Love is Blind (5 page)

Blake refused to speak to me for the rest of the
class. I asked him for his phone number so we could set up a time
to meet, but he ignored me. I narrowed my eyes and decided it was
time for slightly more drastic measures. When the bell rang,
instead of getting up to leave like I usually did, I stayed in my
seat. I’d noticed the same girl coming in to get Blake after class
a few times, so I figured she would be my best bet for getting some
information.

A few minutes later, she came in. I think she
was about a year or two younger than me, but it was hard to tell
for sure. She was a few inches taller than me and she was thin and
willowy. Her dark, honey blonde hair hung just past her shoulders
and her pretty blue eyes were currently looking at me curiously. I
smiled at her from my seat. “Hi, I’m Hailey.”

Her eyes widened briefly and she flicked a
glance at Blake quickly. “I’m Sophie.”

“Blake and I are going to be doing a project
together and he’s being a stubborn ass about giving me his number
so we can set up a time to get together. Would you mind giving it
to me?”

“We’re not doing the project together,” Blake
snapped.

I ignored him and continued to look at Sophie.
“Like I said, he’s being a stubborn ass.”

Sophie looked between the two of us and then a
slow smile spread across her lips. “Sure, I’ll give it to you.”

Blake’s head whipped in her direction.
“Sophie!”

“What?”

“I don’t want to do the project with her!”

She rolled her eyes and held out a hand to me.
“Give me your phone and I’ll program the number into it. You can
text him if you want; he has an app that reads them out loud for
him.”

I grinned and handed her my phone, despite
Blake’s cursing beside me. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“Damn it Hailey, I said I’m not doing the stupid
project with you! Stop treating me like a child who has no say in
what happens,” Blake spat out.

“If you don’t want me to treat you like a child,
then stop acting like one,” I snapped back. “Jesus, you’re throwing
a bloody temper tantrum like a five year old would.”

Sophie chuckled and desperately tried to turn it
into a cough when Blake turned in her direction again. “She’s got a
point, cuz. You are acting like a bratty child.”

“You’re related to him?” I asked her. “I
suddenly have a lot of sympathy for you.”

“Hailey, I think you and I are going to be good
friends,” she told me and then handed me my phone back. “I put my
number in there as well so when he ignores you, you can call me and
set up a time to come over.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” I got to my feet and
grabbed my bag. “It was nice meeting you, Sophie. I’ll see you
later Blake.” Without waiting for a reply, I walked out of the room
and headed to my math class. David and Rachel were already there
and they were looking at me curiously when I sat down. “What?”

Rachel tilted her head to the side. “Did you
really tell a teacher that you were going to make Blake Adams do a
project with you?”

My jaw dropped as I stared at them. “How the
hell did you hear about that?”

David put his elbows on his desk and leaned
forward. “Anything to do with Blake is kind of big news around this
school. I didn’t realize that you knew him.”

My brows furrowed as I looked between them. “Why
is it big news? And I only have the one class with him.”

“I grew up with Blake,” David said. “We were
actually best friends up until two years ago. He was the school
golden boy; popular, smart, good at sports. But after his accident,
everything changed. I tried to help him become the person he was
before, but he kept pushing me away.”

“Wait, so he wasn’t always blind?”

“Nope. He went blind two years ago and turned
into the guy you see now. He pushed everyone away and stopped
participating in anything. He’s a loner now and only talks to his
cousin, Sophie. And I think he only talks to her because he lives
with her and her mom.”

“Where are his parents?”

“They bailed after they found out that he was
going to be blind for the rest of his life. His dad is in politics
and apparently having a son that isn’t perfect doesn’t help with
his public persona or something. They poured a ton of money into
the school so that he could stay here and then they left him with
his mom’s sister.”

The bell rang, cutting off any further
conversation. I didn’t pay attention to the teacher at all during
the class, because my mind was racing with everything that I had
just learned. Blake’s attitude made a little more sense to me now.
His parents had abandoned him, which probably made him feel like he
was no longer worthy of their love. In response to that, he now
lashed out at everyone around him and kept himself closed off. I
understood how that felt, since I’d done the same thing nine months
ago. But I was lucky, because I had two wonderful people in my life
who had pulled me out of my own despair and forced me to start
living again. Maybe now I could return that favour by helping
Blake, though I had a feeling it wouldn’t be an easy task.

That afternoon, I brought my Ipod to the park
with me. I saw Blake at his bench so I went and sat beside him.
Instead of saying anything, I grabbed his hand and placed one of
the ear buds into it. I put the other one in my ear and waited
patiently while he obviously debated on whether or not to put his
in his ear or not. Finally he gave in and put it in. I flicked
through my Ipod until I found the playlist that I’d made shortly
after my accident and started it up. The songs were mainly about
overcoming whatever life threw at you, and I’d found listening to
them during some of my more intense therapy sessions had
helped.

After twenty minutes Blake pulled his ear bud
out so I paused the music and turned to him. He didn’t say anything
for a few minutes but then he tilted his head in my direction. “I
guess I can do the project with you.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his words. “Aww,
I’m flattered.”

He snorted and shook his head. “You’re kind of
strange.”

I shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.” I reached
down and scratched Tonto’s head. “Want to meet my dog?”

“I guess.”

I gave Tonto the command that let him know he
was allowed to greet Blake. “This is Tonto, my Yellow Lab. I’ve had
him for three years now.”

Blake was frowning as he patted Tonto’s head.
“Why do you have a service dog?”

I raised my brows at that. “What makes you think
he’s a service dog?”

“The command you just gave him is the same one
that I give Abby when she’s allowed to meet people.” He gestured to
his dog, who was still lying at his feet. “It’s something all the
dogs from Aberfoyle Kennels learn, and I know it’s unique to
them.”

“Your dog’s name is Abby?” I asked, avoiding his
original question.

“Yeah, I’ve had her for a year and a half.” He
crossed his arms over his chest. “You haven’t answered my question
yet.”

“I didn’t get Tonto from Aberfoyle Kennels,” I
told him, which was the truth.

“He still knows service commands.”

“So?”

“So why do you have a dog that is trained as a
service dog?” He was clearly becoming a little annoyed at my
evasiveness.

“He’s not actually a service dog.”

Blake sighed deeply. “You’re not going to give
me a straight answer, are you?”

I pondered it for a moment. “No, I don’t think I
am; at least not right now.”

“Fine, but can you answer something else for
me?”

“Depends on what it is.”

“Is the reason you have a dog that knows service
commands the same reason you treat me like a normal person?”

“How else am I supposed to treat you? Like an
alien?”

He groaned and let his head fall back on the
bench. “Did you know that talking to you can be kind of
frustrating?”

“Yup,” I replied with a smile. “But in answer to
your question, maybe it is. I know what it’s like to go through
something horrible and feel like the world is against you. I was
lucky enough to have people help me get through it.”

He instantly scowled. “You don’t know anything
about me.”

“I know more than you might think; but even if I
didn’t, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that you got dealt a
crappy hand. Life sucks sometimes but how you handle it is what
defines you as a person. I’ve come a long way from where I was less
than a year ago, but I still have problems. The difference between
us is that I’ve decided to start living again.”

“I don’t know what problems you had or have, but
they can’t be as bad as mine. You’re not going through life with a
disability like I am.”

I let out a disappointed breath. “That’s
probably one of the most ignorant things I’ve ever heard. You of
all people should know that not all disabilities can be seen. Don’t
automatically assume that your life is harder than everyone
else’s.” I stood up and put my Ipod in my pocket. “See you later
Blake.” Without looking back, Tonto and I headed for home.

Chapter six

I was still a little ticked at Blake’s comment
the day before when I sat beside him in class the next day. I
understood that he’d had a rough couple of years, but assuming that
your life was worse than everyone else’s pissed me off. Even in my
darkest moments I’d never thought that I had been dealt the worst
possible hand. I’d understood that no matter what had happened to
me, there was someone who had it worse.

I tapped my fingers restlessly on the desk in
front of me while I waited for the teacher to show up. Blake
surprised me by reaching forward and laying his hand on mine
briefly, effectively stilling my fingers. I turned to him as he
removed his hand and he sighed quietly before speaking. “You know,
I’m blind.”

That definitely wasn’t what I had been expecting
him to say. “What’s your point?”

“Since I’m blind, you shouldn’t get mad when I
don’t see things other people can see.”

“The fact that you’re blind isn’t an excuse for
being an ignorant ass.”

“It’s not?”

I chuckled a little and shook my head. “No, it’s
not.” I put my elbows on the desk and propped my chin on my hand.
“Look, I’m not saying that what you went through isn’t horrible.
But you aren’t the only one who’s had crap thrown at them. You need
to decide if you want to continue going through life the way you
have been, or if you want to try and change. No one can make that
choice for you.”

“What if I decide to keep going the way I have
been?”

“Then I feel sorry for you. Life’s full of too
many wonders to waste it wallowing in misery. Do you want to just
exist? Or do you want to actually live?”

He ran his hand through his hair and then shook
his head. “This conversation is too heavy for this time of the
day.”

I nodded in agreement. “You’re probably right;
plus, Mr. White just walked in. We can continue discussing this
later if you want.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“I have one question for you before I turn into
an attentive student.”

“What is it?”

“Do you want me to start walking you to your
second period class? That way you don’t have to wait until Sophie
gets here to leave.”

He thought about it for a moment before nodding.
“Yeah, okay. I don’t like being a burden to her anyways.”

I didn’t answer him, because I was pretty sure
Sophie didn’t consider him a burden. But I was also pretty sure
that Blake wouldn’t listen to me if I told him that right now. It
seemed to me that he thought of himself as a burden, and that
likely wouldn’t change right away.

When the class was over, we waited for Sophie to
get there so we could inform her of the new arrangement. She was
more than a little surprised, but she also seemed happy that Blake
had agreed to let me help him. “Why don’t you come with us now,
Hailey? I’ll show you where his class is and which seat is
his.”

I agreed and Blake got to his feet. I stood up
next to him and was mildly surprised at how tall he actually was.
I’d never stood beside him in the past; anytime we met he was
sitting down. When I’d seen him walking with Abby he’d been too far
away for me to really notice how tall he was and when I’d seen him
next to Sophie the height difference hadn’t seemed so drastic. “I’m
going to get a sore neck looking up at you,” I grumbled.

He smiled. Actually full out smiled and the
effect it had on his features was amazing. He seemed more
approachable and I could suddenly see how it was that he’d been so
popular before his accident. “Let me guess; you’re short?”

I wrinkled my nose at him. “I’m not short; I’m
average size for a woman.”

“You keep telling yourself that.” He placed his
hand on Sophie’s shoulder and the three of us walked out of the
room. I noticed as we walked that people seemed to automatically
move to the sides when we got close to them, though they stared at
us, and I wondered why that was.

Sophie must have sensed my curiosity because she
turned to smile a little sadly at me. “They avoid Blake because
he’s got a pretty nasty temper. Most of them have figured out that
staying out of his way is the easiest thing to do.”

When I saw another small group of people staring
at us, I frowned. “I get that, but why are so many of them looking
at us?”

“Because no one ever walks with us,” she
explained.

“Oh. I guess that makes sense.”

We finished walking to Blake’s class in silence.
Sophie showed me where he sat and then the two of us left him in
there. Once back in the hallway, she turned to me. “I don’t know
what’s going on between you and Blake, but please keep doing it.
This is the most… interested I’ve seen him since he went
blind.”

“Interested in what?”

“Life,” she replied simply. “I’ll talk to you
later.”