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I was surprised but relieved.
Even with my distorted eyesight, I was ready to get out of that hospital and go home—or at least I thought I was. When it actually came time for me to be discharged, I wasn’t so sure.
I could see enough to get around, but I couldn’t drive or read a book, which made me a little apprehensive about being on my own. My parents were equally concerned, so I wasn’t surprised when my father suggested, “You know, you could come and stay with us. We can fix up your old room and—”
“Um, no.” I shook my head. “I’m not moving back home.”
“It wouldn’t be a permanent thing,” Mom added. “Just long enough for you to get back on your feet.”
Conor’s back stiffened, but he didn’t say a word. He simply stood there and listened as I told Dad, “I appreciate the offer, but I want things to stay as normal as possible, and that can’t happen if I’m living with you and Mom.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.” I slipped my arm around Conor’s waist and smiled. “I’m going to be fine. Besides, I’ll have Haleigh and Conor to look out for me.”
“That she does.” He pulled me a little closer and announced, “We’ve already got Rae’s place all set up for her.”
“Okay, but you gotta promise me if it gets to be too much, you’ll let us know.”
“I promise.”
Mom and Dad followed us downstairs and helped me into Conor’s truck—which was no small feat. I was stubborn and wanted to do everything on my own, but I simply couldn’t. I was still getting accustomed to the change in my vision, and it was especially difficult whenever there were bright lights or a great deal of movement.
Dr. Grant had given me some special glasses, but they only helped a little. Even so, I still managed to get into the truck without falling on my face. I was just about to close the truck door when Mom came up to me and said, “I’ll be by tomorrow to check on you. Just let me know if you need me to bring anything.”
“Okay, I’ll call you tonight.”
“Sounds good.”
She gave me one last hug, and then she and Dad headed over to their car. Once they were gone, Conor started his truck and asked, “You ready?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m more than ready.”
With that, he pulled out of the parking lot and drove us over to my apartment. As soon as we parked, Haleigh ran up to the truck and opened my door. She gave me a big hug and welcomed me home, then helped Conor get me inside. I could’ve made it on my own, but they both insisted. I hadn’t realized why until I walked through the front door and discovered that they’d moved all the furniture. “What’s all this?”
“We thought it would make it easier for you to get around.” Haleigh came up beside me and asked, “What do you think?”
“I think it looks great, but you really didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but we wanted to do something to help out.” Haleigh led me over to the sofa and waited for me to sit as she said, “Besides, this place needed a little change.”
“That was really sweet of you. Thank you, both of you.”
“Of course.” She plopped down next to me and hugged me again. “It’s so great to have you back home.”
“I was only gone a couple of days.”
“I know, but it seemed like so much longer. And when your parents started talking about how they wanted you to move in with them, I thought I would die.”
“Oh, you heard about that?”
“Hell yeah, I heard about it,” she scoffed. “It’s all they talked about since you came out of surgery, and it was all I could do to keep myself from going off on them. No way would I let them take you away from me.”
I giggled. “Well, I’m glad it didn’t come to that.”
“Me, too.” Haleigh gave me a little bump with her shoulder. “So, what do you wanna do tonight?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged, then looked over to Conor, “What did y’all have in mind?”
“I was thinking I might ask Locke to come by, and we could all order some Chinese takeout and watch movies.”
“Chinese sounds good,” Conor answered. “But I doubt Rae’s gonna be up for watching movies any time soon.”
“Oh, God, I’m sorry, Rae!” Haleigh gasped. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I think a movie sounds great.” I stood and started towards my bedroom. “But I’m going to need a shower first.”
I hadn’t gotten far when Conor asked, “Need a hand?”
“No, I think I’ve got it.”
I placed my hand on the wall and used it as a guide as I walked down the hall. When I got to my room, I started searching for something to change into but discovered that it was going to be more challenging than I expected.
