Love at Last Sight

Chapter Eight

The phone ringing obnoxiously next to my head coaxed me from my sleep. Sitting up with a start, I automatically reached for the landline and picked it up. “Hello?” I mumbled tiredly.

            “Rose? Did you just wake up? It’s almost noon!”

            Ugh. It was my mom. I wrinkled my nose. “No, I woke up earlier. I just fell back asleep.”

            “Why aren’t you in school?”

            “Teacher professional day.”

            “Well, as long as I have you on the phone, I want to talk to you since I had to leave on Sunday before I got the chance.”

            Sighing lightly, I flopped back down onto the couch I’d crashed on. “Dad already made the appointment. Today at one. Dr. Vasquez is going to make sure my fall didn’t have any permanent negative affects on my vision.”

            “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

            “What are you talking about then?”

            “I told your father to tell you, but I guess he didn’t. My friend Mark will be coming to your house every Thursday from now on to teach you how to read Braille.”

            My heart sunk in my chest. “What…?”

            “Honey, I know you like to play ignorant, but it’ll be harder for you later on if you don’t start adjusting now.”

            “I’ll be fine,” I snapped. It was too early to deal with a topic like this. And what right did she have to go behind my back and do things like this? This was part of the reasons my dad had asked for a divorce! She never asked before doing something!

            “No you won’t,” she responded just as snippily. “You can’t even tell the people you love about your disease.”

            My hand clenched around the phone. “I can tell them! I just don’t want to!”

            “Rose, don’t you think it’s unfair of you to keep it from them?”

            “How is it unfair?” I demanded. “Isn’t it unfair that I don’t even have a choice about whether or not I lose my vision? I’m seventeen, Mom! Not seventy!” Tears started gathering in my eyes and I blinked rapidly, suddenly furious.

            My mom hesitated before speaking. “I know it’s hard—”

            “Yeah, it is,” I interjected rudely. “That’s why I pretend it’s not happening. I rather live my life happily than worry about it.”

            “I know, Rose. Getting angry isn’t going to solve anything though.”

            Knowing she was right, I forced myself to calm down, wiping my eyes. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry for snapping at you.”

            “It’s okay. You’re just upset. You really need to talk about this more. Should I get you a counselor? Maybe—”

            “No,” I cut her off quickly. “No counseling Mom.”

            “Well you need to talk about it.”

            It was really a feat to not be annoyed by her. “Fine. I’ll tell Kate.” Kate would be an easy person to tell. Her dog was blind, so she knew kind of what was going to happen to me. I just didn’t want to be compared to her dog, so that was one of the reasons I hadn’t told her. Though I didn’t see how talking about my problem was going to help anything. Wouldn’t bringing it up bring me more stress than just pushing it aside?