Dim-sighted Page 2

  – Shh – Briar whispered in her sister's ear –. Lily was right – she put her hand away –. Stay here

  – It's not that I can watch where I'm going well, I tried using glasses but they weren’t helpful and gave me headaches FYI – the girl with amber eyes whispered

  – Don't be sassy Raven – Briar whispered and took a step forward to see Bastian and the other three bullies walking away, then she took her sister's arm to walk to the closets

  – What's going on?

  – I saw Bastian with three more guys, they locked two year 8 dudes in their lockers

  – What are you waiting for? Let them out!

  – Okay – Briar said awkwardly and walked to the lockers – Hello

  – Hi

  – Tell us your combination to get you out

  – 0-40-25 – the fella said and the door opened

  He stepped out and opened the locker next to him.

  "They might be good friends or at least enough to know each other's combination" - Briar thought

  – Thanks, girls

  – No problem – Briar smiled lightly and took her sister's hand to walk with her a little in order to get to her locker

  She left her books for the first two classes and noticed her backpack was a little less heavy.

  – C'mon, let's hope we have time to eat something

  – Yea

  – Let's get a move on – Briar walked with her sister as the doorbell rang

  – What the hell? – Aly exclaimed

  – Wait – Briar said and took her schedule and phone out –. The teacher decided to dismiss us ten minutes earlier

  – Great – the girl with amber eyes trailed off

  The girl with blue eyes took her sister's arm.

  – Do you want to go to the cafeteria or out?

  – Out. Currently, I'm not down to hear about Bastian

  – Out we'll go – Briar walked along the corridor with Aly's hand on her shoulder and her backpack

  She was not down to leave it in the locker since the technology her sister needed to study was pretty expensive.

  They headed out and Briar spotted a bench.

  – We're walking to a bench – she paused as they managed to get there, then she left her backpack on the grass carefully –. Let's sit – she moved her sister a bit to prevent her to fall from the edge –. Now – she said and Aly took a seat next to her –. I'm taking out the food

  – Make it quick, please

  – There you go – Briar took her sister's hand and put a sandwich on it

  – Are we going to avoid those guys? – She asked putting it in her lap to touch it to be able to take out the wrapper

  – I think we shouldn't be involved with bullies – Briar answered and turned to see that Lily was coming with Bastian and Tobias behind her at a distance –. I've spoken too fast, they're coming

  – Damn girl, all this drama makes me want to be home-schooled – the girl with the amber eyes whined –. I need water. Where is it?

  – Here – Briar immediately took her sister's hand to put it in the bottle

  Briar personally liked that bottle a lot, it was unbreakable with something like pale lilac silicone covering the glass making it look cute and then it had a straw cap that was practical and the pivoting handle was very helpful, it was basically accidents free and foolproof, just what Aly needed.

  – Are they coming with us?

  – Yea, be ready – Briar sighed before Lily got in front of them

  – Hey

  – Hey, you don't need to explain to us anything about them, I saw them so…

  – You did?

  – Yea, we were walking to our locker and I saw them with three more guys dragging two what seemed like year 8 nerds into their lockers

  – But what is it to you if we talk to them or not? – Aly asked

  – You two seem to be very nice and they can take you to the wrong path, not to mention that they almost got expelled twice

  – That's up to us

  – Absolutely but you guys are new and I don't think you want to gain a bad reputation – she paused seeing Aly take a bite of her sandwich and Briar drinking from a can of soda –. I'll see you two in class

  – Why do I sense that she thinks we must do what she wants?

  – I'm not that against it, you know how my relationship with Tobias ended and I don't know if I want to start a friendship over

  – Well… – Aly started but she was interrupted by a male voice

  – Hey girls, why so lonely?

  – We didn't want to go to the cafeteria so here we are

  – Good choice, it's a mess and you guys brought your food

  – I have allergies, I can't eat all type of food

  – I remember – Tobias said

  – What did Anderson say to you? – Bastian asked

  – Do you want me to tell you the truth or a lie? The second one is not so bad

  – I think we can handle the truth

  – She told us to stay away from you two – Aly decided to go with the conversation's abstract

  – Literally – Briar intervened

  – She won't get tired, will she? – Bastian asked Tobias who just rolled his eyes

  – What?

  – She hates us because last year she was all over the both of us and didn't get a date or any type of fling

  – And she wants to keep us from having new female friends – Tobias completed

  – How pathetic – Aly said getting the last tiny piece of bread in her mouth

  Bastian and Tobias glanced at each other and right there Briar noticed that they were not telling the truth, she knew that look.

  After the recess, Briar left Aly sitting in the classroom and ran to the restroom.

  – Hey… Alyssa, right? – A raspy voice near her asked

  – Yes, and you are?

  – Finn – he said –. Nice to meet you

  – Likewise

  – Bastian couldn't shut up about you in the cafeteria

  – Are you one of his little friends? – She asked with a slight touch of venom in her voice and feeling her feet uncomfortable suddenly wanting her sight to be completely healthy to run away

  – We get along but I'm against messing up with other people

  – He's a bully, isn't he?

  – I'm sorry to say he is

  – I thought it was a lie because that girl seemed suspicious, but then my sister saw them

  – Who told you he was?

  – Lily Anderson

  – But that's not it, he's a player too

  – I don't know why I'm not surprised – she said –. But…

  – Hello – her sister interrupted cautiously at the sight of the tall guy with ginger hair that was with her sister –. Who are you? – She asked severely and the poor guy swallowed visibly and opened his mouth

  – He's Finn, my new favourite – Aly said making the guy smile

  – Finn Jaspers – he offered his hand for Briar to shake

  – I'm Briar… – she said taking it

  – I know. Everyone is talking about you two, we don’t have new classmates so often – he interrupted before she could say her surname

  – Good things, I hope

  – Of course – he said and Briar shook it to then let go, just after the girl with pretty blue eyes retrieved her hand, the doorbell rang

  A mass of teenagers started walking in the classroom.

  – I guess we'll finish the conversation later

  – Of course – Aly said

  – See you later girls – he nodded at Briar and walked to his seat in the back of the room

  – He's nice

  – Yea – Briar agreed rolling her eyes and she took her sister's laptop out of the backpack

  ***

  The last class of the day ended finally for Briar's delight.

  She was eager to go home not only to get away from her ex and his bully friend but because she needed to ca
ll her parents, even if she knew it was impossible to transfer her sister and her again since it was the only institution that was near them.

  Briar Andrea was not prepared for this; to be in the same place and so close to Tobias Cross after what he did to her scared her to death.

  When in the first year of secondary school, he had a bad company, "friends" that led him to the wrong path. Tobias used to drink and was to become an alcoholic at a very young age.

  They were in a park near their neighbourhood that evening, talking about something she had blurry on her mind, the only things she remembered clearly was his dark beer breathing, the cigarette smell of his clothes and the way her left cheek hurt when he hit her in the face with his hand in a fist. She remembered how she tried to run to her home but as she was just too nervous and frightened to work, she fell and a sort of pointed object made her way into her knee, crying in pain and with blood coming out she managed to take her phone out her jeans pocket in order to call Terrence.

  She spent a few days in bed with a purple and red bruise in a side of her face and a bandage in her knee, then her parents talked to his parents and threatened them with a restriction order and a report filling in the police department.

  Then just for precaution, Alyssa and Briar went to a single-gender secondary school on another side of Sydney to never see him again.

  Even though it's been a while she wasn't ready to face the new encounter as if nothing ever happened, nobody dared to lay a hand on her that way until that day, not even her parents and it wasn't something easy to forget.

  She walked with Alyssa to the front gate, thinking about the possible conversation subjects that the girl with amber eyes would try to bring up on the way home since they had to walk all the way, seven minutes because mom and dad were working and wouldn't be able to go pick them up, dump them at home and then drive back to the hospital.

  Besides, it didn't hurt them to walk a little bit.

  – So, we'll go back home – Briar turned to her sister to see her nodding with her eyes always looking to the front, even if she couldn't see like she was supposed to, she faced everything with her head up.

  – Let's go – Aly said –. Taking advantage of that there's no homework we should get into the audiobook you promised

  – We'll see if we can do it after your bath, you know we must go to sleep early – Briar took Aly's hand and led her to the ramp to not risk her in the stairs

  – I'll basically go to sleep afterwards – Aly whined

  – We'll see – Briar said

  Bastian saw Briar and Alyssa walking away from the school and he ran from the sidewalk leaving his friends talking and to his car aimed to catch the twin sisters before they disappeared from his sight.

  The haute couture model - as the twin with blue eyes described him - saw confused how Bastian rushed to get the car near the new girls.

  – Aly, Bree! – he exclaimed and Briar rolled her eyes thinking it was her ex but turned her head to a side to realise she was wrong

  – Who's that?

  – Bastian

  – Try not to muster your repulsion – she whispered loud enough for her elder sister to hear

  – Hey! – Briar faked enthusiasm

  – Do you girls need a ride?

  – Thanks but our house is not that far away

  – Where are your parents?

  – Working – she sighed and he winced in pain shaking his head

  – Then I'm sorry but I can't leave you two go alone

  – We are okay, thanks – Briar said and decides to carry on walking

  – I insist – he said making them sigh deeply

  – Okay

  – Be nice – Aly said as her sister opened the door for her

  – I'll try but I won't promise such thing – Briar whispered against her sister's hair –. Careful with the head

  Alyssa reached to tap the car's seat and then the doorway, the girl with amber eyes bent down with her hand still in the doorway and once her hand was in, her hand went to the edge of the seat and then she shifted to be straight.

  – Very well, now put on the seat belt – Briar said and her sister decided that it wasn't the best idea to disobey so she ran her fingers across the sides to find the belt and then did the same to find the ignition to connect, after the girl of blue eyes made sure of that her sister did what she was told she hopped in the passenger's seat.

  The guy started the engine after he heard the "click" of the seat belt.

  – So, I saw you met my friend Finn

  – We just crossed a few words – Briar waved it off

  – I think we can all get along pretty fine

  – Go to the left – Briar instructed

  – Give us a break, it was our first day

  – You two aren't used to hang out with other people, are you?

  – That doesn't matter – Aly said and cleared her throat

  – Go straight and then to the right

  – Give us a week girls, we'll be inseparable

  – I slightly doubt that but thank you – Briar said –. Park over here please – she said and Bastian stopped his car right in front of their home

  – I'll go help you Aly – he look at the girl of the pretty amber eyes

  – Please – Aly said

  Briar rolled her eyes as she pressed the red button of her seat to get rid of the belt, tired of Bastian Turner deciding she saw a lot of that bully for one day.

  She was experimenting a wave of rising disgust towards him not only because he felt better that his equals enough to get rid of every ounce of their confidence giving them hell which was not fair at all, but because he got that right; Alyssa and her were not used to hanging out with other people and the fact he managed to see through her so well after meeting her just hours ago made her hate his guts more than anything.

  Nonetheless, he was right; since her sister’s condition developed Briar always thought that people were nice with Alyssa out of pure shame because she was visually impaired and she would always act cold, sarcastic and sometimes even rude in order to make people get away from them.

  But lately, she has been thinking that Aly might get bored of her someday and meet new people, she obviously wouldn't blame her sister since she's not that interesting.

  Hence, right there she decided she was not going to let that guy get away with the satisfaction of finding that out, she and Aly were going to make new friends but obviously, that was not going to involve Bastian Turner and his gang of bullies.

  And she knew Finn could help them out.

  She rushed to walk to the side of the car where her sister was.

  – I'll see you tomorrow Aly – Bastian said and was about to give Aly a kiss on the cheek

  Before witnessing that and before a bunch of sheer hate could fill Briar's blood completely, she took her sister by the arm with a bit of a tight grip but it didn't matter to her right in that second since she could always apologise later and dragged Aly to start their way into the house.

  – Goodbye Turner – Briar called over her shoulder leaving the guy quite discouraged because he couldn't say goodbye to the girl with amber eyes properly.

  2

  Briar and Alyssa survived the first two weeks in their new school and sadly, just as Bastian said, they were part of a squad. Just Finn, the twins, and Bastian from time to time but it was something.

  Bastian chased them since the second day and he made the twins tell him and Finn all about Aly's condition since he thought they had to know something about one another, all four talked.

  Now those two know that Aly seemed to be alright at first but cataracts developed when she was 8 weeks old, first in one eye and then in the other, how scared she was in her early years for her cloudy view. They know everything and didn't look at the girl of the amber eyes with shame or said something to show compassion. They stayed something that Briar couldn’t help but appreciate.

  It was all brand new to Briar since she was used t
o just Aly and her but the girl with the wolf-like eyes seemed to be in her element showing a bubbly personality so Briar had to resist, all for her sister.

  Of course, Tobias kept his distance since he could see the fear in his ex-girlfriend’s eyes and she looked tense and uncomfortable too every time he was around so he decided to let her be.

  The day was a Wednesday and the break bell just went off.

  – Aly I'm going to…

  – To meet the toilet, I know – she completed used to her sister's visit to the bathroom after the second class

  – Finn will take you to our bench – the girl with blue eyes made a sign to the guy with ginger hair

  – Okay, I'll catch you there

  The girl of the blue eyes nodded and walked to the nearest bathroom.

  – Hello – a girl Briar doesn't know touched her arm when she was washing her hands

  – Hey

  – We haven't formally met, I'm Rachael Jaspers – she offered her hand for the twin to shake –. You can call me Rae for short

  – Finn sister?

  – Yes, a year elder

  – Pleased to meet you, Rae – Briar shook the girl's hand and retrieved her hand

  – Look, I know your sister has a different condition and I want to apologise for my brother if he did or said something out of place to her

  – No, why you say that? – She looked at Finn's sister dumbfounded –. He's been so nice

  – Really?

  – Yes

  – Well, it's just that he's not very good at choosing friends

  – You say it because of Tobias and Bastian huh?

  – Mainly – she smiled

  – I know he can do better but he's been very nice to us, we haven't seen Tobias since the first day