The Blind Man

THREE

Jae finished up his pie in silence before chugging down his glass of milk. "Man, that was good."

"My woman can cook." Luis stated through his last bite.

"She sure can."

Once Luis finished, Jae listened as he cleared the table. "Someone is at the door." Jae said.

"No, no one's there." Just then a knock came at the door. "How did you do that?" Luis questioned.

"I told you, I have great hearing."

Jae stood from his chair and listened. It was definitely two women laughing. He knew one of them was Cristal, but he didn't recognize the other one. It was a sweet but weary voice.

Luis opened the door and Cristal's perfume filled Jae's nose. The other woman wasn't wearing a perfume, but he could smell a strong scent of Tide.

Cristal hugged him tightly. "Who's your friend?" He asked.

The girl hadn't said a single word yet, and he was curious. "Jae, this is Maggie, she's going to be your new next door neighbor."

Her words hit him hard, he hadn't even known the house had been up for sale. It didn't seem fair. If someone else lives there it's like he'll be made to move on from his memories, from his passed love. Move on from a moment in time he had always held dear; one he had never shared with anyone.

"Hi," was all he could say.

"Hey. Nice to meet you."

Her voice was deeper than Cristal's, but still held a smooth tone.

Jae pushed away his feelings trying to be friendly. "Welcome to the woods." He greeted.

They chuckled as the group walked into the living room. "So what do you want, Cristal?" Jae questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Her tone was sarcastic.

"I can tell by the way you're acting, you got something on your mind."

"Well," she jumped right into it. "Of course you know that we're going on vacation this weekend."

He nodded.

"Well, I know it's a little short notice. But I thought it would be great if Maggie could replace Luis while we're gone."

He felt himself stiffen. "I don't know..."

"Come on man." Luis put in. "It's a perfect idea, and it'll ease my mind. Its just for the weekend too. She'll be fine, and she can walk straight through the woods to get here."

He sighed.

"Just say yes, Jae." Cristal teased. "Just for her to help with what you need."

"Well, what does Maggie feel like doing?"

Silence filled the room and he heard a small sigh before Maggie's voice reached his ears. "I would love to help out, and it would give me something to do other that unpack all weekend."

Jae had hoped she wouldn't be okay with it. "Alright then." He sighed.

Cristal laughed and Jae leaned back in his seat to listen to them speak. He would have joined them but he was too busy thinking about what was happening. It was bad to even need help, but now that it was a strange woman! This is like torture.

However, Luis and Cristal did need a break, and for their sake he would put up with it for the weekend.

~~*~~

Maggie waved bye to her friends as they drove off. She felt a little weird being left alone with Jae, but hopefully everything would be okay.

Cristal had not lied to her, he was a handsome man. He had thick brown hair, and a muscular build. She couldn't see what he's eyes looked like since he wore a sleek pair of sunglasses. Yet all his features held a chilling edge.