CHAPTER 7:
Drayven told Karina that she can leave as soon as she is done discussing all matters that she is concerned about; so, she could take her rest early. Her job as their maid will start tomorrow before she goes to her part-time job. She was worried about what will happen on her first day as their maid because Drayven also informs her that she will be with Tristan alone, she is afraid of what could happen between them when Drayven is not around.
Karina never works as a maid before. She may be an expert on cleaning or doing some household chores but she only did that in her own house, she doesn’t know how to act in other’s houses. The only thing she can do is the way she acts in her part-time job as a crew in fast food and a waitress in a restaurant, and she is aware that it is way more different from a role of a maid.
At the time that she lay on her bed, she immediately asked herself why she accept that job if in the first place she doubts herself if she can do it or not. Then, she answers her question, “Because you had no choice… no other restaurants or fast-food chain fits on your schedule aside from this offer.”
The next day, Karina prepares herself to go to Drayven’s house. She only brings some of her clothes especially her uniform to the restaurant she’s working with. She also informs her parents that her other job requires her to stay in that’s why until the summer break is not yet done, she won’t be home. Karina convinces herself that she needs to go before she comes late from what time she promises the new boss she arrived.
As expected, Drayven is not around already when she arrives and she didn’t spot Tristan as well. So, she assumes that maybe he was still sleeping. It was good news for her because she doesn’t want to deal with him this early morning. Then, Karina put all her things in the room that Drayven pointed to him yesterday saying that it is her room there.
Karina didn’t waste her time, she decided that the earlier she do the cleaning and other stuff, the early she can take a rest before she go to the restaurant. Drayven didn’t give her much work; he only instructed her to make sure everything in the house is clean and there is a meal for Tristan for breakfast and lunch. Regarding the laundry, she can do that once a week.
When she was about to start cleaning, she heard a loud sound upstairs. Drayven told her that she doesn’t need to go upstairs to clean, he strictly tells her that she is not allowed to touch anything there. But after Karina hears that sound, she was worried and think that maybe it was Tristan and he got in trouble again for something.
“I won’t touch anything, I’ll just go and check for Tristan because it is part of my job,” she mutters.
Without a doubt, she goes upstairs. It was dark up there but she knows it doesn’t matter if the person lived here is blind like Tristan. She checks the surroundings without looking for the light switch, she was only using her palm as a guide as she holds onto the wall while walking. She needs to look for Tristan immediately because she was really worried about the sound.
“Tristan?” Karina started to call for him. “Tristan, where are you?” she repeats until she heard a moan somewhere.
Her heart started to race when she saw Tristan sitting on the floor. It seems like he fell from his bed and he hurt himself as she notices Tristan holding his hips. At the back of her mind, she is asking herself what is happening here because it was not normal to fall from the bed if you’re sleeping. It was an involuntary act; your body calculated the range of the bed and it would automatically react on avoiding to fell.
“Are you okay? Come on, put your hand on my shoulder; I’ll help you get up,” says Karina as she comes at Tristan.
“Do I look okay with you? You have your eyes; can’t you see what happened? I feel, isn’t that obvious?!”
Karina didn’t stop herself to roll her eyes because she knows no one would notice what she does. Then, she put Tristan’s left arm on her shoulder and force his body to stand up. On her full power, she supports him to sit on the bed. Right after that, she takes a deep breath because Tristan was sure heavy. She reminded herself to stay calm even though Tristan yells at her a hundred times a day.
“Are you fine now? If yes, I’ll leave you here because I need to finish cleaning—”
“Wait, what are you doing here? Didn’t Drayven told you to stay downstairs? Why did you go up here?” his voice sounds like he is mad.
Still, Karina stays calm. “I know what Drayven said, I am not stupid. But if you’re in my case, having a job of taking care of a blind—of you… and you heard a loud sound coming from somewhere upstairs, isn’t it an obvious action to go and check it? What do you think will happen if I didn’t check on you?”
“What do I think will happen after I fell? Of course, I’ll get up on my own! I am aware of my condition, I am blind… but I am not crippled; I can get up on my own! So, stay away from me, mind your work, and do not disturb me anymore! Get out of my room, now!”
Karina got startled by his loud voice, she didn’t get the chance to finish her explanation because Tristan is really mad at her; she knows he won’t listen to her anyway. Instead, she takes her to leave and continues what she needs to go. But she learned something… it was not Drayven who wants her to stay away from upstairs, it was Tristan who is trying to act normal as if he still can do anything on his own and kept insisting that he don't need help from other people.
CHAPTER 8:It was six in the morning when Karina arrived after her part-time job. She was shocked when she saw Drayven standing at the gate, but she already knows why… probably, Tristan told him what happened yesterday between them. Karina is not afraid even though Drayven is ready to scold her, because she knows she only did what she thinks is the best for that kind of situation.“Good morning, Drayven,” she greeted.Drayven stays serious while leaning on the gate, so there is no chance that Karina can avoid him. He sighs and says, “Good morning, are you done with your part-time job?”She smiles and answered. “Yes, I’m done. Thank you.”He nodded. “Okay, you can sleep for now because I already cooked breakfast for Tristan. Just make sure to make lunch for him and clean the house so he won’t shout at you again. You know, he might not see what you are doing, but he can smell.”Karina thinks how lucky is Tristan to have Drayven to be his brother-in-law, she is now starting to wonder if
CHAPTER 9:Karina only works at Drayven’s house yesterday, so she presumes that it was too early for him to plead with a maid to stay. He doesn’t know everything about his newly hired maid, and Karina sees him as too naïve to trust her this much just because he judges her nice. She just learned recently that you can see the real personality of a person in his actions, not in his nice way of treating you.When Drayven pleaded with her like that, the only thing that she could say is ‘yes’ because she wants to give him peace of mind. But at the back of her head, she is not sure if she can do what she says. She may not mention it at the start of their deal as a boss and a maid, but Karina has no plan to stay here any longer because being a maid is more stressful than her other work as a waitress.She was stress not just because Tristan always gets mad at her and he always acts self-centered and cold. But she hates the part of having a responsibility to maintain the cleanliness of a house
CHAPTER 10:Now, Karina is asking herself why she leaves just because Tristan asks her why she comes home past six o’clock. She just realized now that she could avoid arguing with him if she explains that Drayven talks to her outside and it takes almost half an hour. But while she walks and thinks that Tristan hated her, that gives her a satisfaction feeling that she did what is better for her mental health.“The moment I got home, I will just send a message to Drayven saying thank you at least. I hope he won’t get mad for what I did.”Karina is wondering what would be her family’s reaction when she goes home, but she knows that, unlike Tristan, they will listen to her and they will understand what happened. It may be hard to find another job that could fit into her schedule, but she will just accept the consequences… she keeps on reminding herself that it is going to be fine.Meanwhile, Drayven is in full hands in his work in the office. He needs to attend a meeting with an important
CHAPTER 1:Dark. All he sees is a dark place with nothing. He tries to move his body and feel his arm, chest, and face, and check where he is. Tristan felt a soft cushion where he is lying, a tiny cloth that engulfs his half body from his foot until his chest. As he moves, the bed was creating a sound that leads him to think he is not in his house.“Why I can’t see anything? What is it covering in my eye?” he stood up, panicking as he notices that he is actually in some place he was not familiar with.He tries to remove the bandage covering his eye but someone grabs his arm to take it away from his face. Tristan tries to remember what exactly happened to him… why he suddenly felt like all his muscle is aching and why he feels like he has some wounds in some parts of his body. He senses a needle injected in his left hand; he smells medicine all over the place.“Don’t move yet, TJ. You’ll hurt yourself if you insist,” a man's voice suddenly murmured beside him. He stops Tristan from gra
CHAPTER 2:Tristan heard from Drayven that he is in the hospital for a week now. He doesn’t know if he will be happy that he survives that accident after the thought of losing Danica. He still can’t understand why he was alive even though he was the driver. He doesn’t want to lose his wife, yet it happened.“Where is Danica, now? Do your family—” He can’t finish his words. A tear suddenly falls on his cheeks. “How stupid to feel that I am crying even though I am blind. I wonder where these tears coming from,” he added.Drayven can’t look at him. Tristan maybe can’t see what is his reaction right now as Drayven sees how he suffers from the effect of the accident. But Drayven can’t just tell him he is sad for him or for what happened with his sister. He was hurt too, of course, he is, but he knows that telling it won’t help his friend to feel better.“It’s been a week, TJ. Danica is… she is…” Drayven stops himself from crying. “…already buried. My parents only let her have visitors for
CHAPTER 3:Tristan thought that his parents also abandoned him after what happened. But after hearing from Drayven that they will pay a visit for him tonight, he has now a reason to boost his self-confidence. According to his brother-in-law, his parents didn’t come to Danica’s burial as well, he presumes that his parents have no courage to face Danica’s parents without his presence and he understands why they felt that.Their family has a business, but they got bankrupt while running it. That’s when Danica came into his life and save this business, she invests and made a promise that she will never let their family suffer once again. Therefore, Danica’s death affects their business as well. Tristan is worried about what future they will face now that they lost their loyal investor. That’s why he wants to talk with his parents regarding this matter.Before the incident happened, all of Danica’s promises to his parents were granted. They had a good relationship and they always tell to h
CHAPTER 4:“This room will be yours from now on. Feel at home!”A few days after Tristan talked with his parents, he requested to get a discharge at the hospital right after the doctor advised that he only needs time to rest more. Then he asked Drayven to accompany him until he got recovered and adjust to his new condition.Tristan knows that asking Drayven for this is too much, but he has no choice. No one can take good care of him anymore and the only choice he could do is to stick with his brother-in-law. The moment he asked Drayven to have him, that is the same moment he admits that he is a failure like what his father said. But he doesn’t care anymore, what matters to him the most right now is to survive this hell until he gets his sight back and to get back what he lost.“I think, I should familiarize myself with every edge of this house so I could move freely even if you left me here,” he commented as he holds a chair.Drayven still felt pity for Tristan, but he doesn’t want hi
CHAPTER 5:Summer vacation is here, and most young adults and teenagers who still need to study take this opportunity to take a break from cramming and sleepless nights just to study. It was like they get out of a battle and they need to rest for now. But for someone who needs to continue the battle, vacation is just a dream.Karina is an adult woman who is still in college, and the reason why she still needs to study is that she stops going to school after she graduated grade 12 believing that it is enough to get a decent job to support her family. But it is not, her age at that time was not enough to work at a company because they prefer college graduates instead of her.That’s the time she realizes she stops her study for nothing. After getting rejected several times by many private companies, she just envies her batch mates and old friend taking the course they like in college while… questioning herself, “Why I had to experience poverty to the point it stops me to reach my goal to