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There is a beat of silence as the words ring between the two of us. A part of me hopes he’ll tell me I’m wrong, but of course, he doesn’t.
That’s what I figured.
I should be happy that he didn’t try to lie to my face, but hearing his silent confession is a bitter pill to swallow.
Silly, silly girl.
With a shake of my head, I give Henry the command to get me out of the classroom. We walk around Sebastian and make our way into the hallway.
I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to focus on the pain instead of the hollow feeling growing in my chest.
It doesn’t matter that he knows. It doesn’t matter that he feels like the only reason I deserve the apology is because I’m disabled.
God, how I hate that word.
I hate it something fierce.
Just because I’m blind doesn’t make me any less than him or any of my classmates. It doesn’t make me weak, on the contrary, really.
I had to fight tooth and nail to get to where I am right now, and I came out stronger for it, more resilient.
Then why do I feel anything but strong right now?
The sound of pounding feet snaps me out of my thoughts. “Birdy, wait!”
I don’t bother replying or slowing down. My complete focus is on getting the hell out of here. I was done talking to him.
“Hey, are you Sebastian Black?” a familiar, awfully nasally voice asks from my right, making my steps falter.
Lilian Ford.
She’s been in most of my classes since my freshman year. Initially, she ignored me, which worked just fine for me. But then we were placed together in a group project last year, and she didn’t like that our group preferred my idea better than hers. Since then, she’s been acting bitchy all the time. Oh, she didn’t do it to my face, but I could feel her stares and hear her whispers and snickers. She didn’t even try to keep them down.
This is not your problem, I remind myself.
“I… No.”
“Are you sure? You look a lot like him. And I meana lot,” Lilian lets out an exaggerated giggle. “Don’t you think so, Penny?” Her voice is sugary sweet, and I can feel my body stiffen because I know I won’t like whatever is about to come out of her mouth next. “Oh, that’s right, you can’t see! Silly me.”
She chuckles softly, and I have to swallow the bile that’s rising inside my throat.
I’ve heard more than enough.
“Some of us don’t need to have the gift of sight to see just how ugly you’re on the inside, Lilian,” I mutter, my fingers clenching around Henry’s harness. “Forward, Henry. Find the exit.”
Thankfully, Henry doesn’t need to be told twice. He gets into work mode instantly, and we continue on our way.
I try to keep my cool—the last thing I need is to fall face first right now—as we make our way down the hallway.
Just a little bit more, and you’ll be out of here.
I shift my entire focus on walking, trying to push back the voices around me, and follow Henry’s cues. A slight tug to the right as he walks around the groups of people chatting. Stopping at the beginning of stairs.
I’m just exiting the building, the warm early afternoon air touching my skin when I hear him again.
“Birdy, wait!”
Shit.
