?WINGLESS AND BEAUTIFUL?
?EPISODE 32?
“Did you have a fight or something?” Chaise asked. “He
sounded like he wanted to ram his car into a tree.”
Denise shook her head. “We did not even speak to each
other the whole way. He’s just a jerk sometimes. Well, he
always seemed angry.
He outcasts himself, engages in
fights. And in his condition… he should have been very
careful.”
“Condition?” Chaise echoed as we all went inside my
house.
I closed the door behind me. I didn’t have to wait for
Denise’s response. I know what she meant by Hunter’s
condition. He just had a successful corneal transplant.
He should take care of his eyes because a simple head trauma
alone might cause him to lose his eyesight again.
“Hunter had a car accident that killed my aunt, his
mom,” Denise said. “It… blinded him.”
Chaise’s eyes widened. “Blind? He didn’t look blind to
me.”
Denise nodded. “He was. For more than a year. He
stayed in an institution here, didn’t want to live with any of
us. But one day, he just told his dad that he was ready to
give transplant a chance.
His father immediately got hold of a donor and made sure he had the best doctors, in the best
facility in the world.
When he has fully recovered, he
returned to town, saying he wanted to stay here until he
goes away for college.” Denise sighed. “I barely liked him
before. We just didn’t get along well. He was so… perfect.
Smart. Talented. Good-looking. He was so blessed.”
“But he lost his mother and his eyesight,” I said to her
then I shook my head. “You still have both. You should
realize how much luckier you are than him.”
Denise stared at me for a while. Then I saw
embarrassment and guilt cross her face. She nodded.
“You’re right. It must have been very difficult for him.”
“It was!” I almost snapped at her. I couldn’t help it. I
didn’t just guess Hunter’s feelings. I knew them! I knew that it was hell for him to lose the most important things in his life.
Chaise stared at me for a second. “You okay, babe?”
I shook myself back to reality. Denise was giving me a
weird look, like she didn’t understand what came over me. I
realized I came on too strong on her and she didn’t know
that I knew Hunter from before he had his operation.
“I’m sorry. It must be my headache,” I lied again. I sat
down on the couch and Chaise sat beside me.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Denise asked me.
I nodded.
“You must be hungry,” Denise said. “It’s almost time for
dinner.”
“Why don’t we order pizza and we’ll all do our
homework together?” Chaise asked.
Denise shrugged. “Sounds like a good idea. I can’t be
home for the family dinner. For sure my parents would again
hail King Hunter for acing his first day in school, although he was practically catching up with us since he missed out a lot during his accident.”
“So he won’t be graduating with us?” Chaise asked.
“Oh, he will. After his operation, he did a lot of home
studying to make up for the time he lost. And he’s taking
extra classes and acceleration exams now, so he can
graduate this year,” Denise replied.
“They can’t do that, can they?” Chaise asked.
“I’m sure they can make an exception,” I said. “If
someone is exceptionally smart then his brain just might be
able to take twice or thrice the learning an average person
takes.”
Denise stared at me for a moment and then she
nodded. “And Hunter is exceptionally smart.”
Chaise raised a brow. “Really?”
Denise nodded. “Yeah. He’s like Einstein smart!” I
thought I heard pride in her voice this time.
Then she sighed. “I guess that’s why I didn’t like him. Because no matter how many times I aced my tests, my parents still held a torch for their nephew… who had been officially tested to have a genius IQ. They were so proud of him, they sometimes forget that I am their kid.”
“Seriously? That’s tough.” Chaise sounded like he’s
disliking Hunter more and more by the second.
“Yep! Genius and hot! What a rare combination,” Denise
said, rolling her eyes.
“Maybe you’re just frustrated you can’t date him
because he’s your cousin,” Chaise said to Denise with a
teasing grin on his face.
She picked up a pillow and threw it at him. “Perv!” she
muttered under her breath and Chaise laughed.
“How was… his transplant?” I asked, trying to sound
casual.
“It was successful. But he has to take good care of it.
Though transplants can last for a very long time, apparently,
they don’t last forever. He might need to get another one
when this one wears out.”
I nodded slightly, but something inside me broke.
Again, I couldn’t help feeling bad for Hunter. But I was happy too.
Ten or twenty years… a guy like him could make giant
leaps… epic years.
I remembered he told me that he decided to go through
with it because… because he wanted to see me, he wanted
to be able to protect me. Those memories pinched my
heart. I wanted to know if he still meant those words, now
that he’s perfect again.
We all managed to finish our homework by ten. Meredith
was out of town again. And although, at first I wanted to be alone, I was thankful that Denise and Chaise decided to
hang out with me.
“I’m gonna call Hunter to pick me up,” Denise said.
“No need,” Chaise said. “I’ll drop you off.”
I smiled at that. Denise and Chaise seemed to be
getting along just fine now. Sure they still tease each other a lot, but at least they know how to co-exist now.
They gathered their stuff and then headed for the door.
“Good night and have a good rest,” Denise said, leaning
forward to kss me on the cheek. Then she went outside,
leaving Chaise and me for a little while.
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