“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kimber exclaimed, smiling. “We are supposed to be best friends, how could you keep this from me?”
“I never thought I would get it done, and I certainly had no clue that it would work. It’s usually supposed to take a few treatments, but he said that once the laser touched my skin the scars just seemed to come right off.”
“That is awesome!” Kimber said, clapping her hands. “I am so happy for you!” Colors exploded all around her, and I was reminded of the fireworks that Sam took me to see.
I was beyond happy that Kimber and Cole believed me and that they were happy but their emotions were slapping me in the face. It was almost too much to handle.
“Yea, Hev. That’s awesome. You deserved something good like that to happen to you.” Cole reached out and hugged me with one arm. Surprisingly, some of the emotion that was berating me fled. I was suddenly wrapped in the soothing blues and greens of his aura and even some of the rare magenta shade.
“Thanks, guys. I was still feeling kind of funny this morning from the pain medicine the doctor gave me during the procedure, so I stayed home and slept in. I didn’t call you back because this isn’t something I wanted to tell you over the phone.” I hoped I wasn’t blushing but judging from the heat I felt in my cheeks I figured I probably was.
Sam cleared his throat and stared pointedly at Cole and the arm that was still around me. Cole looked up at Sam and a smug look flickered behind his eyes before he released me.
Before I could do anything else, Kimber lunged forward and hugged me. It was a tight, quick hug that left me speechless. “Are you kidding? I forgive you! Wait here while we get our ice cream, and we can sit together and talk.”
Just the idea was exhausting, but I saw no way out.
Sam ran a hand down the back of my head and spoke to Kimber. “We have groceries in the car for her grandma, and she’s still pretty worn out from the procedure.”
“Of course.” Kimber nodded. “Will you be in school tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
“Cool. I’ll see you at school in the morning?”
“I’ll see you then.” This time my smile wasn’t forced because I knew I was getting out of there very soon.
I waved to Cole as Sam led me toward his pickup. You saved me.
You’re worn out.
Yeah. Thanks for the ice cream.
You let him touch you. Sam said, steering the topic toward something I thought I had avoided.
He’s my friend, Sam. He was happy for me.
Sam walked along beside me, not saying anything and I prayed that he wouldn’t ask me to stop being friends with Cole. I felt like everything was spinning out of control, and I wanted my normal routine, my friends. I wanted things to feel normal. I didn’t know if they ever would again. Sam lifted me up into the cab of the truck and hurried around to get in. As he turned the ignition he said quietly, “I won’t ask you to give up your friends. I would never ask something like that of you, but I don’t like when he touches you.”
“I understand.” I did understand. But I couldn’t help but feel like I was somehow disappointing him in not offering to end my friendship with Cole. As he drove I closed my eyes, wondering if a quick trip to the grocery store was this hard, how an entire day of school would be tomorrow.
It was pure hell. I arrived the next morning feeling like I could handle it. I’d handled the grocery store yesterday, so I already knew what to expect. At least I thought so. Now I understood that I didn’t know anything at all.
It might have been okay, but I forgot one major thing: my scar. Or rather, the lack thereof. I thought since people didn’t much pay attention to me they might not notice right away that it was gone. Wrong. From the minute I walked through the doors, an onslaught of my classmates were coming up to me, marveling at my face.
Before people only stared and looked away, whispering behind my back. Since the masquerade ball though, things had changed. My old friends weren’t as concerned with giving me space. I’d encouraged them: talking, smiling, and trying to get some of what I’d lost back.
Now I wondered if that had been such a good idea.
I couldn’t get Before back. There was no going back to that girl. She was gone.
Forever.
“What happened?” a voice asked from beside me.
Amber came running up, “Oh My God! You look so great!”
“Heven, did you have your scar removed?”
I barely heard their words. All I saw was color. It exploded right on top of me, around me and it was all I could see. The more that gathered, the harder it was to focus on anything.
Sam was right there with me, thank God. He tucked me into his side and smiled at our audience. Say something, honey.
What?
Tell them about your surgery.
Knowing I had a lie ready to go and that Kimber and Cole already bought it made me feel more in control, and I looked up, trying to focus on faces, not colors, and I plastered a smile on my face and managed a fake laugh. “Yeah, I got totally lucky, and this plastic surgeon had a cancellation at the last minute. It was this new laser surgery.” It sounded convincing, and I held my breath while waiting to see if everyone else thought so too.
“It looks so great!” Amber said enthusiastically.
“Totally,” another classmate agreed. To my absolute horror, she reached toward my face.
Sam moved smoothly, swiftly, turning so that the girl brushed his shoulder. “Heven needs to get to her locker,” he announced. He shouldered us through the crowd but it didn’t go away, it moved with us.
I can’t do this.
Yes, you can. Focus on me.
We made it to my locker, Sam opened it, and I practically thrust my head inside.
“Geez, people! She isn’t a circus show!” Kimber’s loud voice came from behind me. I grinned into the locker. “Let me through! Go on, shoo!”
People began moving off, and I sighed. “Thank you,” I groaned to her, keeping my face in the locker.
“No problem.” She sniffed. I turned to look at her and stumbled backward, Sam steadying me.
Colors flamed around her; she had to have the strongest personality of anyone I knew. It was unsettling. I glanced at the floor trying to get control. When I looked back up she was still flaming colors, but I tried to look past them.
“You look great,” I said, lame.
“Thanks.” She grinned.
Cole walked up behind her, smiling. “Hey, guys.” He tipped Kimber backward, kissed her, then he glanced at me and grinned. “Looking good, Hev.”