In Plain Sight (manxman) "Temporarily On Hold"

Chapter 7 I'm A Mess

Chapter 7

David

So the night was a bust.  Worse than a bust it was a car wreck.  After Elliott left I wanted to hightail it out of there, but Marcie insisted I stay until the auction was underway and only after I bid on something.  One of the early items up for bid was a fishing weekend on some remote lake upstate, I love the outdoors and I love solitude so I bid on that and paid an exorbitant amount of money for it, but I didn't care.  It served two purposes, I was now free to leave and I was guaranteed a weekend away from the city and my not so wonderful life here.  And if I was lucky, really lucky, maybe Elliott would give me a second chance and I could take him with me.  I had a year to use it, hopefully it wouldn't take me that long to get him to talk to me.

The next morning I woke up with a tension headache.  It was the first day of my 3 months off and it was already off to a bad start.  I took a long hot shower until the water turned cold and then I pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed my sunglasses and a jacket and headed out the door.  I was determined to talk to Elliott so I began walking in the direction of his studio.

The walk gave me time to think.  How I could have not realized he was blind?  I'd spent an hour in the elevator with him, but had we ever locked eyes?  Is that why Blake always seemed to be there?  Is that why he's so protective over Elliott?

It made more sense as I thought of him; when I was up in his studio he was under the sculpture most of the time, how many times had we actually made direct eye contact.  Apparently none.  And I'd never even noticed. 

Amazing, how was he able to create the amazing pieces I saw in his studio while being blind.  As I pondered each time we met, the clues started to come together and I realized how incredibly dense I had been all along.  No wonder he was pissed, I was so busy looking at the surface, his looks, or my own, that I never really looked at him.  I never saw the real Elliott.

Emma.  At the movies, she was telling him everything that was happening on the screen, that's why she was whispering in his ear the whole time and the same thing at the fashion show.  She was his eyes.  Blake made sure he got places safely and took care of other needs.  My mind was reeling, finally seeing what I failed to do since we met, so much that I didn't even notice when I arrived in his neighborhood.  I looked up at the building, the large windows on the top floor.  Would he give me a chance?  Would he ever forgive me for my stupidity, ineptitude, ignorance and all around doltish behaviour?

And what did I really want from Elliott.  Something drew me to him, I knew that.  Did I want friendship, more than friendship?  All I was certain was that I couldn't leave it where it stood.  I needed to talk to him.  To apologize.  I need to make it right and then see where it went from there.

I walked into the building and my mind went immediately to the first time we met, in the elevator.  Elliott wearing a pair of dark Ray Bans.   Me getting annoyed that he didn't hold the door when he saw me coming.  I'm such a dope.

I pressed the button and noticed the elevator was on its way down.  When the door opened there stood Marcie.  Great.

"David, were you coming to see me?"

"Actually, No Marcie.  I was going to talk to Elliott."  Marcie looked around the empty hallway.

"David, I don't know what happened between you and he last night, but you need to think about your career before you start something you can't finish."

 "Marcie, this has nothing to do with my career."

"Going public with a relationship between you and Elliott could ruin your career," she warned.