Chapter 4
I turned to face Roderick. "Roderick, do you know what really broke my heart?"
He stayed silent.
"It's that, from the very beginning, you always thought this was just something trivial," I continued.
He said, "But—"
"No buts," I said, shaking my head. "Goodbye."
I moved into a tiny apartment close to campus.
It was a one-bedroom place with a living room, and it got lots of natural light.
But my left eye couldn't see the sunlight anymore.
Getting used to life with one eye was way harder than I ever imagined.
Whenever I tried to pour water, it always ended up spilling to the side, and I kept bumping into things on my left when I walked.
The worst part was going upstairs. Without depth perception, I kept missing steps.
Roderick kept blowing up my phone with calls and texts every single day.
I didn't reply to any of them.
On the seventh day, he showed up at my new place.
"Leila, open up. I know you're in there!" Roderick shouted.
I sat on the couch and didn't move.
"Please, just let me see you," he begged.
The knocking continued for half an hour.
Only when the neighbors started complaining did he finally give up and leave.
The next day, I got a package.
Inside was a black eye patch with a flower embroidered on it.
The note said, [The doctor said wearing this could help you feel a bit more comfortable. Roderick]
I tossed the eye patch straight into the trash can.
That night, June Fitzgerald came over to see me.
She was my best friend, and the moment she heard what happened, she came running back.
"Oh my god, how did this even happen?" She looked at my left eye, her eyes turning red.
"Don't cry," I said with a smile. "It's not like it happened to you."
"You can still crack jokes at a time like this." June pulled me into a hug. "Does it still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore," I replied.
The physical pain was indeed gone.
But what about the pain in my heart?
June came over for dinner and cooked my favorite sweet and sour pork.
"That bastard Roderick!" she grumbled as she ate. "I can't believe he actually defended that homewrecker."
"Drop it, June. We've already broken up," I said.
"He's getting off way too easy!" June fumed. "Honestly, you should just take Caitlin to court."
I shook my head. "Forget it."
"Forget it? Leila, this is your eye we're talking about," June protested.
"Even if I sue her, it's not like my eye will recover," I said.
June went silent.
After dinner, June came with me to the hospital to get my dressing changed.
On the way, we bumped into Harvey Crawford, Roderick's roommate.
"Leila?" Harvey looked at my eye patch in surprise. "Your eye…"
"Something happened," I said.
Harvey hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke. "Roderick's been in pretty bad shape lately. He's been drinking every single day."
"Okay," I said.
"Did you two really break up?" Harvey asked.
I nodded.
Harvey sighed. "Actually, I was there that day too."
I froze. "What?"
"At the birthday party. I saw something," Harvey said.
"Saw what?" I asked.
Harvey hesitated for a moment. "Forget it, it's nothing. Take care."
He rushed off, leaving June and me staring at each other.