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“I know this is a lot to take in, but I’m sorry, Emily, he chose you.”
“My client—
“Zane cuts in, saying, “You won’t be working for Jason White.” “You will be working for Liam Carter, who is a very important person in our family. When I say ‘family,’ I mean our organisation.”
This stuff makes my heart practically stop. Liam Carter? I don’t know who he is.
“Well, I think you should stop the car because this is definitely a big mistake,” I say firmly, even though my voice shakes a little at the end.
I can’t help it. I’m in a car with people I don’t know, and someone just gave me a lot of money for something I still don’t know what it was for.
“I will give the money back,” I respond, even if my heart falls at that.
I thought I could help Kate and Tyler, but then my hope was destroyed.
“You’ll have to accept it because this isn’t the job I signed up for. There must have been a misunderstanding with the agency.” I swallow. “Unless this is some sort of kidnapping.”
As soon as Zane hears the last word, his face goes serious. “We’re not kidnapping you, Emily. Like I said, there’s a lot to explain.”
“Please do.”
Zane responds, “This is the job you were hired for.” “You signed up for live-in care, and I think the agency told you that your client went blind.”
“Yes, I was told about that.”
Zane explains, “You will be working for Liam.” “He’s 20 and has been blind since he was 9. He needs help.”
It hurts to hear that the person lost his sight when he was just a child. He was too young to go through anything so terrible.
As I think about this information, I remember that the same thing was said about the client I’m supposed to work for. The agency did tell me that he was only a year older than me.
“But why did they say his name was Jason White?” I wonder. “Does the agency know who he really is?”
Zane shakes his head. “We couldn’t tell you because of our work environment. Information about Liam Carter being blind could be seen as a weakness that our competitor could use against us. We like to keep things private from outsiders, and we have a team that makes sure of that through the administrative process.”
Zane’s explanation simply makes me want to know more. I haven’t heard of Liam Carter or his group, but if they’re so essential that they can’t even let people see the private details regarding his condition, why not?
I feel like I’m working for a family member of a military general who isn’t getting enough security and might have enemies, but the family itself might not even exist.
Did they even have the right to do what they did to the agency?
Zane seems to know what’s on my mind because he says, “You’ll find out more about who we are and what we do when you get here.” He clears his throat and looks to the front. “Very soon.”
“Will I be doing something against the law?” I ask.
Zane shakes his head once more. “Nothing you do will be against the law.”
“I was told that I’ll be helping a blind person, but the agency said that I would only get more details from you.”
Zane shakes his head. When he looks at me again, I can tell how serious he is about this. I swallow the nerves that are building up in my throat. I guess they paid me a lot since I’m going to do a really important job. I really wish they hadn’t kept this a secret from the start because it makes me doubt a lot of things.
Zane adds, “First of all, Liam himself did not hire you.”
His sentence shocks me.
“Then who?” I echo.
“Ethan Carter, Liam’s older brother. He’s the one who hired you.”
I agree. “Okay, so he wants me to help his brother because he’s blind. Did he have someone help him before?”
I can hear a trace of despair in Zane’s voice when he sighs. “No. You’re going to be his first helper, which is surprising.”
Zane shuts his eyes and caresses the space between his eyebrows. All of a sudden, he seems like he’s really thinking. “I guess Ethan finally figured out that Liam needed someone, especially since he was gone.”
“Out?”
“Zane opens his eyes again and says, “Ethan is in France.” He looks determined. “I have to go back there as soon as possible because I was told to work with him.”
I’m ready to ask more questions when he starts talking again and looks at me again. “Look, you have two things to do.” Zane is looking at me like he’s trying to figure out if I’m the right person for the job. First, you have to help Liam all the time while you live in the house. Second, you have to go with him when he goes out. He can’t go out without you, but he doesn’t go out often, so you might not think about the second one as much. Liam likes to stay in the house most of the time, even if he feels trapped.
You have to help Liam all the time when he’s in the house. And if he goes out, you have to go with him. He can’t go out without you. He doesn’t go out very often, so you might not think about the second one as much. Liam likes to stay in the house most of the time, even when he feels like he’s suffocating.
“Can you tell me more about him?” I ask, as Zane’s eyes start to sparkle with melancholy.
“Liam’s past is painful, and I don’t think he’s gotten over it,” Zane says. “His parents and little sister died in a car crash, and he lost his eyesight. He was the only one who lived through that crash, and he was still a little boy at the time.”
My hand goes straight to my mouth. I can’t even begin to imagine what Liam went through.
It was sad.
I don’t know how a tiny boy could get past that horrible event in his mind. One would never get better from it.
Zane’s jaw tightens, as if he’s upset that this happened and there’s nothing we can do about it. “Liam accepted what happened, but he can’t let go of his grudge. Martial arts help him let out his anger, but it’s not enough.”
Every word that comes out of Zane’s mouth makes my stomach turn. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m qualified for this position.
“I wish Ethan could look out for him all the time, but he can’t right now because most of us have to finish our work in France,” Zane says with a hint of regret in his voice. “Liam needs someone to look after him.”
When I took the job, I understood I would have to be ready to help someone with a disability mentally, but I didn’t expect this kind of story.
“But why me?” I murmur, my voice full with doubt. “Why did you give him to me? There are many other applicants who are professionals and may be better suited to be his helper.”
I’m just a girl who has never worked with blind people before and is used to taking care of my grandmother. I’m not as good as professional carers.
“Not sure. Ethan picked you out of all the other applicants,” Zane says as he relaxes back in his seat. “He told me that most of them are a lot older than Liam, and he wanted a friend who was about the same age as Liam.”
I stop talking and look out the window, letting my mind drift to the possibilities of what might happen.
As the trip goes on, I am more and more apprehensive. I’ve always been hopeful, but the car, the empty street, and Zane make me feel uneasy, like there’s something more going on.
“Please don’t change your mind after hearing what I said. I’m afraid it’s too late to do that now,” Zane’s voice resonates next to me.
My heart starts to race in my chest. The rest of the ride is too quiet, and I can tell that Zane is looking at me like he’s trying to figure out what type of person I am.
Even if no one changes the temperature, the air inside the car feels colder. I’m starting to wonder if I’m having a panic attack or a hallucination. The street outside looks strange, and the night gets darker.
We’re travelling through a neighbourhood where the houses are excessively enormous and the yards appear to go on forever. The owners probably don’t even know their neighbours. As we go on our journey, we pass less and fewer residences.
Until there aren’t any.
The street lamps and the houses are both absent.