Chapter Seventeen
“When did the headaches start?”
“Well, they’ve always been happening…”
Dr. Vasquez pursed his lips at me. “Rose, you know what I mean.”
I cracked a half-smile, the throbbing in my head too intense to concentrate on making a full one. “About three days ago. I thought maybe I was just getting sick, but it never stops. Ever.”
“How are you feeling now?”
“Um, imagine someone slamming a sledgehammer into your head every other second.”
Grimacing, he nodded and jotted down a few notes. “And these are a lot worse than the last ones you came to see me about?”
I nodded. “Oh yeah, definitely.”
“It’s very probable that the reason these migraines have been hitting is because the disease is having more of an effect. It’s already just about halfway through November, Rose. You should be expecting your vision to decrease noticeably soon.”
A wry smile crossed my face. “Well, don’t sugarcoat it.”
“Rose, I’m serious. You have a month and a half before you’re legally blind. I can give you medication for the headaches, but there is no healing the resulting damage of the disease.”
“I know,” I snapped. “After three months of hearing that I’m going to go blind, I think I figured out it’s the truth.”
Sighing, he rubbed a hand over his face. “Rose…”
“My boyfriend’s waiting, so I’m going to go now,” I told him, now in a crappy mood. “Guess I’ll pick up some Tylenol or something. Apparently acetaminophens work wonders.”
“Hold on, I’ll prescribe you some stronger medicine,” he responded, snagging a sheet of paper off his desk and scribbling a quick prescription. “Come back if anything new occurs, okay? Or call. And take a package of Tylenol off my counter to tide you over for now.”
Grunting my reply, I snatched the prescription out of his hands and then the tiny pack of Tylenol off the counter before stalking out of the examination room. On my way out of the building, I stole three dinosaur stickers, even though the sign above the sticker been clearly said take one. “F the police,” I chuckled darkly.
Stepping outside, the cool autumn air bit at my cheeks, reminding me how close it was to winter. To when I’d be blind. Clenching my fists, I kicked at an empty plastic bottle at the ground. Lately I’d been on edge. With Chace being overcautious (against his will), with my parents being nosy and too caring (with their will), and the continuous headaches (against my will), I hadn’t been exactly Rosie the Friendly Human over the past few days. In fact, I’d been a total bitch. The other day Chace had come to take me out for dinner, but he’d held my shoulder while I was climbing down the stairs, and I’d lashed out at him. An ashamed blush came to my face at the memory. That was one of my worst days.
Which is why today, I was going to make it up to him. We were going out to dinner at some Japanese restaurant he was fond of.
And I was paying.
Now grinning, I pried open the plastic covering over the Tylenol and popped the pills into my mouth, forcing them down my dry throat. It was a bit harder to do than I’d imagined it to be, but it worked. Now I just needed to wait until the effects took place.
I jogged the rest of the way to Chace’s car, sliding in and escaping the chilly air. His eyes held concern, but he smiled when he saw me, leaning forward to kiss me quickly. “So, how’d it go?”
“I got a prescription,” I informed him, holding up the paper. “And some Tylenol for now, so I’ll be good for tonight.
His expression brightened. “That’s good!”
“Yeah, I want to make it up to you… You know, ‘cause I’ve been kind of a douche.”
Shaking his head, he laughed. “It’s perfectly fine, Rosie! I understand why you’ve been in a bad mood lately. It’s not like you’re being a jerk because you want to.”
“I kind of want to,” I admitted.
“Rosie.”
I grinned. “Well…”
“What time do you have to be home tonight?” he questioned, changing the subject.
“I don’t exactly have a curfew… but since there’s school tomorrow, not too late.”
He nodded. “Right, okay. I can make that work.”
“Are we doing something after dinner?” I questioned, now curious. He hadn’t mentioned doing anything else.
“You’ll see,” he told me with a very attractive and very secretive smile.
Pouting, I crossed my arms. “I hate surprises.”
Chuckling, he shifted his car into drive and pulled out of the eye doctor’s parking lot. “I know.”
After dying of boredom for twenty minutes at the nearest CVS, my prescription was finally filled, and we were on our way to dinner. To be on the safe side, I popped one of my new pills, hoping it would keep my migraines at bay for a little longer. The Tylenol had just barely started working. I could still feel the throbbing, but not as worse as before.
“Hey…” I started, narrowing my eyes at the street that led to the downtown area. “Isn’t this place downtown?”
“What place?”
“The restaurant,” I clarified, turning to look at him and frowning now. “You just missed the street.”
He kept his eyes straight ahead. “We’re not going there.”
“What? Why?”
The corners of his lips twitched up, but he managed to keep from smiling. “Change of plans.”
Nervousness crept into my veins. “Chace…”
“You’ll like it, don’t worry,” he promised me, glancing over, excitement lighting up his eyes. “And if you don’t like it, I’ll kill you.”
Rolling my eyes, I settled back into my seat. “So how long is it going to take to get to the mystery place?”
“You’ll see.”
I ground my teeth together. I really hated surprises.
At some point, I must’ve fallen asleep in the car, because the next thing I knew, Chace was shaking me awake. Groggily, I opened my eyes and sat up, attempting to rub the weariness away from them. “What…?”
“We’re here, Sleeping Beauty,” Chace told me, a wide grin on his face. “Come on, get out of the car!”
My hand fumbled blindly for my seatbelt for a few moments before I finally managed to unsnap it. Then it took another few seconds to open the car door. The first thing that hit me was the stingy smell of sea salt. Wrinkling my nose, I blinked, now registering the sound of waves. I froze.
“Hey, Rosie, give me a hand!” I heard Chace call from behind the car.
Pulling myself out of my shock, I climbed out of the car, the wind whipping my hair around my head. I glanced out toward the ocean, realizing I could see the waves from where I was standing. Chace had parked near the top of the dunes. The soft glow of the fading sun reflected on the glossy water. My brows furrowed. How much time had passed since I fell asleep? It was just about twilight now.
“Rosie!”
I trudged around the car— not enjoying the feeling of sand under my sneakers— and put my hands on my hips. “Chace, where are we?”
“North Dartmouth,” he informed me.
My eyes widened. “What?”
Grinning, he gestured to the trunk. “Take the picnic basket, would you?”
“We’re in… but…” No coherent sentence seemed to be able to form in my mind. We were in North Dartmouth? I’d been out for nearly two hours? Still, I picked up the picnic basket from the trunk of the car, and followed Chace down the boardwalk to the beach. The air was colder here, and I found myself shivering. “Isn’t it a bit too cold out for a beach picnic?”
“Is it?” Chace responded nonchalantly. “I didn’t notice.”
“What are we doing here?” I demanded.
He glanced over his shoulder at me. “Well, I was thinking. What would I want to see if I was going to go blind? And then it hit me. The ocean. The ocean would be one of the top things I’d want to see one more time. Your room kind of gave me the idea too.”
My heart skipped a beat at his words. It was true. The ocean definitely was one of the things I wanted to see before I went blind, but I figured it was a long shot to be able to come here. And yet here I was, thanks to Chace… I didn’t know what to say.
Luckily, Chace spoke again. “I brought extra blankets and sweatshirts though, so the cold shouldn’t be a problem… but if it is, I guess we can sit in my car.”
“No, I’ll suck I up,” I responded quickly. “Thanks, Chace, this is amazing—”
“Hey,” he interjected, coming to a stop and nearly causing me to run into him. “Don’t thank me. I’m not doing this for you.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I’m doing it for me, obviously,” he continued, rolling his eyes. “You’re just here to help me carry everything.”
“Funny,” I said, kicking sand at the back of his legs.
He laughed, beginning to walk again. “I do have to admit, this is pretty damn romantic. We made perfect timing. I’ve always wanted to see the sunset over an ocean.”
“We still have about twenty minutes,” I pointed out.
“Just enough time to get set up,” he retorted, stepping onto the beach. “I need to take off my shoes. Let’s move up a bit more then set up camp.”
We stopped about fifty feet from the ocean, Chace dropping everything he’d been carrying onto the sand. After swiftly kicking off his shoes and socks, he set about spreading a blanket over the sand. I stood by awkwardly, holding onto the picnic basket. Chace raised an eyebrow at me, pausing in his set up. “Are you just going to stand there, or…?”
I bit my lip. “I don’t know what to do…”
“Pull the rest of the blankets out and the sweatshirts. Throw one on.”
Doing as he commanded, I retrieved the other two blankets out of his beach bag and then two of his sweatshirts. After shimming into one of them, I tossed the other one to him, and he put it no promptly. Once he was satisfied with the blanket on the sand, he collapsed on top of it with a sigh. “There we go.”
I took a seat next to him, still holding onto the other blankets and the picnic basket. “So… do we eat now?”
“Is all you can think about food?” he teased.
“No,” I muttered, blushing slightly. “I haven’t really eaten all day though. Headaches been keeping me pretty bed ridden.”
His face softened, the worry returning to his eyes. “How is it now?”
Blinking, I noticed for the first time my headaches was gone. Or at least subdued by the medication. “I can’t feel it,” I informed him happily.
“That’s good!” he replied enthusiastically. “Now you can really enjoy our picnic!”
Laughing, I nodded, now opening the wooden basket. “So what did you make?”
“My dad made it,” he admitted sheepishly. “And nothing big. Chicken salad sandwiches, some Fritos, chocolate cake—”
“Chocolate cake?” I repeated, digging a little deeper to find the dessert. When I did, my mouth began to water almost immediately. It wasn’t any chocolate cake. It was an Oreo chocolate cake, heavily frosted with crumbled up Oreos on top. “Mmm…”
Chace snatched the basket away from me. “You have to eat your sandwich before you can have desert, Rosie.”
I held out my hand, determined to finish it in three bites. “Okay.”
“Eat slowly,” he ordered me, picking my sandwich up from out of the basket. “I don’t want to have to give you CPR.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I responded, unwrapping the sandwich. “So how did you know how to get here? GPS?”
Chace shook his head. “Nah, this happens to be one of my dad’s favorite vacation spots.”
I did a double take. “What, really?”
“Why do you sound so surprised? A lot of people go up to Cape Cod, don’t they?”
“Yeah, but… I don’t know. You’re rich. You’d think your dad would like Belarus or Italy or something.”
Chace snorted. “He’s afraid of flying.”
“No way!”
“Yes way,” Chace said with a grin. “Absolutely terrified.”
“That’s too funny,” I commented, barely holding back a snicker. “What a shame. Doesn’t he have to travel for work?”
Chace, who was in the middle of taking a giant bite of his dinner, nodded. “Yep, but that’s the only way he’ll get on a plane.”
“Lame.”
“I know.”
“So how are things between you and him anyway?”
Chace gave me a half-shrug. “You know, okay. Much better than before. But I think we were just both emotional at the time of your accident… it’s embarrassing to think about, really. I mean, we still have little arguments here and there, but otherwise things are a lot better. At least I don’t think he blames me for Mom’s death anymore.”
“Well, that’s good!”
“It is, huh?” he said, his eyes gazing off into the distance. “The ocean is pretty big, huh? Looks like it goes on forever.”
Following his gaze, I stared at the rolling waves again, trying to see as far as I could. “Yeah.”
“I don’t know why, but the ocean reminds me of you,” he remarked randomly, twisting his head back around to look at me.
I raised an eyebrow. “What? How?”
“Because it’s so huge.”
“Chace!”
Chuckling, he held up one had defensively as I threatened to throw the rest of my sandwich at him. “Kidding, kidding Rosie! You’re the perfect size. I guess it reminds me of you because it’s mesmorizing.”
“And I’m mesmerizing?”
“Yeah.”
I pushed a lock of my hair behind my air, studying his face. “How?”
“I don’t know how, you just are,” he stated, pursing his lips. “Don’t question it.”
“Is that the only reason the ocean reminds you of me?”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Now that’s just cheesy.”
A smirk graced his lips. “Damn.”
“Nice try though.”
Shrugging, he gestured for me to move closer to him. “Rosie, I’m cold. Warm me up.”
Needing no more coaxing, I sidled up to him, pressing my side against his and sharing my body heat. He snatched the closest blanket and spread it over us, making sure our whole bodies were covered. Deciding I was finished with my sandwich, I tossed it into the sand before slipping my hand back under the blanket. Chace found my other one and held it tightly. “Look, the sun is setting.”
Indeed it was. Nobody was lying when they said the sun setting over the ocean is a beautiful sight. In general it was a beautiful thing, but when the colors were reflected in the ocean waves, it was a whole other amazing. The hues of crimson, and orange, and gold blended together in the water gorgeously. It was a view I could gaze at forever.
“I wish this moment would last forever,” I murmured.
Chace squeezed my hand. “Me too.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to burn the image into my mind. This was my first and last time seeing the sunset on the ocean. The thought caused my heart to clench. Other people would get to enjoy it as often as they wanted, but not me. In a little over a month, that was it. The only thing I’d have was the memory, and eventually, that would fade away too, just like the sun faded into the night.
My eyes snapped open, landing on Chace’s handsome face. That sight would also dissolve from my memory one day. I felt a lump forming in my throat.
Chace turned to say something to be, opening his mouth, but stopped short when he caught sight of my expression. “Rosie, what’s wrong?”
“I…” It felt like a damn broke. Suddenly, all the emotion came rolling out of me. Everything I held back. Reality hit. “I don’t want to go blind, Chace.”
“Oh, Rosie,” he cooed, immediately gathering me up in his arms.
I pressed my face against his chest, choking back the sobs that threatened to wrack my body. However, I couldn’t stop the tears. “It’s not fair!”
“I know it’s not,” he said, rubbing my back soothingly. “It’s not fair at all, Rosie. I’d do anything in order to switches places with you.”
“I only have a month left… there’s so much I want to see. I want to see this again. I’m going to forget everything!” I cried, clenching the back of his sweatshirts in my hands. “Soon… soon I won’t be able to see you, Chace! I want to see you!”
His arms tightened around me. When he spoke, his voice was tight. “I’m sorry, I can’t do anything. I’m sorry, Rosie.”
I shook my head. “It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s… it’s just not fair. I don’t think I can do it.”
Chace’s body tensed. “Rosie, no…”
How could I live without seeing Chace’s face? His smile? How could I live without being able to see the face of the man who’d done so much for me, even though we were complete strangers not even four months ago? The man I love?
That’s right. I love Chace.
“I love you, Chace,” I whispered, pulling back so I could look into his warm, chocolate eyes. My eyes were blurry with tears, but somehow, I still managed to make out his shaky smile.
“I love you too,” he responded, cupping my right cheek with his hand, his thumb softly caressing the skin. “And I plan to fall even more in love with you as time continues, so don’t even think about doing something that might cut that time short.”
My eyes started watering again. “But…”
“I’ll be with you,” he told me, his voice confident. “Until the very last moment. If you want, I’ll even be the very last thing you see. But don’t give up, Rosie. Vision isn’t everything.”
“But—”
Without any warning, he slapped both his hands to my face. “No buts!”
My jaw dropped a little.
“We’ll make it through this together, Rosie! Just you wait. It may seem scary now, but it’ll get better, okay?”
“How do you know?” I breathed softly.
He flicked my nose. “Because I’m omniscient.”
His response was so unexpected, I actually laughed. In fact, I laughed a little too hard. “That’s a pretty big word there, Chace,” I commented, wiping away my tears.
“I’m not stupid,” he defended.
I shook my head, smiling. “No, I didn’t meant that, I just…”
He crossed his arms childishly, glaring at me accusingly. “You’re a jerk.”
“No, but really, thank you,” I said, serious again. “I don’t think I could make it through this without you.”
Slowly, he shook his head. “No, I bet you could. You’re a strong girl, Rosie. Everybody has their weak moments.”
“The future is going to be tough.”
“Yeah,” Chace murmured in agreement, turning to look at the ocean again.
I mimicked his actions, realizing the sun was now gone, and the only thing I could make out was the glow of the moon on the water. Just like every day the sun was sure to set and the moon was sure to rise, my vision was sure to disappear. And now I accepted that fact. If that was what life had in store for me, I would accept it.
I wasn’t scared anymore. With Chace by my side, and with my family and friends by my side, I would face this head on.
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Yay! An update! If you didn't know/ couldn't guess, I haven't been that into writing lately. But somehow I managed to write this chapter with ease. I don't know what's wrong with me... hopefully it will sort itself out though! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Also, happy almost Valentine's day! :D And there's really only one or two chapters left to this story. Probably just the next one. And maybe an epilogue. Probably and epilogue, actually. So let's be safe and say one chapter and an epilogue. Whoop!
My Facebook fanpage is in the external link! :D
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