Page 55 of Sugar

He was getting better at compensating for his left eye, but when he focused on Piper’s license plate, he noticed the numbers were a little…off. He blinked again. There was a spot there. A very small one.

Panic crawled up his gullet, and he swallowed thickly to try and calm himself. He forced his eyes to water, and he blinked. Had it cleared? Was it still there?

It was too dark for him to tell. But if it was, he had a matter of weeks—if that. The sight in his left eye had deteriorated so quickly. And the doctor had warned him that his condition was fast-moving.

In the grand scheme of things, it was almost like going to sleep and waking up blind.

“Juno?”

He turned and fixed his gaze on Piper, staring hard at his face.

“You’re pale. Are you going to faint?”

Juno quickly shook his head. His ears were ringing, and his heart was beating too fast in his chest. “I think I need something to drink.”

Piper motioned for the car, and Juno followed him, climbing into the passenger seat. They started off toward the hotel, and then Piper made a detour through a little burger place drive-thru that Juno had never heard of, and he tried to fix his gaze on the words in bright white lights.

Was there a spot? He’d had spots from silent migraines before—so maybe that was it.

“Hey, sugar,” Piper said very quietly as he pulled out onto the main road, “there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Juno’s eyes went foggy, and he realized they were filled with tears. He blinked them back, refusing to give in. Refusing to cry over this. If it was happening—if this was it—he’d expected it. He’d known this moment was coming.

“I want to go back to the room.”

“We’ll be there soon,” Piper promised.

He got his drink but didn’t touch it, but by the time they got back to the hotel, Juno’s question was answered. He had a full-blown migraine. He couldn’t see anything out of his right eye except wavering aura, and his left was as useless as ever.

There was a burst of relief before he realized he wouldn’t be able to make it from the valet to the room without help. “My head,” he whispered when Piper pulled the car to a stop. “I can’t see anything. It’s a migraine.”

“What can I do?” Piper asked.

Juno swallowed heavily. “Get me to the room without letting me fall on my face.” He let out a tense laugh and rubbed at his eyes, but that just made the pain worse. Somewhere in the aura fog, he could see the steps, but he didn’t want to open his eyes. The light was too much.

He smelled Piper’s cologne before he felt his presence. Then, a warm hand touched his own. It guided Juno’s to the back of his elbow. He’d practiced, Juno realized with an almost violent start. He’d looked up guiding a blind person, and he’d practiced.

His stomach flipped around itself. Even Juno hadn’t been brave enough to do much more than read a couple of articles. He’d attempted to watch a video—a nice man with a soothing voice who taught cane navigation for a living had a channel on YouTube showing off different techniques.

Juno had liked him, but it was too real, so after the second video, he clicked away from it and hadn’t let himself think about it since then. Was this what his doctor was talking about? Being in denial until it was too late to use his safety net?

He blinked as they got into the lobby, and the dim lights were less harsh. And he could see a little better. The aura had moved to his periphery—like light waves which might have even been beautiful if they hadn’t come with so much pain. But the center of his right eye was clear.

No blur. No fog.

He almost burst into tears from relief, but instead, he closed his eyes and let Piper get him to the elevator. The motion made his head spin, and he knew the moment they were inside, he was going to be sick.

“Can you go get some food?” Juno asked when he heard the lock on the door click.

Piper froze. “You want to eat?”

“I want to throw up, and I’d rather you be anywhere else but in the room listening to it,” Juno admitted.

Piper led him inside, then spun him carefully and cupped his cheeks. “Open your eyes.”

Juno did. The lights were so dim there was no stabbing pain. He could see Piper surrounded by a halo of aura. He wished he wasn’t hurting so badly. “I think I was—” He felt bile rise into his gorge. Fuck, he was going to lose it all over Piper’s shoes. “It was tension. Please, let me do this alone.”

“I’m not going far. I’ll sit in the hallway for a bit, but you’re really pale. I don’t want you passing out alone.”

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