Love is Blind (4 page)

After supper, my back was feeling good enough
for me to take Tonto for a walk to the park. I wasn’t able to play
with him, so we just walked there and back. I didn’t see Blake, but
it was later than I usually went there so I wasn’t surprised. I saw
a few kids playing, and I watched them on the swings for a few
minutes before turning around and going home. I watched a movie
with Jared and Liam and was about to go to bed when my phone went
off, indicating a text message. I glanced at it and then dropped it
as if it had burned me.

Jared and Liam both looked over at me and when
they saw the phone lying on the floor, Jared picked it up. His face
darkened with rage and he swore under his breath when he saw the
message. “How the hell did the little prick get your number?”

Liam got to his feet and took the phone from
Jared. He read the message and immediately dug his own phone out of
his pocket. He dialed a number and then left the room for a few
minutes. When he came back, he handed me my phone. “His number is
blocked from your phone now. He won’t be able to contact you
again.”

I shook my head as I took it from him. “He’ll
find another way, I’m sure. But at least this will deter him for a
while.”

Liam sat on the arm of the couch beside me. “Do
you want to call the cops and file a restraining order on him?”

I sighed and leaned back. “No, I just want to
pretend he doesn’t exist. Hopefully he’ll just give up eventually.
If he doesn’t, then we’ll look into a restraining order.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. He’s not threatening me or anything, so
I’m not too worried about it right now.” I got to my feet and
hugged both of them quickly. “I’m going to bed. Good night.”

They both murmured their goodnights and I went
into my room and got into bed. Once I was settled, I looked at my
phone and noticed that Liam had deleted the message already. I
plugged my phone in and turned on my side, snuggling down under the
blankets. I forced the text message from my mind and drifted off
into a thankfully dreamless sleep.

School the next day was the same as it had been
for the rest of the week, aside from the fact that Rachel invited
me to a party the next day. I declined, since I didn’t go to
parties anymore, but told her I’d be happy to do something on
Sunday if she was interested. We agreed to go shopping and she gave
me her number and address so I could pick her up.

That evening Jared took me to the movies. We
pulled into the parking lot and climbed out of his truck. He slung
his arm over my shoulders casually as we headed inside to get our
tickets. We were standing in line when I heard someone calling my
name. I turned my head and saw David and Rachel moving in our
direction. “Oh, there are some of my friends from school,” I told
Jared.

He followed my gaze and smiled. “So I get to
meet some of your friends then?”

“Apparently.” Once they had reached us, I smiled
warmly at them. “Hey guys, I didn’t know you’d be here
tonight.”

Rachel clutched David’s hand and beamed at me.
“It was a last minute decision.” Her eyes shifted to Jared, who
still had an arm over my shoulders. “Hi, I’m Rachel and this is
David.”

“This is Jared,” I told them.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Jared said
politely.

Rachel had an odd gleam in her eyes as she
looked between us. “Are you two a couple?”

I snorted and shook my head. “Not even close.
He’s my brother.”

She lifted an eyebrow and looked at Jared again.
“Your brother?”

“Well, we’re not actually related but we grew up
together. I’ve literally known him forever.” I didn’t tell them
that Jared was my actual brothers best friend, because that would
just lead to a lot more questions that I didn’t want to answer.
“I’ve always considered him my big brother.”

“So does that mean you’re single?” she asked
curiously.

I fluttered my eyelashes at her. “Why Rachel,
are you trying to ask me out on a date?”

All three of them laughed and Rachel shook her
head. “I don’t think David would like sharing me,” she replied in a
fake sad tone.

David looked at her incredulously. “Are you
kidding? Girl on girl action is hot!”

Rachel and I both groaned and rolled our eyes.
“Why are men such pigs?” I asked forlornly.

“Hey, I didn’t say anything,” Jared
protested.

“But you were probably thinking it,” I
replied.

He shrugged his shoulders. “No comment.”

We had reached the ticket counter by now so he
paid for our tickets. Rachel and David decided to go to the same
movie as us and we ended up sitting together. I had a great time
and on the way home Jared told me he’d really liked them. I could
tell he was happy that I had made some friends already. Though he
never said anything, I knew he was worried I would slip back into a
depression like I had for the first two months after the accident.
If it hadn’t been for him, I probably never would have gotten out
of that funk and I was glad that he was happy for me. I didn’t want
him to worry about me, especially since I’d made so much
progress.

When we got home, we went our separate ways; me
to take Tonto for a quick late night walk and Jared to the guest
house where he slept. I only took Tonto around the block and then
went back home to go to bed. As I fell asleep, I had a smile on my
face. I was happy, and that was something to be proud of after the
hell I’d been through in the past year.

Chapter four

I went shopping with Rachel on Sunday and ended
up having a lot of fun. It’d been awhile since I went out with
someone that wasn’t Jared or Liam, and I enjoyed the girl time. She
tried to pry me for a little more information on my past, but I
dodged the questions and she quickly understood that I didn’t want
to talk about it. After that, we talked about almost everything
else and we ended up laughing quite a bit. The trip managed to take
my mind off the fact that I would be seeing my brother in the
hospital shortly.

Unfortunately, the carefree afternoon came to an
end when we parted ways a couple of hours later and I remembered
where I had to go next: the hospital. I drove there and went up to
Jake’s room. My heart clenched as it always did when I saw him
there, but I resolutely walked in and sat by the bed.

“Hey Jake.”

I sat with him for half an hour, telling him
about the rest of my week. I’d heard somewhere that people in comas
could sometimes hear the people around them, so every time I saw
him I made sure to catch him up on my life. If he ever did wake up,
I wanted him to have every chance at knowing what had happened
while he was unconscious. I knew the chances of him waking up were
slim to none, but I refused to let go of the tiny ray of hope that
I still had.

I drove home and immediately decided to take
Tonto to the park before dinner. We went to the field we usually
went to and I tossed the Frisbee for him for about twenty minutes
before turning to leave. When I saw Blake sitting at his usual
bench, I decided to go and say hello before I left. Tonto followed
along behind me as I walked to the bench and he perked up a little
when he saw the dog at Blake’s feet. I told him to behave though,
so he didn’t approach the other dog. I sat beside Blake and
stretched my legs out in front of me. “Hey,” I said.

He sighed. “Am I not allowed to have a peaceful
day without you badgering me?”

I made a face at him, even though I knew he
couldn’t see me. “There’s no reason to be so rude. I was just
saying hi.”

“Fine, hi. Now go away.”

I shook my head and laughed a little. “No, I
think I’ll just stay here. It’s a beautiful day and I don’t feel
like being cooped up in the house.”

He groaned and let his head fall back against
the back of the bench. “Then go bug someone else.”

“Oh get over it. I won’t bug you; I’ll just sit
here quietly with my dog. You can go back to ignoring me.”

He scowled but didn’t say anything else. I
pulled out my phone and started playing a game, content to just sit
in the silence. Fifteen minutes later, Blake finally blew out a
breath and turned in my direction. “Why are you still sitting
here?”

“I told you, it’s a nice day.”

“Yeah, but why did you decided to sit next to
me.”

I shrugged and continued playing my game. “Being
alone can be boring sometimes.”

“So you’d rather sit beside someone who clearly
doesn’t want you here?”

I turned my attention to him fully. “If you
didn’t want me sitting here, you would have gotten up and walked
away.”

He opened his mouth to reply and then shut it
again with a frown. I was feeling rather smug about rendering him
speechless as I got to my feet. I reached out and patted his
shoulder once in mock sympathy. “If you come up with a great
comeback to that, make sure you tell me in class tomorrow. Have a
good day.” I walked away with Tonto trotting happily along beside
me.

Liam was home when I got back from the park and
he joined Jared and I for supper. Since it was such a nice evening,
we decided to eat out on the back deck so we could enjoy the good
weather while it lasted. When we were finished eating, I tilted my
head back to let the fading sun warm my face. I was hoping that the
peacefulness of the late summer evening would soak into my
subconscious so I didn’t toss and turn all night. I didn’t feel
like dealing with a sore back tomorrow.

“What do you think, Hales?” Liam asked me.

I moved my head to look at him. “Huh?”

He chuckled and tilted his head in Jared’s
direction. “Jared suggested that we go up to the cottage next
weekend if it’s still nice out.”

I smiled at the thought. “That sounds like fun.”
I loved going to the cottage on the lake. In the early part of my
recovery we had spent a lot of time there. Being in the water had
helped me regain the mobility in my back that allowed me to walk
again. “Is the weather supposed to stay pleasant?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it will. We’ll have
to wait and see how it goes.”

“We should probably winterize the place while
we’re up there. I doubt we’ll get many more nice weekends.”

“We were already thinking of doing that. Even if
we do go up there again after next weekend it’ll probably be too
cold to go boating or do any of that kind of stuff. We’ll close up
the boat house and make sure everything is put away that needs to
be.”

I sighed and looked up at the sky. “I’m going to
miss the warmer weather. I swear the sun makes everything seem
better.”

“We can go somewhere tropical for your winter
break if you want,” Liam offered. “I know it’s not for another few
months, but it’ll give you something to look forward to.”

I glanced at him again with a smile. “Have I
ever mentioned the fact that I like how rich you are?”

He laughed and shook his head. “Money doesn’t
buy happiness, you know.”

“I know, but it sure does make it easier to find
happiness.” I stretched out my hand and laid it on his shoulder.
“My happiness comes from the two of you now. I wouldn’t be here if
it weren’t for you guys.”

Liam shifted a little uncomfortably. “You would
have managed without us, Hales,” he muttered, echoing what Jared
had said the other day.

I shrugged and removed my hand. “Maybe, but I
wouldn’t be in the place I am mentally right now, that’s for sure.”
I got to my feet and stretched carefully. “I’m going to go finish
the last of my homework and then get some sleep. I’ll see you guys
in the morning.”

Chapter five

My life developed a routine over the next few
weeks. I went to school and sat next to Blake in first period,
always greeting him cheerfully. Sometimes he would respond and
sometimes he act like a jerk, depending on his mood. After that I’d
go to the rest of my classes and I always ate lunch with Rachel and
David and their friends. Once I was home I’d go to the park with
Tonto and more often than not Blake was there. I started sitting
with him for around twenty minutes every time he was there and he
never asked me to leave again. We didn’t talk too much, but our
silences had become comfortable rather than hostile.

Wednesday evenings I visited Jake and almost
always woke up with a sore back on Thursday morning. There were
other morning I woke up in pain as well, but Thursday mornings
seemed to be the worst. Blake somehow seemed able to sense the days
that I was sore and he would grab my bag and place it on my desk
after first period. I never asked him how he knew I was in pain,
but I did start to notice that on those days he would actually talk
to me a little more than on other days.

Almost a month after school had started Mr.
White, our Biology teacher, announced that we would be doing a
project with our lab partners. This project would count for fifteen
percent of our grade, so he encouraged us to work on it outside of
class. Since Blake never participated in class, Mr. White offered
me some extra help. Instead of agree, I frowned and turned to
Blake. “Why can’t you help me with the project?” I asked him.

“Because I don’t want to.”

“So? Life is full of doing things you don’t want
to do. I don’t think it’s fair that I have to do this on my own
just because you’re being a brat.”

His eyebrows shot up behind his sunglasses. “A
brat?”

“Yeah, that’s what you’re acting like.” I turned
to teacher, who was staring at us with wide eyes. “Don’t worry, Mr.
White. Blake and I will do the project together.”

“No we won’t,” Blake retorted.

I ignored him and smiled at the teacher. “I’ll
let you know if we have any questions.”

Mr. White looked between the two of us and then
shrugged and walked away. Blake was scowling beside me, but I
didn’t care. I’d known him for four weeks now and he never did
anything in class. It didn’t make any sense to me, and I was kind
of sick of doing everything alone whenever we had to work with our
lab partners. And Mr. White never said anything to him, so I had a
feeling the teachers might be getting paid extra to ignore Blake’s
attitude.