Member-only story
In the Silence, I Hear
Inspired by the writing prompt by Emily Stroia in her article,
*** Warning — This story contains Adult content around physical abuse and incest **** Much Darker than my normal writing. ****
Fredrick Appelton
Fredrick Appelton was born deaf in June of 1966. His mother was a beautiful soul, his father a product of strict discipline, a solid yet distant patriarch.
After his younger brother was born, his father ignored him.
“Fred, why won’t you take Fredrick out with you and Robby to play catch?” Mrs. Appelton would ask.
“He doesn’t like physical activity; he wants to read,” his father would say.
At school, well, kids will be kids.
“See that kid over there?” Jimmy asked. “He’s deaf, that means he cain’t hear,” Jimmy continued. “Hey, watch this,” Jimmy ran up behind Fredrick, stopping inches from him, and screamed at the top of his lungs.
It wasn’t the first time. Fredrick felt the vibrations of Jimmy’s feet on the ground and smelt his breath…