Blind

"Did you walk for the fear of love? Or don't you believe enough? Well, I'll cover both of us, you can leave that to me." Closing In, Imogen Heap

Derek froze when he heard the light knocking on his door.
"Derek?"
He relaxed. It wasn't his parents, but instead his older sister Eliza. He shifted on his bed so he was facing the door. "Come in," he told her. The door clicked open and Eliza stepped in, blue eyes observing Derek closely. There was something cautious about her appearance. Her mouth was set in a small frown, her arms crossed over her chest.
Derek frowned when he saw her. "What is it?" he asked. He didn't stand up from his bed just yet, watching her. "Did something happen?"
Eliza chewed her lower lip, a sign she was thinking. She shook her head. "No…That's not it." She crossed over and sat gently on the bed next to her brother. "It's…" she sighed.
Derek didn't like how this was turning out. Eliza never had trouble telling him things unless they were vaguely upsetting. "Is it school?" he asked. "I mean, if you're not doing that well again, I'll…I won't tell Mom and Dad. If that's what this is…"
Eliza closed her eyes and sighed. "It's not me, Derek. This is about you."
"About me?" Derek's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? What happened?"
Eliza reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled envelope. "This came for you today. Mom tried to throw it away, but I thought you might want to see it before then."
Derek took the envelope into his hands, then went to open it. Eliza put a hand over his, stopping him. She fixed her eyes on his. "Did you see who it's from?"
Derek frowned, then turned the envelope over. Julianna West. He tossed the envelope away, not even bothering to look at it. It wasn't an angry expression by any means; in fact, the look in his eyes was sad.
"My name is Julianna West…"
His hands shook and he set them on his legs, curling them into fists. "When is she coming?"
"Derek, maybe you should—"
"Just answer me, Liza. When is she coming?"
"Today. She wanted to stop by. I think she was planning on coming whether you answered the letter or not. She wants to see you."
Of course she did. He didn't have to read the letter to figure that out. It was the only reason Julianna would write a letter in the first place; if she was coming through the town on a whim, she wouldn't have written anything.
But could he face her? That was what he wanted to know. On such short notice, could he really face her again?
"You can't hold onto that day forever, Derek," Eliza said. Derek flinched. Didn't she think he knew that? But what was he supposed to think? It was his fault Julianna left, his fault she got hurt…
Would he even recognize her now? It had only been a year, but it was hard to imagine her face without scratches or bruises that had taken only a moment to appear.
"My name is Julianna West. I'm Derek's girlfriend. And I don't agree with the way you've been treating him."
That was what did it. The minute she said those words was the same minute in which she got hurt. And Derek hadn't done anything to stop it like he should have. Instead he just…watched…
The doorbell rang and he stiffened. He looked at his sister, desperation and fear in his eyes. "Is that her?"
Eliza stood and went towards the window, opening the blinds to peek out. "Yes," she said after a moment's silence. Derek ran a hand through his hair. What should he do?
"Can you…go get the door? Tell her I'll be out in a minute."
Eliza nodded. "Sure thing, Derek." She left the room. Derek flopped back on his bed, mind racing. What would he say to her? He didn't even know what she was like now, if she'd changed in the past year.  He'd distanced himself from her ever since that day, anyway, avoided her any way he could.
"You think you can waltz in here and tell us what's right and what's wrong? Do you really believe that?!"
He couldn't let her get hurt again because of him.
Eliza knocked on his door again, the signal to tell him that Julianna was ready to talk when he came out. Derek sighed, then steeled himself. He could do this…
He passed his sister on his way to the door and she gave him a sympathetic smile and brushed a hand across his shoulder as he passed her. It comforted him somewhat.
"Derek…" she said. He stopped and looked at her.
"Yeah?"
"Don't…don't be too upset by what you see," Eliza said. Looking closely, he was his sister's eyes were glistening with tears. What had happened to Julianna?
He opened the front door and saw Julianna was sitting on the steps, her back to him. Her brown hair, which he remembered being quite short, was long now and pulled back into two braids. Until she turned around, he wouldn't see what had happened to her face.
She patted the empty space on the steps next to her. "Sit."
Derek stayed in the doorway, watching her. He couldn't do this; he'd already decided that before he opened the door. He couldn't do it…he couldn't talk to her.
When she didn't hear his footsteps, Julianna turned to face him. Across her freckled cheeks were jagged, faded lines; scars that had a year's time to heal over. She could have covered them with makeup, but she seemed to wear them with pride. The bangs she used to have were now combed away from her face, revealing yet another scar trailing from her hairline to just below her left eye.
"Are you afraid to look at me?" she asked. Derek bit his lip and kept his gaze on the scars on her face. Because they were easier to look at.
The most unnerving thing about Julianna now was that her eyes, once a brilliant green, were now faded, completely unseeing. It made his stomach twist in guilt. He'd never gotten to know the extent of her injuries that day, but it was a terrible feeling to see her now.
"I blinded you…" he breathed, unable to bring his voice to be any louder; at the moment it was little more than a whisper. "J-Julie…."
He stepped outside, closed the door behind him, and sat down beside her on the steps. Why hadn't Eliza told him that? "Julie." He swallowed hard. "Julie…"
"Say something besides my name, Derek," Julianna said. Her eyes found his with astounding quickness. Though faded, the pop of green was still there, holding his gaze. "Talk to me. I came all this way to see you," her voice was a little bitter. "I found out that I don't take being avoided very well."
"What was I supposed to do?" he asked, voice hoarse. Was he trying not to cry?
"How about visit me?" Julianna snapped. Her hand felt around the step until it found his wrist. She grasped it. "Write a letter? Anything. Then I would have had the chance to tell you that none of it was your fault."
"How was it not my fault, Julianna? It was my idea to take you home that day; my idea to let you talk to my parents; my—"
"Because you didn't open my mouth. You didn't make me say those words," she said, moving her hand from his wrist to his face. "You didn't blind me. Your parents did." She brushed her thumb across his cheek. "It wasn't your fault."
"But I watched," Derek said. "and I didn't do anything to help."
"Because you were scared, Derek."
She was right. He was scared. He'd never seen his parents hurt anyone except him before, and to see them snap at a close friend of his like that…
"And you're still scared, aren't you? That if you still care about me, they'll hurt me again?"
The question made him freeze. Was that it? Was he too scared to care about her?
"No, I…" he started, but faltered. He caught her hand in his. He cared about her so much. But to see her hurt because of it…
Julianna moved closer, feeling for his shoulders, then wrapped her arms around him, pulling their bodies closer. The embrace felt so natural, for a minute he'd forgotten that she was blind; it felt like old times, when they used to hug all the time.
"Whether you like it or not, I care about him. More than you ever will."
"You don't have to tell me right now," she told him, voice low and gentle. "Because even if you can't say it, I know you care." She pulled away from him. "For now, I can care for both of us…"
Then she kissed him, with as much ease as she had when she was able to see, and Derek welcomed the kiss, keeping her close. He would deal with his parents when the time came.