Love Online(30)

We made small talk as I cooked. Eden and I stole glances at each other as Ollie told us stories from school.

About two hours later, we finally sat down to dinner, and when I say Ollie devoured half the entire pie, that’s no exaggeration.

“Someone liked the pie,” Eden teased.

“Not the kind of pie I’m used to, but really good,” he said.

“Well, I’m very glad you liked it,” I said.

Eden licked her lips. “It was really delicious, Ryder.

Those lips look delicious.

“Well, it’s a good thing you like it, because like I said, it’s all I know how to make.”

Ollie stole my attention from Eden’s lips when he said, “Wanna come hang out in my room?”

I paused, caught off guard by the request. But there was only one answer. “Oh yeah, sure.”

“There’s not a lot in there to see, but I can show you my iPad.”

“Yeah. That sounds cool.”

Eden tried to intervene. “Ollie, Ryder’s probably tired from his trip.”

“No. I’m good.” I smiled. No way was I about to disappoint this kid.

She smiled back and mouthed, “Thank you.”

I winked at her.

Ollie got up from his chair and led me to his bedroom. To say I felt like a fish out of water was an understatement. Not only did I have no real experience with kids, but I was terrified I’d say something fucking stupid without thinking, like I had when I used the term blind with Eden earlier.

Exhaling, I sat down on his mattress, which was on the floor. He sat on the other side of it.

“You seem nervous,” he finally said.

“You think so? How can you tell?”

“Your breathing.”

That reminded me of how Eden used to be able to sense the same thing back when she could only hear my voice. I chuckled because she’d probably thought about her brother when she said it.

Ollie’s features were definitely darker than Eden’s. His skin was tanned, and his hair was almost black. He had big brown eyes to her green. But they had different fathers, so that made sense.

He reached for his device and clicked on the YouTube icon, which actually sounded out the word YouTube in a robotic woman’s voice as he pressed it. It must have been a special app that allowed him to hear what he was selecting.

“What do you like to listen to?” I asked.

“Comedy shows, mostly. Some podcasts.”

“Nice.”

He turned his body toward me. “So, who are you?”

His question amused me. He’d sat through an entire dinner with me, and he was only now asking this. But the truth was, no one had explained shit to him, other than to say I was Eden’s friend.

“Who am I? That’s a fair question.”

“Like, where did you come from? How do you know my sister?”

I gave him the same line I gave my dad. “We met online.”

“That’s kind of creepy.”

Touché.

“Yeah. The Internet is really only for adults, and even then, sometimes you have to be careful. But if you’re lucky, you can meet some great people you never would have met otherwise.”

“You came all the way here just to see her?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I did.”

“Why?”

At his age, I suppose it made no sense. “I think she’s very…nice. I wanted to meet her in person.”

He looked almost troubled when he said, “You’re not gonna take her away, are you?”

Shit. “Of course not.”

“Because if she went away, I wouldn’t have anyone to take care of me.”

Damn. I could only imagine how scary it was for him to imagine that. She was all he had.

“I haven’t known you very long, Ollie, but I can tell you with a hundred-percent certainty that your sister isn’t going anywhere.”

“How do you know? My mom died. How do you know nothing bad will happen to Eden?”

Fuck.

How am I supposed to respond to this?

“Okay, nothing is guaranteed in life. I know. But she would never willingly leave you. I promise you that.”

I thought I had it bad when I lost my mother. It must have been scary to have lost your mother at such a young age and then to not be able to see on top of that. As he looked in my general direction, but not at me, I was really curious about whether he could see me even a little.

I hoped I wouldn’t offend him when I asked, “Can you see anything at all?”

“I can see with my eyes like you see with your butt.”

Once I processed his answer, I laughed. “I think I get it. Good analogy.”

“What’s that?”

“It means…good example.”

“I can’t see anything.”

“Gotcha.” Some awkward silence passed until I rubbed my hands together and asked, “So how are the kids at school? They treat you okay?”

He smiled. “The kids at school are pretty nice. They’re all blind, too, so it’s not like they can make fun of me or anything.”

The mere thought of anyone messing with him angered me. “Why do you say that? Do other kids make fun of you?”

“Not really.”