Love is Blind (7 page)

“No, because we already moved this one from
Thursday. You know you can’t go that long yet.”

I grumbled under my breath but agreed
reluctantly. “Fine, I’ll be home within the next hour.” I hung up
and put my phone back in my pocket. “I’m going to have to head home
soon,” I told Blake.

“I think I’m about done with any kind of school
work for today anyways. Do you want to work on it one night during
the week?”

“Yeah, maybe on Tuesday.” I brought my glass to
the sink and set it inside before leaning against the counter.
“Would you be interested in coming to dinner at my place one night?
I’ll make sure no one else is home so you don’t have to worry about
meeting anyone if you don’t want to.”

“Maybe; I’ll let you know.”

“Okay, well I guess I’ll see you on Monday
then.”

“You won’t be at the park tomorrow?”

I hesitated for a moment. “I don’t usually go on
Sundays.”

“I know. This is my way of asking if you want to
meet up there for a little bit.”

“You’re actually offering to spend time with
me?” I asked in surprise.

He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest.
“If you’re going to make a big deal over it, then just forget
it.”

“Jeez, you’re so touchy. What time do you want
to meet there?”

He shrugged. “Around two?”

I mentally reshuffled my day around, deciding to
visit Jake in the morning instead of the afternoon. “Sure, I’ll see
you then.” I didn’t let him know how thrilled I was that he had
actually initiated hanging out with me. “I’ll let you know if
anything changes.”

He got to his feet. “I’ll walk you to the
door.”

I followed him back to the front of the house.
He opened the door for me and stepped to the side. I paused in
front of him and touched his arm lightly. “Have a good
afternoon.”

“You too.”

I grimaced when I thought of what I’d be going
through shortly, but I didn’t say anything. Instead I walked to my
car and climbed in. I drove home and found Jared waiting for me in
the therapy room. I sighed and walked in. “Let’s get this over
with.”

An hour later I went into the music room and sat
at the piano. My back felt better than it had for a while, but I
hated the therapy sessions because they could be pretty painful
sometimes. Today hadn’t been too horrible though, and I was in a
pretty good mood as I started playing a few tunes. I soon lost
myself in the music and sang along quietly with a small smile on my
lips.

When I became aware of the fact that I was being
watched, I turned around. Liam and Jared were both leaning in the
doorway smiling at me. “What?” I asked a little
self-consciously.

“It’s been awhile since you’ve played something
so happy,” Liam stated.

“Especially after a therapy session,” Jared
added.

I shrugged. “I’m making progress with Blake. I
guess that makes me happy.”

“Uh huh,” Jared said with a smirk.

“Don’t start,” I said warningly.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He came in and gave me a
quick hug. “I’m just glad to hear you singing something upbeat
again. It’s been quite some time since that happened.”

I frowned a little. “Have I really only been
playing sad and melancholy songs?” I asked them both.

“Yeah,” Liam said. “Like Jared, I like hearing
you play the piano for enjoyment, rather than as a release for your
pain.”

“Huh. I didn’t even realize I was doing
that.”

“Well, I need to go get ready for my date,”
Jared informed us. “I’ll see you both later.”

He left and Liam cocked his head to the side.
“Since it’s just you and I tonight, do you want to go out for
dinner somewhere?”

“Sure. Where were you thinking?”

“Doesn’t matter to me. Come find me later and
we’ll head out.”

He left as well and I turned back to the piano.
I started playing again and my smile was bigger this time. I’d
started on this journey with Blake to heal him; but apparently he
was healing me as well.

Chapter eight

I walked through the halls of the hospital the
next morning, heading to Jake’s room. It was a little quieter than
I was used to, probably because I’d never been there in the morning
before. I always went in the afternoons, either after school on
Wednesday’s or after lunch on Sunday’s.

I reached Jake’s room and was about to go in
when I saw that someone was already in there. I paused and looked
at the young red-headed woman in surprise. “Amanda?”

Her head popped up and I could see tear tracks
on her cheeks. “Hailey, I wasn’t expecting to see you.” She wiped
at her tears and gave me a small smile.

I walked in and stood on the other side of the
bed, regarding her curiously. “I didn’t know you came to visit
him.”

She let out a slow breath. “I don’t get here as
often as I would like to, but I try and make it at least once every
other week.” She looked down at Jake and reached up to touch his
cheek gently. “We may have broken up before this happened, but I
still love him.”

I sat down in the chair by the bed. “He still
loved you, you know. The night of the accident, he told me so.” I
took Jake’s hand in mine. “I think he was regretting letting you
go.”

“I never should’ve ended things with him. I was
just so frustrated that he wouldn’t make any real commitment to me.
We were together for four years and he never once mentioned getting
married or what our plans were for the future.” She let out a shaky
laugh. “It all seems so stupid now.”

Jake had met Amanda in his first year of
university. He’d been studying to be a doctor, and Amanda was
studying to be a psychiatrist. The four years they’d been together
had been the happiest I’d ever seen Jake, and I’d given him a lot
of crap when he hadn’t done anything to try and get Amanda back
after she broke up with him. “It’s amazing how what seemed so
important in the past really doesn’t mean anything now.”

“I’ve often thought that recently.” She was
silent for a moment before looking over at me. “How have you been
doing?”

I shrugged. “Things are getting better. I like
my new school and I’ve made some good friends.”

“That’s good. And your back is doing
better?”

“Yeah, though I still have bad days. But for the
most part it doesn’t bother me too much.”

We chatted a little more for the next fifteen
minutes and then she left. When she was gone, I sat in silence for
a few minutes and then shook my head. “You really are an idiot for
letting her go, Jake. If you ever wake up, I’ll be sure to remind
you of that a lot.”

When I was done catching him up on the last few
days of my life, I left and grabbed some lunch at the cafeteria.
Then I drove home to get Tonto, who insisted on bringing his
Frisbee, so I could meet Blake at the park like we’d arranged.

He was already there when I arrived, so I took
my regular seat beside him, shivering a little due to the cooler
weather. Since it was now October, the weather was getting colder
and winter was just around the corner, waiting to sneak up on us
when we least expected it. “Hey,” I murmured as I settled beside
him.

“Hey,” he replied, and that was the extent of
our conversation for a while. I was lost in thought as I recalled
the conversation I’d had with Amanda. It was the first time I’d
shared my time with Jake with anyone and I was surprised that I
hadn’t really minded it. When Blake spoke again, it startled me a
little. “What are you doing?”

I turned to him and was slightly surprised to
realize that I had unconsciously shifted closer until I was
practically pressed against his side. “Apparently I’m trying to
steal your warmth.”

“What if I don’t want you to steal it?”

“Then you shouldn’t be so warm,” I replied.

“Maybe you should’ve worn something warmer,” he
retorted.

I sighed and shook my head. “Don’t be an
ass.”

“How am I being an ass?”

“By making such a big deal out of the fact that
my body was naturally seeking warmth from you. It’s not a big deal
and you’re making an issue out of it for no reason.”

He frowned and was silent for a moment. Then
with a sigh he lifted his arm and settled it over my shoulders,
enveloping me in warmth. “Better?” he asked.

I grinned. “Much.” I leaned my head back on his
arm and closed my eyes, enjoying the weak sunlight. I remained like
that until Tonto dropped his chin on my lap. I opened my eyes and
saw him looking at me imploringly, Frisbee clamped hopefully in his
mouth. I laughed and patted his head. “Tonto wants to play.” I got
to my feet and looked down at Blake. “Come on, you can play
too.”

“Play what?”

“Frisbee.”

One eyebrow rose up. “You want me to throw the
Frisbee for him?”

My head tilted to the side. “That’s generally
how you play.”

“But I can’t see where I’m throwing it,” he
said.

“So? Tonto can and he’ll catch it almost no
matter where you throw it. And I’ll make sure you don’t take out
any innocent bystanders.”

A smile tugged at his lips as he stood up. “I’m
sure the innocent bystanders appreciate it.”

We walked over to the field and I handed the
Frisbee to Blake. “Just try and throw it straight ahead. There’s no
one over there.”

He ran the disc through his hands a couple of
times and then let it fly. Tonto bounded after it and leapt in the
air to catch it nimbly. He trotted back proudly and shoved the disc
back into Blake’s hands. I laughed and shook my head slightly.
“Well, apparently you can throw it better than I can, since he
brought it back to you and not me.”

Blake shot a grin in my direction and I was
momentarily distracted by how approachable that made him look. “I’m
just awesome, that’s all,” he said smugly.

I rolled my eyes. “Well, there’s a side of you I
haven’t seen before,” I muttered.

“What side?”

“Your cocky side. Didn’t know you had it in
you.”

Blake’s reply was another small grin and then he
threw the Frisbee again. We ended up standing there playing with
Tonto for almost an hour. Abby laid contently by Blake’s feet,
watching Tonto’s antics with mild interest. “Does Abby not like to
play?” I asked Blake.

He shrugged. “Not really. She takes her job
pretty seriously, even when we’re at home. I think she also
believes that she’s too dignified to do something as silly as chase
after any kind of object.”

I chuckled as I looked at Tonto, who was
currently staring at Blake intently in an effort to get him to
throw the disc again. “Dignity is definitely not something Tonto
has ever possessed.” I glanced at my watch. “I should probably get
going home. I need to finish some homework before school
tomorrow.”

“What day do you want to get together to work on
the project again?”

“I think Tuesday would work for me. I can just
drive you home from school if you want.”

“I guess that would work. Can you drive Sophie
as well? That way my aunt won’t have to pick either of us up.”

“Yeah sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Tonto and I walked home and Jared and Liam were
both there. I told them about running into Amanda at the hospital.
“I always told Jake that he was an idiot for letting her go,” Jared
said when I’d finished catching them up.

“So did I. I think he was getting ready to fix
that mistake the night of the accident though. He was talking about
it on the way home from the restaurant.”

Jared and Liam were both surprised that I had
mentioned a detail of the accident. I never spoke about that night,
so it was unusual for me to willingly volunteer something like
that. Neither of them made a big deal about it though. “You think
he would have tried to get back together with her?” Liam asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, he told me that he was
beginning to realize what a moron he had been for just letting her
go. He thought he wanted to spread his wings a little, but
apparently he was pretty miserable without her.” I hesitated for a
moment before continuing. “He even mentioned that he’d been to a
few jewelry stores to look at engagement rings.”

Jared’s eyebrows winged up. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. He didn’t mention anything to you?”

He shook his head. “No, not really. I mean, I
knew he was miserable without Amanda but I had no idea he’d been
thinking of asking her to marry him.”

“I don’t know if he’d been quite ready for that,
but he was thinking about it. I didn’t tell Amanda about the ring
shopping because I don’t know if she should keep hanging onto the
hope that she can have a relationship if he wakes up.”

“If he wakes up, I’m sure he’ll want her to be
there for him,” Liam pointed out.

I sighed. “I know, but realistically the chances
of him waking up are pretty slim. It’s been nine months without any
change.”

“Don’t give up hope on him now, Hales. You never
know what the future will bring,” Jared advised me.

I snorted. “Since when are you so
philosophical?”

He grinned at me. “Since forever. You just never
realized it.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Whatever. Let’s go
eat.”

Later that evening, Jared and I sat down to play
a game of cards while Liam disappeared into his office to do some
work. Halfway through the game, my phone rang. I didn’t recognize
the number, but I answered anyways. “Hello?”

“Hailey, please don’t hang up-”

My eyes widened and I immediately disconnected
the call. I stared at my phone for a moment, fighting the urge to
toss it across the room. When it was suddenly plucked out of my
hand, I blinked a couple of times before looking over at Jared, who
was holding the phone with a scowl on his face. “Did he seriously
just try and call you?”

I nodded. “Yeah, he did.”

“Maybe I need to have a chat with that little
punk,” he grumbled under his breath.