C H A P T E R E L E V E N
Zach's P.O.V.
"Zachary Riley West, what on earth happened to your face?" my mom demanded as I got into the car.
I sighed at her use of my full name through her slightly angered words. That always meant she wanted to make a point clear.
"Nothing, Mom," I reassured, pulling the hood of my jacket over my head in an attempt to conceal the black and blue bruises that now surrounded my left eye.
"Don't lie to me," she replied firmly. She most certainly seemed angry at me.
Yep, she was definitely pissed.
"Can I tell you later?" I asked, and then whispered, "Hayleigh would probably get upset."
I tried not to say it loud, because Hayleigh was right behind me in the back seat. Being the inquisitive seven year old she was, she'd ask a lot of questions that I wouldn't want to answer. Plus, I hadn't made up an excuse for when my mom would ask, because I honestly forgot about the punch to the face.
After a moment or two of silence, I heard her respond, "Okay, but please make sure you tell me the absolute truth. Nothing less."
I nodded, clearly not wanting her to worry. It's not every day that I come home with a large bruise on my face and pain shooting through my ribs. The pain subsided quite a bit, but it was still noticeable.
I entwined my fingers in my lap, squeezing them together a bit. Honestly, I was nervous about telling my mom about the fight. She'd get extremely protective over me, and would want me to always have supervision. I don't need someone constantly watching me just because I'm blind.
I'm not helpless.
"Promise?"
"I promise," I committed, not wanting to lie. One thing about me is that I'm a horrible liar, and both my parents see through my false claims like a flawless sheet of glass.
"Hi Zach!" Hayleigh's high pitched voice squeaked from the back seat. "Are you okay?"
I almost forgot she was in the car. She was being so quiet.
"Hi, Hayleigh!" I exclaimed, forcing positivity into my voice. "Yes, I'm okay, thank you."
Hayleigh can be so caring and sweet. I feel like I don't deserve a little sister like her, and she's literally the best.
"Your eye looks puffy," she noted when I turned around. "And a bit blue."
"Don't worry about it," I retorted gently, giving her an almost genuine smile.
Great. Now my face was swollen and it probably looks like I'm part Cabbage Patch Kid. There was no way Mom would believe any lie I put towards her. That's just wonderful.
The rest of the ride home was fairly quiet besides the occasional comment from Hayleigh about her day at school. I tried to continue her conversation, and engage my mom into it, to keep her focus off my condition. When there's something wrong with me, she worries about it nonstop. I know that part of it is because I'm blind, but there's more to me than that.
When the car pulled into the driveway and after it had stopped, I pulled the interior door handle open and stepped out, the rumbling of the engine stopping as it was powered off. I reached for my book bag and put it over my shoulder, striding towards the front door.
I heard Hayleigh's footsteps fly by me as she burst through the front door, throwing her backpack onto the ground with a thud. With a chuckle, I followed her inside, only to be stopped by my mom's voice.
"Would now be an okay time to talk about your face?" she inquired, her words stern.
"Why not," I replied with a sigh as I turned around.
I honestly wanted to keep quiet, knowing how much this would worry my mom, but she'd keep insisting until I said something. She led me into the family room and I sat down on the couch. It was extremely comfortable, and I leaned back into it, the softness soothing the dull soreness in my ribs. I quickly sat back up, realizing my mom was right next to me, expectantly waiting for an explanation.
"I didn't want to say anything about this, but," I confessed. "I got into a fight."
"What?!" Mom's voice grew louder with shock and concern. "Why?"
"I honestly don't know the reason why," I replied, running my fingers through my now messed up hair.
"This is exactly the reason why I wanted to homeschool you," she sighed, putting her hand on my shoulder.
"Mom, I'm not helpless, you know," I retaliated, not realizing the amount of anger that would be in my voice. "I can take care of myself, and I have friends there."
There was no response. I groaned, not meaning to sound as frustrated as I felt. She means well, but she doesn't understand that not having sight isn't as big of an issue that she thinks it is. At least to me it isn't/
"I didn't mean it like that," I said, a bit softer. "I just don't want to leave my friends."
Without a warning, I felt a pair of arms gently wrap around me. I returned the hug gratefully, feeling a bit better after spilling the beans, but even more so that she wasn't too terribly mad.
"Just be careful, please?" she pleaded into my shoulder. "You don't know how much I care about you."
"I will, I promise," I stated as she gently let go.
"Um, not to ruin the moment, but can Zach play plushies with me?" Hayleigh asked politely from the doorway. "I'm bored."
I turned towards the direction of her voice, a smile growing across my face. "Sure, Hayleigh."
"Oh, Zach?" my mom's voice exclaimed before Hayleigh could drag me out of the room.
I stopped in my tracks, slightly caught off guard. "Yeah?"
"I scheduled an appointment with an eye specialist at the hospital I was telling you about on Friday," she noted. "In case you still want to try the surgery."
I nodded vigorously, clearly getting anxious about the whole surgery thing. "That's totally fine," I replied, my muscles tensing up a bit from excitement.
"I'll have to pick you up an hour after lunch, since the appointment is at 5, and the hospital is about three hours away," she added. "Is that okay?"
"Sure!" I responded as Hayleigh gently grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room, laughing.
Hayleigh led me into her room and shut the door. I sat down on her bed, which was almost as comfortable as the couch, so I laid down.
"Zach, you're messing up the pillow!" complained Hayleigh, grabbing the pillow from under my head.
"Sorry, Hayleigh," I let out a fake sigh as I sat up, a smile on my face.
I heard her small footsteps run across the room as she went to grab something, which I assumed to be a toy, then she came back, putting something in my hands.
"You can play with Teddy," she said, closing my hands around the teddy bear.
"Why'd you name him Teddy?" I asked, and my lips turned upwards into a grin. "Why can't I name him Larry?"
"Because his name is Teddy," she argued, giving me a soft push to my side. I winced ever so slightly because she shoved where I had been hit earlier, but didn't blame her for anything because she didn't know.
"But I'm playing with him," I retorted jokingly. "His name's Larry now."
"No it's not!" Hayleigh raised her voice, giving me another small push.
I pulled my little sister into a giant bear hug, both of us laughing hysterically. I felt her breathing come in small gasps as she wrapped her arms around my neck. It was the best feeling in the whole world to have someone who cares about me.
I love Hayleigh so much.
Kelsey's P.O.V.
"I heard about Grandpa," Mom said, sadness in her voice as I walked through the door after school. "I'm sorry we weren't there.."
"It's not your fault, Mom," I reassured, putting a small, fake smile on my face.
I gazed into her sad eyes, and they were full of grief because Grandpa was her dad, and she was very close to him. I let out a sigh, pulling her into a hug. I felt her arms carefully wrap around me as I suddenly released all the emotions I felt.
Tears began streaming down my face once again as the amount of sadness concealed inside poured out. My grandpa was one of my favorite people in the whole world, and he's gone for good. I felt Mom's comforting hand rub my back softly, and I wished that I had told Zach the truth instead of acting depressed the whole time.
Just as if my mom could read my thoughts, she asked, trying to alter my mood, "On a lighter note, how's Zach doing?"
"He's doing okay," I replied, wiping the tears from my face. My mom seems to be getting the hint that I really like Zach, and she knows that mentioning him to me openly helps to change my mood. I'm just glad that my parents like my crush.
"You like him, don't you?" she inquired, reading my thoughts once again.
Without hesitating, I nodded.
I really did.
I found it extremely easy to look past his blindness, and can't understand why most people at school don't see him the way I do. He's one of the nicest people I've ever met, and to be perfectly honest, he looks amazing. I don't even have to be in the same room with Zach to have a bit of butterflies. I'm so glad I bumped into him that day.
"You made the right choice," admitted Mom, kindness in her comforting eyes.
I smiled a little as she brushed a few strands of my long hair behind my ear. "Thanks, Mom."
She returned my weak smile, and after a moment, I walked to my room, quietly shutting the door behind me. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and laid down on my bed, resting my tired head on the three pillows that lined the head of my bed.
I scrolled through my phone, trying to clear my mind of the thoughts of last night, and my grandpa. I let out a huge sigh, setting my phone down on the nightstand next to my bed. I shut my eyes slowly, and before I knew it, I drifted off.
~•~•~
I awakened to the sound of my school alarm going off. Groaning in frustration, I leaned over, grabbed my phone, and turned it off.
Prying my exhausted eyes open, I sat up, rubbing my forehead. Had I really slept through the whole night? After all, I was up all night last night, so that was a bit understandable. Climbing out of bed, I peeked at myself in the mirror.
My hair was an absolute mess, so I grabbed my brush and cleaned it up a bit. It seemed like an eternity until I undid all of the knots in my hair, got dressed into something comfortable, and went out into the kitchen.
"You really must've been tired last night," my dad commented as I plopped myself down into a kitchen chair. "You went to sleep at around 5:30."
"I was," I laughed quietly, walking to the pantry and grabbing a box of cereal.
After grabbing a bowl from the cabinet, I poured my cereal into it, and walked back to the table. Since I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday, I was pretty hungry. While chowing down on my breakfast, my dad sat down next to me.
"Did you dream about Zach?" he joked, a playful look in his eyes.
"Dad!" I retorted, choking on my cereal. "No, I didn't!"
I felt the redness in my cheeks build up as my dad started laughing. "I'm just teasing, sweetie," he said, giving me a gentle kiss on the forehead. "You know I like Zach."
I smiled, grateful that my parents didn't give me too much of a hard time about having a crush.
Well, my dad enjoys teasing me about it but at least it's not that kind of teasing, the kind that tears you down.
Even though it was a little embarrassing, my parents enjoy it when I make new friends, especially people like Zach.
I practically inhaled the rest of my cereal, considering how hungry I was. I'm glad I did, because the school bus arrived at my house sooner than I had expected.
"Bye, Dad!" I exclaimed as I rushed out the door.
Honestly, I was a little excited to go to school. I'd be able to spend some time with Zach. I climbed onto the school bus, retreating to my normal seat in the back. I gazed out the window, suddenly deep in thought.
I wonder if Zach likes me back?
~~~
Hayleigh is one of my favorite characters to write about; she's just too darn cute!
Personally, I absolutely adore writing about the sibling relationship between Zach and Hayleigh because I have a younger sister, and it's fun writing from the older sibling's perspective! What do you think about their sibling relationship?
I hope you guys liked this chapter because I loved writing it! Much love :)
~Eclipsityy <3