They Say Love Is Blind (20 page)

“Agreed.” She stared at
Macey
. “Are there people that still blame me?”

Macey looked away. “There isn’t a really good translation for this. Some have placed the responsibility of his condition on you without blaming you for creating the accident—
but
as a contributor to it.” She looked at Tory then. “I’ve told people my opinion and they listen. I think that maybe they just…doubt you.
But
no one doubts your
commitment and your
love for Lee
.”

“I’m sure Ros is one on the other team.”

“
I guess you could say that
.”
Macey replied with a mirthless grin.

“And your mother and father?”

“My parents don’t w
ant anything or anybody stressing out Lee. Mama already went off on Ros and told her not to start up around him.
She was not happy with the stunt she pulled. Ros tried to say that she thought he might respond to Portuguese since it’s in his heart.
”
Macey rolled her eyes. “Mama said it was between you and Lee and that shut it down.”

Tory
felt a smile tugging at her lips as she found herself lik
ing
his parent’s
more and more.
She had certainly hoped to make a better impression. Being accused of nearly killing ones son did not make for the best first impression. So the upside was that she knew they didn’t totally hate her. But the
downside was that now she knew
they were talking about her behind her back. She sat down on the edge of the bed suddenly tired.
It was wonderful when the
clan was
all on her side—but
having them against her was
unsettling
.

But she knew that she would go up against any of them if she had to. They were not going to push her away from him. She had no doubt about that, but she did worry about one thing;
If they didn’t eventually accept her as Lee’s woman and trust that she would be there for him in all ways, could they influence him against her? She knew how much he valued his family…

She just wanted to be there! To balance everything so that Ros couldn’t stack the cards against her.

“Don’t worry about this. Just be yourself
,
Tory. You don’t have to try to convince anyone of anything.” She nodded
knowing that Macey was a good ally and friend
.
She trusted her, mostly because she
had been
woman enough to tell her face to face what was going on.

Back
at her apartment
Tory got settled into her bed even though
bed was the last place she wanted to be
.
There was tons of work that needed to be done; t
he spare bedroom needed to be straightened up so that her parents could move into it. The refrigerator needed cleaning because something had spoiled. The trash needed taken out and
Daddy wouldn’t even allow her to take care of the insurance adjuster. He announced that she would be able to pick up a new car by the end of the week.
With a sigh she
finally
decided to just relent and relax in bed. Within 5 minutes Tory was deep asleep.

The next few days moved very slowly for Lee and Tory. They spent hours talking on the phone and telling the other how much they were missed.

On the second day Lee seemed preoccupied but still attentive and happy to talk to her. After about an hour of talking he spoke hesitantly.

“Tory…on the night of the accident what actually happened?”

Her heart slammed against her tender ribcage.
“How much do you remember?”

“Honestly, not very much. The last thing I remember is holding your hand in the car. I don’t even remember the accident at all, just waking up in the hospital.”

She wished that she could be so lucky. Sometimes she dreamed about a car driving right at them, always in slow motion so that it gave her enough time to realize that there was absolutely nothing that she could do to save them.
Once the dream showed an alternative ending in which Lee hadn’t survived. Seeing him like that, even if it was just a dream, had shaken her to her core. After having known a love like the one she shared with Lee, Tory knew that she could
no
t bear to lose him. 

She sighed. “We were driving. Another man approaching us was driving in the wrong lane. He never slowed. He just hit us straight on.”

There was a long pause. “Did you swerve out of the way?”

“I tried to. I turned the wheel fast but I…it wasn’t fast enough.”

Another long pause. “He only hit us? Do you know how long he was driving down the wrong side of the street?”

“I don’t know, baby. For me, it was as if he just appeared out of nowhere. I…I was driving, holding your hand. I turned to look at you and…it was just for a second. I heard a horn blow and I looked back and there he was.” Tory closed her eyes, feeling guilt
, shame
and fear
of his reaction
.

“Okay,” he said simply.

“I’m sorry Lee
-
”

“It’s okay baby. It wasn’t you
that caused the
accident. It was that man. He has to appear in court on Friday. I don’t know if you want to go or not-”

“I don’t! No, I don’t want to.”

“It’s okay. I don’t either. But I will write a letter and I want you to as well; for the prosecution, okay?”

“Okay
, I’ll do that
.
What are you going to say in yours?”

“I’m going to tell him that his thoughtlessness nearly killed two innocent people and that I hope he gets the maximum sentence. My sense of touch is my life. I can’t transcribe Braille if I can’t feel with my fingers. I can’t see you or others without touch. He very nearly cost me my arms. You know, Tory, if it wasn’t for the fact that we chose a ‘safe’ car, we would not have survived. Carlos said the car had no front end but the rest of it was intact, almost perfect.
We were in a safety cage surrounded by deployed airbags.
He said he’s never seen anything like it.”
Carlos had been kind enough to get their person
al
effects out of the car. She wondered if he was one of the ones that no longer liked her. Tears suddenly appeared in her eyes and she grew quiet.

“Are you
okay, honey? I’m sorry Tory, I didn’t mean to upset
you
.”

“No, it’s just that I know how close we came to not making it. I don’t know what I would do without you Lee.”

“You will never have to know that
,
querida
.”

“You can never say never…” Look how close they had come.

“Yes I can! Stop it Tory. There is no looking back,
only forward, do you understand?
”

She was surprised at his brusque tone. He never talked harsh to her.

“Y-yes.”

“Good. I’m not going to lose you and you’re not going to lose me.”

She relaxed. “Yes.”

“I love you.” He said.

“
Eu amo-te
.”

She heard his soft chuckle. “
Eu amo-te
.”

~***~

Friday was a day of anticipation for
both Lee and Tory. After her check-up she was
to meet him at his place. Daddy took her to pick up the replacement car
early that morning
and then rode in the passenger seat despite her assurance that she didn’t need him to. Mama wordlessly drove their rental car to the
doctor’s office to meet them
.

Her father was wonderful. He never mentioned the fact that she was shaking like a leaf as soon as she got in behind the wheel. He never scolded her for driving too slow—so slow, in fact, that it could have caused another accident! But after a few miles she was comfortable again.

When they got out of the car to go to her
doctor’s appointment she threw
her arms around her father’s neck and kissed his cheek.

“What’s that for?” He smiled.

“Because…” She thought about the fact that a few short days ago she nearly lost her life and might not have ever seen her Mom and Dad again. “Because you are the best father in the world.”

He snorted. “If you say so.” But he took her hand and they head
ed
to her appointment hand in hand just like
he used to do
when she was a kid.

Tory received a clean bill of health and a reminder that after-care for someone with a lung injury was to be taken very seriously and followed strictly. She was strongly reminded that by not following the rules she was at risk for cardiac arrest; a heart attack.

Mama stopped her as they left the building. “Daddy and I are going to catch an earlier plane out.
We already have our things in the trunk.
”

“What?” Tory frowned. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll be back home later toni
ght
-”

Mama chuckled. “Tory, you don’t have to come home for us.” Her cheeks warmed and she knew
that she was blushing.
“You and Lee
haven’t seen each other in days and I’m sure that you’d much rather be with him.
”  Mama patted her hand. “Besides, you’re well enough and Daddy and I need to go home.”

“Well…” she sighed in distress, not wanting her mother and father to think she was ungrateful. “
You didn’t even get a chance to really meet
Lee
. I thought we’d all go out to dinner or something tomorrow
.”

Mama kissed her cheek and then headed for their car. “We’ll be back up for the wedding.”

Tory smiled and hugged her arms. Yes, she was getting married. Daddy kissed the top of her head. You call us if you need anything, okay baby girl?”

“Okay, Daddy. But I’ll be okay.”

He seemed reluctant to leave. “I know you will be.”
She knew how difficult it was on her parents. First there were the events that happened when she was in college and now this. 
He finally joined Mama at the car.

“I love you!” She called. They beeped the horn and were gone. For a moment she felt sad but then remembered that she was getting ready to see her man and she
dashed to
her car.

~***~

When Tory reached Lee’s building she was not happy to see that
the street was lined with
familiar
cars. Shit, that meant that the Torres clan was out in full force. She refused to admit to being horny. It seemed wrong to think about sex when she had a hole in her lung and Lee’s arms were in casts and both of them were still black and blue. But she missed him like crazy and maybe it wasn’t so much that she needed the release—she just needed the
intimacy
.
She pulled into the underground parking garage.
She saw a second car there with a rental license and knew it was his mom and dad’s.

Lee evidently heard the elevator because he was standing there waiting for her as soon as the cage door went up.

“Hi, Baby!” She said happily. A broad smile came over
his face and he opened his arms allowing her to step into them. Even though his arms were now sheathed in hard plaster up to his elbows, being held by him felt amazing. She was reluctant to leave the comfortable space except for the fact that the large living room was filled with onlookers. How is it that Mama could figure out that they needed alone time but these people couldn’t?!