Open My Eyes

Twelve: Down by the Bay

"I knew it!" Sam screamed at the top of her lungs. She jumped excitedly on her bed, almost knocking me off. She laughed wildly, pumping her fist into the air enthusiastically. She jumped and smacked her hands against the ceiling before collapsing back onto the bed. She pointed her finger in my face and laughed loudly. "Told you so!"

"Ow," my brother complained from my phone, which was on speaker. Originally my phone had been lying on her bed, but I snatched it up before she could jump on it. "That hurt my ears and I'm not even in the state."

I rested my phone back on the bed, glancing warily at my best friend. I informed her, "You didn't have to be so loud about it."

She scoffed, waving my comment away. She insisted, "Yes, I did. I was right, and the world needed to know it."

A knock came at the door and her mother shouted, "Samantha, quit your yelling! You'll annoy the neighbors with this racket."

Immediately, Sam's expression darkened. Rolling her eyes, she muttered sarcastically, "Yes, Mother, I'm fine, thanks for asking." She raised her voice. "Got it!"

When my shift at Hope for Youth ended at two, I rushed instantly to my locker. On my way out the door, I dialed Sam and told her we needed to talk, now. I sped over to her house, and she ran me up to her room. Before I could tell her anything, Kae called. I decided to tell them both simultaneously as opposed to having to say it twice. Once was enough for me.

Sam turned her attention to me again. She grinned triumphantly as she told us, "I knew you had a thing for him. You never shut up about him. I mean, it was a dead giveaway."

I looked at the phone. "Is this a surprise to you?" I inquired, curious and a bit worried about his response.

"Not particularly," Kae answered. "You did ask me if I thought you liked him, and that made it sort of obvious. Of course, I didn't think much about it."

Grabbing a pillow, I buried my head in it. Muffled, I groaned. "Oh God, do you think he knows?" The thought was mortifying.

Sam shrugged. "Maybe. He's a guy, so it's a complete mystery to me. What do you think, other member of the male species?" she asked, glancing at my phone.

He chuckled. "I've no idea. I don't know how his brain works."

"If you figured it out, that means he probably did, too," I assumed, on the edge of panic. I wasn't sure if I was ready to confess to the actual person.

"I'm also your brother," he pointed out. "I know you a little better than some guy you met a few weeks ago. I can tell when you're worried over the phone. I don't think he can do that just yet."

I pulled my knees up to my chest, the pillow squished between. "But he's extremely observant. He has to be to make up for being sightless. He knows when my heart is racing and when I'm blushing," I explained, doubt creeping into my veins.

Kae's voice was protective. "How does he know you're blushing? He'd have to be touching y-Angie, do you want to tell us something?"

Sam looked at me, eyes wide. She chuckled shortly, something devious in her eyes. She wolf-whistled and proclaimed, "Oh, scandalous! The saint is gettin' dirty!"

I smacked her with the pillow and sent her a glare. I clarified, "It was nothing like that, you two! He was touching my face to know what I looked like."

"Oh yeah," my best friend stated, sitting back. "I remember seeing that on some show on TV. They can't see so they use touch, right?"

"I'm glad that's all it was," Kae breathed, the relief evident in his voice.