Peripheral Vision | ✓ [NOW PUBLISHED AS HUNTINGTON AVENUE]

Chapter 15

C H A P T E R  F I F T E E N

Zach's P.O.V.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I walked through the front doors of the school.

I couldn't wipe the lingering smile off my face no matter how hard I tried, and I had this weird feeling in my stomach.

Anxiety?

Excitement maybe?

Suddenly, I felt a strong pat on the shoulder, and I flinched backwards, quite a bit startled.

"Great job, man, you did it!" Luke exclaimed with his normal, cheerful tone. "Oops, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay, Luke," I replied, turning towards his voice with a grateful expression. "Thanks for helping me out."

"You forced me to, I didn't have a decision," he joked, walking alongside me. I couldn't see it, but I could tell he had a smirk on his face.

"I didn't force you!"

"Yeah, right!"

"Nope!"

"Yeah you did!"

I sighed, giving Luke a thankful expression in his direction. "Thanks, Luke."

"No problem, Zach," he replied, giving me a friendly pat on the back. His voice sounded extremely genuine.

Before long, I heard my mom's familiar voice sound from across the schoolyard. I waved a goodbye to Luke and headed towards her car. I opened the car door, setting my book bag on the floor under the seat.

"Hey Mom," I exclaimed as I shut the door behind me.

"You sound happy today," she replied, her voice light and friendly as always.

I nodded, fastening the buckle on my seatbelt and getting settled. "Yeah, you could say that."

"He saw Kelsey, that's why!" Hayleigh noted from the back in between giggles.

"Hayleigh!" I fussed playfully, turning around to give her a stare of some sort.

"Kidding!"

I let out a thoughtful sigh, knowing that her words were one hundred percent true. I finally told Kelsey how I felt about her, and it felt great.

I put my hands in my pockets, sightlessly staring out the side window, imagining what everything would look like if I could see it. Possibly, in a little over two weeks, I could finally find out.

I'm not sure if I should get my hopes up or not.

After what seemed like an hour or more, the car finally pulled into our driveway. Without any hesitation whatsoever, I grabbed my book bag and strode into the house. Since I've lived there for over four, almost five months now, I can now judge the distance between things without much difficulty.

I walked up the stairs to my room, using my hand along the side railing to steady my balance. My balance actually isn't that bad even though I can't exactly see anything. Upon entering my room, I set my book bag on the floor, and grabbed my guitar.

My grip on its neck was gentle, yet firm. I could feel the strings rest gently against the palm of my hand. I laid down on my bed, putting the guitar on my chest. The feeling was natural to me as I began to play, and thoughts whirled through my mind once more.

~•~•~

"Are you excited for Kelsey to come over?" I asked Hayleigh. She loves spending time with her just about as much as I do.