Blind Love (Edited)

Chapter 46: The Start of Christmas Break

"Well since it's our first day off from school," he took a deep breath, "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the park with me."

There was silence. Then Landon heard her voice. "Sure, I'd like that."

"Okay, then. Take out your blindfold."

Lauren was taken aback. "My blind fold? What for?"

"Just trust me, please. We're still going to the park, but you'll see what I have in mind when we get there."

Lauren didn't think twice. She knew he could trust him. He had shown her millions of times that she could put her trust in him. They headed out and as they were nearing their secret place, she asked, "What are you planning, Landon?"

"It's supposed to be something nice." he answered.

"But--" and then it hit her. This wasn't just some random thing. The last time she had used a blindfold was that day that she had taken on the challenge to feel what it was to be blind. That day was the day that she had asked Landon to teach her some of the things he had learned as the time passed with his blindness. That blind fold was a key component of that situation. "You're teaching me again, aren't you?"

"You can kind of say that."

"Landon seriously, what exactly are you planning?"

"Be patient with me. I promise it's nothing bad."

Lauren felt her heart beat faster as she realized that her arm was looped in his. It surprised her how she hadn't noticed before now. She knew where she was going but at the same time, it felt like there was no certainty that it was there. Her senses were all over the place, but she could already feel her other senses beginning to take over as her eyes were covered.

"We're here." he announced and then he spoke to her in a calm voice. "We're here in our secret place as I have said before, I hope. I just want you to feel what I feel when I'm here. That's the reason why the blind fold is needed. So you can see the difference between seeing it and feeling it with your other senses."

"Okay. It's a good thing it's not raining."

Landon chuckled.

Lauren felt how the warmth from Landon's arm left hers. His arm went back to his side, knowing that Lauren could do it by herself from here.

"Take five steps," he instructed. "You're practically in the middle of everything. All you have to do is lay down. But do it slowly 'cause you don't want to hurt yourself."

Lauren followed his instructions. It was definitely a different experience without her sight. She was more careful now that she couldn't see. But she liked this. It was different, something she'd never done. And it was like living in Landon's world for a few minutes, hours, however long this would take.

"I know the grass is probably dry now and it's stiff and it pokes you but even then, it feels nice to feel the grass under you." he mentioned.

Lauren took this as her cue to run her hands across the grass. She felt how the dry grass pricked her hands, but it was a completely different sensation. It was as if being blind heightened the other senses because now it felt like she could feel each individual blade of grass. She found herself wondering what it was that made her feel everything whenever Landon was around, because she knew if she had been doing this alone, the effect would not be the same.

Her hand glided freely over the grass and at one point, her fingers grazed Landon's fingers. Her heart went nuts. She hadn't even realized that Landon had lied down next to her.

Landon, too, had felt the sparks as their fingers met. He hadn't known why the impulse of bringing her here was so strong, but he realized that he was just lying to himself. He did know. This was an attempt to to bring her into his world of different senses, of different flavors. He wanted her to imagine what he imagined, to feel what he felt. It was really an attempt to bring her closer to him. That was essentially what this was all about.

At a certain point, everything around them kind of disappeared and by some random movement, Lauren and Landon ended up and inch away from each other. Neither of them had realized what had happened, though. They were too concentrated on everything else.

Lauren focused on the sounds, the quietness of their surroundings, the feeling of the relatively cold wind on her face, the way she felt the wind leave a trace on her skin. The grass was dry now, but it still had life to it. She felt it when she had run her hands across it. There was mostly silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It was a peaceful kind of silence, one where you could think and appreciate everything you had.

Despite everything in her telling it wasn't a good idea, her hand reached for Landon's. Landon didn't pull his hand away, instead he harbored her hand in his. Being how they were now, they both felt the warmth run throughout their bodies. It started at their hands and just spread throughout their bodies like a tsunami that was destroying everything in its path. The only difference was that this tsunami that they felt wasn't destroying anything, it was building up to something more.

In reality, this was all they needed. These little acts made Lauren's heart go wild. She had an idea that Landon had wanted to make this special, but it was special because he was here with her. She didn't need something that was out of this world. All that she needed was already there. Landon made everything better. It was what she had been waiting for all along. There was nobody else that made it seem okay, like Landon had. Landon brought her peace of mind. He brought her trust, clarity, and security. There was just so much he could do and she swore it wasn't normal.

It just wasn't normal for someone to have this effect on another person. When she was with him, all the worries and pain were forgotten. It was wrong. Wasn't it?

Lauren sat up straight all of a sudden and she reached for the blindfold. She couldn't do this. She was thinking about love. She was considering Landon as her love. And it scared the crap out of her.

Landon, sensing that something was afflicting her, stopped her in the nick of time. He had stopped her before she had even had time to stand up.

"Please, don't leave. Stay. Just stay a little bit longer." his voice pleaded.

"Landon, I have to go back-" she started but she couldn't finish it. She had no good excuse.

"Please."

Lauren could see his expression plastered with fear. He was scared and as much as she wanted to, she couldn't just leave him like that.

She stayed with him, sitting on the bench next to him. Her feelings for him were definitely growing. How could they not be? He had done so much for her already. He had given her a place to stay and a place to dream.

How could it be that one person could do all of that for another without expecting anything in return? How was it possible that one person could change another person's life so dramatically? It shouldn't be possible. And yet, Landon had done exactly that. It was crazy really. But she would always be grateful for everything he had done. He had protected her from those two thugs, he had listened to her in the middle of the night, he had given her a place to stay, he'd confided in her, the list just went on and on.

Everybody else had made her doubt them. Nobody had shown her that she was wrong. No one showed her that they could be trusted until Landon showed up.

You're repeating yourself, Lauren, she thought. You always say that. Every single time.

'But you know it's true.' her heart chimed in. 'It's true on every level.'