Shaun reached out tentatively and touched the scar on his throat. "When did it happen?"
He hesitated, as if deciding how to answer. She suspected this was a topic he didn't enjoy talking about, which was why she hadn't brought it up before. Now that he seemed more willing to share with her, she wanted to know about him. About the kinds of things that had shaped the man he was now.
Finally, he told her, I was stabbed in the throat when I was seven. I don't remember anything except waking up in the hospital with my aunt and uncle by my side. They told me my parents were both dead.
Shaun frowned and scooted closer to him on the couch, leaning in to examine the scar. This close she wasn't able to sign, so she whispered, "Whoever stabbed you would have damaged your trachea, causing vocal c
