Page 26 of Otter Heart
I stared at him for a long moment, letting his words sink in. There was a lot hedidn’tsay that came across loud and clear. He was lonely and he felt abandoned by the rest of the world. And, if I wasn’t mistaken, he was a bit angry about it.
“But I shouldn’t complain,” he continued. “I’m lucky to be alive in the first palace. And I have an amazing life. I have a job that I love, parents that were well-off enough to practicallygiveme a condo of my own, and I have the best dog in the entire world. What more could a guy want?”
“I’m sorry if this is a personal question,” I asked, my interest piqued too much to ignore any longer. “But why are you lucky to be alive? Does it have to do with how you… how you lost your sight?”
He nodded, still smiling. “Yeah,” he sighed. “I lost my vision in a car accident when I was thirteen.”
“Oh… I didn’t know that was possible.”
“I didn’t either.”
“What happened?”
“Drunk driver,” he replied matter-of-factly. “T-boned us at an intersection doing sixty. Both my parents and I were in the car. My mom and I were sitting on the passenger side, but he hit the backside of the car.” He pointed at himself. “He hitmebasically.”
My hand went to my lips. “Oh my god…”
“Yeah. I woke up in the hospital three days later to total darkness. When I panicked and nearly ripped all my stitched out, the doctors had to sedate me. After a while they were able to explain that I’d sustained quite a head injury and that I had basically been whiplashed within an inch of my life.” He let out a slow sigh. “They also told me my vision would most likely return.”
My heart stopped for a moment, knowing the outcome already.
“But it never did.” He lifted his arms over his head, stretching and faking a smile in a vain attempt to cover up the trauma he’d just expressed. “I got upset, I did stupid stuff, and the school put me in alternative learning, so I didn’t see my friends anymore. Eventually I graduated, came to terms with the fact that my vision was never going to come back, and started online university. I found a lot of solace in good books and got my master’s degree in English. After that it was almost too easy to get a job as a professor.” He smiled in my direction. “They said I had aunique perspectivethat would be beneficial to students.”
“Wow…” I murmured, still staring at him in awe. “You went through all of that and you’re still okay.” I shook my head, feeling ashamed of myself. “And here I am having a crisis because I’m bad at dating. Talk about stupid.”
A hand came to rest on my thigh.
“It’s not stupid, Adam,” he insisted. “Everyone has their own mountain to climb. Just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s any less difficult.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Are you always this sweet and understanding?”
He gave my thigh a squeeze, increasing my heart rate as he did so.
“Probably not,” he laughed. “But I have my moments.”
Chapter Eleven: Mateo
The storm came in fast over the lake. I could hear it rumbling in the distance as I started my Monday class. But soon I was swept up in our discussion of Oliver Twist and how it was a story about perseverance and goodness in the face of adversity. That’s why, when there was an exceptionally loud crack of thunder, I literally fell out of my chair, taking several books with me as I hit the ground, and my chair flew across the floor.
By the time I recovered, I realized my computer was off and the condo around me was eerily silent.
The power was out.
“Bessie,” I called, pushing myself up from my chair. “Where are you?”
I was fine as the thunder boomed and rattled the condo. Rain hammered against the roof, but I wasn’t worried. Bessie on the other hand had probably stuffed herself under the bed in a fit of pure terror. Shehatedthunderstorms.
“Bessie?” I called. “Come on Bessie. It's not that bad. We can cuddle up and eat some treats if you want to!”
I figured that, of all things, would get her attention. I stood in the living room waiting for the sound of her timid steps coming down the hall. The rain continued to pound, andthe thunder rolled again and again. But there was nothing from Bessie.
Clicking my tongue I headed for the bedroom. That's where she always went. If it wasn't under the bed, then she stuffed herself into the back corner of the closet. I wouldn't force her to come out, but I at least wanted to sit with her through the beginning of the storm. That was always the loudest part. Once the thunder stopped, she’d calm down and come out on her own time.
I went to the bed first, reaching under from the side I usually slept on. She had a little bed nearby that she sometimes pulled under there to snuggle with. However, she wasn’t there, and her empty bed was still beside the nightstand. I crawled around the entire bed, checking every nook and cranny that she could’ve possibly stuffed herself into. I even stopped to listen for her breathing. But there was nothing.
Next, I went to the closet and did the same thing. However, Bessie was nowhere to be found. At that point I was starting to worry a bit, and I made a thorough sweep of the entire condo. The last thing I wanted her to do was stuff herself some place dangerous or somewhere she couldn't get out of. Even with the rain, my sense of hearing was keen enough to let me know she was nowhere to be found.
It wasn’t until I got to the kitchen that I realized the sliding glass door was slightly ajar. I nearly slipped on the rain that had splashed over the hardwood floor. Reaching out, I stuck my hand through finding the screen was torn as raindrops pelted my skin.
