Can You See Me/Can You Hear Me

Can Anybody See?

Disclaimer: This is also on my AO3 account, I'm uploading it here in case anything happens to the AO3 one. I'm not stealing anything. Also I don't know everything about being blind or deaf, so if I get anything wrong please tell me. I want this to be as accurate as possible.

Evan sat in a booth at Caribou Coffee, hands wrapped around the steaming cup of hot chocolate he ordered. His head was bent forward, eyes closed. He opened his eyes, although he still couldn't see. He sighed and sipped his drink.

When he was six-years-old, he got into a car crash and ended up losing his sight. He cried every night for two years, hoping that somehow his sight would return. He prayed and prayed and prayed, but he still wasn't able to see.

It took him five years to get used to it. He learned how to read and write Braille, he got a seeing eye dog that also helped with panic attacks, and he was still able to have visual dreams. However, the people in his dreams were kids and younger versions of his mother and he hardly remembered any of them. His least favorite dream was the reoccurring nightmare of the crash. This lead to many restless nights, and his therapist prescribed him medicine to help him sleep.

He would be lying if he said he didn't miss being able to see his mother's face everyday, or seeing his friend Jared.

He stood up, alerting his dog Charles.

"Go home," he told Charles, grabbing his leash. The dog walked forward, pushing the cafe door open. Evan held it open as he walked out.

The walk home was short. The Caribou was a block away and since Evan has had Charles for a few years, the dog was able to memorize the way home.

Charles sat in front of the apartment door, wagging his tail silently. Evan dug in his pockets for his keys. He felt for the building key. He had his keys covered in different textures so he could tell them apart. The building key had a piece of fabric glued to it and the apartment room key had rubber wrapped around the top.

Evan unlocked the door and Charles started walking again. He felt eyes on him even though nobody was there. Even without sight, he could still tell. There were no shoes smacking against the floor or even the quiet patters of bare feet. After the crash, he learned how to rely on sound more than his other senses.

    Charles stopped in front of the apartment room door. Evan fumbled with the keys, accidentally dropping them. Charles whimpered and took them in his mouth. Evan bent down, patting around to find Charles. He smiled when his palm landed on his mouth. Charles dropped the keys into his palm, licking Evan's hand.

    Evan unlocked the door and pushed it open. He unclipped Charles from his leash and the dog ran into the room.

    "Charles, sit," Evan commanded. The dog whined but complied, looking at the boy. He grabbed his cane that was leaning against the wall by the door and held it out in front of him. The cane bumped against Charles.

    Evan kneeled and began undoing Charles' work vest. "There you go." Evan stood up, stumbling a bit, and made his way over to the closet in the entry way. He felt for the hooks on the wall. When he found it, he put the vest on it. He hung up his keys on the hook next to it.

    Evan made his way over to the hallway that lead to the bedrooms. He ran his fingers across the wall, searching for his room. His fingers grazed the doorknob and he turned it, pushing the door open.

    Walking to the left, he climbed onto his bed. He reached for his large book about nature which was on the shelf above the bed. He lay on his stomach, head resting on his pillow. The fluffy pillow case tickled his neck.