Reaeth Pogliano, Disabled Deviant

Chapter 4

What Did I Do Wrong?

After an altercation with Kevin, Reaeth is forced to look for Casey on her own. She doesn't know what to do, until...

[Reaeth's POV]

I need to prove Casey and Kevin wrong. In the former case, it's because he's still convinced I am a bad person and whatsoever. In the latter's, because he believes I hurt his brother. But what the fuck. Why should the right dose of truth hurt anybody? Not that lying is so bad, but it's believed that sometimes a white lie is more convenient than the truth.

But let's focus on what I'm supposed to do, which is finding Casey. Easier said than done, though. Where the fuck could he be?

However, it seems as someone is about to distract me from my thoughts. A pair of heels clicking. And, yeah, they're not ordinary heels. They belong to Beverly Hanna.

As soon as the red-haired curvy, chatty and overly confident woman is approaching me slowly, I stop thinking of what I was worrying about before. Gosh, she is very close to me! I have no clue of what to tell her. Luckily she speaks up first. "Hello Reaeth. What's going on with you?"

Oh no. The question she shouldn't have asked. I wish I could avoid answering, though it's basically impossible. I am compelled to give an answer because time is passing quickly. Though, this is not a satisfying one. "Hmm. I could be better."

"What do you mean?" she asks again, pretty confused. I've never seen her so confused. She always has a clear idea about what she says or does.

"Well, I had a sort of spat with Casey, and he left," I answer nonchalantly, hoping Beverly won't care.

Unfortunately, things don't go as planned as she replies, "Typical of him. He doesn't like being faced with some truths. There's this little disturb..."

I cut her off. "What disturb?"

"Oops! I've talked too much." I catch her blushing when she says these last words. In my opinion, she hasn't said enough, but, if what she was about to say is too disrespectful towards Casey, then I'd rather learn about this "disturb" from Casey himself.

"Ok, and so?"

"I have to go!" She rushes away and, in the rush of leaving, her left heel accidentally breaks, slowing her down.

This meeting has been strange. Anyway, I should keep looking for you know who. But I don't know where to keep looking for, so I just sit near a bench in the park and close my eyes. Hopefully, I'll find the truth out. However, it seems that, less hopefully, I am almost falling asleep. Come on, Reaeth, don't take a nap. There's no time for naps. Wake up!

To Fix Mistakes Up

[Casey's POV]

I have been walking round the entire park for two hours, when I decide to have some rest and sit on a bench. I am so tired that I almost fail to notice someone else is sitting near me.

I stare at the person carefully. A girl, better say a young woman, bound on her wheelchair. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Her eyes are half-closed...

Reaeth.

She must have taken a nap, probably a little tired. I'd like to shake her a little bit, but, considering that is not a good idea at all, I just put a hand on her shoulder. Yet, she is still sleeping. I must take her away. I don't want her to have a cold.

Suddenly, I find myself holding her hand, knowing I can't even retain myself from doing so. But, why am I acting like this? This is definitely not normal, like, at all. The hand is obviously cold, but I'm feeling it like it's anything but.

Ok, what am I doing? I'm supposed to still be mad at her! We were bickering until yesterday!

Anyway, she suddenly opens her eyes, very quickly, to the point that she could almost have a heart attack upon seeing me. She notices I'm still holding her hand. I stutter, "Ahem... it's that... it's that..." but I don't think I've been convincing at all.

She ends up laughing, but not softly, in a sultry way, like a man would expect from a woman. Instead, she's laughing loud, like she's shouting, which I find creepy. Ok, I should have kept my mouth shut.

"You're blushing," she points out, much to my horror and later embarrassment. I'm not very good with emotions at all: when I try hard to man up for my own sake and other people's, I always fail, which results in me having strange reactions or crying. I know, it sounds childish, but I have a form of autism. The other people here in Mader Heights call it just "disturb", which I find beyond disrespectful. After all, it's something I have to deal with for the rest of my life.

"Oh, sorry," I end up apologizing, only to call myself a fool. Is this the way I am supposed to make amends with her? If so, this is not how I should have done so, which irritates me even more than what I myself expected before.

"It's me who has to apologize," she remarks, "for what I told you. I know you're still bitter, but do you think we could give each other a chance and become friends?" Has she just told that? Seriously, we can't become friends from one time to another. Friendship is something you have to earn on the ground, working hard and proving oneself worth someone's trust, which, in this case, is unlikely to happen.

I know that Reaeth's intentions are good, but it's not just about good intentions. It's about thinking before talking. Letting go of prejudice will be as hard as fuck, everybody knows. However, it's a really long way that she must have to go through, no matter how hard it is, as much as the other people do. Being disabled doesn't mean that anyone is going to try and make life easier just to please you, but it doesn't mean that life itself is as hard as hell either.

While still being absorbed by these thoughts, we decide to make our way back to our respective homes together. I'm walking at snail speed, which is surprising considering that I usually walk very fast, like I'm almost running; whereas she is wheeling herself at a slow pace, as well, like she doesn't want to go back home to deal with any of her family members, too weak or too busy to understand her needs, or this is what I think. By the way, what truly matters is that this is the first step towards a possible end of hostilities between the two of us.