Page 2 of Sight Unseen

There was a hesitation then Jon spoke again

“Yes, you suffered a blow to the back of your head.”

I heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank God. I thought I’d gone blind.” Vaguely I remembered white light, flashes of pain and murmured words of comfort. I shivered.

Jon breath hitched and his hand tightened in mine. He whispered something I thought sounded like, “Oh God, this is the worst thing ever” to whoever else was in the room, and I squinted in that direction.

“Did someone hit me? Was I mugged?”

Jon cleared his throat. There was more low whispering between him and the mystery person, but it was gone before I could comment on it. “No, you weren’t mugged. Do you remember going for a run after the taxi dropped us off at home?”

I frowned. “I think so. I remember changing and going out on the road.” The memory I had was the smell of sweat, hearing a night bird call out above me in the trees, the sensation of light behind me, and then nothing.

“I went for a run after that stupid argument we had when we got home,” I said faintly. “That’s about it. Nothing else.”

A chair scraped closer, the sound of it making me wince. Jon’s aftershave wafted into my nostrils as he leaned in. “You were hit by a car. It veered off the road, clipped your left side and sent you rolling down into the ravine. You rolled quite a way before you stopped.”

That explained the stabbing ache in my side and back. “So what about my head? Did I knock myself out?”

“Yeah. Your head bashed into a rock. You were out cold when the nine-one-one call came in. The driver had the decency to call and report the accident but didn’t leave any details. She did it from the phone booth about five miles down the road. The police have no idea who she was.”

I digested the information then asked, “So I damaged my hip and my head and the bandages are doing what? Protecting my eyes, covering up a wound?”

Ignoring the gasps from Jon and the unknown someone in the room, I reached up with my left hand and felt for the bandage. A chair scraped back and I heard Jon mutter, his voice sounding tight, like he couldn’t speak. “I can’t do this. I can’t. Call the doctor, he’ll need to tell him.”

Confusion swirled in my already muddled brain. “Um, is this some special bandage, because all I feel is skin and hair and eyelids. I don’t feel any bandage over my eyes. What the hell?” Panic rose again.

Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?

“I’m sorry, Nate, I can’t. The doctor’s here now, he’s going to explain it all. I’m going to get some air. Come with me, please.” Jon’s strained voice echoed away from me and back into the room. At first I thought he was talking to me, but when I tried to get up, a strong arm restrained me.

“Your partner has left with his friend. I think he needs some time alone. I’m Doctor Malik. I’ll explain, and answer your questions. Please try to stay calm. I don’t want to have to sedate you again.”

I nodded. I would have agreed to almost anything at this stage to hear what the hell was happening. I drew in heaving, awkward gasps, thinking dimly my heart might burst with from fear. “As long as you tell me straight,” I managed to get out. “No bullshit. I need to know.”

Ten minutes later I regretted that request. My world had fallen apart. Life as I knew it was over and I had no idea how I was supposed to make it through. Patient yet deadly phrases transformed the world as I’d known it to one of despair and desolation.

Damage to occipital lobe. Trauma to the back of the head. Potential permanent blindness. More tests. I’m so sorry. We’d hoped it wouldn’t be that serious, that we’d have better news for you…

After what seemed like an eternity of breath-stealing disbelief while my heart pounded like an angry drum, I shut the doctor’s voice out and sank back, waiting for the drowsy to turn into sleep.

I welcomed the darkness of slumber to act as a balm as much as the thought of my new enduring darkness terrified me to death.

Perhaps when I woke, it would all have been a dream and I could see the world again. When I woke up, Jon or Cody would no doubt tell me it had all been a nightmare and we’d laugh about it.

Until then, I’d sleep.

Chapter 2

Cody

I shouldn’t wish I was lying curled there beside Nate, smoothing away the frown lines from his forehead, perhaps giving him some measure of comfort.

Unfortunately, as the man who was crazy in love with his best friend, my thoughts tended to stray to places they shouldn’t. It was the sad story of my life. Well, at least from when I’d been fifteen and realized Nate did things for me no one else ever had.

I tucked a curl of stray dark lock of hair behind Nate’s ear, and shifted irritably on the plastic chair beside the hospital bed in the private room. At six-three, a few inches taller than Nate, I found the chair not particularly comfortable. I’d flown in from Rome earlier this morning, cutting short my attendance at the art show I’d set up.

Getting back to Nate had been my priority the minute I’d heard of his accident a day ago. I was thankful Jon had chosen to tell me the news, albeit a little late, and begrudgingly since I knew how he felt about me.