Love is Blind – Chapter 25

By MyNameIsCAL

A week before classes started again, Iggy and I headed back to our place. Ella and Max would be here in a couple of days, but Iggy insisted we have time together, just the two of us. We did take the time to see Phineas and Gabe today for coffee. They seemed to be enjoying their break together, visiting each other's family. It seemed nice that their family had accepted them with ease.

After that, Iggy and I headed to the grocery store to stock the apartment with food again. I pushed the cart, Iggy's arm locked with mine as we weaved through the crowded aisles.

"I'm gonna make us dinner tonight," he told me. "Just you and me and some candlelight."

The woman next to us gave us a confused look, pushing pass us.

I smiled. "Well, that sounds nice."

And as promised, Iggy got to work cooking after we got back to the apartment. I was going to help, but he insisted on doing it all himself, so I took a seat on the couch and turned on the TV. We didn't get much to watch on TV. I ended up on the news channel as they talked about politics. And then that's when some interesting news came on.

"It has been confirmed that the killings on the west coast in California are indeed connected," the news reporter said in his husky voice. "A note has been left at the FBI's office from the serial killer, along with his signature at ever crime scene. Now with the note to confirm, the FBI believes that the murderer is targeting homosexual men. All victims had boyfriends or were trying to get married."

The screen switched to another reporter, outside some house surrounded by cop cars and yellow tape. "The community is divided here in this suburban town. Living just outside the Los Angeles area, there are people on both sides of this. Most feel that this is an outrage, the gay community reaching out to the families that have been hurt by this tragedy. Others say it is a sign that homosexuality is wrong. On many of these crime scenes, police had to escort people away who were trying to go and protest against homosexuality. I interviewed a neighbor of one of the families whose son was killed last night…"

"I just think it's wrong that these people come around here shouting nasty things," the neighbor said. "They just need their peace and whether people think that a man loves another man is their own opinion. There are other ways to raise awareness about things, but coming to a place where someone has just been murdered with the killer still out on the loose is wrong. The police have a job to do and they don't need the distraction…"

I turned down the volume on the TV. Did stuff like this always happen? Or was I just noticing it now? According to the reporter, there had been five murders, all of them within the past month and all of them in California. It didn't worry me, but it was hard to think that we were right next to California. Actually, it scared me a little, and when my phone rang, I almost jumped off the couch.

"Hello?" I answered.

"You sound like you just saw a ghost or something." Max was laughing on the other end. "I just wanted to make sure you made it to the apartment."

"Yeah, last night we did," I told her. "Saw Phineas and Gabe for coffee this afternoon. Iggy is cooking right now."

"Oh, ok, I'll let you go then," Max said. "I promised Angel I'd take her out anyway. I'll see you in a few days, okay?"

"Yup, see ya, Max."

I waited for a few seconds, waiting for her to hang up first, but I got the feeling she would rather wait for me.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Iggy pulled a blindfold around my eyes. He had already turned off the lights, the only source of light coming from the candle between us on the kitchen table.

"You know, you oughta try going around without being able to see for a day," he said into my ear.

Hearing him take a seat across from me, I felt around for my fork and knife. He had made a nice juicy steak for us to share, my favorite thing to eat. It smelled good and I felt around the plate with my fork, finding it after getting stuck in the mashed potatoes.

"I wish I could see you," Iggy laughed, but even behind his laugh there was some truth.

"I don't know how you do this every day," I commented, finally cutting a piece of meat.

"Well, you haven't been sightless your entire life."

"Are you going to make me do the dishes like this?"

I could almost picture him grinning. "Maybe."

Dinner carried on. There wasn't really anything different about it, besides the fact that I couldn't see anything. Iggy was enjoying it as I struggled, but I knew that even behind his amusement that he really wanted me to understand what it was like. He never talked about not being able to see. There were only a few rare occasions that I could remember him getting upset, and that was back when we were still on the run when he disagreed with Max. It wasn't easy for him, but he made it look like it was.

After dinner, he led me to the couch and we sat, the TV on quietly.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he said.

"How do you live like this?"

I felt his hand slip into mine. "Well, I have you, Fang."

"But before all this."

He let out a sigh. "I don't know, really. We never really had time to think about much when we were on the run. And back then it was do or die. When we finally got to settle down at Mom's place, I thought about not being able to see. But I decided that if I ever got my sight back, I'd just think that seeing everything would be more disappointing than exciting and I wouldn't be able to live with that. But sometimes, I do wish I could see. It's hard not to want what you don't have."

"Does it bother you that I can see?"

"No, you've been able to see your whole life. Why should it bother me?"

"I don't know."

"You can take the blindfold off now," he said, hand moving to the back of my head.

I shook my head. "No, leave it on."

And I leaned forward and kissed him.