Denise’s room was huge. She had a princess bed, a couch that was big enough to be a day bed, a huge plasma television screen and a huge walk-in closet. Her bathroom was covered in light pink tiles and there was a huge Jacuzzi in the center.
“Come on, let’s try out the Jacuzzi. You look tired. It will help you unwind.”
As long as we’re staying within the confines of her room, I wouldn’t argue with her. I dressed in a pair of two-piece suit and then I joined her in the Jacuzzi.
“So… what’s up with you and Chaise?”
I stared at her blankly. Then I shook my head.
“Come on, Alice. Chaise is absolutely crazy about you. At first, I was skeptical because it seemed abrupt that he wanted to be your friend. But over the last few weeks… he seemed genuinely into you.”
“I feel bad about it though. I can’t… return his feelings.”
“Because of him?” she asked, pointing at my chest.
My hand went to my necklace again. I still hadn’t stopped wearing Hunter’s necklace. I couldn’t. I felt like removing it and never wearing it again would mean saying goodbye to the old Hunter… the blind Hunter who fell in love with me… the wonderful Hunter that I fell in love with.
I gave Denise a slight nod.
“Where did you meet him?” she asked. “What’s his name?”
I couldn’t answer that. I couldn’t tell Denise that the person she was asking about was just in a room above us. Hunter couldn’t even remember me… or refused to recognize me. How could I tell his cousin that he was the one I was waiting to come back to me all this time?
“Let’s just call him H,” I replied. “He went away.” I had to keep my responses to the minimal. I couldn’t keep lying to Denise. I wasn’t a good liar to begin with.
“Does Chaise know there was someone else?”
I nodded. “I told him why I couldn’t bring myself to fall for him. I don’t want to hurt him. But I am. And the least that I could do is be honest with him. I owe Chaise a lot. When I first started working for Alibri… I was ignoring him, being rude to him even. But he didn’t stop showing me that he cared.
“He even followed me home at nights. I got so scared, I thought somebody was stalking me. And then one night some potheads thought to have fun with me, I couldn’t be more thankful to Chaise for saving me.” I sighed. “Chaise is my guardian angel, my protector… my dear friend. But even though I wanted to try being more than that, I just… can’t. Maybe it isn’t time yet.”
“But don’t fall for him just because he’s your guardian angel and that you owe him a lot, okay?” Denise said. “You deserve to be swept off your feet and fall head over heels in love without a sense of reason or logic. That’s what love should be all about.”
I stared at her for a moment and I thought she looked dreamy. Suddenly, I realized that since I met her, I haven’t seen or heard her date anybody from school. There were many guys interested in her, but she just shot them down. But now… she looked like she was over the moon.
“Denise…” I started. “Are you in love?”
She snapped back from her dreamlike state and stared at me. A blush crept over her face so fast she didn’t have time to hide it.
“Oh my God!” I breathed. “Who is it? I didn’t even know you were dating anybody.”
“It’s umm…” she hesitated. “You know Arthur Buckley?”
I scanned my brain for the reason why that name was so familiar. And then it hit me. Arthur Buckley was the new art professor.
“Denise, he’s… what? Twenty-five?”
“Twenty-four. He’s smart, he graduated early.”
“But… it’s illegal for a student to date a professor!” I hissed at her. I wasn’t pleased at all. And I knew her parents… even Hunter… would berate her for this.
“I think I’m in love, Alice,” she said.
“But you’re eighteen and he’s too old for you!” I argued.
“Age does not matter.”
“Is that why you’re always M-I-A particularly during lunch breaks?”
She sighed and then nodded.
“Oh my God, Denise!” I groaned. “This is bad!”
“Alice! I haven’t told anyone. And I thought you would be on my side.”
“I am,” I said to her calmly. “But… your parents are going to kill you.”
“They would,” she said with absolute certainty.
“Does Hunter know?”
She shook her head. “And I don’t give a dang what he says or thinks.”
“But your parents?”
“I know they will be disappointed. But this is the first time I felt like this.”
“Denise… are you sure he’s not taking advantage of you?”
“He said he loves me.”
“A guy can say anything you will believe just so he can get into your pants!”
She stared back at me for a moment. Then she said, “Sure, was that what H did to get into yours before he left you?” Obviously, she was pissed.
I fell silent after that. I knew Denise was upset. She knew what she was doing wasn’t right and she desperately wanted me to be a friend… to be on her side. And I was being a friend. But I couldn’t help feeling scared for her.
Sure, Arthur Buckley was cute but he should know better than seduce a high school kid who was young enough to be his baby sister. He was a teacher. He should know better.
I took a deep breath. “Denise… I just want you to think this through.”
“I did. And I believe him.”
“You love him?”
She nodded. “So, can’t you just be happy for me?”
I wanted to be. But I couldn’t. Denise was gorgeous enough to have any boy she wanted. Any boy—her age! Why did she settle for somebody who should have been old enough to know better and might not have the best intentions for her?
“Did you sleep with him yet?” I asked.
She took a deep breath. “We could only see each other in the campus. We made out a lot. But we were both afraid that if somebody caught us, he would lose his job.”
“And he could go to jail if your parents could have it their way.”
I was glad that at least she was sensible enough not to go farther than she should.
“You’re not happy for me, are you?”
I sighed. “I’m worried about you.”
“I can handle it, Alice. I’m old enough to make my own decisions and judge what’s right and wrong!” She said that with so much emotion that I felt like she was practicing the lines she was going to say to her parents when she finally came clean to them.
“Just be… careful,” I said to her in a quiet voice.
She nodded.
We were silent for the next ten minutes. I felt bad about not supporting her with her decision. Denise had always looked out for me. It was supposed to be my time to be there for her. But I couldn’t help worrying. I had a bad feeling about Arthur Buckley. Denise was rich and sheltered. She wasn’t exposed to the real world like I was. She may not be able to identify danger even if she was looking at it face to face.
Finally, she stood up. “I’ll go ahead,” she said quietly. “I’ll take a shower on the other bathroom. You can take this one.”
I went out of the Jacuzzi after her. “No. I’ll take the other bathroom, if you just tell me where it is.”
She didn’t argue. Apparently, she was not too pleased with me, too.
“Third door at the end of the hall.”
I towel-dried myself and wore the bathrobe that she gave me. Then I took my bag with me and went out of her room quietly.
The hall was dark. The lights were all off. I didn’t know where the switch was. I felt my way towards the end of the hall, keeping my hands on the wall to make sure I didn’t trip on something. I was not sure I would be able to afford to pay for whatever I broke.
They were rich. Couldn’t they afford to turn on a light or two? Was saving up a couple of dollars on electricity worth risking their necks for?
The walls were covered with wallpaper. I felt a curve and then smooth wood after. I thought I reached the first door. I felt the cold steel knob against my fingertips.
Good! Two doors to go!
I took each step carefully. I was desperately hoping my hands would feel the light switch soon.
All of a sudden, I bumped into something hard in front of me. It was solid and still, as if it was just waiting for me to collide into it. I pressed my hands in front of me and I felt smooth, solid skin under my palms.
My heart pounded inside my ribcage and I thought I forgot how to breathe. Even without looking, I knew what… or rather, who I bumped into.
I stood still, unable to move, afraid to make a sound. I felt him move in front of me. He didn’t take a step back though. Instead, I felt his hand entrap mine against his bare chest, holding me in place. Then, I felt his fingers graze my cheek, almost touching my scars. Then his hand touched my nape lightly. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
His touch was electric and my knees were slowly turning to jelly, I was almost sure I wouldn’t be able to support my own weight any minute.
In the dark… maybe Hunter would remember what it was like between us. Maybe when he couldn’t see my face, his touch would remember who I once was in his life.
I feel his breath against my cheek. It smelled fresh and minty. I could almost feel his lips against my skin.
I felt him tug at the chain of my necklace. Gently, he pulled it out from inside my robe. His fingers followed the chain down towards the pendant. If he could touch it, I was sure he would know… that I was still wearing his necklace. The inscription was in Braille. He would know that he was still in my heart. That he was still the one.
But before I could be sure that he touched the pendant, I heard a door open behind us and a little light went through the dark corridor.
“Alice?” I heard Denise call behind me.
A second later, light flooded through the hall as Denise switched on the lights. I stared up at Hunter’s handsome face. He was looking down at me, his expression was fathomless. He had taken a step back, his hands were on his sides, no longer touching me.
“I told you to let me know the program the next time you decide to bump into me,” he said in that arrogant tone that I was starting to hate now.
I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. I wanted to slap him but I know that would be dangerous to his health. No matter how tough he wanted to look, he wasn’t as invincible as he wanted to appear.
“Alice?” Denise called again. “I’m done. You can use the bathroom now.”
I gave Hunter one last glare and then I turned on my heel and headed towards Denise’s room. I closed the door behind me, steadying my pulse, not letting Denise suspect that something was up.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “Was he being rude?”
“No,” I replied, shaking my head. “I just bumped into him. The corridor was dark, I couldn’t find the switch.”
“Hunter prefers the dark sometimes so he turns off all the lights in the hall when he retreats to his room for the night. He’s very efficient in the dark. It was as if he could see. He could walk around the house in complete darkness and he won’t fall down the stairs or bump into any furniture. I think he got every corner of this house memorized at the back of his mind. Sometimes, I wanted to rearrange the furniture when he’s out late just so he would trip or bump into something when he comes in.”
I smiled at that. Denise would try anything to annoy Hunter. “When you’re blind, darkness will become your friend, your only companion. You will learn to trust your memory and your other senses.”
Denise nodded. “Sometimes I think you understand Hunter better than I do. And you don’t even know him.”
I bit my lip. I thought I knew him better than anybody.
“I’m sorry, Alice,” she said. “I know you’re worrying for me. But really… trust me on this. Arthur is wonderful. Maybe someday… the four of us can double-date.”
“The four of us?”
She shrugged. “When you finally decide to throw Chaise a bone and give him the date he deserved since the night he rescued you.”
I gave her a weak smile. But inside, what I really wanted to say was, I don’t think that’s gonna happen anytime soon. Your insanely hot cousin is still messing up with my head since the day I first bumped into him.