Blind Love (Edited)

Chapter 18: Reflection

Lauren couldn't believe what had happened. The feeling of Landon's hand still lingered on hers. She couldn't quite understand what was happening. She decided to talk to Emileigh about it later, but right now she couldn't focus on anything else except for Landon. There had been so much sadness in his voice as he told his story.

What would I have done, she thought. It takes a lot of strength, tons of courage and just a real will to live.

This only added to the admiration that Lauren felt towards him. She couldn't really explain it. And she thought about the last thing she had said to him.

I told him that he wouldn't be lonely ever again, Lauren thought. What the hell was I thinking?!

'You were thinking that he deserved to have someone in his life.' her heart told her.

Well, he does. After all he's been through, he needs someone to lean on, she answered back, sure of her answer.

'Then there's your answer. Landon's not a bad guy, Lauren. I think you of all people should know that by now. Let Landon break your walls. You know that he would do it. He has the power to do it. And he slowly is.'

No. I don't want him to.

'That's what you say now. But I'm your heart. I know what you really want.'

Lauren stopped responding after this. If it was one thing she knew, it was that the heart always knew what you wanted even before the mind had registered it. There was always truth in that. And that was what scared her the most. Lauren was already becoming attached to Landon. She felt like she wanted to protect him, to be there for him. But with attachment, comes the possibility of being hurt. Thinking about that fact, she felt her walls strengthen once again. But when she saw, or even thought about Landon, there would always be a smile plastered on her face. It wasn't the fake smiles most people saw on her face, the smile that reached her lips was a genuine one. That fact out of all these is what scared the crap out of her.

She needed to clear her mind, so she began to gather the materials to paint another canvas. When they were all gathered, Lauren began to paint. It was more of an automatic action. This time, she paid less attention on what she was actually painting than on forgetting that the whole situation was scaring her to death.

Lauren was so focused on forgetting and on painting that she didn't notice the footsteps that were clearly audible to everyone else. Lauren hadn't noticed that Emileigh was standing right behind her, yet there was no interruption on behalf of Emileigh.

Emileigh was very interested in her niece's gift to paint. Emileigh knew that Lauren had talent, but watching her paint in real life, was amazing. There was so much passion on her face. And Emileigh loved watching the picture on the canvas come alive in front of her.

As soon as she finished, Lauren looked at the painting. She was satisfied. It showed the sky between the treetops. It showed the colors and the outline of the trees. But what she realized was that when she looked at it, it reminded her of her hand in Landon's and how right that had felt.

Emileigh cleared her throat and Lauren spun around. "Aunt Emileigh. What are you doing here?"

"I was just watching you paint. It's amazing how the canvas transforms into a beautiful painting at the end." Emileigh answered innocently. Emileigh could tell there was something bothering Lauren.

"May I talk to you Aunt Emileigh? I need to get something off my chest. I need to know what to do." Lauren stood up and closed the door, making sure that it had been locked.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Emileigh said compassionately.

"Something happened today at the park."