I sat in a room, listening. The faint voices of the doctors and nurses turned into echoes, and a new unfamiliar voice started talking. It was a girl, and I could hear her smile and laugh through her words. The clicking of heels started coming closer and I heard the door open. "Ashton, I promised I'd try and find you a temporary carer. This girl volunteered to work here as practise for when she takes this on as a profession. This is Brooklyn-" The lady told me but the girl cut her off. "Brooke," she said calmly but you could hear that she was annoyed. I nodded, smiling. "I'm Ashton," I felt her hand reach out for mine as she shook it gently. "Hi," She leant forward because I felt her minty breath against my face. She wore expensive perfume, I could smell it on her. She wrapped her arms around my neck to hug me and I did the same. I felt my stomach flip and I went all warm inside, as if I was about to throw up. She pulled away gently, slowly letting go. "Ashton lost his sight 3 weeks ago because he was involved in a terrible accident. He is recovering very well which is great but he's still getting used to it so some help from you would only do good. His parents work full-time so you'll only have to be at his house until they come back." Angela was my doctor since the accident and even though she wasn't the nicest and most considerate of people, I didn't mind her as much although she was starting to annoy me. "I lost my sight not my ability to speak, I could've told Brooke myself." I snapped, pushing my sunglasses back so that my eyes were covered. Brooklyn giggled and it was definitely one of the cutest laughs I've heard in years. "Okay, I'll leave you guys alone so you can introduce yourself to each other," Angela said before slamming the door.
-
"I'm sorry," I mumbled, letting my head fall as I played with my fingers.
"Sorry for what?" She was sitting next to me, I could feel her presence.
"I'm sorry that you have to waste your time sitting around with me for 10 hours everyday," I sat up a bit, positioning myself to face her. I felt her hand reach out for mine but I pulled away quickly.
"I want to waste my time with you," She sighed and I couldn't help but laugh at how fake and sarcastic that sounded.
"How much are my parents paying you?" I leant back, knowing she'd try to grab onto me again.
"What? I'm not being paid anything, I want you to help you recover, why won't you understand that?" I heard her sigh and stand up.
"I don't understand it because no 18 year old girl would take time out of their day to help a hopelessly blind 19 year old," I fixed my sunglasses, running my hand through my hair. I didn't know what I was trying to get out of this argument, I was starting to realise that all she wanted to do was help me.
"I'm 17," she snapped at me before pushing the chair out of the way. The screeching of the metal legs against the floor made me clench my jaw. "And you're not a hopeless case," She muttered before I heard more shuffling and the door close.
