A/N: Brr...it's chilly here in London. Perfect weather for sitting and writing. :D
This started off as a short chapter but inspiration hit and it turned into what it is so I hope you guys are happy with it.
Chapter 12: Living in fear
It took some time for Sands to calm down. He clung to Evelyn and to her anguish he kept saying, "I wish I could see you, I wish I could see you." When he finally told her what had happened in his dream she felt almost as disturbed by it as he did.
"Everything was the same," Sands said in a horrified whisper, "Except I was watching, they were making me watch. You were in shadow so I couldn't see you clearly. I tried to reach you but they held me back. And then I heard it, and I saw it spinning and then you were screaming. I broke free when it was over and touched your face. I thought you were crying but when I looked at my fingers it was..."
"Blood," finished Evelyn in a dead sort of voice. Sands got out of bed, opened a drawer and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. He lit one with trembling hands and sat down again. Evelyn took one too despite the fact she had not smoked since her early teens.
"The only time I see is when I'm dreaming," Sands said smoke circling above him, "And all I ever dream is..." He broke off and lit another cigarette.
"I'll kill them before they can touch you again," he spat abruptly.
"Please don't go looking for trouble," begged Evelyn.
"Looking for trouble?!" roared Sands getting to his feet. He was radiating anger.
"Looking for trouble!" he repeated his words hitting Evelyn like slaps in the face, "How the fuck do you expect me to look for trouble?!"
"Oh, I didn't mean it," Evelyn cried, "I'm sorry, I was only..." Sands removed his dark glasses dramatically, threw them to the floor and stormed out. Evelyn slipped out of bed and picked up the glasses. One of the lenses was cracked completely, one thin line stretching vertically. She held them carefully in her hand and sat back down. She inhaled the smoke from her cigarette and coughed. Sands' anger reflected his fear. He had been afraid when Evelyn had told him what had happened to her and the dream had made it worse; he was afraid he was going to directly or indirectly hurt Evelyn again, afraid that next time he might lose her.
Sands returned a few minutes later his apology streaming from him before he was even through the door. Evelyn just kissed him, their lips saying all that needed to be said without words. They fell into bed and ended tangled in each other, hearts beating in synchrony.
"I don't want to hurt you," Sands whispered.
"Then don't," said Evelyn and she kissed him again.
Evelyn and Sands decided not to tell Nino what had happened. He had seen and heard worse according to Sands but Evelyn was adamant that it would do him no good to know what had occurred, so her visible injuries were put down to her falling over in the street. Nino seemed to accept this quite readily so there was no need for them to embellish the tale or tell the truth. In private however they discussed the issue.
"They will come here soon," said Sands one evening when Nino had taken himself off to bed.
"Are you sure?" Evelyn asked. She had been trying to convince herself that she was safe with Sands.
"Yep," said Sands, "Everyone knows where the angry, blind man lives." He did not smile.
"Then why didn't they just come to you if they already knew where to find you?" asked Evelyn, "What did they want me to tell them?" Sands shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine," he said, "Perhaps they weren't sure what they wanted themselves and they just decided that you might reveal something interesting."
"You screamed last night," said Evelyn breaking off on a tangent quite deliberately.
"I scream every night," said Sands bitterly.
"What were you dreaming?" Evelyn asked trying to be casual.
"The usual dream," said Sands, "Don't mention it again."
"Ok," said Evelyn and she didn't say another word about it. Sands changed the subject.
"It's not safe here for Nino," he said.
"What are you going to do?" asked Evelyn knowing Nino and Sands would miss each other terribly if they were kept apart.
"I'll have to tell him to fuck off that's all," said Sands but Evelyn heard the reluctance to do so in his voice. She was about to mention this when something happened that neither of them had been expecting. Nino stepped out into the room dressed in his pyjamas.
"I don't want to fuck off," he said. Sands' head snapped round to him. He had not known he was there any more than Evelyn had.
"Nino," said Evelyn in a light voice that fooled no one, "Er...is something wrong?"
"I won't leave you senor," said Nino his eyes growing shiny. Sands looked as if he had not prepared for this. He briefly considered lying but knew if Nino would not leave after hearing the truth he would not leave at all.
"The cartel will come here soon," said Sands, "And they will try and kill us all. I don't want you here when that happens, you hear me kid?"
"Si," said Nino in a very small voice.
"You can go back to your family," Sands continued, "Hide out there."
"But you're my real family," blurted out Nino and he ran forwards and threw his arms around Sands' middle. Sands looked a little disgusted at this conduct but Evelyn thought it one of the most moving sights she had ever witnessed.
"I'm not forcing you to leave," said Sands, "But you'll be putting yourself in danger if you stay."
"I don't mind senor," said Nino bravely, "This time I'll smoke the fucker straight to..."
"Great," said Sands cutting Nino off but not before the kid had given Evelyn plenty of reason to suspect more irresponsibility on Sands' part.
"Get to bed kid, we'll talk about it in the morning." Nino knew Sands wasn't going to make him leave now so he gave Sands one last hug and then scooted back to his bedroom. Evelyn waited until he had gone.
"Did you try and get Nino to shoot someone for you?" she asked.
"It was a bad day," said Sands. Evelyn decided to leave it at that.
For the next few days the household existed in an uneasy calm. Evelyn felt the heavy weight of Sands' gun in her pocket every time she stood up. Every night she placed it underneath her pillow and then replaced it in her pocket when she woke afraid that if she left it somewhere that would be the time of the cartel's attack. Nino noticed her anxiety and in an attempt to make her feel better he frequently presented her with plates of biscuits and he would not take no for an answer. Sands buried his apprehension but became more sullen than ever. He barely slept though he took steps to ensure Evelyn did not know this. This combination of exhaustion and state of perpetual anxiety meant Sands was extremely bad tempered and preferred to be left alone but within hearing range of the others.
Evelyn found her art work began to suffer. She couldn't concentrate on anything and that made her feel very dejected. She had hoped to lose herself in her painting but the canvases remained as white as the day she had bought them. Her bruises ached and sometimes all she wanted to do was lie in Sands' arms, but he never seemed to be in the mood to comfort her. He kept watch, for lack of a better way of describing it, outside on the porch or in the living room by the window; sometimes he wouldn't come to bed. Evelyn began to suspect that he wasn't sleeping but when she tried to broach the subject Sands became horribly angry, so she opted to talk to Nino instead and found he was equally concerned.
"He is afraid senorita," Nino told her solemnly, "Afraid of the things that haunt him in the night and most of all he is afraid of anything happening to you."
"I'm afraid too," said Evelyn heavily, "I wish he would talk to me."
"I'm sorry," said Nino as if it was his fault, "But it's only because he cares about you very much." Evelyn looked at the young boy next to her.
"You're very wise for your age Nino," she said. Nino gave a little embarrassed smile and resumed his cleaning of the kitchen floor.
Evelyn entered the living room. Sands was seated and "looking" out of the window. She walked right up to him but he did not turn around. Evelyn sat down.
"Hi," she said. Sands gave a very tiny smile but said nothing.
"Have I done something wrong?" Evelyn asked. Sands sighed.
"No," he said. That was it. He did not invite further conversation but Evelyn was tired of hearing his silence.
"Then why won't you talk to me?" she asked. Sands' temper lit at once.
"I just don't feel like talking, ok?" he shouted.
"Don't shout at me," said Evelyn raising her own voice. She stood up.
"I want to help you but you're not letting me!" She stormed out of the room and Sands felt his anger drain away. It left an unpleasant feeling of regret. He wanted to follow Evelyn but didn't know what to say. His mind was clouded by lack of sleep and the shadows that lurked in the corners were driving him mad. He knew he would have to sleep soon, he couldn't hide forever.
It was late. Evelyn was already in bed when Sands came in. She pretended to be asleep not wanting to be shouted at again. She felt his weight next to her and wanted him to put his arm around her but he didn't. She was facing away from him on her side and that was how it remained until some hours later Sands screamed. Evelyn held him. He seemed to be only semi-conscious. She spoke gently to him and finally he relaxed and fell back to sleep without fully waking. Evelyn did not let go of him and stayed awake hoping that this time the nightmare would not return. Sands slept for a long time finally waking just before midday.
"How are you feeling?" Evelyn asked. She was fully clothed but had been reading on the bed waiting for Sands to wake up.
"Better," said Sands. His mind seemed a lot clearer at last. He paused and then said, "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting." Evelyn put her book to one side.
"That's ok," said Evelyn and she took his hand in her own.
"Anything I can do to make it up to you?" Sands asked. He really was feeling infinitely better.
"Actually," said Evelyn, "There is something. I really need the rest of my stuff from the hotel and I need to check out but I'm too afraid to go back there on my own."
"So you want me to come with you?" Sands verified.
"Will you?"
"Sure, but I don't know how you expect a blind man to protect you." There was a smile on his face though.
"I'm sure you'll manage," said Evelyn grinning.
Evelyn held onto Sands' arm. She had perfected the technique of casually leading him now and any observer would be oblivious to Sands' blindness unless they knew him already. Truthfully this illusion was mostly down to Sands' uncanny ability to know the world around him even without sight. If something was coming up Evelyn need only quietly mention it and Sands would react appropriately. He much preferred this to being lead everywhere by hand, this way he knew others couldn't be sure of his condition. Evelyn squeezed his arm affectionately and he smiled; today everything seemed to be bathed in sunshine.
Together they collected Evelyn's belongings. Sands raised an eyebrow when he located a very lacy something. Evelyn snatched it away from him and blushed furiously. Sands simply gave her a knowing grin. Evelyn paid her final bill, and then her car was loaded up. They were about to get in the car when Evelyn suddenly froze.
"Oh my god," she said her voice harsh with fear. Sands guessed from the sound of her voice that she was looking up.
"What?" he asked.
"There's a face," Evelyn replied shakily, "A face in my hotel room window." Sands had heard enough. Evelyn had been on fifth floor, the window had overlooked the place where her car had been sitting which meant...Sands shot at an angle. Glass smashed and Evelyn gasped.
"Did I get him?" Sands asked.
"Yes," replied Evelyn weakly her eyes staring at the place the man had been.
"Right, get in the car," Sands commanded, "Get in and drive." Evelyn slid onto the seat her legs feeling like jelly. She started the engine and soon they were speeding away from the hotel.
"Are you ok?" Sands asked when they had been travelling wordlessly for a minute or so. Evelyn nodded.
"I presume you answered in a visual way," said Sands when he heard nothing, "Which is of limited use to me."
"I'm fine," said Evelyn, "Just a little, you know, shaken."
"Is anyone following us?" Sands asked. Evelyn checked the rear-view mirror but the road was empty.
"No," she replied with relief.
"Good," said Sands but he knew it was only a matter of time. What he didn't know was their time had almost run out.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, comments are always very much appreciated, I love to know what you guys think.