Blind Love (Edited)

Chapter 12: Lauren's Family

Lauren was sitting in her room, wondering what Landon's reaction would be. She knew he couldn't see, but that made it more unnerving. Although Landon couldn't see, Lance and Laura could, and she was worried about what they would say about the painting. She knew it was a little too much but at the same time, she knew she had to give it to him, because she knew that it was the only way to show him that she meant good. It was something to show him that she had good intentions, that she wasn't going to be like the others that Landon had met.

A few minutes later, Lauren heard a knock on the door which made her jump a little. "Come in," she answered.

At these words, Lauren's father peeked his head through the door.

"Hey, Dad." Lauren said with surprise in her voice. It was rare to see her father come into the room and talk to her. He was a loving father but he was not the type to express his feelings openly to people. It was really hard for him to do that. Her mother understood this from the beginning. It was hard at times, but she knew that her dad loved her and sometimes, sometimes at these rare moments in the world, he actually told her that he loved her.

"Hey, baby girl. I heard that you went to take a gift to the neighbors." he started the conversation tentatively.

"Oh, yeah. A canvas. I painted it a few hours earlier. I had to give it to him, Dad."

"Who did you have to give it to? Lance?"

"No. His brother, Landon."

"Oh. His brother. The young man that wasn't at the table because he had a headache?"

"Yes. Except he didn't have a headache. It's something more permanent than that."

"What do you mean?"

"Promise me you won't freak out and you won't tell Mom."

"I promise. Tell me what's wrong with him."

"This is something I didn't expect but besides the fact, he's really sweet and such a gentleman."

"Spill it out, Lauren."

"He's blind, Dad. He's been blind since pretty much forever."

Lauren expected him to go ballistic, to prohibit her from ever see him again. She totally expected him to just be mad, to not even want to hear anything else about the "blind guy." To her surprise, his answer was totally different than what she had expected. His gray eyes were kind and he held eye contact before saying, "Blind, huh? I had a blind friend in grade school. He was a really good friend. Always there for you when you needed a friend. I remember I was his only friend. People can be so cruel sometimes. But what matters most is that you gave him a chance. I'm proud of you, baby girl. I'm very proud."

Kyle pulled his daughter into a long embrace. Lauren knew that this was one of those moments which her dad almost never had. His hugs were warm and they felt very fatherly. He was a sweetheart, Lauren knew, but he wasn't very good at showing all of his emotions, especially love. Every once in a while, in one of those rare moments, Kyle let it show but it was rare to see that. But today was one of the days in which he showed his affection and that made Lauren feel better. Lauren looked up at her dad and asked, "Really, Dad? How come you never told me you had a blind friend in school?"

"I didn't think it was relevant." he said sincerely, with a hint of remorse in his voice.

"Well, thanks, Dad. Thank you for understanding. I seriously thought that you were going to completely disapprove of him. You have to meet him, though. He's really sweet. He's a good guy, Dad. He's been through a lot though. It pisses me off that other people could treat another human being in that way. Don't they have any values, any respect for others?"