I See Through You

Chapter. 32

I don't think I've ever told Leo, but when I was younger, one of my cousins lived close to a beach too. And I loved going there every day possible. It made me feel happy and alive. To be with my relatives and have fun with them made me feel like I didn't have to hide who I was to anyone. I could be myself.

And like I just told him, to be with him on a beach feels like I'm myself again.

As I got older, my blindness became my weakness, so I made sure to hide who I really was.

But with the turtles, with Leo, I don't have to. That's one of the reasons why I love him. I know I probably said that a couple of times to my parents, relatives and to Jenny, but it's the truth.

I don't need to hide anything from him.

Which reminds me...

(Will he accept it? Well, I better ask to know.)

As we were walking on the beach, I smiled each time the wave hit my feet. Since it was already night, the water was warm.

Still, I stopped, making Leo stop too.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just..." I bit my lower lip.

"Val? What is it? You know you can tell me anything." He said as he held my shoulders.

I let out a long sigh.

"Look, I know we talked about this in some way, but... I've been thinking..."

"About what?"

I stood in silence for a while before taking a deep breath.

"Do you think... Maybe... The mutagen in your blood can help me get my eyes back?"

Then, he stood in silence.

"... What do you mean?"

"It's just- *Groan* When your father told us about how you got to be what you are, I got curious about the mutagen, so I went to talk with Donnie one day and he said that the mutagen can do something like restructure the body at molecular level. So I left it aside for a while because it's been so long since I lost my vision, but... *Sigh* Lately, I've been thinking about it a lot."

Silence again. I'm gonna kill myself.

"*Sigh* Forget it." I said as I took his hands off me before turning around.

"It was stupid of me to ask... You probably think I shouldn't even try to get my eyes back, right? After all, you did say that I see a lot more being blind than I could ever see if I could actually see whatever is in front of--"

He cut me off short as he made me turn around and suddenly kissed me, making me shut up.

He pulled back and leaned his forehead on mine.

"Do not speak for me. Don't go assuming what I think. Let me speak for myself, okay, angel?"

"... M-Mm-hmm."

"I never said you should or should not try to get your eyes back. It's true, I've told you lots of times that you see a lot even though you're blind, and there are things in this world that should not be seen by someone as wonderful as you."

"Leo, I-"

"But I never told you that I also think that are things that you should see if you could. I never said that because I didn't want to upset you."

"Leo..."

He cupped my cheek.

"I hate to see you sad, to see you cry. All I want is you to be safe, but most of all I want you to be happy. I want to see you smile, Val. Whenever possible."

Then, he pulled back and held my shoulders.

"So... If getting your eyes back is what you want... Then I think you should definitely give it a try."

My eyes widened. "Y-You mean it? I-I can try?"

"Of course you can."

I smiled really big as I tackled him to a tight hug.

"Thank you so much, Leo. Thank you."

"*Chuckle* You are welcome. Anything to see you smile, angel... But I also think we should talk to your parents about this."

"Dang, you're right. I totally forgot about them. But... Can we just enjoy this date a bit more?"

"*Chuckle* You've just read my mind."

We kept our date going after that, and I couldn't stop smiling.

Not only because I was celebrating my first anniversary with the guy I love, but because I had a chance. A chance to get my eyes back.