I'm Blind Not Fragile

Chapter 22

Eric's POV

The conversation with Sebastian helped. Not as much as I hoped though. I was hoping he knew what was going on with Raine somehow. I don't know why, the kid has no connection to our father and he's the one who claims to have her, but I was hoping Sebastian would know something. He did know something though, Raine had a boyfriend who she apparently spent a lot of time with.

But he had a lead at least. Even if this boyfriend doesn't know where Raine is, I would like to meet him. How exactly did he convince my cautious blind sister to date him? I want to make sure he's not trying to take advantage of her. Raine doesn't know how much I protect her from the world, and I worry she is less afraid of the world than she should be.

I kinda stumbled onto my next step of my search for this mysterious boyfriend. I was looking at the building names feeling so very sorry for my sister, who could not see the beautiful storefronts, or the street art on the sides of most buildings. I was looking at one of these paintings on the side of a building when I saw it. A camera. Many of the businesses have security cameras to deter thieves and other wrongdoers. Maybe one of these businesses caught a video of Raine and her boyfriend. We are still so close to the school after all.

The first store I stopped at didn't have security cameras. Which I thought was really weird, because who doesn't have security cameras? The second place I went into wouldn't show the security tapes to me because they valued the customers privacy or something stupid like that. I'm trying to find my baby sister! It was at the 3rd place that I was able to look through their tapes. The woman who owned the boutique didn't want to show them to me at first but when I explained that I was looking for my blind little sister and her regular route is right by her store she got all choked up and showed me her footage. A bend of the truth at best, I am looking for my sister, she is blind, and she does walk by here.

When I was watching the footage in fast forward I started at sometime last week. I inhaled when I saw Raine enter the frame, but I got worried when I saw someone very clearly following her. She must have noticed as well because she stopped and the man following her caught up and they seemed to have a conversation. Raine seemed pretty cross with the man, although on closer inspection he looked more boy than man.

Raine and the boy seemed to have a pretty intense conversation, until the boys seemed to apologize and Raine relaxed. They linked arms and walked out of the frame. I rewound the video a couple minutes and printed out a freeze frame of the boy. I now had a picture of who I'm pretty sure is the mystery boy. I thanked the boutique owner for her help and asked if she knew the boy in the photograph. She said no, but she doesn't get many boys in her shop, so I thanked her again and walked out.

Picture in hand I walked over to the hardware store next door. When I asked the owner if he knew rthe buoy in the photo he quickly shook his head and said he didn't. The man was acting weird almost as if he were nervous that I was talking to him. I don't look that intimidating. But all the same I left him in peace.

This happened a couple more times. Everyone I asked had never seen the boy. Does he not live around here? If he doesn't, how could he have met Raine? And the strangest thing happened at all the other places I went to. All the workers or owners of the business quickly denied knowing the boy and looked uncomfortable with our interaction. I would describe some of them as downright frightened. Once it started getting dark outside I decided that my luck had run out for the day and I would start again in the morning. Nobody seemed to know who this boy is, maybe on a different street, although it would seem weird that the people on Raines usual route didn't know who her boyfriend is.

As I was passing the alley with the pride street art on it I was suddenly grabbed. A hand covered my mouth and I true;y began to panic. This kind of thing has never happened to me before. How much money do I have on me? I am about to get robbed. I was just looking for my baby sister. I half raised her, even more so once our mother died and our father became distant. My dear Raine, I'm about to get robbed for you, I swear to god when I find you I'm going to chew you out. I froze when I felt the sting of cold steel pressed against my neck. I don't make a noise when the hand leaves my mouth. I pressed my head against the yellow of the pride flag painted on the brick wall behind me. I could feel the slippery surface of the painted surface, slick with the sweat of my neck. I really hope I don't die tonight.

The man who had me pinned was wearing a hood and a mask that almost looked like a surgical mask, but it was black and made out of cloth. The only thing I could actually distinguish about the man was that he had very green eyes.

"Why are you looking for Brandon Price?" He demands in a voice that is younger than I thought it would be. The man looks and sounds maybe in his mid twenties, but definitely no older than 25.

"I think you have the wrong guy! I don't even know who that is! I swear I don't" I insisted with my hands up. Trying to show that I'm as little of a threat as possible, I don't even know of a Brandon Price.

"Oh really I have the wrong guy?" He asks as he rips the crumpled paper from my hand. The picture of Raines' boyfriend.

"Is that Brandon Price? I don't even know who he is! I swear I don't know him. I didn't know he was anyone. I was just looking for the boy in the photograph!" I insist. The man looks at me incredulously,

"Are you trying to tell me you don't know you've been asking about the wear out of Brandon Price all day? Either way you better stop looking for him, or you'll feel the full wrath of the White Shell and the next visit won't be as friendly as this." He threatens me very convincingly

"Woah I didn't mean to get caught up in any gang business, especially not the White Shell man, I didn't know who this Brandon guy is, I'm just trying to find my sister, and she's blind, and I don't know where she is. I was thinking this Brandon might know where she is, And I don't even know why I am telling you half of this shit, I can only assume I'm in shock but.."I cut off my epic ramble. I'm horrified knowing I revealed all that to some gangbanger. I'm surely going to die now, because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. However at the end of my rant the gangster slowly takes his knife away from my throat.

"What's your sister's name?" He asked out of the blue.

"Raine" I gasp, relieved that my neck is knife free.

"Wait Raine is your sister? Raine Lewis, blind, dark hair, about yey high" He continued with a gesture vaguely indicating Raine's height. And suddenly everything stops. Raine is involved with gang shit? Why wouldn't she tell me? How did this even happen? How is she even still alive?

"How do you know my sister?"

"Raine is missing? For how long?"

"I don't know you, and I don't think I want you to be involved in Raine's life." As I finished my sentence I'm shoved against the brick wall once again, scaring me into actually answering his question. "Nobody has seen her since last Thursday, she's been MIA for like 5 days."

"Well Brandon knows nothing about where your sister may be. Don't come asking about us again." The man said, finally backing off.

As he was walking away leaving me behind in that dark alley. The experience left me with more questions than answers.

"Wait! Who are you? How do you know my sister?" I call out after him. And I don't know what possessed him to do so, he could have very well just carried on out of the alleyway.

He turned back around to me and said: "The name's Gavin. Hope you find your sister." And with that he walked away lighting a cigarette on his way out of the mouth of the alley, and faded into the darkness.