Chapter Thirty-Two
Grace
I stared down at my food, wishing that I could hug my brother right now. Somehow, when I was blind I could picture him sitting beside me, comforting me. Now that I could see again, I knew he really wasn't there. I wished more than anything that I could hug my parents again. They'd know what to say to cheer me up.
"Sorry to bother you, sir." An Irish voice said nervously.
I froze. That voice was so familiar. I knew it like the back of my hand and for what seemed like forever I had been praying, wishing, and hoping that I'd hear it again.
And now I really was. I just had to be brave enough to look up and see if it was real.
"Let me guess, Jaxon Trent?" Michael asked with a laugh.
At his name, my head snapped up, unable to resist looking at his face.
His hair was tousled and blonde, his blue eyes were sparkling and he was looking at Michael with utter admiration.
Is he a fan? I wonder how Michael knows him...
At my sudden movement he turned his sharp, beautiful gaze onto my own and he froze.
His mouth dropped open and he blinked several times.
Is this really Jaxon? The boy I had been dreaming of since those nights at the hospital?
I knew it was, the way he looked at me with such sincerity and hope filled me with the kind of happiness I hadn't felt in a long time.
"J-Jaxon?" I stuttered, still unable to speak properly. I had honestly prepared myself to never see him again and yet here we were, in the most unlikely place.
Part of the reason I had wanted to go explore Los Angeles as soon as I got my sight back was that I could possibly run into him again. We hadn't even been home yet today. I continued to marvel at his soft skin, the way he looked at me with such admiration and tenderness.
Jaxon spoke again, "Grace," he paused in wonder, "you can see!"
I broke out into a huge grin, "Michael and Luisana adopted me. Hattie is Luisana's sister and they got me the operation on my eyes as soon as it was possible." She paused, blushing. "I can't believe you're really here."
I don't know how long I sat there just basking in the fact that he was really here. I watched him enthusiastically talk to my adoptive parents. I was snapped out of my reverie when a girl came barreling over and latched onto Jax's side.
We all turned to look at her with surprise. "And who might you be?" Luisana asked friendlily.
"I'm Lesley, Jaxon's girlfriend," She purred, eyeing me down spitefully.
This can't be happening.
Michael coughed as he and Luisana looked around awkwardly. Jaxon looked uncomfortable and I- I wasn't really sure what I was feeling at this moment. The girl- Lesley, stared me down and seemed to be calculating her next move.
It figures that someone as amazing as him would have a girlfriend. It should have been obvious, but unfortunately for me, I had been painfully oblivious. Jade continued to stare at me like I would somehow magically disappear. I raised my eyebrow at her.
"Nice to meet you... Lesley." I managed to say somewhat genuinely.
She laughed, abruptly turning to face Jax. She placed her hands on his chest and leaned forwards, whispering to him while looking up into his gorgeous blue eyes.
He moved backwards quickly.
"Are we leaving babe?" She asked.
Jaxon sighed, looking extremely perplexed.
"Yeah, I have a meeting I have to get to unfortunately..." He trailed off unhappily.
I frowned; this had been too short for my liking. Even if he had a girlfriend, it was like a breath of fresh air being around him- even if it meant I could only be his friend.
"Grace, could you hand me your cell phone?" He smiled at me. My heart skipped a beat and I nodded, unable to break eye contact with him.
I pulled out the new phone that Michael and Luisana had gotten me and handed it to him. I hardly had any idea how to use it- I had always had an outdated flip phone. My parents never saw the need to give Preston or I anything new and high tech.
He started typing on the brand new iPhone quickly and held the phone out to me.
"Text me soon, okay?" He asked, gazing into my eyes.
I nodded, a blush creeping up my neck.
Please go before the redness of my cheeks gives me away! I thought with embarrassment.
I reached out and grabbed my phone but he didn't let go. I gave another small tug, confused.
He laughed, "I want to hear you promise Grace."
I grinned, "I promise, Jaxon."
He seemed satisfied with my answer and let me take back my phone. I noticed Lesley was impatiently tapping her foot.
With one last look he left our table, with Lesley clinging to his side. I stared after them long after they had left through the doors. I felt a hand on my arm and looked up in surprise.
Luisana was looking at me with understanding, "You like him, don't you?"
I blushed again, staring at my fettuccini alfredo with renewed interest. Michael chuckled, taking his napkin from his lap.
"I think we're all tired, I'll go pay the bill and then we can head home." He said, excusing himself from the table.
I looked up at Luisana and nodded my answer to her question. I felt like saying it out loud was useless now, seeing as he had Lesley. And as much as I wanted to deny it, she was extremely pretty. She even had the English accent going for her. I sighed, the thought bringing me down even further.
"It'll all work out, sweetie. We've all been there. Let's go shopping tomorrow to get your mind off of it, yeah?" She grabbed her purse
I nodded; it was nice spending time with Luisana and Michael.
We pulled up to the house I had been living at for about a week now and I gasped in wonder. It was the first time I had been able to see it with my own eyes. Obviously I knew that it was enormous, but the sight in front of me left me breathless.
The house was everything I could have dreamed of and more. The ceilings were high, the walls painted calm neutral colors and different shades of lighter to darker brown. The couches were leather and the hardwood was dark and shiny. It was enormous.
"Wow," I breathed.
Luisana laughed, "Welcome home, for real this time!" She hugged me.
I laughed with her, following her as she led me to my room. I would probably be able to find it through touch, but I was much too excited to see my room to be that patient.
She left me in front of my door with a smile and took the stairs down to the first level. I took a deep breath and opened it.
"Oh my god," I whispered, covering my mouth. Tears formed in my eyes and I fought hard not to cry. My room looked almost identical to my room back in Vancouver. The only things different was that this room was much larger and had newer looking items and furniture.
A small knock brought my out of my surprise. "Come in!" I shouted, turning towards the door.
Michael and Luisana stood there with hopeful expressions on their face.
"H-how did you do this?" I sniffled, wiping stray tears from my eyes.
I spotted a cork board with old photos on it and rushed over to get a better look. There were pictures of my family- mom, dad, Preston and I. There were some of Harper, and some of my other friends from high school. There were even some pictures of me at the hospital with Jaxon.
I had no clue anyone had taken them, of course. One was of me and Jax laughing together while he lay beside me on my bed. Another was when I had apparently fallen asleep while he was still there and he was brushing a piece of hair from my eyes. The last one was of him looking at the photographer in surprise and was blushing fiercely with a guilty looking smile on his face.
"We should have recognized him when he came to our table as the boy in the photos with you, but we didn't put two and two together," Luisana laughed guiltily.
I was crying now, this entire room was put together so thoughtfully.
"We're glad you like it." Michael said quietly. I looked at the two of them with adoration. I was so thankful and so lucky to have been taken in by people so kind and caring.
"I love it, thank you so much." I cried, wrapping them in a hug.
"It was actually done before you got here. We had our interior designer get some photos of your friends and family and find out what your old room looked like. We wanted you to feel as at home here as possible."
"It's amazing, it really is." I whispered, sitting on my bed.
"We'll let you get some rest. It's getting late. Goodnight, love." Luisana said as she gave me a kiss on the forehead.
"Night kid," Michael said hugging me.
I slowly got ready for bed, taking in every detail. I made my way back into my room and fell back onto my soft bed. I turned off my bedside lamp and gasped. They had even gotten the glow in the dark stars on my ceiling like I used to have back in Vancouver.
@mAfF