"Likely excuse!" Kim accused hotly.
Jakob's mouth tightened in aggravation; "I do not give lame, false excuses." He stated sharply, "I give simple, truthful reasons. And Zac's brother Isaac evidently slipped on stairs, and if you knew Zac then you would understand why he went without hesitation or second thought."
Mechelle swallowed the hard lump in her throat, and bent her head down in shame, Oh God, tell me what's been done.
Tilting his head, Jakob hoped he was looking Mechelle's direction, she'd gone quite long ago. "Zac will kill me for telling you this, but I'm sure he will accept my reasons why." He explained calmly. "It was a few months back that Zac came to Seymour because he was blind as well."
Mechelle's head snapped up in interest.
"Bull!" Kim voiced irrationally, "It would have been plastered all over the news if he had! He wouldn't have done any concerts or anything. And I know for a fact that him and his brother's have been doing their concerts for the past year all around."
Jakob sucked in a breath and shook his head, "Because of working in Seymour Zac was capable of pulling off simple tricks."
Kim crossed her arms in front of her, "Yeah, right."
"It's true." Mechelle murmured quietly. "I'm learning the tricks now. Training your ears, so that you could turn your head when someone speaks. It's almost as if you're turning to look at and talk to them. Walking slow and counting your steps so you know where you're going, how to leave, and not to run into things. The seeing thinks that you just like to take your time."
She shrugged her shoulders cautiously; knowing that Kim was pinning her down with her gaze. "Tricks."
Refusing to comment on that, Kim narrowed her eyes on Jakob, scrutinizing him. "So how did Zac go blind?" She asked skeptically.
Jakob closed his eyes and counted to ten, She's really asking to be slapped, Lord. Give me strength! Reopening his eyes he turned to face her, "Zac had been messing with his brothers and they started chasing him. He was running through the house and was basically trapped by his brothers, but ran for the stairs. He tripped on a rollerblade, slipped, hit his head twice. Once on the stair, once on the wall. The hits made his brain swell and block off his vision."
Mechelle inhaled sharply and placed her head in her hands.
Jakob had rotated his head, but turned back to look at Kim, and continued on; "For months the doctors were optimistic that the swelling would go down enough for them to operate and relieve the pressure. Zac lived in a blind man's world. He went to Seymour, was put under my care and training. He was quick at learning, and even relearned to play the drums. He wasn't about to letting a thing as small as blindness stop him from being Zac."
"He was so proud of what he'd done that he showed it off to his family. Wanted to prove to them all that he was still Zac Hanson, the drummer of Hanson. Wanted to show them that he was indeed all right. That everything was okay now. He started performing, trying to see if he could pretend with the fans that he was still seeing them. And he did well, it was only one that he couldn't quite fool." Jakob smiled, "You'll be meeting her later, Mechelle, Kim."
"Zac couldn't be happier with this new conquest of his. But it ended." Jakob unconsciously rubbed at his eyes. "Zac was given the news that he was able to have the operation, but the chances of seeing again wasn't completely sure. They were highly optimistic, but not positive. Zac refused, went to therapy over it, but still didn't want it. He had gone from light to dark, and could barely handle it. He didn't know what it was going to be like to go from dark back to light."
He took a calming breath, "The operation was a success. Zac had horrific nightmares and often got confused of whether he was seeing or blind. He hasn't said, nor have I asked, but I think he was still seeing the therapist even afterwards. His family, Doreen, and Summer tell me of times when Zac is seen doing his old tricks, or closing his eyes to do them. They find it freaky, I find it odd, and he finds it normal."
Again he turned to Mechelle, "You see, he had to go to his brother. It was like a reenactment of his accident. He couldn't bear it, but he had to."
Mechelle's head hurt, how could she have done this to him?
