Blind Love (Edited)

Chapter 12: Lauren's Family

"They think they do. But that's not real respect. Never has been. But you, Lauren, you have it and I'm glad you show it to others."

"Thanks, Dad."

"No need to thank me, sweetheart. It's true in so many ways. You're turning into a respectful, caring, understanding young woman. What more can I ask? But if he breaks your heart, I'm coming after him."

"Oh, Daddy. Come on. You're overreacting. And besides, he's too good of a guy to do that. Trust me."

"You've said that before, Lauren. You've said it before."

"I know but I'm sure about it this time. I got hurt last time because I wasn't sure at first and I decided to trust him. This time, I'm beyond sure. I can feel it. Last time, I wanted to feel it, but I didn't. That's why I got hurt. And if it does happen again, I'll do better. I can take care of myself, Dad. I promise. It's not everyday that you meet a blind person my age. And he's pretty amazing. He knows who enters the room just by the smell. And he has great abilities other people don't have. If that's not extraordinary, I don't know what is."

"This young man has really had an impact on you hasn't he? I've never seen you like this. I don't even know how to explain the way you're acting right now."

"Dad, what are you trying to say?"

"Nothing, sweetie. Nothing. Don't worry about it. You'll be fine."

"You know, sometimes you're weird."

"Am I really?" Kyle smirked and kissed his daughter's forehead before he headed out the door. Lauren stood there mesmerized because she couldn't believe the conversation her and her father just had. It made her see her father in an extremely new way. This was one of those memories that she would never forget and one if those lessons as well.

Lauren closed the door and went to grab a book of her shelf. Most of the books on her shelf were about one genre: romance. She was a sucker for romance novels and sometimes that's pretty much all she read. She was open to reading other things as well though, but her favorites were romance novels. She read as much as she could of them. The one she had right now had to deal with a single father who was raising two young kids on his own. It interested her because it was a story about a single father with kids who finds love. Most of they stories she had read were either dealing with single mothers or just women in general. Here she had found a novel about a guy, a single father who was struggling to raise his children while also giving up on finding love. It is when he gives up looking that love hits him in the face. The single father's name was Riley and his children's names were Claudia and Cameron. Claudia was one and Cameron was three. They were both pretty young. The story goes that Riley stayed away from home too much. His occupation was that of defending the country: a soldier. One day his wife filed for divorce and just left, leaving their kids behind and breaking contact with them. Riley didn't take it too well. He had to retire out of the Marines and stay home to take care of the babies. At that time, Claudia was only a few months old and Cameron was about one and a half years old....closer to his second birthday. Riley's world came crashing down when he couldn't find a job and because of that he lost his house. He had to start over and he picked to start over in Pennsylvania. They had lived in Colorado before but he chose Pennsylvania because he had family members who were close to their new address. A year later, a new neighbor has come to the town. Next to Riley's house is a vacant house which is assumed to be the future house of the new resident of the neighborhood. Nobody was expecting the new resident to be a woman, and a lovely one at that. Her name was Marie, and everyone immediately liked her. At first, Riley did not even want to see her, because she reminded him too much of his ex-wife. Whenever he did bump into her, he tried to avoid her and just turn the other way. Marie picked up on Riley's uneasiness and decided to go the way that he normally went. Here he had no choice but to confront his past and this new woman who had moved into town. It was here that Marie realized that Riley had been hurt badly physically and emotionally. From that point onward, she proposed herself that she would help him and his children out, no matter what that took or how long it would take her. Eventually, they learn each others' story and they slowly but surely fall in love. After a few obstacles, they get married. And it ends with the two of them being old and still living with each other.