The Moon Is Beautiful

Chapter 16

My voice gets stuck in my throat.

He's close, so close that I can feel his chest moving up and down against mine, that I can feel how hard his heart is pounding against his ribs. I haven't been this close to a man since...

My mind trails off, and I have to force myself not to flinch at the memory. Why am I thinking about that now, even in this situation?

"Are you okay?" Kaden's question pulls me out of my thoughts and snaps me back to reality. For a moment when I look at him, I start to think that maybe he isn't blind after all. If he was blind, how could he have caught me when I was about to fall? He had to have seen it.

However, when I see his eyes move rapidly, up and down, side to side, I realise that he doesn't actually know where to look, where to find my face. My eyes fall, realizing that he actually is blind, and suddenly, I feel guilty for ever assuming that he isn't.

But even through my guilt, I feel sorry for him when his eyes continue moving, and his eyebrows furrow, as if he is desperately trying, but just cannot figure it out.

Barely thinking, I grasp his face in my hands and pull it sideways so that his eyes are looking straight into mine. He tenses in my grasp, his eyes widening at my sudden action.

"I'm here." I say, staring at him with firm eyes. Something flashes in his eyes, and then his eyes soften, just like before.

"Sorry. I was trying to pinpoint where your eyes are, but I was struggling to." he admits, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. The sight startles me. In my entire life, I have never seen a man blush before, not even in front of a woman he's in love with. But Kaden is blushing right now. I have no idea how to react to this. It's too new to me.

"Well, my eyes are right here." I finally say and he nods, blinking.

"You must have gotten a fright." he says, his voice soft. Its true. I did get a fright, but I'm not about to admit that to him. Yes, I did think that he was a stalker trying to kill me, but since it's been revealed that its him, there is no reason to go and blurt it all out.

"No, I'm quite fine." I lie, forcing a smile onto my face even though he cannot see me.

Silence follows.

I don't know how much time of us merely standing there with me in his arms passes by before I snap out of it.

"You can let go now." I softly say, my cheeks flushing. His eyes widen in realization and he instantly let's go of me, startling me and because of the surprise, I fall down, my bottom hitting the ground quite harshly. His eyes immediately widen in panic when he hears the impact.

"Oh my. Are you alright?" he questions, bending down and reaching out with his arms. There is so much panic flashing in his eyes, over and over again, that I fear he may have a panic attack right now. So, instinctively, I grab his hands, interlocking our fingers together in an attempt to calm him.

"I'm okay. I'm right here." I say, quickly standing up and pulling him up with me.

"I'm sorry. I should have said something first." he apologizes, regret lingering in his eyes. His behaviour surprises me. How can one person be this kind and pure? I've never met another like him.

"It's okay." I simply say, letting go of his hands. My eyes spot his walking stick lying on the ground. He must have dropped it to catch me. The thought brings a smile to my face.

I bend down slightly to pick out up and grab his hand to place it back within his grip.

"Here you go." I say and he smiles slightly, and even though it's merely a tiny smile, his dimples still make their appearance.