Being Kept In The Dark

Beep…beep…beep

I groaned, turning over onto my left side. Mornings were not my favorite time of the day. My mom, god bless her soul, had set my alarm clock to go off at nine o’ clock. She said, it would help me get up more easily tomorrow morning. I got where she was coming from, but I was going to be waking up at six in the morning. I don’t think waking up at nine today was going to make things any easier for tomorrow. But, if she thought it would help, who am I to say no.

I reached out my right hand and smacked it down on the clock. When the beeping died, I let it slide off the nightstand, so it was hanging off the bed. Today was going to be a busy day. I want to learn the layout of house, if I’m tired or not. Then I have to pick out what I am going to be wearing tomorrow and so on.

I laid in my bed for a few more minutes before I decided to get up. Throwing the cover off my body, I moved my feet onto the cold hard wood floor. I used the palms of my hands to lift myself off the bed then reached out for my walking stick. In the week I had been here, my room had not changed much from what my parents had originally had it. I only added a few pictures of my friends from my old school and some pictures of when I was younger with Gary and Rachel. I still called them mom and dad, but it was getting too confusing from me. They were still my parents and no one would replace them, but they were not here anymore. They would have wanted me to forget and move on. I will never forget, but I do have to move on.

I tapped my way to my bathroom closing the door behind me. I carefully slide off each article of clothing, then stepped into the shower. Once the warm beads of water touched my skin, I felt relaxed and at peace. I loved having showers for more than the reason that it makes me clean and fresh for the new day, but because it was a great stree release. There was just something about the gel like shampoo moving through my hair, that just seemed to wash all my troubles away. No pun intended.

In the middle of my relaxing shower time, I suddenly heard the phone ring. Shocked I quickly turned to the right slipping on the soupy suds on the shower floor causing me to fly forward. Bracing myself for impact, I spread my arms out in front of me only to get wrapped into a plastic web. Once I crashed into the hard tiled floor, the air in my lung left me. Panicing from lack of oxygen I sucked in four huge gasps of air, but my lungs did not seem to want any of that. I waited still sucking in air, like it was going a vanish at any momment.

After a few minutes my breathing went back to normal and I was starting to feel the pain from my fall. My elbows and knees must of taken the most of the fall, because of the burning pain I felt was rushing to them. Something was weighing down on my back making more pain pulse through me. I hissed as I turned over, the weight now on my stomach. Reaching out to grasp the weight, which I know now is most likely the shower curtain rod, moving it off of my wet body. The ringing of the phone had stopped and now all that was heard was the gentle spraying of the shower.

As I moved myself to get up more pain moved through me. I took a deep breath, held it for a second then slowly letting it out. I really do hate mornings. Once I was up, I turned off the shower and then limped into my room. The urge to just fall into my bed and sleep it off, filled my head. Instead I pulled on a pair of sweat pants that were rolled up to just above my knees and a short sleeved shirt.

Just as I was about to go back into the bathroom to clean up the floor and brush my teeth, the phone rang again. This time I made it to the phone pushing it to my ear.

“Hello.” I answered leaning against my nightstand for support.

“Hey, Cassy! It’s Brian. Your parents asked me to watch out for you today. You want to let me in?”

“Oh, yeah! Sorry, I totally forgot! I’ll be right down.”

We both said our goodbyes then I hung up the phone. Limping my way into the bathroom, I grabbed my walking stick from its leaning postion against the sink and tapped my way to the stairs.

My parents had both gone out today. My mom was at school for the whole day and my dad was at some meeting about the bands up coming album. Since I still was not completely use to the house, Brian was going to be here to “watch” me. I was not mad about this, no actually I was glad. I could move around the house all day without my parents thinking I was nuts.

Finally making it to the door, I unlocked it and opened the wooden door. The smell of musty colene and hair gel was what greeted me as the door gently touched the wall beside me. I smiled and moved more to the side, so he could come inside.

“Good morning, Uncle Brian.” I greeted as he made his way passed me.

“Hey, squirt. How’s life?” He asked me as I closed the door locking it once again.

“Pretty good, and you?”

“Good, good… Holly shit, Cassarah!” Brian grabbed my arm pulling it up. “What happened to your arm?!”

“I fell trying to answer the phone.” I answered wincing slightly as he touched my elbow.

“Shit! We need to clean this.”

I was not expecting him to pick me up like he did. All of sudden I was off my feet and in his arms being held in a bridal fashion. He began to walk, to where I am not sure. He set me down on something cool and hard. The texture was smooth like glass, but was solid like a rock. A bathroom maybe. I heard Brian shifting through stuff and his low mummbling. He was still in the room, will physically any way.

“Found it!” He yelled pride radiating off his voice.

“You found what? What’s going on?” I asked feeling nervous about whatever he had found.

“Okay, now this might hurt a little bit.”

“No, what are you- OW!”

The pain that was in my knees before was nothing compared to this. Brian had squirted a liquid onto my bruised knee making them burn like they were on fire. I hissed going to touch them, but Brian’s huge hands stopped me squeezing them lightly. I squeezed back in hopes of releasing some of the pain. Soon after he pulled his hands from mine putting a sticky subtance over the burning. It cooled the pain enough so it was bearable. Then a cloth like material was stuck on top of the wounds.

“Alright. That wasn’t so bad, now was it.”

“What planet are you living on?” I asked.

He laughed then said, “I know, sorry. But it would’ve hurt way more if we would’ve let it get infected. And plus we still have you elbows to do.”

Brian repeated what he had done to my knees letting me hold has hand again. He was nice, much nicer then I had thought from the way my dad had described him. He didn’t seem cocky or rude, but then again its only been like fifteen minutes. Once both my elbows were bandaged he lifted me off whatever I was sitting on and let me stand on the ground again. Brian lead me out of the room we were in and then into another.

“Where are we?” I questined.

“In the kitchen. You hungry?” I nodded my head yes and felt my way to the table. I had left my walking stick in the entrance way.

“Matt told me about you being vegan. So you seriously don’t eat anything made from animals?”

“Yes, and also food that has come from animals. Like eggs or milk.” I explained. It was hard for some people to understand, that I did not eat food like cheese. I did not believe that anything made from or by an animal should be consumed. Other people could eat it, but I was not going to touch it.

“Wow, I could never do that. I love my meat too, much.” Brian laughed at his own sentence trying to lighten the mood, I guess. He did not have to I was not mad at him for eating meat, it was his choice.

“So, anything you would like to eat?”

“Umm, an apple would be nice.” I replied craving a sweet juicy fruit.

After Brian and I had finished our breakfast we went our seperate ways. He went into the family room to watch T.V. and I went upstairs after getting my walking stick.

I made my way through all of the bedroom and bathrooms with my cane about five times. Then I went through them with no cane twenty times, I fell a few times, but I pulled myself up and started again. Once I had the upstairs, I worked on the stairs. There were about fifteen of them, all of the steps taking two taps with my cane. There was also a hand bar on the wall that I could use. After I had moved up and down them a couple times Brian came asking what I was doing.

“I’m learning the layout of the house.” I answered still making my way down the stairs.

“Alright, your dad called. He said he’ll be here in a few hours. So around dinner time, I guess.”

“Cool, are you staying for dinner?”

“No, Michelle will be home by then. I going home. Why did you want me to?” He asked his cocky side finally showing itself to me.

“Just asking.” I replied.

“Alright, just call if you need anything.”

“Will do!”

With the stairs done, I moved around the downstairs. It was bigger and had a lot more things to watch out for, but I managed to make it through. Once I was done and had pretty much learned where everything and every room was in the house, I sat down beside Brian. I let a sigh out of my mouth and rest my head on the couchs arm.

“Tired?” Brian asked laughing slightly to himself.

“Yes.” I sighed out.

“I’m proud of you. No one can say that you take advange of your disablity. You work hard.”

I do work hard. I do not let the fact that I can not see stop me from doing things I love. Like playing the piano or violin. It was hard to learn them, but I did and was the best in my old school. I use to play in small concert halls and took jobs to play for other schools in the area. I would not have been able to do any of those things if I had just given up.

“Thanks, uncle Brian. But you work hard too. Dad says you’re one of the greatest guitar players he’s ever heard. That took a lot of work too, right?”

Brian laughed a heart filled laugh. He laid his hand on my head moving it around a little. I smiled and laughed too.

“Thanks, kid. You really are something.”