learn some time to communicate and also not because of me. “I told you we could have stopped for food” he says, shaking his head in amusement. ‘I know, but grandma’s cooking is better than any fast food, though I love Chinese food’ I signed. “Yeah, that’s true and I love Chinese food too” he says. There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes. “Are you going to miss it?” Jeffrey asked, making me look at him in confusion. “Puerto Rico. Are you going to miss it? I know everything here is very different to Puerto Rico, but this town is not bad at all”, he says. Yes, I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and this is my first time out of the states. I learned English in school and by watching TV. ‘I’m going to miss it, but I couldn’t stay there. Not if I want to move forward with my life. Besides, there’s a saying us Puerto Ricans have’ I sign. “What’s the saying?” Jeffrey asks. ‘You can take the girl out of Puerto Rico, but you can’t take Puerto Rico out of the girl’ I grinned as I signed. “True, but I know one thing you are going to miss the most” he said. ‘What? I mean I can cook Puerto Rican food, and I have music on my phone’. I signed wondering what I would miss the most. “The sound of the coqui at night” he says, making my eyes widen. It was true, that’s one thing I would definitely miss from Puerto Rico. The sound of the coqui at night. I took out my phone and went on YouTube looking for the sound of the coqui. As soon as I found it, I played it, making Jeffrey laugh. After a few second of listening to this beautiful sound, I turned it off. ‘I have it here, but there’s nothing like the real thing. You are right. I will miss it, but I can always go back and visit’ I signed. “Whenever you want, just let your grandma and I know” he says, pulling up to grandma’s diner. I got out of the car and help Jeffrey get my luggage. I heard bells and I looked to see grandma coming down the stairs. “Mi estrellita” (my star) grandma squeals hugging me. I hugged her back and I felt my eyes water. Grandma is an older version of mom. “Let me look at you” she says, pulling back. “You are all grown up” grandma says. ‘You look beautiful abuela. Gracias por tenerme aquí contigo’ (You look beautiful grandma. Thank you for having me here with you) I signed. “You don’t need to thank me. Now come on. You must be hungry. Oh, and before, I forget your motorcycle arrived yesterday. Jeffrey put it in the back” grandma pulls me to the diner. As soon as we enter, all eyes are on my and I gulp silently. “Jake, Sara, I want you to meet my granddaughter Yahira. Yashira, this is Jake and his ma-girlfriend Sara” Grandma introduces. “Nice to meet you Yashira. Are you staying here?” Jake asks as he shakes my hand. ‘Yes’ I signed. “Are you deaf?” Jake asks a little surprised. “No, she just… uh…” grandma trails off. “It’s okay. Good thing we can sign as well. We had to learn it in high school for extra credit and my Aunt who is in another pack is deaf”, Sara says while doing sign language. I feel someone run into me and I looked down to see a boy about three years old. “I sowwy. Awe you okay?” he asks, rubbing where my thigh where hit head hit. I kneel and nod my head. ‘Are you okay?’ I signed while moving my mouth. He looks at me, deep into my eyes and I felt like he is looking into my soul. Suddenly, he wraps his arms around my neck, hugging me tight and whispers “I okay.” I hear gasps and I look at Jake, Sara, and grandma. Their eyes were wide open and if they were cartoons their jaw would have hit the floor. “Tristan’s never done that before with anyone”, Sara says to Jake and grandma. “I know it took me three months and some chocolate chip cookies to get him to even say hi” grandma chuckles. The little boy pulls back, and I stood up. He’s so cute with his brown curls and those beautiful golden eyes. “Yashira, come have a seat and eat sweetheart. I know you must be tired from that flight” grandma says. ‘Not really tired, just starving. Do you need help around here?’ I signed. She looked around, and I know she was wondering what I can do since I don’t talk and not everyone knows how to sign. ‘I can always clean up the tables, take out the trash and clean the floor. Whatever you need, grandma’ I sign. “Okay, that sounds good. Thank you” she smiles. I take a seat in one of the booths and start eating when Sara sits down across from me. “Everyone around here loves your grandma’s cooking. It’s something different from what we are used to. So, where do you come from?” Sara asks. ‘Puerto Rico’ I signed. “Ooo, I always wanted to go there. I’ve heard it’s beautiful” she says, and I nod excitedly. I take out my phone and show her some pictures of the beach, the rivers I have been to. Some of the caves that are close to where I lived. “Omg, you hunt?” she asks. ‘Yes, it’s fun’ I signed smiling. “I love to hunt too. Maybe one day we can go together” she says, and I nod. She looks at Jake and smiles. “I have to go Yashira. It was a pleasure meeting you. See you around” she hugged me, which took me by surprise. Jake and I shook hands. Tristan comes to me and pulls my hand and I stand, but he pulls me down gently and I kneel. He hugs me tight before letting go and walking away. I look at Jake and Sara, who smile at me before walking away with Tristan. After I finish my dinner, I help grandma clean up and get to know some of the locals who always come here. Grandma explains that I’m not deaf and that I can hear everything they say, but I just choose not to talk. They don’t push the subject on why I choose not to talk and I’m thankful for that. By the time we closed I helped grandma, Megan, who’s another waitress and Leon who a waiter/ bust boy clean up the kitchen and the diner I even took a few orders. By the time we were done I was exhausted. I just wanted to shower and go to bed. Grandma showed me where my room is and said goodnight. I went and took a shower and went to bed. ***