Blind Promises

1. Blind Promises

A/N: Story recounts past abuse, rape, and violence in later chapters. Strong language advisory in some chapters more than others. 

                Going to a movie night with her grandmother that was being held at the preacher's house was the last thing Gwen wanted to do, however, it had ended up not being half bad. The conversation she had with a guy she'd been introduced to was kind of nice. It didn't matter to her that he was blind, sort of took some of the nerves away. His dog was gorgeous, too. Liam had shaken her hand when the tall guy her grandma knew introduced them. A confident shake, firm, the right way to shake a hand. He asked her to sit beside him, introduced her to his dog Cooper who looked at her with longing but didn't move. He was very well trained. 

As time passed, it seemed like they'd just arrived and the movie was already over.

The preacher's wife walked up to them, "Hey Liam, do you want me to give you a ride home?"

"Where do you live, we're east and west, you could just go with us if you want," Gwen offered. Her grandma was taken aback, Iris usually was when it came to situations such as these. Being eighty-something, she was not always the most fun.

Liam was uncomfortable, she felt bad but she wasn't quite ready for the evening to be over and she wouldn't give him her number in front of anyone. Liam murmured, "I can call a service. It's no trouble."

"Nonsense, don't consider yourself trouble, I'm serious!" Gwen reassured.

She could see Liam was trying to decide if she was only being kind judging by the conflict on his face, "Are you sure? I would hate for you to go out of your way."

"I'm positive. If worse comes to worst, I'll take Granny home and drive the truck back to my place."

He sighed, "Okay, if you're sure."

"I am!" she affirmed. Iris was about to be rude so she grabbed her by the arm, "I'm assuming Cooper can lead you out so that I can help Granny?"

"Yes, he's very good at what he does." Liam wasn't boasting, Cooper was genuinely a well-trained and behaved service dog. She complimented him, "I can see that, he's awesome."

They got into the truck, her grandmother looked at her, "Well, with all that I've forgotten my cake carrier. I'll be back in a minute." In true Iris fashion, passive-aggressive as it came, she was about to get out of the truck.

"I'll go get it, give me a few," Gwen argued. Iris shut her down, "No, you have a guest, I can walk just fine on my own, your little escort service was not needed nor appreciated, thank you."

She shut the door. That woman was the most infuriating human on Earth. "I'm sorry, she was about to mouth off in the house and I knew it. I don't care what she thinks, everything is inappropriate to Iris."

"It seems that way," Liam laughed. At least he was taking it well.

The night was a tad cool in Seattle's April air. "I'm going to turn the truck on and let it warm, it's chilly to me! You okay with that?"

Liam agreed, "Sure, no problem."

As soon as she turned the key over, the truck jumped out of gear and rolled backward. It all happened so fast that there was little she could do but hang on. Liam's deep voice shook her from the distress her mind fled to, "Gwen are you okay, what just happened?"

"I don't know, I guess Iris didn't put it in gear all the way, that is so weird, I didn't think a vehicle would start if it wasn't in gear. Right? This is a newer model truck. I was cold so I thought I'd turn the heater on to warm. A bad decision I guess. Are you okay, what about Cooper?" Gwen rambled on.