* Kayla *
One of the most blissful experiences of my life was having a shower and really scrubbing my hair. Washing my entire face at once and gently rinsing my eyes was extremely refreshing.
Yet I heard Liam’s voice in my head, and was incredibly careful as I got in and out. I held the wall and planted my feet carefully. So far my balance had been fine since I had regained my sight, but I wasn’t about to take any chances.
Although a tiny part of me was relieved that I was independent again, I missed him. I missed him far more than I would have ever imagined.
It was weird that I had become so accustomed to him in such a short amount of time. Something about his energy was so warm and soothing. I craved him more than tea, and that was saying something.
The apartment felt empty without his rumbling chuckle. The couch felt too big without him taking up more than half of it. Everything was boring now, as if a bit of the color and life had been turned down.
I didn’t know which was worse – missing him, or wondering what the hell went wrong.
After I had dried off, tied my hair up, got dressed, and made a cup of tea, I heard a tap at the door. Flinging it open, I tried hard not to be disappointed when I saw that it was Gwen.
“Look at you, little miss thing with her bandages off,” Gwen laughed. Then she took a good look at me head on. “Damn. Perfectly straight eyeballs. Well done.”
“And look at you, walking around again. How are you doing?”
She shrugged. “I’m all right, just a bit slow.” I pointed to the kitchen table so she could put her bags down, and I noticed her slight limp before she sat down.
“We have a lot to do, so let’s start with the basics.”
I did appreciate her no-nonsense attitude. Hopefully it would snap me out of my misery. She looked around the room to see the blinds were drawn, and the lamps were fairly dim.
“How’s the light sensitivity so far?”
“I’m okay,” I said. “I’m keeping everything dim, but I was fine with the regular washroom light for the length of a shower.”
“Excellent,” she said. “You’re allowed to use the computer today, so we’ll see how you do with that.” She took one look at my expression and fixed me with a comical glare. “You went online last night, didn’t you?”
I certainly couldn’t tell he
r that I needed to check Liam’s social media profiles, and how disappointed I was that he barely posted anything.
“I checked my email with the screen turned to dim, and the amber filter. I set a timer for five minutes.” I sat beside her at the table, trying to be a model patient.
“Good,” Gwen said. “We’ll make you up a chart and a system so that you can very gently ease your way back into it. But you know that you’ll have to take it slowly for several weeks at least.”
“I know. I’ll behave.” I giggled for a second. “I wouldn’t want anybody to throw a baseball at me.”
Gwen smirked. “I’m sorry that I had to send you Liam, but he’s a good guy, isn’t he?”
“He really is.”
“And I take it that you two got along well?”
“Absolutely. But I hope that you were okay,” I said. “Not being able to walk much must have been annoying as well.”
Gwen’s eyes sparkled, and she bit her bottom lip saucily. “It gave me a great excuse to have my cute new neighbor check in on me.”
I let my mouth fall open in fake surprise. “You hussy.”
She shrugged. “Hey, I have a date Saturday night. Don’t judge me.”
I laughed loudly, and it was lovely to be able to see her eyes as I teased her. “I would never dare. I’ve heard that women have to get men any way they can, these days.”
Gwen pursed her lips, staring at me thoughtfully. “I’m sure it didn’t hurt that your stand-in nurse happened to be drop dead gorgeous.” Then she snapped her fingers. “Oh shit, that’s right. You didn’t see him until yesterday.” She stared into my eyes carefully. “What did you think when you saw Liam for the first time?”