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ricandhaiz · 5 years

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Blindsided, Chapter 11

It was cloudy, threatening rain on the morning Aunt Lara drove Nic and Allie to Wagner University’s Eye Institute. Nic was beset by conflicting emotions as he held Allie’s hand in the back seat of the car and contemplated what might lay in store for them after her retinal implant surgery. Although he was eager to see the fruits of his efforts finally come to fruition, his fears about the numerous ways it could all go wrong gnawed away at him like a gnat buzzing around his ear.

Nic glanced at Allie, who was biting her lip and twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. He gave her hand a squeeze and asked, “Are you all right?”

“Just a little nervous, I guess,” she replied, her voice tremulous.

“You’re going to be fine,” he said in a reassuring tone. “You’ll see.”

Allie opened her mouth to speak but then stopped herself before uttering a single word. He’d sensed a restlessness about her in the two days leading up to her surgery that he suspected had little to do with her impending surgery. Was it due to something that Conner might have said to her when they’d met for coffee? If it was, Allie was being maddeningly tight-lipped about it and had, thus far, shown no sign that she was at all inclined or ready to divulge that information to him any time soon.

He continued to focus on this train of thought until Aunt Lara drove up to the Eye Institute’s entryway to drop them off. They exited the car and proceeded, hand in hand, to the third floor of the building to check in while her aunt parked her car. One of Dr. Severin’s nurses called out Allie’s name shortly thereafter.

They stood up and embraced. It was an emotional moment for them both. She looked anxious and vulnerable, which was so unlike her normally confident and irrepressible self. He racked his brain for some words of comfort or inspiration to impart to her, but every word or phrase that came to mind sounded too quaint and inadequate to express all that was in his heart and mind. In the end, he simply said, “Te quiero.”

“Love you more,” Allie replied with a faint smile and pressed her lips to his. She then turned to her aunt, who had just walked into the reception area, and said, “It’s time.”

“Just think positive,” Aunt Lara replied, sounding upbeat, even though her eyes and overall demeanor expressed a very different emotion. “Nic and I will be waiting for you right here and will come see you as soon as the doctor gives us the okay.”

Allie hugged her aunt. “Thank you so much for everything.”

Aunt Lara gently patted her back and kissed her on the cheek. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat honey. You know that your uncle and I would give you the world if we could.”

“Miss Jacobs are you ready?” the nurse asked. Allie nodded. The nurse then offered Allie her arm and led her away.

Nic felt a lump in his throat as he watched Allie disappear behind the hospital door. Aunt Lara came up beside him and said, “I’m going downstairs to get a cup of coffee and a snack. Would you like to join me?” Nic said yes even though he wasn’t feeling particularly hungry or thirsty and accompanied her to the elevator down to the first floor.

The cafeteria was near the entrance to the building. It was bland and sterile with white walls and bright lights. Nic snagged a chocolate chip muffin off a shelf and filled a disposable paper cup with steaming black coffee and then joined Aunt Lara at a table by a window.

They said little at first as they sipped their drinks and mindlessly nibbled at their pastries. He wondered if Aunt Lara, like himself, was thinking about the donation his padre had made to the Eye Institute in order to pay for Allie’s eye surgery and mulled over whether she’d be able to keep that fact a secret from her niece for the foreseeable future.

Aunt Lara was the first one to break the silence. “Would you do me a favor?” she asked and pulled a small envelope from her purse. Nic nodded. “Can you mail this card to your father for me? I just wanted to thank him for paying for Allie’s surgery.”

Nic took it and put it in his jacket pocket. “I will. That’s very thoughtful of you.”

“It’s the least I could do,” Aunt Lara replied with an apologetic look. “I wish I had the money to pay him back. Mike and I talk about that all the time.”

He shook his head and waved his hand. “Neither he nor I would ever consider it. He did it out of the goodness of his heart. Besides, he’s made more than enough money as a football player and a vintner to take care of himself and his family many times over. He’s donated both his time and earnings to many worthy causes over the years. He’s an extraordinary man in more ways than one.”

“And so is his son,” Aunt Lara replied as she reached out and patted Nic’s hand. “It’s just too bad that we have to keep your part in making this surgery possible a secret.”

“Your niece is a very proud and independent woman,” Nic said matter-of-factly. “She made it clear to me early on in our relationship that she would never knowingly accept money from a friend in order to pay for this surgery.”

“Do you think you’ll ever tell her what you did for her?”

“I don’t know,” Nic replied slowly.

Aunt Lara paused to take a bite of her chocolate croissant, then said, “She’s talked to me and her uncle about wanting to find out who paid for it. To be perfectly honest, neither of us think that you’ll be able to keep this from her forever. Knowing her like I do, she’s going to keeping digging until she figures out who her donor was.”

Nic furrowed his brow. Aunt Lara was right. The question was, would Allie be grateful or angry with him at that point? In truth, he could see it going either way. “I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it.”

After playing out various scenarios in his head, he asked, “Have either you or your husband talked to anyone other than the doctors at the Eye Institute about it?”

Aunt Lara’s eyes dropped down to her hands while she fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. He, in turn, felt his blood pressure spike as he gripped his paper cup filled with coffee and waited for her to respond. “I did say something to Father Marcus, my parish priest, about it not too long ago,” she said in a slow and halting manner. “It was after our weekly bible study. He asked me about Allie and it just came out somehow during our conversation. But don’t worry, he’d never tell another soul about it.”

Nic felt far from reassured as he pursed his lips and tapped his fingers against the table. “I don’t doubt that, but do you know if there was anyone who might have overheard the two of you talking?”

“Well, Conner’s mom, Betty, and two other ladies from the church stayed afterward but they all went upstairs to help members of the Youth Group prepare for the annual Easter egg hunt on the church lawn. As far as I know, Father Marcus and I were alone in the main hall.”

Conner’s mom was there? Nic groaned inwardly as alarm bells went off in his head. “Was Conner there too?” Aunt Lara shook her head. He breathed a little easier.

Just then, a little brown-haired girl of no more than five ran past their table. Aunt Lara smiled. “Allie wasn’t much older than that she was when her father died. Has she told you much about her parents?”

Nic shook his head. “She only has a vague memory of her father and has said that she often remembered her mother being sad.”

“Her father, Sam, was tall, rugged-looking man with curly brown hair. My sister, Cathy, was an ER nurse and was just coming off her shift when they met. He’d responded to an emergency call and had accompanied the paramedics, who needed an extra hand, to the hospital. He asked her for her number and took her out to an Italian bistro in Little Italy the next day. They hadn’t even been dating three months before Cathy called and told my parents that he’d asked her to marry him.”

“It sounds like it was quite a whirlwind romance,” Nic replied, smiling.

“It was. They flew out to California and got married at St. Jude. They had Allie less than a year later. They wanted to have more kids, but my sister miscarried twice after Allie was born and then…” Aunt Lara paused and brought her coffee cup to her lips. He studied her face as she stared past him and took a sip. She looked distraught. “Cathy was at home with Allie on 9/11. She called us as often as she could to give us updates. As you can probably imagine, the phone connection into and out of New York City was sporadic at best. For days on end, we just kept hoping and praying that Sam was still alive somewhere under all that rubble.” She sighed then as she leaned forward and rested her head in her hands. “It’s hard to believe that it’s already been over eighteen years since it happened.”

An image of a five-year-old Allie crying for her father while her mother frantically waited for news of his whereabouts flashed through Nic’s mind, followed by thoughts of what the last few moments of Sam Jacobs’ life might have been like as he raced up the North Tower’s stairwell with his fellow firefighters. He shuddered as he pictured a sea of concrete raining down on those brave men, then said, “Was that when her mother started smoking?”

Aunt Lara shook her head. “She was only a teenager when she lit her first cigarette. It was the cool thing to do. Both my parents warned her against it, but you know how that goes. In one ear and out the other. She tried to quit a couple of times and swore to me that she never took a puff while she was pregnant with Allie but losing Sam broke her spirit. I think that part of her just lost the will to live after that. She went to counseling and often spoke to St. Jude’s parish priest at the time, Father Oliver, but nothing seemed to help. She was smoking up to two packs a day when the doctors gave her the bad news. She died less than three years after we lost Sam.”

Nic handed her a napkin. Aunt Lara thanked him and dabbed her eyes with it. He said, “Allie’s often tells me how grateful she is for the love and support that you gave her while she was growing up.”

“What else were we supposed to do?” Aunt Lara replied. “That poor child. Losing both her parents at such a young age and then having to deal with losing her sight on top of that. We took her to every eye doctor and specialist we could to see if any of them could help her, but they all said the same thing, that her condition was irreversible. She was tough though and took it all in stride.”

“I doubt she could have gotten through it without you.”

Aunt Lara smiled. “Thank you for saying that, but I can’t take all the credit for who she is now. As you well know, she’s always been a very strong willed and independent-minded young lady.”

“I’ve noticed,” Nic replied with a laugh. “She doesn’t like it when people treat her like an invalid.”

“Poor Conner,” Aunt Lara remarked out of the blue. “I don’t suppose he’ll ever learn, will he?”

Nic chose his words carefully and replied, “It’s not for me to say. You know him much better than I do.”

“That was a very diplomatic thing for you to say,” Aunt Lara said with a snort, “especially after all the things he’s said and done. I know you don’t like him very much, and with good reason, but he’s really not as bad a person as you think he is. Conner’s had his eye on Allie since grade school. His mom, who’s my best friend, loves Allie to death and has probably told him a million times what a nice couple they’d make and how much she’d love to have Allie as a daughter in law.”

Nic cringed inwardly at the thought and knew, based on the numerous conversations that he’d had with Allie about Conner over the last couple of months, that that was about as likely as a snow storm in the Sahara desert. Still, for the sake of propriety, he held his tongue.

Aunt Lara continued. “Imagine what it must have been like for him when you came into the picture. You completely upended his plans. Unfortunately, love doesn’t always bring out the best in people, especially when those feelings aren’t returned. Even so, I think he’s a nice young man who’s made a few bad decisions where Allie’s concerned because he thinks you’ve taken away the one girl he’s always wanted.”

“That makes no sense. How could I have taken away someone who was never his to begin with?”

“That may be true, but my guess is he thought he’d eventually wear down her defenses and get her to give him a second look.”

Nic was quiet for a moment as he tried to put himself in Conner’s shoes. After listening and thinking about what Aunt Lara had said, he almost felt sorry for the guy. But still, he doubted that he would have said and done all the things Conner had if the roles had been reversed. Although he would’ve felt wounded by her decision to be with Conner over him, his pride and his love for her would never have allowed him to do anything but step aside and move on with his life rather than sabotage Allie’s relationship with Conner at every turn.

“Do you think that either he or his mother know anything about what I did for Allie?”

Aunt Lara cocked her head to the side and gazed at Nic with a curious expression. “What makes you think that he would know anything about it?”

“I can’t say,” Nic replied. “It’s just this feeling I’ve gotten ever since Allie met him for coffee on Saturday. I think he said something to her…maybe not about what I did for her necessarily but something else about me that’s given her pause. There’ve been, for example, more than a few times when it seemed like she had something was on her mind but didn’t feel comfortable telling me about it.”

“Well, with the surgery and all, I’m not at all surprised to hear that she’s been a little out of sorts. Wouldn’t you be too? For goodness’ sake, it isn’t every day that a blind person is given the chance to see again. I wouldn’t worry about it too much if I were you.”

“I guess you’re right,” he conceded.

“Can I ask you a question?” Nic nodded. “What made you decide to do it?”

Nic sat back and twiddled his thumbs as he went over the reasons why he’d done it. Although he could have cited a few bases for his actions, he quickly homed in on the one that had motivated him from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. And so, he simply said, “I love her.”

“Anyone with eyes can see that,” Aunt Lara replied with a smile.

Nic continued. “After my accident, I felt like I’d lost everything. My career, my girlfriend, and almost everyone else I’d called a friend or acquaintance, for that matter, except my family. I felt unlovable and guilty that I had lived while my friend and teammate Diego had not. I thought I looked grotesque and felt just as ugly on the inside too.”

“My padre and abuelos did what they could to help me, but it soon became clear to me that there were certain things that I needed to work out for myself. That’s part of the reason why I came here to study…And then I met Allie. She helped me to accept who I am and to make the most of the life that I’d been given. With her, I think that I’ve become a better person. Less selfish, more open and appreciative of the things and people in my life.”

“Do you know what you want to do and/or where you’re going to be after you finish your MBA program?”

Nic tried to hide his smile as he pondered how to best answer the unspoken question Aunt Lara had posed. “We’ve only talked in the most general terms about what might happen in the future. I’d like to think that she’ll be a part of my life for years to come but…”

“But what?”

“Do you think she’d be willing to move to a country where she doesn’t speak the language or know anyone but me?”

Aunt Lara nodded. “Allie’s a practical girl but she’s also got a romantic streak a mile wide. She’s a lot like her mom in that way. In fact, knowing her the way that I do, I think she’d do and try just about anything in order to make things work.”

After finishing their snacks and drinks, they headed back to the waiting room on the third floor. At first, Nic tried to study while Aunt Lara flitted through several magazines. He found it hard to concentrate as he read and reread sentences in the marketing textbook he’d brought with him. He eventually gave up and pulled out his cell phone instead. He played video games and exchanged texts with his padre and friend Matt about Allie.

A few hours later, Dr. Severin, who was still wearing scrubs, walked into the reception area. He came up to them and said, “She’s doing well and is being wheeled over to the recovery room as we speak. The nurses will monitor her there until the effects of the anesthesia have worn off and we’re sure she’s stable enough to be transferred to a hospital room.”

“How did it go?” Aunt Lara asked.

“As well as can be expected at this point,” the doctor replied. “There were no complications or surprises and the procedure itself went according to plan. As I told you before, we won’t be able to assess how much of her sight we’ve been able to restore until we take the bandages off and put the glasses on in a couple weeks. It’s different for each person.” She nodded while Nic stood stoically beside her.

“Give us a few minutes and then I’ll have one of my nurses escort you to her.”

When a nurse finally came for them, Aunt Lara immediately followed. Nic, however, remained where he was. His feet felt like they were rooted to the spot. Aunt Lara turned to him as she reached the hospital door and said, “Are you coming?”

“Yeah,” he replied meekly as his leaden feet slowly carried him forward.

They were led to a rectangular shaped room lined with patient beds partitioned by curtains. Allie had been placed in the middle of the room and still appeared to be unconscious. He placed his hand on the bed rail and remained standing while a nurse hovered over her and checked her vitals. Aunt Lara took a seat opposite him near the head of the bed. He tried to think positive. For good or ill, he knew his destiny was sealed. He’d made his choices and had acted accordingly. So now, he could do little else but wait and see what fate had in store for him.

Once the nurse had moved aside and closed the curtain, Nic placed his hand over Allie’s. She looked so fragile and vulnerable, which was so unlike the woman he knew and loved. He closed his eyes and prayed. Please God, let everything turn out all right.

#hailee steinfeld #ricardo gomez #romance #love story #contemporary fiction #fan fiction #soulmates #bffs #guide dog #blind #burn victim

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myeyesareonlyforyou · 6 years

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Eren let out a low laugh that sounded to soft to be sarcastic, Eren trusted Commander to stay put as he reached up with his now free hand to touch his eyes underneath the shades.

“Well, I don’t know about that. I’ve always had weak eyes it’s a miracle I even lived this long. When I was small I got hit by a car I some how manage to survived and a lot of people blame me for the accident since I was the one who walked out on to the street when the lights were green. I did not know, and I caused a lot of trouble. I suppose it taught me a lesson, no matter how many doctor I went to get my eyes fixed it was impossible. The news were always so dark. I got scared. I kept to myself a lot. I didn’t even leave the house I was home schooled mostly. But, I wanted to become a doctor you know. I wanted to give to people that there are ways to go around their limitation. Mine were my eyes. Others, like myself had either lost a limb or their voice. Or their hearing and a lot either have a learning disability or a handicap. It was a lot easier after a while to understand that a lot of people put up a fight even when it doesn’t seem like it.”

Eren removed his fingers from his eyes to resume holding on to the leash that commander put back into his hand silently. Eren smiled down at Commander.

“I’m sure I am just rambling….and it may not even be the answer you seek. But, two years ago I got hit by another car scared my baby to death so bad I try not to go anywhere without him. This car accident taught me the fear of the unknown. To me the world of lights is a big endless and dangerous place to be and it can be quite scary too. I may not show it because I’m so use to it and 90 percent of it is due to being stubborn…” Eren turned his head to face Levi grinning a little bit.

“I’m really really really reallllllly stubborn and hot headed. I hate being weak so I’ve learned to adapted into the next best thing. I rely heavily on my other senses. Sounds, touch, taste, and my sixth sense became my new best friend. Counting also helps me out a lot. As well as touch, so if I touch you please don’t be alarm. I can’t see but, I’m good at sensing things so please try and bare with me. I do mean it when I say I don’t care if I have my sight back or not. All I want now is for the pain to go away. I’d rather be blind for the rest of my life than to cower underneath the light. Even if you got to remove them both then please by all mean. Take them out. I want to walk underneath the sun holding my babies hand then miss out any more events. I’m a strong man so even if I don’t have eyes and even if I do end up alone when my baby leave the nest. I know I can take care of myself. After all Jaeger’s lives an extremely long lives.”

Eren felt the hand Levi was holding squeezing his the sound of his heart beating a sad melody.

Eren offer a cheerful smile, “Please, don’t be sad. That was not my intent, You really are too kind for your own good. You do know that right? If I had someone like you to marry then my existent would double in it’s meaning. I have Armin of course but, it’s not like I can marry my own son. That be too weird.” Eren replied laughing.

“What do you mean? You’ve never had any one who-”

Eren shook his head no, “When you asked me if I had a girlfriend before. I told you yes. Both girlfriend and boyfriends. But, not one of them gave me the connection of intimacy. Sure they lust for me but, that was just it… Lust and greed. I’m a rich and a bit powerful man I suppose but, if I didn’t have that. There would be a big divorce sign over my head or worse case scenario i could be on one of those men who gets killed for their life insurance. Just thinking about it has me lived the single life of a bachelor. And right now, I’m content with that it just means Armin will get a lot of attention from me. I’mma spoil him so much he wants to get away.”

Just as he said that the door behind them opens up and a drunk person stumbles out. Eren didn’t frown or show any reaction when the stench came closer to them.

Commander shifted to move behind him, he was relax and that was enough to keep Eren relaxed. Although his companion is standing tall ears pointed and at alert he made no noise.

“Well, that’s enough about me. It should be time for the kiddos to come back now. Do you want to go get them? Or should I send Commander to go fetch?”

The word fetch had the the dog ear twitch back and forth waiting for the command to come after fetch.

“Send Commander, your eyes should be getting better now. I’ll call in so we will have a spot. And Eren?”

Eren cock his head to him with an innocent hm?

“Want to go on a date with me?”

Eren resisted the urge to blink, because after he said that he was swearing.

‘Awh, he’s flustered.’

Eren giggled, “Okay! Where too?”

That caused Levi to pause as if he haven’t been expecting that but, then he straighten up. “Somewhere nice. I want it to be a surprise though is that okay?”

Eren thought about it, “As long as you tell Armin where I’m going then it should be fine. Don’t worry I won’t ask where I am going since you told me it be a surprise. But, I don’t like the idea of leaving Armin home alone….so how about your kids and Armin’s childhood friend spend the night at my place. Private injured her wings so she’s staying at home. So..”

Eren felt something soft on the back of his hand before he sense a smile on Levi’s face.

“Sounds like a plan, since my kids wants to get to know Armin this sounds like an excellent idea. We can even give them a heads up on the planned picnic with the four legged kids.”

Eren returned the smile, “Sounds great.”

Before they could keep talking Commander released a hard bark that made Eren jump right out of skin. He turned around to notice the stench of beer and since Commander is giving off a warning bark he shifted his stance.

“Commander?”

Levi was pulling him back gently it was as if he was placing himself in front of him. Since Eren couldn’t open his eyes he had to guess by the silence that something was wrong.

The voice spoke it was male of course, by the way he was walking he was heavy. He’s wheezing too but, it didn’t sound like he was panting. Perhaps a heart disease. It made that awful gurgling sound and since he’s been drinking it’s only making it worse. Like the oxygen is lacking.

Eren placed a hand on Levi’s shoulder,

“Levi?”

He didn’t respond but, the male did.

“Two fagots fooling around in the dark huh, disgusting.”

Eren closed his mouth,

“That car should have killed you. Fucking fags are popping out all over the place. Back in my day a faggot like you would‘ve of just gotten beaten.”

Eren hums his reply. So he even eased dropped on them, talk about a lack of privacy.

“I believe it’s none of your business rather I date a woman or a man, they are all the same to me. One can give the same amount of pleasure regardless of the gender. And the last time I checked. I’ve never lain with anyone so you have no right to call me of such an offensive language. In the language of this land I believe I am a so called virgin. So there.”

That only made him madder and before he can take another step to him, his knees buckled forward and the scent of the ocean breeze came to tickle his nose. Eren smiled brightly.

“Don’t you dare call my daddy a faggot you over sized fat shit of lard.”

Eren gasp at the language.

Armin put his heeled boots on the man face digging his heels in,

“I’m in a foul mood Mister so how about we play?”

He pressed his boots down harder causing the male to scream he made him howl a few more times before he gave a cruel stomp to the balls between this fat bastard thigh. Eren rushed to get him and pull him off but that just made his Armin get close and person to that person ears. Armin pulled the guy hair so he was raised up high enough for Armin lips to be near his ear.

“You come anywhere near my daddy again.”

Armin grip tighten in his hair despite Eren trying to declawed him from the grown man.

‘The next head I make fly will be yours.’ His lips were moving but, the words he spoke were pushed into the male thick skull. Slowly his crimson eyes dyed back into be a bright beautiful blue hues.

“Baby, let go. He didn’t hurt me. He was just drunk. Nothing serious.”

Armin let go of him after yanking a patch of hair from the poor guy.

“Did you just pulled a patch of hair from him? I heard a rip??”

Armin raised up to wrap his arms around his daddy neck. He dropped the strands of hair away from daddy.

“Nu uh, I didn’t. You sure you’re not hurt? I heard yelling? And why were you alone with Levi?”

Eren tilt his head down to look at him.

Armin corrected himself immediately, “I mean why were you alone with Dr. Levi…or Mr. Levi?”

Eren smile then, “To answer you first question yes, I am sure. I am not hurt at all. You did hear yelling but, the man was clearly drunk. He smelled way to drunk to know what he did when he comes around. And you can call him either Dr. or Mr. It’s polite and respectful. I left to go get some air, Levi kept me company outside since it was dangerous to be in the dark. We were talking about where we wanted to go eat at. I hope you don’t mind but, I picked Olive garden.”

Armin twitched at that. it’s his favorite…

Armin looked over to Levi… then back to daddy. Since he couldn’t drive and daddy sure as hell can’t drive that only means that the whole gang was coming to eat dinner with them. Mike was the one to drive them there…..it sucked yeah, but olive garden was olive garden…..

“Let’s go.”

Before Eren put him down he was sniffing him and Armin had to ward him off. Eren easily got his hand though his weak defense and touched his face feeling his cheeks and touching underneath his eyes.

Eren didn’t say anything he didn’t have too, he silently gave him kisses and snuggled him.

Armin hugged him tight smiling, he then put Eren fingers to his lips to let him know he was still smiling.

That made Eren smile before setting him down.

“Let’s eat, I’m starved.”

He took Armin by the hand, Commander was in front of him as always he forgot he was there since he’s been so quiet. Levi took his other hand although Eren looked back to where the male was on the ground out cold. Eren felt bad and asked if they could put him back inside. They did, before they left.

Eren went back to Mike’s car with Armin and Commander who insist on being a cat to go through his legs causing him to trip. It was almost as bad as Commander racing him up and down the stairs,

“Commander….for peep sake please, not in the parking lot.”

Armin pushed the German Shepherd into the car before guiding himself in the Passenger side in the back seat. Armin sat in the front passenger side.. talking back and forth between myself and Mike. It was great that they were getting along better now. It made him smile as he stroke Commander face with both hands.

The drive to Olive garden was peacefully and fun with the playful bantering back and forth.

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