“Printer?” I asked without looking up.
“In the corner.”
I hit print and Vigo crossed the room to pull the pages off the printer.
“Can you leave now?” Griggs asked, still nervous. “I need to get back out front.”
“No problem,” Vigo said, draping an arm around Griggs’ shoulders as we filed out of the office.
He was obviously uncomfortable with Vigo’s buddy-buddy routine — his back was stiff as a board as we made our way through the storeroom to the front — but he didn’t try to shake Vigo off.
We spilled into the brightly-lit store and Griggs headed for the glass doors, unlocked them, and flipped the sign to open.
Vigo plucked a bag of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos off the floor, a casualty of his baseball bat, then reached into his wallet for a twenty dollar bill.
“What’s this for?” Griggs said when Vigo handed it to him.
Vigo tucked his bat under his arm and cracked the bag open.
“The Doritos. Duh.”
20
CASSIE
I wasoutside on the patio when I heard the doorbell ring, but I didn’t bother getting up. I hadn’t seen Daisy since before the accident and I didn’t want our visit to be all about me feeling my way through the house, Daisy worrying every step of the way that I was going to fall on my face.
I’d gotten ready early and positioned myself on the patio instead, the umbrella shielding me from the worst of the summer sun while Jagger answered the door. He’d bring Daisy to the patio where I could greet her with at least a little bit of dignity.
She was my best friend, but I still didn’t want her to feel sorry for me.
I heard her voice at the front of the house, talking to Jagger in low tones. Vigo was somewhere on the property with a guy named Rafe who’d come to audit the house’s security system, and Hawk had left the house for one of his mysterious solo errands, something he did at least every few days. I still didn’t know where he went or what he did while he was gone, but he always came home smelling like fresh air and leather.
I tracked Daisy’s voice, bright as a bell, as she made her way down the hall and through the kitchen until finally, she stepped through the patio doors.
“Cass?” She moved around my chair until she was standing next to me. I rose to my feet and she threw her arms around me. “Oh my god… I’m so happy to see you!”
I hugged her back, careful of my cast and my still-healing ribs. “Me too.”
We’d talked a few times on the phone but I hadn’t seen her since before the accident. She didn’t let go for a long time, and when she finally pulled away I could feel her gaze on my face.
And more than that, I thought I could see… something.
At first I’d thought it was my imagination, but after a while I’d realized it was true: the darkness behind my eyelids had lightened, faint shadows appearing in the twilight of my vision.
I hadn’t told anyone. It was possible this was as good as it was going to get — Doctor Sterling had said I might get just some of my sight back — and I didn’t want to give any false hope, least of all myself. I was due for another MRI in two weeks, and I hoped Doctor Sterling would be able to tell me more when she got the results.
“You look beautiful,” Daisy said, the shadows dancing in the direction of her voice
“Thank you. I’d say you look beautiful too but I wouldn’t know.”
I’d gotten better at making jokes about my blindness. It was either laugh or cry and I was learning to do both in equal measure.
She laughed a little, then sniffed, and I realized she was crying. “Very funny.”
“Sit,” Jagger said next to me. I’d almost forgotten he was there. “I’ll bring you some iced tea.”
“Iced tea would be amazing,” Daisy said.
