Remember this Face, Baby.

It seemed like we had never been apart and this whole entire time, we had been loving and caring for each other. My head sat against his hard chest, hearing his heart beat rhythmically. His fingers ran trails down my back and over my arms, before he pulled my chin up and laid his lips over mine. It was complete bliss and my heart seemed to fill with such happiness I barely recognized. His arms were around me, again, pulling me close and keeping my safe. I didn't want this to end and I hoped it never would.

As I looked up, I smiled at the one I had loved since highschool started and the one I shared my soul with; DJ. It couldn't possibly be my imagination or even a dream; DJ was here with me, now, holding me close and watching me with one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen. His eyes showed such sincerity, that it blocked away all those dark stares he sent me during school. I could feel that he loved me. I could feel that finally, after so much pain, I was going to be happy with the man I loved so much.

"Why did we fall apart?" his voice was a whisper, just above my ear, but it soothed me and my eyes closed. My body melted into his, our hearts beating in rhythm.

"We were both stupid. We've lived lying to each other for two long, hurtful years. We're together, now. That's all that counts," my eyes opened at the sound of my voice; what was it I heard chime in every syllable? Happiness? I think so.

"We were both stupid? No," I tried not to feel a sudden awareness of caution and hoped that when I looked up at him, there wouldn't be something dark laying in the pool of his blue eyes.

That's all I saw when I stared into his once-loving, sincere eyes. Anger. Disgust. Hatred.

"Please, David, don't do this. We were both stupid. It was both of our faults," I knew my begging, as many more times before, wouldn't help and the pain would just return again with a more powerful blow each time.

His arms, strong and secure around my body, unwrapped themselves and his hands pushed on my shoulders, separating our bodies. No longer did I feel that soothing warmth, that loving feeling between us. Now, it was this great tension and dark hatred I couldn't stand. I wanted to slip away and evaporate, look away from his dark stare, but I couldn't. I watched as he began to shatter before me, his eyes never changing.

"You. It was always you. You ruined it for us. You cheated. You're the fucking slut I gave my all to and you're the fucking slut who broke my heart into a billion pieces! You had a baby, not my baby, another fucking guy's! How do you think that makes me feel, you whore? How do you think she's going to look at you when you tell her, you don't even know who her father is? How will you tell her you're a fucking slut?" His harsh, cold words were the last thing I heard, as the dream shattered and I fell into darkness.

Something vibrated underneath my head and quickly, I snapped my eyes opened and reached under my pillow, pulling out my cellphone and flipping it opened, placing it against my ear. "Hello," I answered, and dropped my head back onto the pillow, as I heard Kayla's voice.

"Why'd you go home?" she asked, curiously.

"I felt sick," I replied, drowsily, cuddling closer into the bed and sighing, loudly.

"How were you able to get away with Jenkins? You have her third, right?" she chuckled and I imagined her shaking her head, laying comfortably on her bed, watching either Gossip Girl or Degrassi.

"She tried making me stay, but I told her, I wasn't feeling well and I had already signed. You should've saw her face when she saw the office's note," remembering old Mrs. Jenkins, a smile spread across my lips.

"I can imagine. She's crazy and she's so old. She shouldn't even be teaching anymore, like, they should fire her or lay her off. She's gonna die while she's teaching, I swear," she said.

"She should be put in a mental asylum. Put her in a room, lock the door and throw the keys somewhere. She might chew her way out, but I doubt it. She has dentures, I'm sure of it," Kayla snorted, loudly and answered with chuckle, "Fer sure."

"Hey, what time is it?" I asked, gently, not having the strength to lift my head and check the time on my nightstand.

"5:45. Wait, you were sleeping, weren't you?" she demanded.

"I felt sick, didn't I? I was tired, too," I smiled, lazily as she groaned into the phone, then sighed, loudly.

"Hey, can you hold 2.5 seconds? I think it's my mom calling on the other line," she stated, quickly.

"Yeah, go ahead." With that, she switched onto the other line and there was only silence on my line. I didn't mind the silence and instead of wasting it with my eyes half-opened, I closed them. Slumber welcomed me with open arms and slowly, I started to fall back into unconsciousness, completely ignoring everything else around me.

"Karissa. Karissa. Hello, I know your lazy ass fell asleep. Karissa!" I snapped my eyes opened at the sudden shriek and realized, Kayla was back on the line.

"I'm here. Sorry. How long have you been calling me?"

"A second and half, maybe? Or less," one word for that: bitch. I rolled my eyes and grunted an answer. "Karissa. Could I come over?"

Her voice brought concern into me and instead of sounding drowsy and lazy, my voice sounded concerned and worried. I could hear her sniffling, suddenly and I knew the call she had received wasn't good, it never was, especially if it was from one of her parents. I didn't understand how a parent could abandon their child for a large amount of time or leave them, when I couldn't even stand to be away from my daughter from than two hours. I always found myself thinking about my baby girl and how she was doing. In Kayla's case, I didn't think there was any space for worrying for her. It was only business, drinks, money, shopping, love affairs, and being royal a-holes.

"Yeah, of course. When do you want to come over?" I asked, gently.

"Right now, please. If that's okay. I can't stand to be in this house right now."

"Pack up and stay over for the night. Then, we can leave from my house right in the morning. You won't have to get up so early. Wanna do that?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. I'll be over as soon as I pack up. Love you, Karissa."

"Love you, too." I closed my phone and tossed it onto my pillow. I kicked off my sheets and pushed myself up, slipping my feet into my house slippers. I grabbed an over-sized sweater and pulled it over my head, walking out of my bedroom, not caring one bit of how awful I must look. As I walked downstairs, I could hear the television on and my mother talking to my daughter, I was guessing.

The living room was scattered with toys and Alexis' many blankets. Baby Lexi sat on her bottom end, looking up at her grandmother with a milk bottle held between both of her small hands. She sucked on the nipple and tipped her head back, with a big smile behind the bottle. My mom scrunched up her face into a different face, making Lexi laugh and fall back against a pillow laying behind her.

"Hey mom," I said, softly and turned to smile at my daughter.

"Did you hear her laughing?" my mom asked, with a chuckle. "Here. Watch this," she added, before scrunching her face and sticking her tongue out. Lexi held the bottle against her, laughing as she watched her grandmother change faces. I couldn't help to laugh with her and shake my head, as I watched my baby with a big smile. Her laugh was contagious and she looked so happy. The sight of her laughing and smiling, made my heart melt.

"Has she napped yet?" I asked, as reached out towards my daughter and fixed her baby pants.

"She fell asleep in her car seat, after I picked her up from daycare. Then, I put her in the play pen and she slept for a bit in there. She's been awake for a while, though. Did you take a nap after you came home from school?" my mom turned to stare at me and I shook my head.

"I came home early. I felt sick and I signed out before third period," I explained, just as she started opening her mouth to yell at me. The glare that had started to form before her eyes, disappeared and instead, her face was filled with a motherly concern.

"Did something happen?" she asked, firmly and turned her body to face me, completely. I glanced over at my daughter and saw she had turned her attention to playing with some toys and left the bottle on it's side, dripping milk on the carpet. Quickly, I reached for it and placed it on the coffee table before it made a bigger mess.

"Nothing happened. I've been feeling sick since this morning, I don't know, I had this massive headache. I would've stayed home earlier in the morning, but I had an essay to write in English and some other stuff in my other class. I'm fine now, though. I came home from school and went upstairs. Been asleep since," I explained, truthfully and leaned back against the couch.

"Did you have any problems signing out?" my mom gave Alexis a sideways glance and turned her attention back to me.

"I'm eighteen. I'm old enough to sign in and out whenever I want. I thought I'd be awake by the time you got home and I could take Alexis out of your hands," I stated, standing up and walking towards Alexis sucking on one of her baby toys. I bent down and picked her up, placing her on my hip with an arm wrapped around her and the other under her bottom. Alexis tilted her head, while she chewed on her toy and sent me a big smile.

"As Alexis grows, she reminds me everyday of when you were younger. She looks almost exactly like you did, but the only difference is her eyes," my mom smiled, as she said this and sighed, loudly.

"Alexis has her father's eyes," I could see my mother's eyes flash with anger, but once she blinked, the emotion was gone. She stood up from seat on the couch and kissed my forehead, then her granddaughter's. I followed behind her and sat down at the kitchen table, placing Alexis on my lap. My mother retrieved a pan from the stove and placed it on top, turning the knob to heat it up.

"That may be, but I know she won't ever be like that piece of trash she has for a father. He's just a stranger to her. He's nothing to her and I think you should keep it that way. He doesn't deserve to see her, or even be near her, especially not with his intentions," my mom said, as she bent before the open fridge and grabbed dinner.

"I'm afraid she'll ask for him, though. I can't stop her from wanting to see him. He is her father and she is his daughter. It'd make sense if she wanted to see him, even if it was from a distance," Alexis leaned back against me and held onto my finger, laying comfortably inbetween her hand's warmth. I kissed the top of her head and watched my mother nod, understandingly.

"Yes, yes, but he hasn't made an attempt to even see her since she was born. Think about this; would she want to know her father didn't even want her and instead of taking it like a man, he stayed in denial, knowing very well he left a little girl fatherless? I know I wouldn't want to see my father after I found out he had spread rumours about my mother because he was too much of a coward," she replied, honestly.

"I just don't want Alexis to be fatherless. I want there to be a fatherly figure in her life. I want her to know she won't just have me to love her and care for her," I answered. I hadn't feared much about myself, even if I had been beaten plenty of times before and injured to an extent of not being able to walk, but I wasn't as scared as the fact of leaving my daughter without a father. She deserved to be able to call someone her father and know he loved her. Why would she have to suffer because her father didn't want her? She didn't need to have him. No, she didn't need to have DJ in her life, but I did want a man to be able to step in and care for her like a daughter.

"Alexis will have a father," my mom said, with so much reassurance, I felt hope stir inside me.

"It's a promise," my mother nodded and walked over to me, kissing my forehead, then my cheek. She leaned up and smiled, running her hand down my cheek and over my hair, like she did all the time.

"Now, put the past in the past," she paused and leaned up, placing her hands on her hips, "Does steaks sound good?" she asked, curiously.

"Sounds amazing. But oh, I forgot. Kayla's coming over for the night. While we were talking, she got a call and I think she was crying," I mused and moved my legs up and down, making Alexis bounce against my legs.

"Oh yes, of course. Her parents are such filthy people," she grimaced and shook her head, moving towards the stove. She poured some vegetable oil inside the pan and pulled out a cutting board from one of the cabinets. She grabbed a knife and a few vegetables, washing each, thoroughly and placed them on the orange board. With much skill, she cut each of the vegetables into equal pieces and dumped them into a pot boiling with water on the stove.

Both, my mother and me, glanced over in the direction of the living room, once we heard a few knocks. I stood up from my chair, pulling Alexis up with me and secured an arm around her as I walked towards the door and opened it, seeing Kayla before it. Her car was parked in the driveway and over her shoulder, was a Gucci duffel bag and a large Guess purse in the crook of her elbow. She smiled, though it barely reached her eyes and stepped aside to let her in. She greeted Alexis with a peck over the head and placed her bags by the stairs, leaving her shoes at the door.

"Thanks for having me," she said, gently and I smirked, rolling my eyes.

"Like I had any choice," I chuckled, teasingly and I watched her face lit up, as she smacked my air, playfully and muttered, "Bitch," under her breathe.

"Kayla, Karissa, get your butts in here. It's too quiet," my mom called, sarcastically and snorted, loudly.

"Hey, Mama Montanni. How's it going?" Kayla asked, cheerfully, taking a seat at the table across from me.

"Everything's fine. How about you?" my mom asked, looking over her shoulder for a brief second, then returning to cutting the fat off the steaks.

"Awful, if that's even the word for my life," she said and shrugged, "My mom called earlier, while I was on the phone with Karissa. She's pregnant."

"She's what?" I watched my mom twirl around, quickly, knife in hand, looking fierce.

"I think she expected me to welcome her with open arms or something along those lines. When I answered the phone, she didn't ask me how I have been for the past three weeks that she hadn't spoken to me. She went straight to the point and told me she was five weeks pregnant and she was coming home with the baby's father," Kayla responded, more calmly than I had expected her, too. She didn't seem surprised that her mother would have got knocked up by some man, Kayla had never met.

"Wait a second; she's flying back here and moving back in the mansion?" I asked.

"That's what she said. She told me there wasn't enough room in the apartment she had been staying at for the past few months," Kayla said, and loudly, sighed threw nose, clenching her jaw, tightly.

"And what's going to happen to you? I mean, she can't just do that," I claimed, and she chuckled, shaking her head. Her eyes weren't shining like they had been a few minutes ago. They had gone dull, again, like when I opened the door. They were like a dark abyss and I couldn't read them, no matter how I tried. I'd lock eye-contact with her and even though she turned away, before I would've been able to understand what was running threw her mind, but now she was a dark mess I couldn't figure out.

"Karissa, she can whatever she wants. The mansion isn't mine; I'm just the rat that occupies it, before the owner comes and exterminates me. She expects me to stay home, watch her new child while she goes off and does this all over again. I don't blame the child, and I never will, but how am I going to look at that new baby? I'm never going to love it like a sibling. The baby's going to be there, but I'm not going to be in it's life. It's going to be another burden on my chest that I don't need. If that's the case, my mind's made up. I am not staying in that house with the man she has been having an affair with and is having a baby with. She abandoned me for that man and then, started a new life with him and what about me? All I ever wanted was a damn family and she has never been there for me. Now, she's making a new family and I sure as hell am not going to be part of a family I've never been part of in the first place," she chewed on her bottom lip, drumming her fingers against the table's surface.

When I looked back at Kayla, there were tears filling her eyes. She avoided eye-contact with myself and my mother, as she watched the floor. She blinked and a set of hot tears rolled down her pink cheeks. Quickly, I stood up from my chair, still holding my daughter against my side and walked towards her, sliding an arm along her shoulders, pulling her into me.

"Karissa, take her upstairs and I'll call you for supper. Leave Lexi in the play pen and I'll check up on her in a few minutes," my mom said, gently and sent Kayla a motherly smile.

"I'll take Lexi. I'll put her in her crib and you won't have to worry about keeping an eye on her. We'll be down soon," I said and pulling Kayla up with me, keeping my arm around her. With every silent sob, it seemed to send trembles down her body and I could feel her heart breaking into pieces even more. I let Kayla climb up the stairs and grabbed her bag, dragging it up the stairs.

Kayla was seated on the bed, her arms laying, limply in her lap, as she stared at nothing, letting tears run down her face. I placed her bag against the wall and trekked towards Lexi's crib, setting her inside and handing her a toy. I turned on my heel and walked towards my best friend, sitting right beside her and wrapping my arms around her. Her arms found their way around my waist and she sobbed and sobbed.

"My head is pounding," Kayla stated, then chuckled, hoarsely. Very lady-like, she wiped her nose with the back of hand and I'm sure, a few grimy travelers aboarded it.

For fifteen, silent minutes, I held onto Kayla and like the mother she didn't have, I hushed her and rocked her until her sobs eased and her body jumped from playful hiccups. I had handed her a kleenex and laid her down on the bed, sitting at the edge of the bed, wiping unnoticed tears from her face and tucking strands of hair behind her ears.

I looked over my shoulder and smiled, gazing at the curious Lexi, watching her mother and auntie. She tilted her head to the side and grinned, hugging her toy closer to her body. Kayla blew her nose, noisily and tossed the used kleenex into the garbage bin beside the bed, before grabbing another kleenex and balling it in her hand.

"I remember one time when I was younger, maybe six or seven, I fell off the bed and I started crying because I scraped my knee. I ran into my mother's room and as always, she was at her vanity, brushing her bleach blonde hair and speaking to someone on her earpiece. I tapped her on the shoulder and remembering it now, the stare she gave me when she finally noticed I was there. I was young and I hadn't thought about what that glare meant, besides her being angry that I interrupted her phonecall, but now, I knew she hated me.

"She asked me what I wanted and I told her, with tears gushing down my face that my knee was bleeding and I needed her to help me. She stopped brushing her hair and turned her body towards me, with a face full of complete disgust and disdain. She grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the bed, pushing me against it and bending down to inspect my cut. She scrunched her face and looked up at me with disbelief and then, laughed. She actually laughed at me. I'll help you, she had said, sweetly. But instead of getting a band-aid and disinfecting it, she grabbed my arm again and pulled me close to her. She had glared at me and I remember saying she was hurting me, but she never loosened her grip on my arm. She tightened it. Crying is a source of weakness. Only stupid and weak girls cry for stupid, idiotic reasons. Grow up. I am not going to help you clean that up, when you can do it yourself. You're big and old enough to do it yourself. Now, get out of my site and don't bother me. Don't be a bigger nuisance than you already are, and she pushed me away. I wiped my tears and let my cut bled, until my Nanny found me in my room and helped me. I've always remembered her face, the way her eyes narrowed as she watched me cry and how she had intentionally hurt me to make a point. I think I've hated her since," quickly, Kayla brushed the tears away and shivered.

"Kayla, I'm so sorry. I never knew it was this bad," I whispered, lacing my fingers with hers and laying our entwined hands in my lap.

"Over the years it got worse. I mean, it may sound sort of masochistic, but whenever she was home and was, at least, screaming and glaring at me, I knew she noticed me. She may not have noticed me for all the right reasons, but she knew I was there. Once I started getting older, she started leaving. She'd travel, up to week's amount of time and leave me all alone. My father, well, he has never really been there for me. But it seemed, even though he was half-way across the world in Europe, he knew I was his daughter and he did make an effort to send me something every few months or weeks. My mom was there, but she was always a stranger," Kayla run her tongue over her dry lips and sighed, heavily. "It's really hard."

"What are you going to do, when your mom gets here?" I asked.

"Get out of there. I'll leave before she gets there and I could leave a note, but I know she wouldn't care or even notice my absence. She'll be too caught up with her lover to notice a single change," she responded.

"Where would you go, though? You can't just live on the streets," I claimed, worriedly and she snorted, loudly.

"Psh, I wouldn't dare live on the streets. Who do you think I am? I may not have a home no more, but it doesn't mean I don't have a place to stay. I'll pay for a suite at the Blue Elite. They've known my family and I, for many years and I've gone there whenever I didn't want to stay home. It's alright, Karissa. I have it all planned out. Even if Blue Elite doesn't work, then I'll stay at the mansion for a few days until I find an apartment for rent or sale, and buy it," the way she put it, made it sounded ever-so-simple, but I knew very well it wasn't. I couldn't let my best friend live on her own, especially not when she was going through so much.

"Kayla, the Blue Elite sounds comfortable, but it won't be if you're all alone. Stay here. You know my mom won't have a problem, especially because she knows what you've gone through with your parents. And, well, you are part of our family. You're here, more than you are at home and my mom already considers you a daughter. I'd rather you stayed here and annoyed the hell out of me, then stay at some hotel all alone where you have no one, really," the last bit of what I said, made a smile spread across her lips and she rolled her puffy eyes.

"This is your house, though. Sure, I'm here all the time, but I come to visit you and baby Lexi. I wouldn't want to stay here and be a bother."

"You're staying here. I'm not letting you leave tomorrow, unless if you're going to pack up your stuff and moving into this house. We have a guest room we haven't even touched. There's a bed in there and the closet is pretty ginormous. May not be a walk-in closet like yours, but it should fit most of it. If some clothes don't fit, you can put some in my room and I promise, I'll ask before I wear your clothes," I said, teasingly and winked.

"If I stay, will you come pack with me tomorrow after school?" she asked, with a childish pout.

"Of course! But, we'll have to pick up Lexi because my mom is working until nine tomorrow. Would that be okay?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at Alexis, who was laying on her back with her legs up in the air, as she held onto her stuffed toy.

"Of course! You know how much I love Alexis. She'll love my bed!" Kayla said, cheerfully and then, threw herself at me. "Thank you, Karissa. I couldn't have asked for a better friend than you. You're my blessing," she added, against my shoulder. I hugged her, tightly and kissed her forehead, pulling away from her after a moment.

"And I couldn't have asked for a better best friend than you."