I got my miracle on Christmas Eve: my vision came back. But I wish with every broken piece of my heart that I was still blind. I run through the hospital hallway, grinning like crazy. I can’t wait to tell my boyfriend and my bestie. Then I stop cold. A few nurses are huddled around a phone, scrolling through a post. “Have you seen this post? It’s blowing up right now.” “My best friend lost both her parents and her sight overnight. I gave up my job abroad to come back and take care of her with her boyfriend for three years. But I fell in love with him. We’ve done everything together—carefully, secretly. I know I can’t keep doing this. I can’t betray her. So I have to leave. If this post gets 100,000 votes for me to go, I’ll spend the holidays with him one last time—then fly away and never come back.” My eyes lock on the profile picture. It’s a photo I took of my bestie. Senior year. I was leaning over a classroom windowsill to catch her from behind.Changed every single one of her profile pictures to that shot. “Babe,” she said. “I’m keeping this photo until I’m eighty.” Now she’s using it while doing something that shatters me. The votes are split. Blue for “stay and fight for him.” Red for “leave and end this.” Blue is winning. By ten thousand votes. I stare at the screen. My lungs stop working. I waited three years for this miracle. I wanted to see again more than anything. And the first thing I see is this. A tear drops onto the nurse’s phone. They all look up at me. “Right? This love triangle is so messed up but also so sad.” “What would you do? Vote for her to stay with the guy or leave?” “Honestly? Stay. Who wants to be stuck with a blind girl forever? That life looks miserable. So yeah—team blue.” My hands won’t stop shaking. They’re right. I’m blind. I’m a burden. Of course he’s choosing her over me. Even though my eyes just healed—what right do I have to ask him to come back? I’m not that selfish. I swallow the pain and force a smile. “Yeah,” I say. “You’re right. A guy shouldn’t be tied down to a blind girl for life. He should be with her best friend. True love deserves a blessing. I vote blue too.” I turn and walk out the hospital’s main doors. And there they are. Ethan and Lauren rush toward the entrance. His arms are wrapped tight around her body. Three years changed him—his shoulders are broader now. Safer. She looks prettier than ever, light spilling out of her smile. It’s freezing. He drapes his big coat over her shoulders. They look like something out of a movie. As they get closer, Lauren tries to pull away from him. But Ethan pouts. Holds on tighter. Bends down and kisses the corner of her mouth. She kisses him back hard, then pulls away, breathing fast. Glaring at him. Like she’s saying: She’s right there. Be careful. If I couldn’t see, I’d never know. I push the hurt down and smile. “Ethan? Lauren? Is that you coming to pick me up?”
Lauren hooks her arm through mine and kisses my cheek. “Of course we came to get you. We were worried sick.” “Work stuff came up for me today, and Ethan’s lab had some emergency. That’s why you had to come alone. So sorry about that.” Ethan talks to me, but his soft eyes are on Lauren. “Mia, what did the doctor say about your eyes?” I clutch the report in my pocket and shove it down deeper. “Same as always. Maybe in a few years, if I’m lucky.” I catch it. The quick flash of relief in Ethan’s eyes. It slices through my chest. He doesn’t want me to get better. Because if I stay blind, he can keep sneaking around with Lauren. He reaches out and pets my hair. “Don’t be scared, Mia. You still have us. Lauren and me. We’re not going anywhere.” “One day, one year, ten years—we’re never leaving you.” A year ago, I would’ve sobbed hearing those words. But now? I can’t believe he just kissed Lauren ten minutes ago and now he’s feeding me promises like this. Lauren suddenly wipes a tear off my face. “Mia, why are you crying?” “Did someone mess with you while we weren’t here? Tell me who. I’ll rip them apart.” Her panic is real. And it only makes it hurt more. I shake my head. “I’m fine. Wind got in my eyes. Don’t worry.” She pulls off her jacket and wraps it around me. “It’s freezing. Take mine. Let’s go to the store.” I grab her coat like a robot. I don’t feel any warmth. Ethan frowns. He takes off his own coat and slips it over Lauren’s shoulders like it’s second nature. She lifts her arms without even thinking. Like they’ve done this a thousand times. Because they have. Three more days until Christmas. They take me to the grocery store. They’re planning a big holiday dinner. Our eighteenth Christmas together. Lauren holds my arm, her voice bright. “Hey, grab some extra mushrooms. You know Mia loves those.” “Ethan, did you get the chicken? I’m making honey garlic chicken for her!” Ethan smiles at her—that soft, private smile. “Already got it. She’s my girlfriend. You think I don’t know what she likes?” My blood runs cold. Because before Lauren even told him to get my stuff, his cart was already full of her favorite meats, her favorite drinks, her favorite snacks. I’m not first anymore. The guy I’ve loved for ten years? His whole heart belongs to someone else now. They don’t notice me. They keep planning the Christmas menu. And then— Boxes tumble from the top shelf. I don’t even have time to react. But Ethan does. My hand shoots out for him on instinct. But he’s already moving. Grabbing Lauren. Pulling her out of the way. “Lauren—watch out!” My hand grabs nothing. The boxes slam into me. My head cracks against the corner of the shelf. Sharp pain. Then warm blood drips down my forehead, into my eyes. Across the aisle, Ethan is frantically checking Lauren from head to toe. “Are you okay? Did anything hit you? Are you hurt?” Lauren’s shaky. “I’m fine. You got me out just in time.” They both forgot about me. A store employee runs over and grabs my arm. “Oh my god, you’re bleeding a lot. We need to get you to a hospital.” Lauren and Ethan whip around. Then they rush to me. “Mia—why didn’t you move?!” “Don’t be scared. We’re taking you to the hospital.” I shake my head. “It’s not that bad. Just take me to the pharmacy down the street. I don’t want to go back to the hospital.” I don’t want them to know I can see. So they take me to a little clinic. Stitch me up. Drive me home. Now I’m not just blind. I’m blind and scarred.What a joke.
I step inside the apartment, and my chest just aches. There are safety bumpers on every corner—leftover from when I was blind. But that’s not what hits me. The place reeks of her. This is the tiny apartment Ethan and I saved up for after college. Our first home. And while I couldn’t see, she covered the walls with pictures of her and Ethan. Smiling. Kissing. Hugging. The balcony is full of her hydrangeas. My plants? Dead. Every single one. This isn’t my home anymore. I feel like I just walked into their love nest. Ethan takes my hand and leads me to the couch. “Mia, I’m sorry I didn’t push you out of the way earlier. You got hurt because of me. Are you mad?” “I should’ve protected you better.” I stare blankly ahead, pretending. “It’s okay, Ethan. I’m not mad. Those boxes weren’t secured right.” He exhales. Kisses my knuckles. “Good. Just sit tight. I’ll make dinner.” I smile and nod. He and Lauren go into the kitchen together. They’re flirting. Touching each other while grabbing ingredients. I pull out my phone—the one I barely use anymore—and find Lauren’s post. The votes for her to stay with Ethan have hit 100,000. The votes for her to leave are at 90,000. I scroll through it one more time. Then I book a one-way ticket out of New York. When I look back up, Ethan and Lauren are arguing in the kitchen. He grabs her wrist and pulls her into the bedroom. I swallow the knot in my throat and follow quietly. Through the crack in the door, I see him hold up his phone to her face. His voice is shaking. “Lauren, what the hell is this post? You’re leaving me? Going abroad?” He found out. Lauren’s eyes go red. She drops to the floor, clutching her head, crying. “Mia’s going to get her sight back someday. How am I supposed to look at her after that? How do I tell her I fell in love with you?” “Ethan, you and Mia are the couple. I’m just the pathetic other woman who betrayed her best friend.” “I can’t face her. So I’m running away. Don’t make this harder for me.” Ethan lowers himself to his knees. Wraps his arms around her. Kisses her tears away—softly, gently, like she’s something precious. “Don’t leave me. We love each other. How could we just walk away from that?” “The doctor said she’s got years before she can see again. She won’t find out.” “And look—look at the votes. 100,000 people are on our side. They see what we have. Are you really going to ignore that?” My fingers go cold. One by one. Maybe if I was still blind, I’d stay in the dark forever. Then I wouldn’t have to lose my boyfriend and my best friend at the same time. But now I’m standing here, watching them kiss. Comfort each other. Plan their future. Lauren digs her fingers into his shoulders, sobbing. “Ethan, I’m drowning in guilt every single day. So let fate decide. If the votes for me to leave hit 100,000 after Christmas, I’ll go. No questions asked. Just let me go. You belong to Mia, not me.” Ethan’s face twists with pain. He pulls her tighter. His voice cracks. “Okay. I just want you to be happy. Even if it means losing you.” I’m crying without making a sound, cover my lips and walk away.
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