Time mystified me. Days were long, yet they were short in retrospect to the weeks that they created. Suddenly one month didn’t seem too bad, when I already had two weeks in the rearview mirror.

And two weeks made a big difference. I could see clearly now—literally and figuratively. The follow up appointments have been really beneficial to my eyesight. I didn’t know it was possibly to see even better from when I initially woke up with vision, but it was and it was amazing. The words in books were a lot crisper than before, the sky was a lot bluer, and I really had a knack for using my peripherals. I could see Phoebe from the corner of my eye when we were cooking next to each other in the kitchen; I used to have to turn my entire head to look at her. Things were a lot easier now that I was on my way to full vision.

And now I could really see how good San Diego was for both of us. Phoebe was a lot healthier, with slip-ups here and there but she seemed to be managing okay. She had a lot of support here, which was important. We were too late in the game to move back to North Carolina now; we both had better lives here. It was clear now that this was where we belonged. Even with Mike and the boys gone on tour, we were okay. We were going to be okay. We could easily rebuild our careers here, with the added benefit of keeping our new and treasured relationships; and, as Mike said, they were always going to come back. If we went back to North Carolina, we would see them even less and I didn’t think any of us were able to let each other go. I’d rather let go of our old life than let go of these boys, and the past two weeks helped me do just that. I embraced this new one. North Carolina was home to both mine and Phoebe’s sadness and misery—my blindness, her illness. San Diego was a clean slate, a brighter slate with a more exciting future.

A familiar ring broke me out of my thoughts, a classic telephone ring but with a faster pace and a louder tone. I smiled and walked over to the open laptop that Phoebe and I now shared, clicking accept to the incoming Skype call.

“Hey, baby!” I gigged and touched my fingers to the computer screen, where Mike’s face was pleasantly sitting via Skype.

“Hey, Mike,” I smiled shyly. “How’s tour?” I asked. The tour had only a week or so left to go. The boys were in a hotel for the night in New York, they were in between shows and luckily had a day off tomorrow before they played again. They seemed to play five or six shows in a row before they got a break; I didn’t know how they did it. Mike looked visibly exhausted—maybe it was just the time difference, though. His picture was dark because he was in a room with lights out, but I could still see the happy glint in his squinted and puffy eyes.

“Awesome,” he grinned. “I feel like I’m still sweating from the show even though I’ve showered and everything.”

“You’re nasty,” I rolled my eyes. His face stretched into his smile but then even more as he yawned. “And tired,” I observed. He nodded with a pout. “You should sleep,” I encouraged.

Mike grinned and shook his head. He put on a sly expression and closed his eyes, tilting his head back. “Don’t wanna close my eyes, don’t wanna fall asleep ‘cause I’d miss you there. And I don’t wanna miss a thing!” he sang, with me giggling along.

“I’m not going anywhere, dude,” I said. “Go to sleep, you’re delusional.”

“Dream on, Faye,” he said, scrunching his face up, a small smirk lingering.

“Wrong song,” I rolled my eyes at his attempt. He furrowed his eyebrows and his mouth formed an ‘O’ shape. “You’re so tired that you don’t even know your Aerosmith,” I teased. He jutted his bottom lip out into another pout. “Ugh, I never get sick of that face,” I groaned, tapping the screen, trying to reach out for him. “You’re so damn cute.”

“I know,” he grinned. The screen Mike’s image was on went fuzzy, splotches of dark and light scattering on the frame. I furrowed my eyebrows but my confusion cleared once Mike’s face cleared. There was a brighter, orangey light surrounding him. “I just moved to the hallway so I didn’t disturb Vic,” he explained. “He said if I didn’t shut up he’d make me miss everything,” he added.

I laughed and shook my head.

“So how are things?” he asked, his face more serious than before.

“They're good,” I smiled gently. I didn’t want to talk about anything serious right now, so I quickly changed the subject. “You should really go to sleep though, Mike.”

“It’s okay though because I can sleep in tomorrow!” he said.

“Oh, that’s true. Just don’t come home all grumpy from lack of sleep, okay?” I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Never grumpy to you, my dear,” he smiled broadly.

I laughed a little. “So what are you guys doing tomorrow on your day off?” I asked.

“I’m not sure really. We might just walk around the city a bit, do some Times Square shopping, hit up some good Italian places, I don’t know,” he shrugged. “We’ve been to New York a lot so there’s not that much left to explore. It’s still cool to be here though,” he said. “Might take Jaime on a bowling date, who knows. They’ve got some cool places here.”

“Oh that sounds fun!” I giggled.

“Yeah! What are you and Phoebes up to?”

“I think we’re going to have a beach day tomorrow. I’ve gotten to the point where I can be outside without sunglasses now,” I said.

“That’s great! But you’ll wear sunglasses anyway, right?” he asked, his eyebrows folding in a manner that made him look worried.

I smiled. “Yes, I’ll be careful, don’t worry.”

“Good,” he said. “Soak up some sun for me then, babe. It’s supposed to rain here tomorrow.” I gave him a thumbs up as his mouth stretched into a yawn. Our short conversation dissolved, leaving us in a comfortable silence, only the static of long distance in the way. We smiled a little at each other; it was just really nice to see him. Words weren’t that important. “You okay?” he asked.

“Hm?” I zoned out for a second, but as soon as Mike drew me back in from my unawareness I felt the sharp pain in the side of my head, close to my right ear. “Ow,” I hissed, rubbing my hand on the spot. A throbbing, heavy weight settled in the center of my forehead after the shot of pain dispersed. “Headache,” I mumbled. “It’ll pass.”

“Okay… I hope you’re not overworking yourself,” he said warily.

I shook my head and smiled. “It’s all good. Just an end of the day headache thing. No problem,” I assured. I watched as Mike nodded and then blinked tiredly, his eyes staying closed for a few extra seconds.

“Hey!” Mike’s eyes opened and he settled against the hallway wall, apparently getting comfortable. “Did you make yourself an instagram yet?” he asked.

I laughed before answering, amused with his efforts to wake himself up. “No, I told you I have no idea how to work any of this!” I said, holding up my new iPhone. It was one of the older ones apparently—‘less complex than the new ones,’I was told—but I still had trouble with a lot of the features.

“Phoebe didn’t teach you yet?”

“She has a little, but it hasn’t seemed to click in my head yet,” I said, staring at the thing with a bit of frustration.

“Ah, you’ll get the hang of it sooner or later,” he shrugged. “But I’m surprised. I figured you’d be all over taking pictures and stuff.”

“Yeah… I guess that would make sense,” I said. “But I don’t know. I kinda just like looking at things with my eyes. I can remember it all up here,” I said, tapping the side of my head. My head stung a little at the contact, my ache still lingering, but it wasn’t debilitating. “It’s more meaningful to me. If it’s meant to be remembered, I’ll remember it all by myself.”

Mike smiled. “Ugh, you’re amazing.”

I blushed and scrunched my mouth up. “How does that… no…” I shook my head, flustered by Mike’s affection.

“You’re so down to earth, I love it.”

“Well, um, thank you,” I said shyly. I didn’t see myself in a bad light or anything, I just didn't know how to take compliments anymore. They were a lot easier when I couldn’t see. I didn’t realize that they would make me want to avert my eyes.

“You’re so cute, come here!” he exclaimed energetically.

I smiled. “I wish I was there,” I said, not being able to resist touching the computer screen, wishing I could touch him. “But it’s okay! You’ll be back soon!” I said positively.

“Yeah! And then maybe you girls will come on spring fever with us!” Mike suggested excitedly. I swallowed a little nervously and nodded.

“Yeah, we’ll have to talk about that when you guys get back,” I said simply, keeping a smile on my face although it did waver a little—unnoticed by Mike.

“We’d have so much fun on tour, wow,” Mike commented. “Like, it’s fun already but I’m just imagining it with my girl by my side and I don’t see how it could get any better!” he rambled. I blushed again and grinned. I really wanted to make that a reality for him—for us—but I couldn’t make any promising decisions right now. I had to talk to Phoebe and figure out how we were going to handle things. We couldn’t just abandon North Carolina without a single word—if we were going to close the ties there, we had to go and physically close them. As long as we did everything right, I wouldn’t regret a thing. I smiled happily at Mike. I wouldn't regret him.

We continued to talk for another hour or so. By the time it was eleven o’clock my time—two in the morning for Mike—I was just as tired (maybe even more tired) and decided that we both needed to get some sleep.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? And expect many pictures, even though you’re too cool for them,” he teased. I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s more like I’m technologically challenged,” I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Fair enough,” he winked. “I’m just playing, babe,” he said, and I nodded, telling him that I knew.

“Capture the moments, Mikey. I can’t wait to see,” I said with a smile.

“Okay,” he grinned. “Goodnight Faye.”

“Nighty night, Mike! Poke Vic in the face for me!”

Mike grinned. “Will do babe! Sweet dreams,” he said, singing the last two words quietly as he snuck back into his hotel room. He puckered his lips and I blew him a kiss before he logged off.

Smiling, I logged off myself and got up from the computer. Phoebe had gone to sleep early and I probably should have gone to check on her, but the house was completely silent. I tip toed to my room and snuggled into my covers, closing my eyes and easily falling asleep, Mike on my mind.

---

I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, sinking comfortably into the couch. I opened my book and traced my fingers on the page.

“Morning, Faye,” I heard Phoebe say softly.

“Hey,” I murmured, keeping my eyes closed. I continued to read silently, blindly, aching for the end. I never got to finish The Namesake with all of the activity the last few weeks.

“What’re you doing?” she asked curiously. The couch sunk in and Phoebe settled at my feet.

“Resting my eyes,” I said simply.

“Are you okay?” she asked. Her voice fluctuated with concern.

“Of course I’m okay. I just don’t want to lose my other senses, y’know,” I explained quietly. My head ached a little still, the light in the room hurting my eyes, so I decided that I’d go back to the old days, reading with Braille. I didn’t tell her that, though.

“Don’t be silly, Faye. You’re not losing anything any time soon,” she assured.

“I know, but you can never be too sure,” I reasoned, shrugging my shoulders. “Besides, it feels nice,” I replied. As much as I thoroughly enjoyed my sight, I still found relying on my other senses kind of refreshing. I liked where I was now but it was nice to get a taste of how things used to be every so often—now it was just in my control. There’s something really humanizing about hearing a smile and tangibly touching words. After all, it was all I knew for most of my adult life.

“You’re an interesting one, Faye Harlow Wilson,” Phoebe mused. I hummed a little, continuing to read.

“Damn, this dude can’t hold a girlfriend,” I commented. “Probably because he has no idea who he is. He’s instable with himself so naturally he’d be instable with any girl he’d try to settle down with,” I carried on with my own commentary. Phoebe’s gentle laughter rang in the background.

I wasn’t sure how long we sat there for, my legs in my best friend’s lap and a book in my hands. Time was a lot different with your eyes closed. I finally finished the book though, closing it and setting it down thoughtfully.

“Finished?” Phoebe asked. I nodded, my eyes still closed. “Was it good?”

I nodded again. “It was interesting. I’m not sure how I feel about it actually,” I said. I peeled my eyes open and looked at Phoebe. “Let’s talk about something else before I start obsessing over analyzing this thing,” I said, tossing the book onto the side table. Phoebe laughed a little and patted my legs.

“C’mon superstar, make me some coffee,” she grinned, picking my legs up and putting them to the side. We stood up together and made our way to the kitchen.

“This shit’s simple, now,” I scoffed. I took a mug and placed it under the Keurig nozzle. I popped a breakfast blend cup into the holder, closed the lid, pressed a few buttons, and within a few seconds coffee was brewing. “Technology,” I breathed.

“Good job,” Phoebe approved, taking the cup out of its spot. I put another one down and filled the holder with hot chocolate instead, because I wasn’t in the mood for caffeine.

“So,” Phoebe started, sipping her coffee.

“So,” I repeated, blinking out of my stare. My eyes were skating over Phoebe’s appearance. She had gained weight—healthy weight. Her eyes were full and her cheeks were rosy. Her hair seemed shinier and her teeth were whiter than ever.

“Y’know,” Phoebe said quietly, leaning towards me. I raised an eyebrow at her. “If it weren’t for your operation, I probably wouldn’t have gotten better.”

“What? Phoebe—”

“No, I mean it, Faye. You couldn’t see me so I let myself get out of control. But once I knew this was an option for you, I started to rethink things. I would never want you to see me like that,” she explained.

“Oh, Phoebe,” I sighed.

“It’s true. And then Vic came along, too. Why would he want to date some nasty, sick girl? I’m glad I got better when I did,” she continued. “He would have never laid an eye on me if he saw me a year and a half ago,” she added in a mumble. I opened my mouth to say something but she wouldn’t let me. She shook her head as if she knew what I was about to bring up. “It wasn’t your fault. You had no way of knowing. I was dangerously secretive about it,” she said sternly. “You have your demons, I have mine. I was destroying myself but it had nothing to do with you, okay? I hurt you in the process but you didn’t even know it because I thought to myself—what she can’t see won’t hurt her. But really—”

“Phoebe, sh,” I interrupted gently. “It’s okay now. You had a bad time. You were in a lot of pressure. I understand, okay? I know you weren’t trying to take yourself away from me—”

“Yeah, it was more like I was trying to take myself away from myself,” she interjected. I scrunched my nose up and shook my head. I hated that she had thoughts like that but there were some brain wirings that we just couldn’t control, no matter who the person was. Unfortunately it always seemed to be the nicest people who suffered the most.

“You don’t have to explain yourself anymore, okay? Just stay positive now and don’t dwell on the past.”

“I know. I was just thinking—we both tend to do that a lot, I guess,” she said. I smiled weakly and nodded.

“Yeah, but it’s okay. That just means you care,” I said. She smiled back, looking down at her coffee cup. She lifted it to her lips and took a small sip.

“Anyways,” she said slowly, filling the silence. “Have you talked to Mike about our idea?” she asked.

“Er, not really,” I said, scratching the back of my neck.

“Faye,” she scolded gently.

“I know, I know. I just didn’t want to start a fight over video chat. I’d rather talk about it in person,” I said.

“Okay, well I talked to Vic about it and he thought it was a good idea. And I’m warning you now, Faye, that Vic and Mike talk just like we do.”

“Ugh,” I groaned, putting my elbow on the table and leaning my face into my palm. “Next time I talk to him I’ll bring it up, okay?”

“Good girl,” she approved. “Except it’s not like we have much of a choice, anyway. We need to sell the house so we can afford an apartment, and we need to respectfully leave our jobs so we can have good company relations and willing references for future employment out here,” she said.

“Yeah, true. I know we have to go no matter what, but I’m just afraid we’ll get stuck there or something, y’know?”

“Babe, if you love Mike as much as you say you do—and I really think you do—then you won’t get stuck anywhere that’s not with him. I promise you that.”

I bit my lip. “Are you sure?” I asked. What if I got carried away in North Carolina? What if I loved seeing it and everyone in it so much that I couldn’t bear to leave?

“And, Faye, Carolina is the last place you’ll want to see,” she reminded me. “You don’t want to have to bring everything back.”

She was right. What if I recognized a store and flashed back to when I went in there with my mom and dad? I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to handle those kinds of sight-induced memories. “What if going there just breaks me, Phoebes? I’m afraid that it’ll pull me in and tear me up,” I admitted quietly as I continued to think of every possible reason for why this trip was a bad idea.

“I’ll be there to hold you together. And when it tries to get me, too, I know you’ll hold me up just the same,” she said, patting my hand. “Talk to Mike about it. It’s a good idea. You’re doing this for him, anyway. For a new life.”

“Yeah,” I nodded with a smile. “A new life.”

Notes

Well hello there

I am so sorry that I took so many months to update this! I just haven't been plugged in the last few months but don't worry I'm working on it. I forgot how much I loved this story. Glad that I'm actually feeling motivated to make some progress on it. I like this chapter too, surprisingly! :)

Thank you so much for being so patient guys. And for understanding that I couldn't update. It really means a lot. Sorry for being a downer sometimes, too. But anyway I hope you like this chapter! I'm not sure when I'll update next because I move into my university in like a day and a half and will be busy with that stuff. But it won't be several months like this time, I hope.

I hope everyone's doing okay. Comment what you think, what you hate, what you want to happen in the future, and anything else!

Love you guys xoxo