Chapter 2

I wiped the throbbing back of my head. My fingers came away sticky with blood. I was still struggling to stand when the door burst open.

Zane's voice cut through the silence. "What happened? Why is there so much blood?"

I forced a smile. "I'm sorry. I fell by accident."

The words had barely left my mouth when I heard glass shatter against the floor.

"Anna!" His voice cracked like a whip. "You've lived in this house for years. How can you still not walk properly?"

Then came a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Anna. I shouldn't lose my temper with you."

I heard him rummaging through the house. Drawers opened and slammed shut. Finally, he pulled out my old white cane. I hadn't used it in years. He grabbed my arm and yanked me toward the door.

His steps were too fast. Too angry. I stumbled, trying to keep up. My foot slipped on the first step. Then the third. Each time I nearly fell, but he didn't slow down.

Fear clawed at my throat. "Zane, where are we going?"

He stopped so suddenly I crashed into his back. My nose hit his spine. Blood gushed from my nostrils. I reached up blindly to wipe it away.

His voice came out strangled. "Anna! There are so many blind people in the world. Why can everyone else live normally except you?"

Each word hit like a physical blow.

"I'm not your guide dog. I can't be your dog for the rest of my life!"

My heart seized. Something inside me crumpled. Then I felt his hands on my back. He shoved me. Hard.

His voice drifted back through the wind, cold and final. "Don't come home until you learn to use the tactile paving."

His footsteps faded. His scent disappeared. The world reduced to wind, traffic, and strangers whispering around me.

Darkness and panic swallowed me whole.

I clutched the cane until my knuckles ached. I wanted to scream. Instead, I whispered his name like a prayer. "Zane, I'm so scared."

Before, I never needed a cane. One hand always held my guide dog's harness. The other held Zane's arm. He said I'd never need anything else.

Now only the wind answered me.

My guide dog's voice dripped with mockery. "Wasn't he the one who promised to hold your hand forever? Said you'd never need a cane?"

I had forgotten everything about tactile paving. The raised dots and lines meant nothing to my feet anymore. I tapped the cane against the ground. Each step felt wrong. I must have exhausted him completely. A blind woman who couldn't even walk alone.

I wandered aimlessly until the sound of car horns grew deafening. I stopped at what must be the street's edge.

Maybe if a car hit me, Zane could finally be free.

I waited. The traffic roared past.

Then someone yanked me backward into their arms.

Zane's body trembled against mine. His voice broke with despair. "Anna, you're blind, not stupid. How can you not know how to cross a street? Why? Why did you have to be blind?"

Why?

I wanted to know too.

The question I'd asked myself a thousand times. The question that had no answer.

I finally broke. Sobs tore from my chest. "You're right. I'm not stupid. So go! Leave! I don't need you!"

When I was five, my parents fought over their divorce. They screamed at each other every night. Neither wanted custody of me.

When I spiked a fever that destroyed my vision, they didn't even notice until it was too late.

Zane's hand found mine. His grip was weak. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten angry. How could I not take care of you?"

He led me home. He never mentioned the cane lessons again. But I noticed him spending more time staring at things in his study. Long silences filled with something I couldn't name.

I hid in my room and dialed Mom's number.

She answered on the fourth ring. Her voice turned sharp the moment she recognized mine. "Why are you calling me? I don't have any obligation to raise you anymore."

"Mom, I'm not asking you to raise me. Could you just pretend to let me live with you?"

Silence stretched between us. I made promises. So many promises. I'd be invisible. I wouldn't be a burden. I just needed somewhere else to go.

Finally, she sighed. "Fine. For old time's sake. I'll come get you after your sister finishes summer camp."

I hung up. A strange lightness filled my chest.

Mom had a healthy child now. A daughter who could see.

And Zane could finally be rid of me.