Malediction

19 - The Possibilities

I let out an exasperated sigh, shifting my left hand trapped inside my brace. My joint was hurting, painkillers run empty from my body. I fought the urge to rip the thick fabric from my hand and toss it out of the window.
As I pictured doing so, I felt a set of eyes on the side of my face, burning.

"What?" I caved, glancing toward Danny

"Your clumsiness concerns me" His head kept straight

"I'm not clumsy" I defended "It was the stool I was standing on, not me"

"So its bad luck?" He corrected

"I'm not getting into this with you Danny" I snickered, arguing becoming our only way of communication

He adjusted in his chair, one arm hanging casually on the steering wheel, the other leaned on the window "Earlier today, in Math, you made it known to your friend that we were on speaking terms, how did she react?"

I was impressed by his notice of detail "Skyler was surprisingly fine about it, as was Cara, another friend of mine"

"Surprisingly? You were expecting them to scold you for involving yourself with my world?"

"The fact you asked how she reacted in the first place says you know that's how they should have reacted" I rolled my eyes "But they didn't, they were more than understanding about it"

He made a small hmph noise, amazed "You're very open about all of this"

"Is that a bad thing?" I quirked and eyebrow

He tilted his head "If it doesn't go to plan and we can't figure this thing out, then everything you are doing is a waste of time"

"It's not though, it isn't a waste, not if you get answers, at least then you know you did what you could, besides, there has to be some way to end this" I positively put

He was again, lightly shaking his head "You're too optimistic"

"And you're too pessimistic" I shot "Do you not have hope?"

"Of course I do, but I know the chances of beating this don't look good. The woman who created this curse could very well be dead"

"What's the first thing you would do when this curse is broken?" I turned where I sat, staring at him curiously "The very first thing"

He glanced toward me, his eyes lingering longer than they probably should have as he shrugged.
I could see him thinking about it, his bottom lip sucked in, his teeth chewing. I wondered what was running through his mind, what kinds of things he had always wanted to do but could never.
He had probably never spoken to another girl apart from me, he probably hadn't even touched someone or experienced a first kiss. But that wasn't even all of it, he didn't have any friends, not even male companions. Once this was over, he could do every single thing that a normal eighteen year old could do, and so could his family.
Andy could approach Bloom, he would be nervous, but it would be the way a boy should have been nervous about talking to a pretty girl.
I wondered if his mother Selena would ever remarry. Would she find someone she could finally love without fear and experience the fullness of undying romance? And Blake, Blake would be capable of wooing any woman he wanted. I had seen him around town, and he was just as lucky in the gene department as his nephews were. The possibilities were endless, and the mere thought of the happiness it would bring was enough to have my nerves diminished.
I was ready to end this, for them.

"You know what, don't tell me" I told Danny, who was still deep in thought "I'd rather wait and see it for myself"

Again, his eyes turned towards me, briefly meeting my stare, tempting to lock in. This time I was the one to pull away, looking out the window at the growing tired sun.