I made my way to the room. I remembered it from before, and the cane tapping made it an easy route. I was getting used to the office, to Abigail. I knew that she was accommodating me a little bit because I was blind, but I loved how I wasn’t just someone that deserved her pity. As crazy as it sounded, I liked that she was the one that would tell me off as well.
It took a few minutes for her to come back into the room, and I could see the light change when she turned the lights on for herself. The smell was back, her aura was back, and so was the swelling in my own body in response.
We started with some balancing and that meant that she was right behind me, hands lightly touching me in different places. It messed with my head, and I had to take a break after about ten or fifteen minutes into it. I told her that I would be back, and I walked off shaky with my cane to the bathroom. When I got in there, I breathed deeply and told myself to get it together. Why could someone that I had never seen before make me so damn crazy inside? I knew it was likely the vulnerability and her courage that pulled me in. It was an intoxicating mix, and it was one that I wasn’t sure I’d found before.
“Are you alright?”
I was back in the room, and I told her that I was fine. I heard her talk to Dana while I was in the restroom, and it was no longer just the two of us. Why did that sadden me so much and make me feel like I had missed out on an opportunity?
“If you need to stop because you’re sore or hurting, just let me know. I don’t want you to push yourself too much.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s fine.”
She started to say more, but then she stopped. “Okay. I hated it when people said that to me too. Do you need some time or are you ready to get started again?”
I said that I was grateful that she hadn’t made a big deal of it. I didn’t know how she was so solid, but I needed that at the moment. I needed Abigail, in more ways than one. It certainly wasn’t just for her therapy and that confused my mind. I didn’t know if I was coming or going, but I certainly wanted to find out.
Leaving the office, I didn’t know how I felt. I was ready to go straight home, and I had the Uber waiting for me. Abigail was a woman that I didn’t understand, or I didn’t understand dating now that I was blind. It felt like there was a lot that I was missing, but before I could think about it too much, I heard Dana’s voice. I was just about to get into the vehicle and her voice stopped me.
“Hey, Jason,” the voice behind me said. I turned back. Even though I couldn’t see her, I still turned to her and waited. “Yeah?”
“I was wondering if you wanted to go out some time?” Her voice quavered with nerves or desire. I didn’t know which one and it was annoying. In my old life, I could have looked at Abigail and known in seconds how she was feeling. Now, I was meant to figure it out like I was a detective.
I’d seen it coming, Dana asking me out. I knew it the last time she flirted with me, but I was interested in her boss. I couldn’t say as much, really couldn’t think of a reason to say no. I said yes instead, knowing that I would regret it.
“My number is on file,” I said. “Give me a call sometime.”
Dana agreed and then she took off, I assume. I heard her leave, then I got into the car. It was lower than I was used to, and I was so distracted that I almost hit my head. When I got in the car, all I could smell was a fake tropical smell. It was hard to focus on anything when I was inundated with such a scent. It was certainly not the nice floral smell that Abigail had on. This was fake and loud and obnoxious. Turned out, it was just like the owner of the car.
“Hey, man, did you really just blow that hot chick off?”
I had guessed that Dana was attractive, just by how she acted the last time when I didn’t fall all over her. She needed someone to admire her, and since that wasn’t something that I could even do, it didn’t make sense that we would ever work.
“She’s nice and all, but I am not interested.”
He scoffed and said that I was blind. I agreed and after a moment, he knew that was the case and he chuckled. “Man, you have no idea the piece of tail you just turned down. If you had seen her, I guarantee you would have gone with it. I would give my left nut for her.”
That didn’t sound all that appealing, but it had made the way Abigail acted different. She was just as gorgeous; I was sure of it. Abigail didn’t act like it though. She didn’t act like she was a ten.
“Sometimes looks aren’t everything.”
The guy chuckled and started to pick up the pace. “No, I guess for you it isn’t.”
When I got home, I had Abigail on my mind, and I called Kyle to see what he was up to. I didn’t feel like getting out, but I did want to talk to him about what happened. I was confused with how she was acting, and I was hoping that he would have some insight. He seemed to understand women better than me, even when I could see.
He agreed to come by, and I made a couple of drinks. He didn’t live that far away, and I was glad to hear him come in.
“Hey, Kyle, drink is on the bar.”
“You really are blind. Who’s Kyle and when is he supposed to be here?”
I turned to the voice, and I felt the air pushing around the fist that hit me in the face, only seconds before contact. I was in my head too much and when I tried to block the next one, I was kicked in the gut. A few more hits that I didn’t see coming and I was practically out of it on the floor. This never would have happened if I could see, and I swear it was just another reason to curse it all.
There was loud banging and noises around me. I figured that it was the house getting ransacked and before too long, they were leaving when Kyle was coming in. It had only been fifteen minutes since I talked to him, but it had been enough.
Kyle fought that attacker and he won because I was checked on next. The cops were called while he helped me up and sat me down on the couch. My head was woozy, and I swear there was less light than usual. The blackness caught me off guard. I had been hit several times in the head, and I worried that it had taken away the light and darkness. It was all I had left. I wasn’t as concerned with the pain of it, though it did hurt every time I breathed.
“What the hell, man?”