In The Dark by Dawn Cunningham - part 2 of 7 For disclaimers, see part 1. ***************************************** Tessa took a few moments to splash cold water on her face. Nothing would alleviate the puffiness around her eyes except for time, but at least she felt a little better. Then she headed out to the shop to mop up. The wood floor had definitely suffered from its contact with her cleaning solution as well. They'd have to refinish that section of the floor, but it could wait for a few days. When she'd finished, she went back into the apartment. For the longest time she stared at the closed door to Richie's bedroom, wondering if she should check in on him. If he was sleeping, she didn't want to wake him, and there was also a very strong possibility that Richie wanted nothing to do with her. Not that she could blame him. She'd probably be bitter if the situation had been reversed. Finally, she steeled her nerve and carefully opened the door to peer inside. "Richie, are you awake?" she said softly. "Go away." Tessa ignored that comment, walking over to sit on the side of the bed. She reached out with one hand to brush back Richie's hair, but the teenager turned his head away at her touch. "Why don't you come out to the living room? You can stretch out on the couch and we can talk, or you can listen to music. Whatever you want." "I *want* to see again," Richie retorted. Tessa was determined to cheer him up. "And I'm sure that next week you will. But there's nothing we can do about it right now. Is there anything else you'd like? Some orange juice? Or maybe some soda?" "I want to be left alone." Richie rolled over so that his back was to her. Tessa tried to think of something else to say, but nothing came to mind. So she decided to give him what he wanted. ***** Duncan slid the last cooked hamburger patty onto a platter, and looked over at Tessa. "Do you want to go bring Richie to the table? Dinner's almost ready." She came into the kitchen and took the platter from him. "Maybe you should go instead," she suggested. "I'll finish up here." Duncan gave a silent sigh before heading to Richie's bedroom. Ever since he'd returned from his errands, Tessa had not gone anywhere near the teenager's room. When he'd asked if something had happened while he was gone, Tessa had only told him no. He lightly tapped on Richie's door, then opened it. "Dinner's ready," he announced as he walked into the room. The teenager was curled up on his side, his back to the door. The bedspread had been kicked down to the end of the bed. "I'm not hungry," Richie replied without moving. "You have to eat something, Richie," Duncan insisted. He didn't like talking to Richie's back, but he had a feeling that if he walked around the bed, Richie would just roll over. "I made hamburgers and french fries." Normally, that would have been enough to send Richie running to the table. "I'm. Not. Hungry." "Listen, Richie. You can't hide in this bedroom without eating or drinking anything for the next four days. Besides, you need to keep your body fueled so it can heal itself. Starving yourself won't help anything." "Fine. Then bring me a tray and I'll eat in here." "Why don't you want to eat with us?" Richie finally rolled over so that he was facing Duncan. "Because I'll probably make a mess of everything! I won't be able to see what I'm doing!" "We know that, Richie. It's not a problem." With a sigh, Richie sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "All right, Mac. I'll try." He slowly stood up, then held out his hands shoulder high and took a few steps forward. Duncan decided there was no better time to start teaching Richie how to live in a dark world. He'd made a stop at the library while he was running errands and found a book on helping blind people become self- sufficient. He'd been studying it all afternoon. He reached out and pulled Richie's hands down so they were only waist high. "If you want to keep from bumping into things, your hands need to be down here. That's where you'll find furniture." He let go of one hand and placed the other in the crook of his arm. "Follow me." They successfully negotiated the living room and reached the dining room without bumping into anything. Richie's steps had been tentative, but he'd managed it. "Good job, Rich," Duncan said as he helped the teenager into his chair. "What would you like to drink with dinner?" "Milk, please." Duncan fetched him a glass then joined Richie and Tessa at the table. "What would you like on your hamburger?" Following Richie's direction, Duncan fixed the sandwich, added fries to the plate and put it in front of the teenager. "Okay, the hamburger is at 3:00, the fries are at 9:00 and the catsup is at 12:00. Your milk is at 1:00." "Huh?" Richie looked bewildered. "Think about a clock face - that's your plate. When it's 3:00, the little hand is pointing at the three. So, where would your hamburger be?" Richie carefully reached out and found the plate. He then moved his right hand up to the correct position and found the hamburger. Next, he moved his left hand up to the opposite side and found the french fries. "I've got it." "Good. Tonight you don't have to worry about forks or spoons or anything like that. Strictly finger-food." Richie picked up the hamburger with both hands, and managed to take a bite of it. Duncan and Tessa watched him as he ate another bite, then set it back down on his plate. "This isn't so difficult," he said. "We'll have to think of more challenging foods," Duncan teased him, before turning his attention to his own meal. Richie seemed to gain confidence as he ate a few french fries, then some more of his hamburger. However, disaster struck as he reached for his milk and knocked the glass over. Duncan and Tessa quickly jumped up as the liquid spread across the table. When the Scot went to get some towels from the kitchen, Richie sent his arm sweeping across the table in front of him, sending his plate crashing to the floor. "I told you this wouldn't work!" he yelled as he stood up. Duncan tossed the towels to Tessa and let her finish cleaning up while he went over to the teenager. "Sit down, Richie, and I'll make you a fresh plate." "Why? So I can spill everything all over again?" The agitated teenager tried to turn away from the table. Duncan almost forcibly sat him back down. "The only thing you spilled was your milk, and that was an accident that we would have understood. Your plate was another story altogether. That was an act of sheer childishness and that won't be tolerated," he said sternly. "I know this isn't easy for you, but that doesn't mean we're going to let you get away with that kind of behavior, either." He quickly assembled another plate of food and put it in front of the teenager. "Now, eat," he ordered before getting the broom and dustpan to clean up the mess on the floor. While he was doing that Tessa fetched another glass of milk, and put it down in front of the teenager. "Here is some more milk, Richie. I didn't fill it quite as full this time so if it spills again, there won't be as much to clean up." "It's not going to spill because I'm not going to eat anything." Duncan returned to the table in time to hear that comment. "We've been over this already, Richie. You need to eat, but I'm not going to keep arguing with you about it. If you don't want to eat, then you can just sit there and wallow in self-pity." "Duncan!" Tessa protested. "There's no need to be so cruel!" "Yes, it is needed," Duncan said. He placed one hand on Richie's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Rich, you've had something horrible happen to you, and it may change your life forever. We can only hope and pray that everything will come out all right. But we have a long four days ahead of us. If you continue with this attitude, it's going to seem a lot longer than that. Tessa and I are both willing to help you get through this, but we need your cooperation, too. It's up to you to decide how you want this time to go." He released Richie and turned back to his now-cold meal. Silence reigned at the table. Duncan and Tessa made an attempt to eat, but neither of them were putting much effort into it. Finally, Richie gave a shaky sigh. "I'm sorry. You were right. I was acting like a kid." He reached out for his plate. Duncan grabbed his hand before it got there. He knew that admission hadn't been easy for the young man. "The food is cold, now. How about I run out and get some pizza instead?" "You don't have to," Richie protested. "I can eat this." "I want to," Duncan insisted. "Tessa and I don't like cold food, either." "That's a good idea," Tessa agreed. "I'll clean up this mess while you are gone." ***** Richie stifled a sigh as he was guided over to his bed, knowing that soon he would be left alone. He'd been forced to spend the whole evening with Duncan and Tessa. Oh, they hadn't tied him down or anything like that, but he didn't want them to accuse him of being childish again. Not that he really blamed Duncan for that - he had been acting like a kid. They just didn't understand how difficult this was for him. Sure, they said all the right words, but they didn't *understand*. They didn't know what it was like to be in the dark constantly. He had never liked the dark but, until now, he'd always been able to find light somewhere when he needed it. He couldn't imagine going through life being blind. How could he enjoy television again when he couldn't see what was on? Riding motorcycles - and his secret desire to race them some day - was out of the question. No more roller-blading through the park. He wouldn't be able to continue working in the antique store, either. He knew Duncan and Tessa wouldn't throw him out - especially if he was blind - but he couldn't accept that kind of charity for long. Not that he knew what he would do, or where he would go. He couldn't go back to his old way of life. You had to be able to see to be able to break into places. The only blind person he knew supported himself by begging on the streets. Somehow, he couldn't see himself doing that. "Time to put drops in your eyes," Duncan said, interrupting his thoughts. Richie held still while the bandage was unwound and the pads were removed from his eyes. For a moment he was tempted to try to see something, but then decided not to risk it. He heard Duncan move away, then in a few moments he was back, and Richie felt a warm washcloth gently bathing his face. "Okay, tilt your head back. Let me do all the work. The room is dark and I'll be quick about it so your eyes won't be open that long." Richie felt Duncan's hands on his head, then his right eyelid was raised just high enough and long enough for two drops of liquid to drip down. His left eye received the same quick treatment, and he felt new pads being placed on his eyes. The final step of wrapping another bandage around his head took almost no time at all. "All finished. Now then, what do you wear to bed?" "Pajama bottoms, top drawer." He never used to wear anything but a t- shirt and shorts to bed, but Tessa had given him pajamas at Christmas so he felt obligated to wear them. Well, maybe obligated wasn't the right word, but he'd never really analyzed why he'd started wearing them. "Here you go." Duncan placed the pajamas in Richie's hand. "Do you need help changing?" Richie could feel warmth creep up into his cheeks. "I think I can manage." "Okay. I'll go get a glass of water so you can take your sleeping pill." Richie hurriedly changed into his pajamas, then decided he needed to go to the bathroom. He stood up, then slowly turned in what was hopefully the right direction. Surely he could do this himself. He'd been over this path more times than he could remember - including times in the dark. For some reason, it was harder knowing he couldn't see where he was going, but he managed. When he opened the bathroom door back up, Duncan's voice greeted him. "Climb into bed, Richie, then you can take your medication." Knowing the Scot was watching him made Richie nervous, and he bumped into his bed and almost fell. He recovered, then moved up toward the head of the bed. The covers had already been turned down, making it easy to climb in. "Hold your hands out," Duncan said, once Richie was in bed. "Here's the water," a glass was placed in his left hand, "and your sleeping pill," which was placed in his right hand. Richie closed his hand around the pill. It wasn't very big. "How strong is this pill?" "It must be pretty strong. The pharmacist strongly recommended that you be in bed before you take it." "Oh." Without another word, he raised the hand containing the pill to his mouth, then brought up the glass of water and drained it. He handed back the glass to Duncan, then slid down into bed. "Do you need a pain pill?" Duncan asked. "No. My eyes don't hurt that much." "All right. If you need anything during the night, just yell. I'll leave the bedroom doors open so we can hear you." Duncan pulled the covers up to Richie's chest. "Sleep tight." "Good night, Mac." Richie rolled over onto his side, his back to the door. He could hear Duncan's footsteps as the headed across the room. It wasn't until he was sure he was alone, that he reached over to the nightstand and carefully opened the drawer. Inside was a small tin box where he kept a stash of money for emergencies. He quickly emptied it out, then put the sleeping pill he hadn't taken inside the box. He would have five pills by the time he went back to the doctor's. He didn't know if that would be enough to do the trick, but he hoped so. If it turned out that he could see, he would get rid of them, and no one would be the wiser. And if it turned out the other way... well, he had no intention of living the rest of his life blind. ***** Thursday: Richie woke in a panic, and desperately reached for the bedside lamp to switch it on. Nothing happened, and he felt his panic rising. Then he realized why the light hadn't helped. The urge to rip off the bandages was overwhelming, and he let out a small moan as he struggled against it. He had to do something, but he wasn't quite sure what. He struggled out of bed, fighting the bedclothes as they seemed to wrap themselves around his legs. In his haste, he bumped up against the nightstand, sending the lamp and clock crashing to the floor. Richie didn't know which way to move, afraid that he'd step on something. "Richie, what's wrong?" Tessa's voice broke into his darkness. He could only shake his head, still too overwhelmed with panic to be able to explain. He heard noises that he couldn't identify, then jumped when Tessa touched his arm. "Just take one step back," she coaxed him, "then you can sit down on the bed. Are you in pain? I can get you a pain pill." Richie shook his head again, then let Tessa guide him back to his bed. He couldn't seem to stop shaking, and she must have realized it because he felt her arm across his shoulders. "Tell me what's wrong, Richie." He didn't want to. He really didn't. But, for some reason, he found himself blurting it out. "It's so dark, Tessa! I'm trapped in the dark!" "Oh, Richie." It sounded like she was near tears. He knew he was close to shedding his own, too. Then both of her arms were wrapped around him, and he rested his head on her shoulder while she gently rocked him. It gave him such a feeling of security, and he could feel himself slowly start to relax. "Feeling better?" she finally asked. "Yeah. I'm sorry." "For what?" "For waking you up, for starters." "You didn't wake me up. It's just after seven - I was already up. Duncan is out running, otherwise he'd be in here, too." A part of Richie was glad that the Highlander hadn't seen him like this. And this seemed the perfect time for an apology. "I'm sorry about those things I said yesterday, Tessa. I know it was just an accident. I shouldn't have tried to blame you for this." "Oh, Richie." It sounded like she was near tears again. "Thank you for that, but I still feel responsible. I should have been more careful." "Well, let this be a lesson to you," Richie chided her, falling back on his normal smart remarks to defuse the emotional scene. Tessa hugged him tighter, then released him. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, before suggesting, "Why don't I get out some clean clothes, and you can get dressed before breakfast is ready." "I need to take a shower." "I don't know... I guess it would be okay, but try to keep your bandages dry. I'll help you wash your hair later today." He listened as she moved around his bedroom. "All right. I've put clothes on the bed for you. Let me help you into the bathroom." Tessa took his hand and gave it a little tug so that he would stand up. Then she led him over to the bathroom, where she started the shower. For a moment he wondered if she intended to help him with his shower, but she said, "You should be all set. If you need any help, just shout. Duncan should be back soon." Richie heard her leave the room, shutting the door behind her. ***** end of part 2