Dim-sighted

by Felicia Evreux

  – What’s the matter, the real one?

  – It’s just that I agree with Jesse, I find the idea of uni scary

  – Why?

  – Sometimes I think I should wait for a miracle that brings my sight back and then study or get a job because I won’t have a future like this – she shook her head –. I mean, I have to study double from audios because the computer reads all the notes to me for an oral exam and there are many things I can’t do without help because I don’t see well – and for the first time since they met, it looked like if she was looking down and his heart broke a little

  – Listen to me, love – he put his thumb under her chin even if she couldn’t look up at him, simply because he wanted and needed her to never lower her eyelids again if it wasn’t her bedtime –. You do have a future – he lowered his hands to take hers intertwining their fingers –. I promise you I will do everything I can so you never feel that way again

  – How?

  – I’ll find a way – he reported –. And I don’t care if it’s forbidden, the day of the admission exam I’ll go with you, I’ll read you the questions and I’ll guide you to fill the circle

  – We don’t even know if they’ll let Terrence help me

  – I imagined that I was exaggerating but what I’m trying to say Aly is that you’re not alone okay? I’m here and I’m not going anywhere – he took a deep breath –. I don’t know if we’re meant to finish school but what I do know is that I want to be with you, in every step of the way

  – Thank you so much – Aly sobbed and a single tear ran down her cheek, Bastian melted because her eyes seemed even more vibrant with the tears and wiped her cheek with his thumb

  – Come here – he lifted her arms to put them in his shoulders and he hugged her caressing her hair as Aly smiled in his chest, listening to the beat of his heart

  Briar couldn’t help but stand up to try to hear what was the chat about, and she smiled lightly when she found that cute scene. It was good to see Aly hugging a male that wasn’t part of their family.

  31

  The twins along with Bastian, Jesse and Finn studied hard for the two exams and worked hard on the essays in order to get good grades.

  Officially done with the quizzes, they started to plan their weekend.

  – Rae wants to join us – Finn reported rolling his eyes

  – Oh come on, let her– Briar whined –. The more the merrier

  – Terrence is planning to invite Ariana too – Aly added

  – The thought of that girl makes me sort of curious, how come Terrence has a girlfriend?

  – He’s working on being less mean when it comes to guys trying to come closer to his little sisters but he’s sweet all the spare time

  – Well, he doesn’t seem to hate my presence so much anymore so I believe you

  – You had him at your idea of playing with clay and sand

  – At least not only Aly thinks I’m doing something right

  – You’re proving us all wrong, what can we say?

  – I’m surprised myself too, I assure you – he stated –. This is new to me

  – Same to us

  – Yea, Terrence came up with the great idea of the single-gender school, you guys are like the only contact we’ve had with the opposite sex since – Briar broke off –. What happened with Tobias – she finished looking down as if she was still ashamed

  – They had to protect you two one way or another

  – And we’re delighted to help overcome your trust issues with us males

  – What he did wasn’t right, you definitely had to get away

  – Yea but single-gender schools are a bloody nightmare

  – We can imagine

  – Thank goodness for mixed schools – Jesse lifted his boxed juice as if he was raising a glass

  – Absolutely

  – Let’s make a list of the groceries we’ll buy and we can go get them on Friday – Jesse changed the conversation subject

  – What do you girls eat the most when you get lazy?

  – Caramel popcorn is like in the top of the list, I love it – Aly mentioned –. And we get chips, iced tea and soda too

  – What else would you like to get?

  All of them named a product and Jesse typed in his phone.

  Most of the snacks included chips, some sweets, biscuits and soda and they planned where to buy it all together. They ended up choosing a place that wasn’t that expensive because got to save money.

  * * *

  The grocery shopping was delayed to Saturday afternoon.

  The point of reunion was the Brighton house and then Bastian drove to the nearest market to get the whole thing.

  Jesse paid a part of the sodas, Bastian covered the other part, and the Jaspers siblings bought the chips, and the twins the sweets.

  The previous day the twins talked with Terrence and since his girlfriend was also attending, she was in charge of buying the biscuits.

  Once inside the house, the first thing they did was unpack everything and Briar left the plastic bags in the cupboard and then they took the chips and sodas first along with plates and glasses to then go hit the couch.

  – Okay, what’s first?

  – Musical film or concert?

  – Make it a concert first

  They took a seat with their respective couples; Aly and Bastian, Briar and Finn, Terrence and Ariana and lastly, Rae and Jesse who weren’t a couple just pulled together to fight against uncomfortableness but luckily they could manage to get along.

  A comfortable silence was running in the first minutes of the concert and Aly appreciated that music and poetry have always been so close to her heart and she was grateful when people knew and respected that fact.

  Her favourite way of enjoying the music was sitting back and hear every instrument that was playing on stage effortlessly, tapping her fingers in the legs to the beat of the percussion but currently, her new favourite way was with Bastian's arm around her shoulders and his hand caressing her hair.

  Finn, Jesse, and Bastian weren't exactly what you can call fans of classical music but they could make the effort of staying awake for respect to the Brighton siblings.

  When the concert ended, Terrence walked to Aly's room in order to get the scrabble. Bastian's thoughtful birthday gift to Aly.

  Luckily for the visitors, it had dots for the visionless but also the letters were there.

  And so they took a seat around the coffee table after moving all the snacks to aside.

  In case Aly might need help with the letters accommodation, Bastian was paying lots of attention to her fingers.

  He couldn't help but regret being new at this board game, he wanted to impress Aly but this wasn't his expertise field.

  As it was expected, Aly won the five games.

  Briar and Terrence weren't surprised since she has always been good with words.

  "All the reading before and after the development has definitely been helpful," Terrence thought.

  Terrence realised it was a great idea to invite his sister's friends.

  They were making a pleasant reunion, nobody was good enough for his girls but he was starting to accept Bastian and Finn.

  By popular demand, Terrence read-aloud for Aly since she loved his deep voice as they ate the biscuits.

  – Look at that – Terrence looked at Aly after finishing the story

  – So cute – Rae smiled at the sight of Aly sleeping with the head in Bastian's shoulder, she couldn't help but stand up to take a picture

  Bastian, who didn't realise, looked down at Aly.

  – Am I so boring? – He inquired

  – Kind of – Jesse laughed

  – She only takes naps when she feels really comfortable

  – Interesting – Bastian nodded

  – I'll take her to her room – Terrence was about to stand up

  – I'll do it

  – Are you sure?

  – Yea

  Br
iar helped him lifting Aly's legs to his lap, then he put her arm around his shoulders slowly and his arm in her back in order to carry her bridal style.

  He stood up slowly and made his way to her room.

  He walked in and sank a leg in the mattress and lowered her slowly so she could land without waking up then stood there to take her back to the living room in case she woke up. But she didn't open her eyes.

  – I love you – he whispered in his ear and smiled lightly to then kiss her forehead before walking out closing the door behind him.

  32

  Tobias walked into the building and saw Bastian in front of his locker taking some notebooks.

  – Hey

  – Hey – Bastian replied, feeling somewhat weird around his former friend

  – We forgot to talk on Friday

  – Yea sorry, I've been so focused on Aly I forgot

  – Yea, I get it

  – But remind me this Friday, time with Jesse and Finn is not exactly my definition of a good time

  – You got the double date condition, huh?

  – Yea – he rolled his eyes –. Rachael and Jesse are joining the fun too but probably the next date will be on the beach to, you know, assure time alone with Aly

  – Do you want to get laid with her already?

  – That isn't my plan, you offend me – Bastian shook his head –. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be talking to you – he shut his locker and made his way to the classroom

  "Clever choice, you run away it keeps me from pleasing Anthony" he stood there still trying to think about ways of breaking free, still insecure of his idea of going to the principal. He didn't think it was a good one.

  Tobias didn't want to do it but Anthony was terrifying.

  – Hello love – Bastian left a single kiss in Aly's cheek

  – Hey – she smiled widely –. Sorry about the other day

  – Terrence explained that to me, don't worry about it

  – What did he say?

  – That you only take naps on somebody when you feel comfortable

  – On somebody's shoulder – Briar corrected

  That day, Bastian's phone rang with a notification as soon as he got home, Rae sent him the picture and right after he saw it he couldn’t resist the impulse and made it his lock screen wallpaper.

  He couldn't show her the picture due to her vision problem and he felt so bad he erased the smile the memory brought him.

  – Yea but it won't happen again, forgive me

  – That's too bad, I was hoping to be your pillow more times in the future – he took her hand and squeezed it –. It’s nice to realise that I make you feel comfortable but apology accepted

  * * *

  Before heading to the bench and eat with the girls, Bastian made a quick stop in his locker to get his lunch, since he’s closer to Aly he’s been waking up earlier than the usual to prepare it since he often forgets to do it the night before, so he could spend more time with the girl of the amber eyes and less in the waiting line of the cafeteria.

  – Hey – Tobias called next to him when he closed the locker

  – What

  – For what is worth, it isn’t even fair, you know? I met you first and you’re leaving me for Aly

  – Haven’t you noticed that I’m trying to be a better person? I mention that I want to be alone with Aly and you think I want to take her to my bed, I mean, can’t you think about something other than sex and ways to injure somebody? – Bastian said infuriated

  – That’s all I know

  – That was all I used to know too but now I’m out so that’s not my problem

  – Alright, but come on, for the old times let’s do something on Friday

  – I don’t know…

  – You can’t put a girl before your friends!

  – Yes I can, I’m not going to marry you! Besides it’s not just a girl, it’s Aly who we are talking about

  – I was here before Aly

  – It was your decision to stay, I didn’t make you

  – Come on Bastian, don’t be like that

  – Friday then, now sod off!

  The former best friends separated ways; Bastian went to the courtyard and Tobias to the cafeteria, regretting not being strong enough to face Anthony but most important, he regretted begging Bastian for a night out.

  “He doesn’t deserve this,” he thought.

  – Hey Cross! – Anthony called as he walked to their table

  – So you didn’t regain the friendship with Turner on Friday, did you?

  – No, he didn’t text to remind me and I honestly forgot, he told me he was busy

  – Doesn’t matter, we’ve got time – he paused to think –. You ask him to go bowling this Friday or something you used to do

  – Alright, I’ll do it

  – You have to make him trust you again, understood? – Anthony clenched his fists and Tobias just nodded

  “I’m sorry, mate” Tobias voiced on his mind with Bastian in his thoughts, since knowing Anthony, that just couldn’t end well.

  – I was thinking – Bastian reported as he took a seat next to Aly –. Why don’t we go to the beach this Saturday?

  – You want time alone, don’t you? – Briar narrowed her eyes and Bastian’s wide smile screamed guilty

  – I may do – he didn’t try to deny it because he couldn’t wait to have Aly so close to him in the sea being slightly swayed by the waves as he tried hard not to kiss her, he liked the struggle

  – Would you like to go to the beach again, Aly?

  – Yea, that’d be nice

  – I don’t see why our parents wouldn’t give us permission

  – Actually, I’m more concerned about Terrence, to be honest

  – But you know that the only condition is a double date

  – What if he wants to tag along with Ariana now that he introduced us and saw we didn’t hate each other?

  – Then we’d be screwed – Briar bit her lip thoughtfully

  – He has a point – Jesse nodded

  – But let’s take the risk anyways – Aly vocalised –. Even if Terrence tags along with Ariana they won’t be with us all the time

  – Exactly, I think they’ll want some time alone too – Briar agreed

  – I hope so

  – I’ll ask him and I’ll tell you tomorrow – Aly phrased

  – Fingers crossed, folks

  Right after getting home, Aly decided to ask Terrence for permission before she could forget.

  – Can we go to the beach with Bastian and Finn? – She added a small smile at the end of her question so he would be unable to give her a negative answer

  – I don’t know babe, why don’t you ask again tomorrow? – He sighed –. Ariana is been on and on telling me that I never include her in activities with the two of you, she’ll probably want to join

  – Okay I hope she wants to, it’ll be fun – Aly sank a nail in Briar’s wrist as a twin code because sometimes they liked to have a lie count in order to lower that number for New Year’s resolution

  Briar walked Aly to her room and helped her to sit down.

  – We’re screwed, if they have been fighting over it, I’m sure she’ll say yes – Aly pursed her lips

  – There must be a way, we’ll find it

  33

  – What do you want to do tomorrow? – Tobias met Bastian in his locker –. Beach or dunes?

  – I don’t know

  – Are you in the mood for surfing or riding a motorcycle? It’s not that hard – Tobias pushed

  – Let’s better go to the dunes

  – Brilliant

  – Good, I’ll see you around – Bastian rushed to the classroom to find the twins there already

  Due to their history with Tobias, Bastian thought that telling them he was retaking the contact and worst, the friendship with the fella that brought pain to Briar and who knows how many fellow scholars were his victims.


  He didn’t want them to get mad now that he was starting to make things right.

  He wasn’t particularly scared of Aly’s reaction, Briar could take the matter in her hands and take the girl of the amber eyes away from his reach as the last time.

  Of course, they didn’t have to know he’ll go out with Tobias on Friday after school and Saturday he was all Aly’s.

  – Hey girls – he waved at Briar and kissed Aly’s cheek

  – Hey

  – What did Terrence say?

  – That we can go but he and Ariana will tag along

  – No, really?

  – They’ve been fighting over that she barely has like interaction with us lately and since they want to get married someday she said she needs us to get along well

  – What a cute girl – he forced himself to say

  – Yea we like her and all but what are we going to do?

  – We can do something just the two of us some other weekend, it doesn’t matter as long as I’m with you – he took Aly’s hand and kissed her knuckles

  – My God! You’re so cheesy, I can’t even – Briar whined –. I’m going to wait for Finn outside

  – Oh, come on! As if Finn wasn’t cheesy

  – I’ll leave you two alone anyways, I’ll go to the loo

  – Okay

  – You aren’t happy with Terrence’s decision, are you?