Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 82282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
I couldn’t sleep at night. I had nightmares. I replayed certain cases over and over again.
So much of this world was dark and nasty, that at times I couldn’t see the light.
Or at least I hadn’t been able to…until I met Viddy.
“How about we eat?” I suggested to try to lighten the mood, even though that was the honest to God last thing I wanted to do right then.
“Sure,” she said softly.
Scooping up a massive amount of spaghetti, and then smothering it with sauce, I sat at the table, watching as she made her plate of food. Not once did she spill, bobble, or even trip. She was doing it as if she was seeing it, and it amazed me.
“I hope you don’t get offended by this, but I think it’s truly impressive that you can do all this without your sight.” I said carefully.
She shrugged one shoulder as she sat, placing the napkin in her lap and tucking her hair behind her ears before she took her first bite. “I know no different. Seriously, though, what would you do right now if you lost your sight? Would you curl into a ball and whine about what was taken away from you? No. You’d grin and bear it just like I have. I’ve learned to cope. I’ve learned to do things that others thought would be impossible. Hell, I can even do sign language. Do you know how? I felt with my hands each word. That’s how. I listened and learned. Just because someone is blind or deaf or can’t walk doesn’t mean that they can’t enjoy life.”
“That makes me feel humble.” I said shaking my head.
Then I took a bite of her spaghetti even though my stomach was still churning from reliving one of my greatest nightmares. I ate every single bite, and then placed the plate on the floor for the dogs who were all laying in the middle of the kitchen floor like lumps on a log.
Lumps that Viddy had avoided.
***
Viddy
“No, no. Nooooo.”
Moaning woke me from a deep sleep.
Sitting straight up in bed, I was confused for long moments while my brain caught up with my body, and it was then I heard the low moans of Trance.
I could hear him from his room all the way across the house.
He had me in his guest bedroom.
Somewhere in the time that I’d been at his place last and now, he’d gotten a brand new bedroom suite for the guest room.
Last time I’d slept in his bed.
I’d breathed in the masculine scent of him while I’d slept, gathering peace from the comforting smell.
Rolling to my feet, I exited the bedroom, keeping my hand on the wall as I went. Not bothering with the light, because what the hell would be the point?
I’d cased the house when I was left alone for the afternoon, and I was fairly sure I knew where everything was. I got all the way to the hallway before I found my first obstacle.
Radar.
I knew it was him by the long fur.
He wasn’t laying, but more like waiting for me in the darkness.
He nudged me forward, placing his head under my hand and led me all the way to Trance’s bedside.
The moaning had gotten steadily more heartbreaking as I got closer, and by the time I was close enough, I was very near tears just by the raw agony in his voice.
“Trance?” I called softly.
Trance didn’t move. Didn’t even stir.
“Trance,” I called louder, placing my hand on his body.
Turned out it was his chest. He was laying on his back.
Moving my hand to the side of his ribs, I gave him a good push, but still nothing. He was locked in his own personal nightmare.
Moving to the bed, I straddled his hips and started to move him a little harder, grabbing him by the shoulders.
“Trance, honey. Wake up.” I said.
You know those times where you watch a movie, and the woman rouses the man from sleep and he wakes up and reverses their positions? Where the woman is flipped sideways on the bed, and she ends up underneath of him?
Yeah, Trance didn’t work like that. Instead, he just rolled over and dumped me off on the floor.
My head struck the side of the table as I went, causing me to wince.
I couldn’t help the giggling, though, which is what eventually woke him from his dream.
“Viddy?” He asked.
I heard the snick of the light, and then I saw it.
Saw it!
“Oh, My God.” I breathed. “I can see you with half my left eye.”
Trance’s face went from frowning to confused. And then slowly morphed into joy.
I was feeling all of those things, too. Joy, confusion, hope, denial, everything and more.
Suddenly I was hauled up by my armpits to straddle him the way I’d been doing it earlier.
“I can see you from here, over.” I whispered hopefully, starting in the middle of my left eye making a sweeping motion with my hand to the left.
His smile was fucking beautiful.
Out of all the things in the world I’d wanted to see over the years, his smile and face had been near the top of my list.
“You have a cleft chin.” I said, indicating the indention on his chin with my finger.
He smiled, and his dimples popped out. Honest to God dimples.
He also had a row of perfectly shaped, beautiful white teeth.
“God, you really are gorgeous. And your eyes!” I said, leaning closer until I was staring into the left one, taking in the striations and flecks of blue.
His breathing stalled in his chest at my closeness, and when I started to pull away, finally realizing what I was doing, he held me firm, refusing to let me go.
“Trance,” I said hesitantly. “Uhh, I’m sorry for waking you. But you were having a nightmare.”
He nodded. “I have those a lot. What happened right here?” He asked as he rubbed his finger over the mark on my forehead where I’d struck the night table.
“I hit my head on the night table when you rolled over.” I said sheepishly. “I was trying to wake you up. You know in the movies, it never works like that.”