I don’t know what it is about her.

Maybe it’s that she’s Shane’s sister—Holland’s baby sister—so everyone walks on eggshells around her like she’s made of glass. Or maybe it’s that she’s blind and sweet, and still manages to hold herself with more grace than half the lads in this school who can see where they’re going and still act lost.

Whatever it is, she got under my skin from the first time she smiled in my direction like she could feel I was smirking.

And Joey—God help me—he actually likes her. He watches over her the same way he used to with his own little sister before she grew up and found her own voice. Says she’s got a softness about her that’s rare.

He’s not wrong.

We’re sitting on the steps outside the sports hall—her cane resting against her knee, me fiddling with the corner of my school jumper like I haven’t got the nerve to do what I said I would.

“I’m trying to picture you,” she says softly, head tilted slightly like she’s listening to my heartbeat and not my voice.

I laugh, but it’s quiet. “Don’t. It’s a disaster.”

She grins. “Can I?”

I freeze. “Can you what?”

“See you. In my way.”

She lifts her hand, slow, careful—like she’s afraid I’ll break. And I realise my mouth’s gone dry.

I nod, even though she can’t see it. “Yeah. Go on.”

She touches my cheek first, fingertips soft against skin that hasn’t felt this nervous since I was a kid in mass, trying not to laugh. Her hand drifts along my jaw, over my nose, my eyebrows. Every movement is gentle. Thoughtful.

“You’ve got a dimple,” she says, grinning.

“Just the one,” I mutter, trying not to shift under her touch. “Only on the left.”

“Big nose,” she adds, like she’s logging details into a sketchbook in her head.

“Thanks very much,” I deadpan, earning a giggle from her.

“And your eyes…”

“Green. Like mould on bread.”

She snorts. “Charming.”

I shrug. “You asked.”

She keeps going, brushing over my lips for a heartbeat too long, then pulling back like she didn’t just send my whole brain sideways.

“Thanks,” she whispers.

“For what?”

“For letting me see you. For being… easy to be around.”

And just like that, I forget she’s Shane’s sister. Forget she’s blind. Forget she’s supposed to be someone I keep at arm’s length.

All I know is her hand still lingers near mine, and the world feels a little quieter when she’s near.

So I take it.

Her hand, I mean.

And hold on.