Love is Blind (2 page)

The warning bell rang and I jumped a little at
the sound. “Crap, I don’t know where my first class is,” I muttered
under my breath.

“You lost?” a voice said from behind me.

I turned to see a boy standing there smiling at
me. He was taller than my five foot four frame by a good seven
inches and he had light brown hair and hazel eyes. His slightly
round face gave the impression of innocence, which made him kind of
cute. “Is it that obvious?” I asked, returning his smile.

“Yeah, kind of. Generally only people who are
lost stand around talking to themselves while looking at their
schedules.”

“Good point. I’m trying to figure out where my
Biology class is.”

“Here, let me see that,” he said, holding his
hand out for my schedule. I handed it to him and he scanned it
quickly. “You’re not too far from my first class. I can show you
the way if you want.”

“That would be great. I really didn’t want to be
wandering around the school for the next hour looking for the right
classroom.”

He chuckled. “No problem. I’m David, by the
way.”

“Hailey,” I replied as we started walking.

“So this is your first day here?

“Yeah, and this school is a lot bigger than my
old one.”

“I know, it’s not exactly small. That’s what
happens when you have a school full of rich kids. Their parents
don’t want their precious children being crammed together,” he said
mockingly as we went around a corner and stopped in front of a
room. “This is your stop.”

“Thanks for showing me the way. Maybe I’ll see
you around.”

“I actually saw that we have math together next.
Do you want me to wait for you out here and show you where to
go?”

“That would be great. Thanks David.”

He smiled and turned to walk down the hall and
into a different room. I went into my classroom and scanned the
desks quickly. Everyone else seemed to be there already, so I made
my way to the only empty seat. There weren’t any desks in the room;
instead there were tables with two seats at each one. I sat in the
empty seat and placed my bag on the table in front of me before
glancing at the person beside me.

He was tall; that much was obvious, even though
he was sitting down. He had blonde hair that had a slight curl to
it and went just past his ears. Sunglasses covered his eyes, so I
couldn’t see what colour they were. His face was angular and
smooth; his lips were full and currently turned down in a scowl as
he stared at the front of the classroom. I vaguely wondered why he
was wearing sunglasses, but then shrugged it off as I turned my
attention to the front of the class.

The teacher came in just as the bell rang.
“Hello class, I’m Mr. White. Welcome to Biology. Let me take
attendance and then we’ll begin.” He read all the names off and
then set the folder down. “Since this is the first day, we’re going
to do a little exercise to get to know each other. The person
you’re sitting beside now will be your lab partner for the
semester, so you should probably get to know them a little. Turn to
them and introduce yourselves, then have them answer the questions
on the worksheet that I’ll be passing around.”

I waited until I had the paper in front of me
before turning to the guy beside me again. “Hi, I’m Hailey,” I
said.

The guy didn’t move, he just grunted. “Blake,”
he replied.

“Okay, well do you want to start with answering
the questions? Or do you want to ask them?”

His lips twisted into a sneer. “Neither.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Well, we kind of have to
do this…” I informed him. He ignored me completely this time, so I
eventually just rolled my eyes and decided to listen to some music
on my Ipod, keeping the volume low so I could hear the teacher if
he said anything.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Blake’s
lips moving, but I knew he wasn’t speaking to me. It only took me a
minute to realize that he was singing silently, and it seemed like
he was singing to the music I was listening to. But that wasn’t
possible, because the volume was too low for him to be able to hear
it. I pondered that for a moment before deciding he must have
really good hearing or something. I spent the rest of the period
doodling in my notebook, grateful that the teacher didn’t get me in
trouble for not doing the worksheet.

When the bell rang, I stuffed my things back
into my bag, then stood up and bent down to pick it up, not really
thinking about it first. When I straightened up again, pain lanced
through my back and I inhaled sharply, grabbing the edge of the
desk to steady myself.

I remained still for a moment, getting my
breathing under control again and then straightening up a lot
slower. I turned to leave and saw that Blake was still sitting
there, his head turned in my direction. It looked like he was going
to say something but then decided against it.

“What?” I snapped.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Are
you okay?”

“Why do you care?”

He scowled. “I don’t,” he retorted.

I rolled my eyes “Whatever.” I turned on my heel
and left the room without another word.

David was waiting for me outside the classroom
and he smiled when he saw me. “Ready to go to math?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

David led me into our math class and asked me to
sit by him. I was briefly worried that he might be interested in me
as more than a friend, which I definitely wasn’t ready for, but
that was quickly put to rest when a moment later a small blur
bulleted past me and launched into David’s arms. I watched in
amusement as he staggered back a couple of steps.

The person who had thrown themselves at him
pulled back a little and I saw that it was a girl that looked to be
the same age as us, though she was tiny. She had dark blonde hair
and blue eyes that were currently sparkling with mischief. “Hi!”
she said to him before going on tiptoe to press a kiss to his
lips.

David chuckled and bent a little so he could
return the embrace. “Where were you this morning? I missed you,” he
said.

She grinned up at him. “I got roped into helping
at the library. That’s what I get for trying to sneak a book in
that I forgot to return last year.”

He laughed. “I can’t believe you thought you’d
be able to sneak it in.” He straightened up again. “Hailey, this is
my girlfriend, Rachel. Rachel, this is Hailey. She’s new here and
I’ve been showing her around.”

Rachel turned and beamed at me. “Hi! It’s nice
to meet you.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her very bubbly
demeanor. “Nice to meet you too. Your boyfriend was kind enough to
save me this morning. I hope you don’t mind.”

She waved her hand in dismissal. “Nah, he’s
always doing things like that. That’s how we met two years ago. But
for us, it was love at first sight.”

David snorted. “More like annoyance at first
sight. You followed me around for weeks after that, pestering me
constantly.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I did not pester you. I
was just trying to get you to notice me. And it worked, didn’t
it?”

He chuckled. “Yes, it certainly did.”

The bell rang, and the three of us sat down. The
class went by quickly and soon it was lunchtime. Rachel and David
insisted that I join them and their friends for lunch, and I
happily agreed. I had a feeling that Rachel wasn’t the kind of girl
that took no for an answer anyways. Lunch was fun and I enjoyed
meeting David and Rachel’s friends. They all seemed nice and I
looked forward to getting to know them a bit better.

By the time the day was over, I was more than
ready to go home. My back was getting pretty sore and all I wanted
to do was to go home and soak in the tub for a while. When I pulled
into the garage at home, I was happy to see Jared’s truck parked in
its usual spot. I went inside and found him sitting on the couch in
the living room, petting Tonto as he flicked through the channels
on the TV. When Tonto saw me, he came bounding over to greet me. I
scratched his head before turning my attention to Jared.

“Hey Jared, how were your parents?”

He looked up from the TV and smiled warmly at
me. “Hey Hales, they were great. They say hello and that you should
go down for a visit.”

“I might do that in a couple of weeks.” I sat on
the sofa beside him and he wrapped an arm around me, giving me a
side hug as I laid my head on his shoulder. “I missed you these
past few days.”

“I missed you too. How’s your back?”

“It’s not too bad. A little sore right now
because of being in school all day, but it’s bearable.”

“Want me to do some work on it?”

Jared was a physical therapist now, which I
still found weird because I’d quite literally known him forever. I
was grateful that he was one, however, because he’d been working
with me for the last six months. “I wouldn’t say no to a massage. I
still need to take Tonto to the park, so it would be nice if it
felt better before that.”

Jared frowned a little. “Are you sure you aren’t
overdoing it?”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one who told me
to always push myself. Besides, it’s really not that bad. After a
massage, I’ll be as good as new.”

“Alright,” he conceded. “Head into the therapy
room and I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

The therapy room had at one time been a sitting
room that pretty much never got used since it had only been Liam
living here. Once Jared and I moved in, Liam converted it to a
therapy room so we could use it whenever we needed it. It made my
life a lot easier, and I was eternally grateful to my uncle for
doing this for me.

I went into the room and stripped my shirt off
as I walked to the massage table. I climbed up and laid on my
stomach to wait for Jared. He came in a moment later and started to
massage my sore muscles. Almost immediately my body relaxed and the
pain leaked out of me. We chatted about our days as he continued
massaging me and I told him about David and Rachel and even Blake.
I described my classes and the teachers I had, and then he told me
about his visit home. He’d only gone for two nights, and I knew
he’d been happy to see his parents. They only lived an hour away,
but he didn’t leave to visit them too often. He was always worried
that my back would act up while he was gone, so he tried to stay
close to home.

When the massage was done, he left the room and
I put my shirt back on. Then I whistled for Tonto and we set off
towards the park.

There were a bunch of kids on the playground
when I got there, so I headed straight for the field to throw the
Frisbee for Tonto. I glanced at the bench where I sometimes saw
that guy sitting, but it was empty. With a shrug, I set about the
serious business of playing with my dog.

Fifteen minutes later I caught a movement out of
the corner of my eye and turned to look. The guy with the dog was
walking towards the bench and I did a double take when I realized
it was Blake. His dog walked right beside him and I frowned when I
saw that there was a harness on it and Blake was holding onto a
handle attached to it. Since the dog had always been lying down
every other time I saw them, I’d never noticed it. It took me a
moment to realize what it was that I was seeing.

It suddenly made sense why he’d been wearing
sunglasses in the middle of class and why he wouldn’t do the
exercise this morning.

He was blind.

Chapter two

I watched Blake walk to the bench he always went
to and sit down. I was tempted to go over and talk to him, but I
figured that probably wouldn’t go over too well. Instead, I played
with Tonto for another ten minutes and then made my way home. My
mind was racing with questions, but I wasn’t sure how to get the
answers. Somehow I didn’t think Blake was going to let me pry into
his life.

When I got home, I went into the kitchen for
dinner. “Where’s Liam?” I asked Jared.

“Working late. He said he’d be home by
eight.”

I sat down at the table and propped my chin in
my hand. “I just figured something out.”

Jared arched an eyebrow. “Really? And what might
that be?”

“Remember me telling you about the boy in my
first class who was really rude? Well, I just saw him at the park
and I realized I’ve actually seen him there a few times but he’s
never acknowledged me. I think it’s because he’s blind.”

Jared sat back in his chair and tilted his head
to the side. “How’d you come to that conclusion?”

I told him about the things I’d noticed. “I want
to know why he’s in my class without someone to help him.” I
frowned as I thought about that. “I can understand him not wanting
an actual helper, but why doesn’t he at least have a friend with
him?”

He shrugged. “Maybe he’s like you first were
after your accident.”

That had me pausing to think for a moment. “Hmm,
maybe you’re right.” I drummed my fingers on the table and then sat
up straight. “Well, that settles it then. I’ll have to make him be
my friend.”

“I suddenly feel very sorry for the poor
guy.”

I scowled at him. “I’m an awesome friend, and
you know it.”

“Yeah, but you’re also stubborn and annoying
when you get an idea into your head. This Blake guy isn’t going to
stand a chance.”

“I have a feeling I’m going to need this
stubbornness when it comes to him. The little interaction I had
with him today led me to believe he isn’t exactly a pleasant
guy.”

Jared patted my hand. “Well, if anyone can get
through to him it’ll be you. Good luck.”

The next morning, I found my way to my first
class without getting lost. Blake was already there, so I took my
seat beside him. “Good morning.”

He grunted in response and I resisted the urge
to roll my eyes. “You know, it’s rude not to return someone’s
greeting.”