Miller Spencer knows that it's normal to love your best friend.
Ace has been his best friend since forever. So, of course, it's completely natural to want to kiss him. It is typical to get jealous when you see him with someone else. It is absolutel...
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Ever since knowing Ace, we had been inseparable. So much so, that I had never realized what it would be like to not have him. I wasn't sad. Not really. I just felt...hollow. Like something was missing. Something that would let me be happy.
We had argued, fought, several times before. But each time, it had been trivial. And never had he ever yelled at me like he had Saturday morning. And even worse, never had I ever hurt him this way.
His expression lingered in my mind, haunting me. The way he had looked so broken. And it broke me more, knowing I had caused it.
Ace had really been the one to whom I had gone with all my problems. Now that he wasn't here, I didn't know who to talk to. I didn't expect my parents to take any of it too seriously. And the more I thought about it anyway, the more I realized how insensitive I had been.
I didn't see Ace in school on Monday. Out of resentment and hope, I hadn't texted or called him either. I hoped all he needed was just some time to understand where I came from. He was nowhere to be seen for the next two days, however. I had to leave home early to get to school on time, glancing hopefully at his designated parking spot which was either empty or taken by some strange car. My heart sank each time I saw his empty seat in class. My chest constricting in anguish. Dark swirling demons taking over my rationality.
How lonely he must be. How scared and upset. And how I had made it worse.
I wanted to talk to him. Being away from him was like physical agony. Like everything was fine but not okay at the same time. Like I could feel, and be numb at once. All I knew was that I needed to talk to him. But what would I say? Apologize? Try to explain myself?
I knew his symptoms were getting worse, which would mean that bright lights would hurt him. And he would have difficulty in reading. How long was he going to keep forcing himself?
He had stressed multiple times on the fact that he would still retain his peripheral vision, but the change was still going to be massive. Especially for him, considering how hard he was trying to keep things normal.
As much as I could tell from his denial, he was terrified. And maybe some of that seemed from his lack of knowledge about the condition and what it would bring.
I went home and did some more research, carefully learning about the progression of the disease. Bright sunlight would be harmful to him, as would any kind of addiction be. After some more browsing, I came across a middle-aged guy who had the same condition. He lived in the nearby town, a three-hour drive from Haywood and usually spent a lot of his time advocating about the condition and even teaching at several blind schools. He even had a lot of social media presence, videos and skits talking about the shockingly common condition.
I sighed softly and leaned back. It might be good for Ace if he were to physically talk with someone who knew what he was going through. And from this guy's profile, I could tell he would be more than willing. It should be easy enough to get in contact with him. The only problem was Ace's stubbornness and refusal to talk to me.
