Blind Love

Blind Love 7

Blind Love

Sitting on the bed watching Brandon lay before her, Ashley waits for him to start. Finally, he finds the courage to begin.

"About eight months ago, I had my accident. I had a league basketball game, and my parents were driving me there. My baby brother Sammy was also with us. I was so excited for the game. So careless..."

Ashley's stomach drops to her feet since she knows this story cannot have a happy ending. She starts shaking while Brandon tries to tell his story calmly.

"I kept telling my dad we need to hurry up and get there. I thought he was going too slow-I just wanted to get there and warm up with my friends. I didn't care about anything else. I started telling him a story, and he was distracted from driving. A car swerved in our lane, and my dad swerved to miss it. We ended up rolling off the road. I tried so hard to save Sam...but they all died on impact. Now I am blind and alone-punishment for my selfishness," Brandon finishes quietly in a barely controlled voice.

Tears streak silently down Ashley's face as she processes this. It's so much worse than she imagined. Not only does he live with a difficult disability everyday, but he lost his family that day.

"Brandon?" Ashley sobs. "I'm so sorry...I..." She throw her arms around him and holds him close. He's surprised at first, but hesitantly hugs her back and tries to comfort her.

"I'm sorry Brandon," she says as she pulls away from his embrace and wipes her eyes. "You're comforting me when I should be comforting you."

"It's okay," Brandon smiles and traces her face. "It's a lot to take in. I can barely handle it eight months later."

"You're so strong," Ashley marvels while grabbing his hand. "To go through all that...I don't know if I could handle it."

"I haven't really. Before I met you, I was isolated from every person, aside from my aunt sometimes. I couldn't handle being around happy people. But you...your happiness is contagious. You make me feel better no matter how hard I try to resist it," Brandon replies while playing with her fingers.

Ashley smiles widely as her tears slow down. "I'm glad. All I've wanted since I met you is to make you happy."

"You're doing a great job," he informs her. After a moment of thought, he adds, "Was there anything else you wanted to ask me? As long as we're putting it all out there?"

"Umm...." Ashley thinks about it. "How old was your little brother?"

Brandon swallows loudly. "Four."

Ashley breaths in sharply. Trying to find a lighter question, she asks, "How many sports did you play? Were you really good?"

Brandon smirks. "I was pretty good. Could've had my pick of schools. I always loved sports-I played everything I could. Football, basketball, baseball. And I loved to run. I was your basic jock."

"I bet," Ashley smiles. "You could've been ruling this school if you wanted to."

"Nah," Brandon disagrees. "I don't care about having tons of friends anymore, and they don't want the blind kid in their group."

Ashley rolls her eyes. "You need to get some confidence back. I can tell you used to be a cocky jock. Just know you're not any different anymore. People would like you for you if you give them the chance."

Brandon just nods skeptically and says, "Sure."

***

Rachel smiles to herself as she cleans the kitchen. After sending Ashley up to see Brandon, she had heard arguing and shouting. She had worried that's how things would end-with Ashley storming out after dealing with Brandon's stubbornness. But, to her happiness, they quieted down as if resolving their problems.