Blind

Chapter 18

Max's POV:
I rode around for a while until I heard the front door of El's house open. She looked over to the door for a second before redirecting the skateboard to her. Once I was in front of her, I stepped off the skateboard and picked it up, looking at the door too.

Lucas walked outside, I can see him almost clearly, just my vision is a bit blurry still. The doctors said my vision should return to normal in a couple weeks, which will mean doing things would be a lot easier for me.

He walked over to us, and El looked at him. "What are you doing?" He asked.
"El was helping me skateboard." I answered. He better not try any shit again.
"Did you fall?" He asked.
I shook my head, "No, El made sure I wouldn't."
He nodded and looked at El. I felt her tense up beside me, so I reached out to hold her hand. I slowly caressed the back of it with my thumb, then Lucas spoke up.
"You gonna be alright with her?" He asked, looking back to me.

I rolled my eyes, "Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.
"I dunno." He shrugged. "Just asking."
"We'll be fine." I answered.
He stepped forward towards El and said something to her I couldn't hear.

El's POV:
"Listen to me. Don't touch her and don't laugh with her. You don't deserve to be happy after what you've done to us all." I pulled my hand out of Max's and gave a small nod. He walked back into my house, shoving my shoulder as he walked past me.

As soon as Lucas shut the door behind him, Max turned to me. "What did he say?" She asked.
"Nothing." I said, sitting down on the sidewalk.
She sat beside me, putting her hand on my shoulder. My body tensed and I quickly looked up, noticing Lucas watching me through the window.

I shuffled away from her, and she looked at me, confused. "What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing. Go and skateboard if you want. I can move you." I mumbled.
She stood up and I used my powers to move the skateboard in front of her. But instead of getting on, she crouched down in front of me.

"What did he say El?" She asked.
"Nothing! He didn't say anything important!" I shouted, frustrated.
"He obviously did! He's ruined your mood!" She shouted back.
"It doesn't matter. I'm fine. Just get back on the skateboard." I said.
She held my hands, but I quickly pulled away. Lucas was still watching everything. "What, El?! Why do you keep pulling away?!" Max shouted, a hurt look in her eyes.

"No reason! Just stop asking!" I defended.
Max stood up, "You know what?! I'm not dealing with this shit! If you wanna be alone, be alone!" She shouted, grabbing her skateboard and throwing it at me. It hit my legs, but I didn't flinch. Instead I just looked down, not saying anything. I was trying to hold in my tears, I had to.
"Fuck you!" Max shouted, storming inside.

The door slammed behind her, and I looked up. Lucas wasn't watching anymore, Max wasn't out here with me. I was alone, and it was my fault. Again. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Fuck!" I shouted, clenching my fists so tight it stung. I cried until I felt like I had no tears left, but trust me, I did. I held my legs up to my chest, trying to stop myself. But it wasn't working.

I felt my breathing get heavy as I looked around. No one was around to help me. My vision became blurry with tears as I began to panic. "H-help." I choked out, but no one heard me. My breathing got quicker, and I clenched my fists harder.

I remembered what Will does when this happens. 3 things I can see. I looked around, but I couldn't focus on anything. It's like my mind was rushing around, not being able to stop. My hands stung even more, and I struggled to catch my breath.

I panicked even more, my eyes rushing everywhere to try find one thing I can see. But it didn't work. "H-help me." I sobbed, gasping for air.
I heard the door opening, and footsteps rushing towards me. I felt how fast my heart was beating.

"Shit, El!" I heard Max say.
"M-Max." I said, looking up at her. Her gaze softened as her eyes met mine.
"I'm here." She said, hesitantly putting a hand on my shoulder.
"I-I'm sorry." I gasped, still struggling to breath.
"Don't worry about that. Focus on your breathing." She said.
I nodded, and tried to calm my breathing down, but it wasn't working. "I can't." I said, the panic in my chest rising.

"Relax. Don't worry." Max assured, she sat behind me and laid down on the grass. "Lay down." She said.
I did as she said and laid down. Then, she grabbed my hand and put it on her stomach. I looked at her, confused on what she was doing.
"Match my breathing. Close your eyes if you can't focus." She advised. I laid on my back, closing my eyes as the sun warmed my face. I copied Max's breathing, breathing in when her stomach went up and breathing out when her stomach went down.

After a minute or so, my breathing returned to normal. I looked at her, and saw her already looking at me. She had a small smile on her face, and her eyes met mine. "You alright now?" She asked.
"Yeah. Thank you. I'm sorry for earlier." I apologised.
"It's okay. What did Lucas say though?" She asked, shuffling closer to me.
"It wasn't nice, I don't want you to hate him." I said.
She chuckled, "Trust me, I already do."

She looked into my eyes, "You can tell me." She said, gently squeezing the hand which was still on her stomach.
"He said I shouldn't touch you or laugh with you. And that I don't deserve to be happy after everything I've done to you. That's why I moved away when you put your hand on my shoulder or something. He was watching from the window." I explained.
Max listened intently as I spoke, drawing shapes on the back of my hand. "Well that's some stalker shit. I guess my nickname fits once again." She joked.

I laughed when suddenly I felt a sharp pain shoot through both my hands. I jumped and Max looked at me. "What?" She asked.
"My hands." I said, turning them so I could see them. There were faint nail marks on them, and small, bleeding cuts.
"El..." Max said, carefully holding my hands in hers.
"I didn't mean to. It just happened-" I hurried.
"I'm not mad at you. Come on, let's go into the bathroom and clean this up."