Blind Love (Edited)

Chapter 15: Back home

Lauren was tired when she got home. She could barely keep her eyes open as she and Emileigh went up to their rooms. She couldn't believe how fun the unofficial double date had been. Well, there wasn't much that they did, except for eat and talk but to her, it was more than enough. She couldn't think about anything better to do. Once she got to her room though, the tiredness disappeared and she had the urge to paint. She went over to the window and opened it up, just a little, so that the light breeze could make her room a bit cooler than it already was. When that was done, she went to see get her things: her paintbrushes, her paint, her palette, her easel; everything she needed to paint a new canvas.

She poured a few drops of each color on the palette. Then she took the paintbrush in her hand and closed her eyes. Once she perfected the picture in her head, she began to paint. As she was painting, memories of the day with Emileigh and the guys crossed her mind. There was so much pain in all of their eyes. Bryan, Emileigh, and Landon all had pain in their eyes. They all had different struggles but they had struggles nonetheless. It was what made her admire them that much more. Thinking about the pain in their eyes, she stopped painting and approached the mirror. She stood in front of it and looked at herself. She remembered all the pain that she had gone through when she was betrayed. She wondered if the pain that was reflected in Landon's, Bryan's and Emileigh's eyes was also reflected in hers. Compared to what Landon, Bryan and Emileigh had gone through, Lauren's pain was a lot less than what they had gone through. But as Lauren looked at herself in the mirror, she realized that the shiny happy eyes that had once been her character feature, were not there anymore. The eyes that looked back at her in the mirror were more serious, more cautious. Ever since the incident, she never looked at guys the same. There was always that sense that they were going to betray her. First, it was her ex-boyfriend, then it was her brother. But she had to learn to love with all that inside of her. It would take a long time for her to trust a guy again. Not really, her heart spoke back to her. You trust Landon already.

But he's blind, Lauren spoke back.

And you trust him because he's blind? The chances of him hurting you in the same way as the others is exactly the same. Just because he is blind, it doesn't mean he can't hurt you. He's still alive. So why do you trust him?

Lauren went back to painting. Her answer to the question her heart asked was, I don't know.

As she began to paint, she couldn't help but think back at her decision to take Landon's hand, if it could be called that. She hadn't expected it. In fact, it was more of an instinct. The weird thing was that the heat that Landon's hand had radiated was still left on her hand even after all the hours that had passed by. All that kept running through her mind were the words he had said last to her: I would have loved to give you some feedback on the painting, but I...I'm not exactly the type that can give much feedback on anything. The way in which he had said it had broken Lauren's heart. Even after all those years, Lauren knew that Landon still hoped to regain his sight again. It was evident in the way he sometimes closed his eyes for a while and then opened them. It was as if Landon hoped that whenever he opened his eyes again, he would be able to see everything. Lauren had caught him a few times trying out the same thing. Each time, the results were the same; she saw the disappointed look on his face. Lauren wished that there was something she could do to help him but she knew it was impossible.

On the canvas, a picture was already starting to form. Lauren was oblivious to the picture forming, because all the while, her mind was kept on the "date" in the restaurant. Although Lauren's mind was elsewhere, she was well aware that her hand was painting on the canvas. What she did not know was what the ending picture would be. There were many moments in which Lauren knew what her end product was going to be, but in many others, she only went with the flow. While Lauren's mind was consciously on another topic, subconsciously she was constructing an image on the canvas. Another few minutes passed, and then her hand stopped moving and she set the paintbrush and the palette down. Lauren stood up and looked at the canvas. The picture on the canvas showed the restaurant that they had been recently in. Looking at the canvas, she realized how good Emileigh and Bryan looked together. It was as if she were witnessing a match made in heaven. She couldn't help but stare. A few tables away from them were Landon and herself. Landon had had that same tender look he had on is face when he told her that he couldn't give her feedback on the painting. As Lauren looked closer at the painting, she realized that her hand was gently resting on Landon's hand. When she saw this a shiver ran down her entire body.