Blindness(9)

“If they ask, just tell them I went to the garage…they won’t ask, though,” he says over his shoulder. Before he rounds the corner, he pauses for a second and looks up, his eyes catching mine one last time before he’s gone. They’re full of something that seems far heavier than sadness, and I’m fighting this foreign instinct to run to him, care for him, and find out what he’s hiding.

I sit there for minutes trying to sort out everything and wishing like hell I had another place to live. When I realize no one is coming back to join me, I pick up my glass and walk into the kitchen. Trevor is sitting atop the counter and smiling, and Jim and Shelly are both doing the same. It’s like a Twilight Zone, as if the dinner I just endured had never happened. As soon as they see me enter, everyone gets quiet and Jim and Shelly leave the room. Trevor starts putting dishes into the washer, so I pick a few up and carry them over to him.

For a few minutes, I think I may be okay with pretending—maybe I can just unravel this mystery on my own, but it doesn’t take long for my gut to tell me I can’t, and I slam a plate down next to Trevor. “Okay, what the hell is going on,” I say, leaning away from him so he can’t distract me. He just sighs, shuts the water off, and leans on the opposite counter.

He twists his bottom lip at first, thinking. “Cody and I…well, we don’t really get along. We’re different,” he stops, I think hoping that I’ll find that to be enough of an explanation, but I urge him on. He rolls his eyes a little and swings his feet as he lifts himself to sit back on the counter.

“Okay, here’s the short version. Shelly’s my stepmom. My real mom died when I was really little, so don’t feel bad. I don’t remember her. I mean, at all. My dad married Shelly about five years ago. Her husband died, and she was working at my dad’s firm. She had a son, Cody. He thinks I’m an *. And, well, he’s real a prick to my dad—sorry, don’t mean to be crass. But he is,” Trevor stops after that, and waits. I try to fit all of the pieces in with everything I already know. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I guess, I just waited so long to introduce you to Cody, and like I said, he’s not really around much.”

He just stops there, and I feel like I’m waiting on a ledge. His face is conflicted as he stares at me, his hands looped in his pockets now, and his shoulders tense. I can tell there’s more, probably a lot more, buried deep. I’m willing to wait it out, so I match his silence and hold his eyes, nodding forward, and raising my brows slightly to push him.

Trevor takes in another deep breath, and goes back to work on the dishes, I think so he can avoid looking at me as he continues. “Cody’s moving in above the garage,” he says, obviously irritated. “There’s a carriage house up there. He’s a loser, never has any money.”

I almost protest, knowing that he’s an engineering major, but then I stop. I’ve already dug myself too deep, pretending not to know Cody at all. After a few minutes of silence, I decide to leave it at that, and will myself to be satisfied with Trevor’s explanation. My encounter with Cody was tense. But only because it was a surprise, and I don’t believe he’ll make things uncomfortable for me here. In fact, I may be the only person willing to acknowledge him—and that reality makes me feel…well, it just makes me feel.

I reach around Trevor and hug him tightly and instantly notice him relax. He shuts the water off and turns around to pull me in close, kissing me, and tugging my hair loose. Trevor loves my hair, and he wraps his hands deep into the gold strands while he kisses me more. He lifts me, then turns me around so I’m sitting on the counter facing him. I keep kissing him, but I’m fighting myself because I’m aware that his parents could burst in at any moment. I let myself enjoy the moment until he works his hand up my thigh and slides his thumb under the side of my underwear.

“Whoa, not quite ready for exhibition time in front of your parents, if that’s okay,” I laugh and slide from the counter, but still tight against him. He just laughs lightly and lifts my chin to kiss me softly.

“Okay, no exhibition…yet,” he smiles, but it quickly turns into a flat line, and just as quickly a frown.

“What’s wrong?” I’m thrown by his quick mood change.

He takes in a sharp breath through his nose and closes his eyes as he runs his hand down his face. “We have to talk,” he says, and I’m completely rattled. Talk? Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?

“Ooooookay?” I say, letting him know exactly how unsure I’ve become by my now-guarded body language.

He doesn’t let his hands leave me as he slides them down my arms and grabs my curling fingers. “I heard from Judge Sumner’s office. I got the call tonight, when I left to come in here. That’s what me and my parents were talking about when you came in,” he says, and immediately, I know.

Trevor is leaving. For Washington.

I knew this might happen. While he’s talking, I’m already sorting how I can work things out with my firm and my internship, transfer to someone with a base in Washington in the spring. It won’t be easy, but I can pull it off. I’m half-hearing him when I realize he says Monday. Monday?

“What? You mean, this semester?” I shove him away a little, now frustrated and finally understanding what he’s been saying.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” he says, reaching for me again. I’m a little standoffish, but I let him hold my hands, even if I’m guarded about it. “They really want me, and they’re willing to move my apprenticeship ahead. Charlotte, it’s a HUGE opportunity. I can’t say no.”