Close Your Eyes

The doctors had not always thought my brother had Orthogenesis Imperfecta; before, many other types had been considered before coming to a solid conclusion. One of these diseases was titled, Hemophilia and it caused blood to not clot. In other words, if one were to begin bleeding and have Hemophilia, it would not stop unless dealt with immediately. It usually affects males and rarely ever influences a female but as I stood a distance away from Eve, I began to realize that she could very well be part of that small percent of people influenced by such.

“Are you…” She whispered in a voice that was not her own, a voice full of fear, hopelessness, and nothing. “Are you afraid? Will you never speak to me again? No one in school does; everyone knows what I am and what resides inside me.”

A sigh flew from my mouth and I discreetly motioned for her to follow me into the garage. While I wasn’t sure if she’d oblige to this, as I climbed the stairs I could hear a light tap behind me. I opened the door and instantly headed for the booze next to my computer and took a long swig of it, trying to use it as an icebreaker to calm her nerves. However, when I asked if she wanted some Eve didn’t answer and instead curled up on my bed and closed her eyes. When a few silent minutes passed by, I sighed again and headed to the side of the bed she was face. In a low voice, I murmured, “It really should have been me asking you that. Are you afraid, Eve?”

Her eyes fluttered open and I couldn’t help but stare intently at the appearance of them. It wasn’t everyday that one would see someone with red eyes. She chuckled lightly and traced lines on my face. “Afraid of what? What could I possibly be afraid of?” A part of me wanted to close my eyes and just let her trace circles and stars across my complexion, but instead I answered her question, knowing she wanted some sort of answer.

“Me, of course, dummy.” She laughed at this, causing me to scowl.

“You?” She commented in disbelief. “Now why would I –” In an attempt to scare her, I climbed above her and trapped her below me. With my face close to her paused one, I mumbled,

“If I wanted to, I could hurt in five seconds flat, I guarantee.” She chuckled again and went back to stroking my face.

“But you wouldn’t,” she whispered as if she was so sure. As if she knew nothing bad could possibly happen to her. She knew nothing.

“And what makes you so sure?” I growled, moving away from her and laying on the other side of the bed.

She giggled and turned to face me with shimmering eyes. “Because if you wanted to hurt me, you would have done it already.” And with a defeated expression on my face, Eve close her eyes and slept soundly as if nothing had ever occurred.

~**~**~**~**~

My parents eyed me suspiciously when I came to dinner that night with Eve following close behind, her eyes closed again. On the contrary, Devon immediately perked up at the sight of the little blonde and with his crutches next to him, he frantically stumbled over to her. Eve seemed to hear the commotion and focused where Devon was stumbling. His voice was full of an amount of happiness I hadn’t heard from him in awhile when he shouted, “Hey Eve!” A grin instantly formed on Eve’s lips.

“Dev!” she squealed, and touched his cheek tenderly. “It’s so nice to speak with you again. How are you doing? It must not be very fun having to use crutches.” Devon’s grin contorted into a frown as she spoke the last part.

“No, they really suck,” he groaned as the three of us made our way to the table. Eve sat between the two of us with Mom on the other side of me and Dad on the other side of Devon. “But otherwise, it’s basically a usual thing so nothing’s really new.” Eve nodded understandly.

“I know what you mean,” she commented, rubbing her eyes self consciously. “I go to the hospital pretty regularly as well. It gets incredibly boring after awhile. But,” she paused and flashed a bright smile in his general direction. “You really know it’s bad when the doctors all know you by name, you know?” The two were in a fit of giggles while my parents continued to look between Eve and I.

My mother cleared her throat and questioned, unknowing of what she was getting herself into, “So, I presume your frequent doctor visits has to do with your eyes?” If I could, I would have flipped her the bird had Eve not been here. I’m on thin ice as is. However, when my eyes darted to Eve she was grinning nervously as if nothing was wrong.

“Yes, ma’am,” she said, her voice a bit shaky. “I have a condition known as Hemophilia.” Devon smiled back and forth between Mom and Eve.

“That’s cool!” he shouted. “That’s what the doctors’ had considered that I might have! But I have Orthogenesis Imperfecta, so I have really breakable bones.”

It was odd listening to two people that I knew well talk about the diseases that could kill them in a second. My mother would once in awhile tense as she listened to Devon explain his own condition and in return Eve would explain her own. But, as I watched Devon’s expression light up in understanding, I realized that it had been a long time since he’s found someone that could understand what he was feeling to the level Eve could. His momentary happiness was probably the only reason Mom didn’t end their conversation at the bud. As Dad, Mom, and I listened to them talk, we all picked nonchalantly at our food but all the talk about hospitals, blood, and surgery curved our hunger.

When dinner was finished, Eve stood and bowed. “Thank you so much for allowing me to have dinner with you all. It was lovely.” She grinned and was about to take her plate but my mother grabbed it first.

“You’re a guest,” she grinned at Eve. “I’ll take care of the plates. Blake, be a dear and show your little friend to the door.”

Despite the friendly tone in her voice, I knew my mom was feeling a thousand things that weren’t such: bitterness, anger, sadness, fear, and most of all, not acceptance.