Remember this Face, Baby.

NEXT MORNING

When I woke up the next morning, Kayla was laying in the bed behind the curtain. A leather jacket was hung on a cushioned chair’s arm rest at the far corner of the room. I recognized it the black jacket from somewhere, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I could hear noises coming from the bathroom, and I wondered if someone was inside.

Glancing over at Kayla, I saw that she was still fast asleep and snuggled under the blankets the nurse, Betty, had brought her last night. I wanted to smile because she looked so at peace, but the ache that came every time my muscles moved, made me think twice. I glanced away from my best friend and watched the bathroom door.

I had been prepared for whatever stepped out of the bathroom, but when someone did, my heart stopped for a moment and my eyes widened. Once I realized it was only Deryk, my heart began beating, but at a rapid pace and I wanted to check myself in a mirror to examine my appearance. The effects one boy could have on me were unbelievable, even in my current state.

All initial feelings I thought had vanished for Deryk, came back with a blow and my eyes scanned every body part they could lay themselves on. Deryk was beautiful, end of story and I knew I wasn’t the only one who believed so. Whenever a nurse came to check on my condition, her eyes took centuries to pry off the raven-haired beauty standing before her. Even older women were fond of him.

Deryk rubbed a towel on the back of his hair, trying to dry all the water dripping from it. His arm muscles were flexed, and as I watched him move across the room, unaware of me, I couldn’t help staring at the bulge wanting to break loose from his arm. And it wasn’t just his strong arms; it was his entire self. His hair stuck to his face, giving him a sexy look and his eyes looked lighter today. The tight V neck t-shirt he wore hugged his hard torso and as he continued to dry his wet hair, his shirt lifted ever-so slightly and gave me a small preview of what was lying underneath his shirt.

I couldn’t take my eyes away from Deryk and when he finally realized someone was watching him, I flushed. Deryk was oblivious to my lustful watching and his face broke out into a breath-taking smile. He walked towards my bed and he stood at my side, holding the towel he had been using, in his hands.

“Good morning, Karissa,” he mumbled, softly and I wished there were a mirror around, so I could see how utterly stupid I must look.

I could feel my cheeks flush, and I wanted to hide my face in between my pillow, but I knew if I moved, it would conflict pain I didn’t want to deal with, on me. In a hushed whisper, I said, “Hi, Deryk.”

“How are you feeling?” Deryk asked, gently and took a seat on a chair located right beside my bed.

With a chuckle that burned my throat, I looked away from him and stared up at ceiling, “I’m on morphine. I can hardly feel it,” I answered, hoarsely. When I glanced back at Deryk, his face was filled with guilt and he sighed, running his fingers threw his wet hair.

“Do you remember what happened to you?” Deryk mumbled, and as I watched him, tears began blurring my vision and when I blinked, tears spilled down my cheeks.

“I wish I could tell you I didn’t, but I’d be lying to you and I don’t want to do that,” I replied, and Deryk reached towards me, running his fingers down my cheeks, wiping away the tears.

“I want you to know, Karissa; I will always be here for you,” Deryk stated, and I could see all the honesty glowing in his eyes.

Deryk had left me completely speechless, and the only thing I felt I could do at that moment was smile, no matter the pain. My heart pounded against my ribcage and as we watched each other, I knew he would always be there for me whenever I needed someone. I couldn’t deny how extremely happy he had made me that day, but I felt like I was glowing and that shown all the dark pain away.

I heard shuffling coming from behind Deryk and reluctantly, I glanced away from Deryk’s sky-blue eyes and watched my best friend sitting up, tossing her arms in the air, making a loud noise as she stretched. Once she was finished stretching, she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and stood up, walking towards Deryk and I.

“Good morning people!” Kayla said, cheerfully and patted Deryk’s shoulder.

“Good morning, Kayla,” Deryk replied, and she smiled down at him. Then, she noticed me and she bounced to my side, plopping down at the edge of my bed, lacing her fingers with mine.

“I’m happy you’re awake. How did you sleep?” Kayla asked, happily and tilted her head.

“It was alright; morphine helped me sleep last night,” I told her and she nodded, running her manicured fingers over the top of my hand.

“I’m sorry, Karissa, I really am,” Kayla said, suddenly and all traces of her glowing eyes darkened and like Deryk’s face, I saw guilt and at that moment, I began despising the guilt that hid behind their eyes.

“What are you sorry about, Kayla? You didn’t do anything to hurt me. You’ve been always been there,” I stated and she shook her head, making her blonde curls bounce against her shoulders.

When Kayla locked gazes with me, her eyes were glistening with tears. She held my hands in her lap, rubbing the back of my hand with her thumb. It was an old habit I had grown accustomed to, whenever Kayla was nervous. I didn’t understand why she was acting this way; had she done something?

“Sweetie, it’s my fault you’re in this situation. I couldn’t do anything to help. If I had been in that circle with you, Whitney wouldn’t have dared lay her hands on you. You would not be in this hospital, lying on this bed right now. It’s my entire fault,” Kayla sobbed, and she unlaced one of her hands from mine, placing it over her eyes.

“Deryk, can you leave us for a moment?” I glanced over at Deryk’s worried expression and he nodded. He got up from his seat and walked over to the chair at the far end of the corner, sliding his coat onto his shoulders.

“Before I leave you; Karissa, do you need anything?” Deryk asked, gently, as he reached the door. A millions things came to mind, but when my stomach gave a small growl, I answered, “Anything to eat, please. I’m starving.”

Deryk smiled and disappeared into the hallway. Once he was gone, I turned back to my sobbing best friend. I reached towards Kayla’s face and pulled the hand away, holding it, tightly in mine. She avoided my gaze, as I watched her and tried to lock eye-contact. Her shoulders shook and her lip quivered every so often, as more tears ran down her flushed cheeks.

“Kayla, you know you couldn’t have done anything, even if you tried. I know this because as much as I tried pushing through the crowd, every time they would push me back. This isn’t your fault, Kayla and I don’t want you to keep thinking it. You’re my best friend and you have always been there for me. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters,” I told her, softly, but she continued to cry.

“I’ve been trying to keep you away from harm’s hands for so long, and whenever you do get hurt, I feel like it’s my fault because I wasn’t there to stop it. Like last time, Karissa, when those guys hurt you. If I had known, I wouldn’t have let them lay a finger on you and now, you’re here. I don’t want you to be going through shit like this anymore. You don’t deserve it,” Kayla words were muffled, slightly, as she cried into her hands and left mine sitting cold in my lap.

“Kayla,” pausing, I averted my gaze from her tear-stained face and watched the door, as patients passed by, either on foot or in a wheelchair. I didn’t know what I could possibly say to make Kayla stop crying, because it seemed impossible. I turned my attention back onto Kayla and I sighed, loudly. “I may not deserve this, you may be right, but that’s my fate. I’m going to have to live with it until I graduate from that school and begin college. There’s a few months left of school and if people see I won’t give up, after everything they call me and after this, I know they’ll stop. Patience, Kayla.”

“No, Karissa, this isn’t your fate. What kind of stupid shit is that? How can you sit here and still think you’re supposed to live like this? None of those people that watched you get hurt would want to be in this exact situation, but they chose you to lay here in this hospital without giving a damn. No, Karissa, this isn’t your fate and don’t ever say that again,” Kayla snapped, watching me with dark eyes that kept spilling tears.

“It hasn’t gotten better; what else can I possibly say? I don’t think it’ll get any better, at least not yet. When I’m on my way to college, my life will be different, but until then; what else is there to do?” It seemed as if Kayla had had enough and she shook her head, pushing herself off the bed. Roughly, she wiped away the tears and ran her hand under her nose, sniffling, loudly. She began walking towards the door, before she stopped and whipped around, glaring daggers at me.

“No, Karissa. Your life is going to change and it starts after you’re well and walking again. I don’t give a fuck what you think anymore because whatever is going threw your mind is a whole bunch of bullshit and you very well know it. That all stops right now and people are going to stop stepping all over you. If you want to change your life or not, that’s your opinion, but mine, starts by changing yours,” Kayla’s words stung, even more than my current wounds all over my body. She turned on her heel and marched out of my hospital room.

THIRD POINT OF VIEW

Kayla was fuming. She didn’t understand how Karissa could continue talking like that after all she had gone through. Kayla had witnessed the cruel commentary from her peers and how far they would actually go to show how much they hated Karissa. She had held her best friend through the tears, and when she finished her waterworks, Kayla had pulled her onto her feet. She had been there through everything and she was not going to put up with more bullshit anymore. It had to stop.

Kayla snapped back to reality and when she finally realized where she was, Kayla was standing at the hospital cafeteria three floors down from Karissa’s floor. She had no idea how she had even gotten in the elevator. She ran her fingers through her hair and pushed the thought to the back of her mind, moving further into the cafeteria.

Kayla glanced around the small café, searching for a raven-haired boy. There weren’t many people occupying the tables and Deryk was easy to spot amongst the grey and white-haired adults. She marched towards him, trying desperately to avoid tables. Every time her hips bumped into the back of someone’s chair or the side of a table, she threw an angry apology over her shoulder. She honestly didn’t give a damn.

Once Kayla reached Deryk’s table, she sat down across from him. Deryk arched a slender eyebrow at her and leaned back in his chair, watching her with blank eyes. Deryk wondered what was wrong with her now, but considering she was a girl, he let her continue fuming until she decided to speak to him.

Deryk took a sip of his black coffee, staring down at the beige surface of the table. He could hear Kayla breathing heavily and Deryk knew she was clenching her fists. Minutes ticked by and Kayla remained silent, and fortunately, her breathing had become steadier now. Deryk could feel her eyes on him every so often, as though she was trying to figure him out.

Finally, Deryk glanced up from the spot on the table and moved his gaze onto Kayla. She was watching him with narrowed eyes and Deryk thought maybe she was going to scream at him. He would let her, until she calmed down and then, he would speak to her and ask her what was wrong, but Kayla beat him to it.

“Deryk, I want to talk to you about something important. Like, it’s legit important,” Kayla stated, staring at nothing, but him.

“Whatever you need to say, I’ll listen,” Deryk said, and that was all the permission Kayla needed to continue.

“Deryk, I know you’ve only known Karissa for a few weeks now. Karissa and you haven’t been friends for too long, but I can tell you care for her and I appreciate it more than you will ever know,” her face instantly lit up and a smile lifted her lips from the frown that had occupied them. Deryk couldn’t help smile back, and again, he took a quick sip of his black coffee, before Kayla continued.

“Ever since David dumped Karissa because of the accidental pregnancy, her life turned upside down. I mean, when David and Karissa were dating, they seemed perfect for each other. Everyone thought they would be together for a long time, and it seemed so, until that damn party. That’s the night Karissa lost her virginity to David and the night little Alexis was conceived.

“It wasn’t until three weeks later that Karissa started feeling very nauseous and she didn’t go to school for at least three days. I had called her the second day, wondering where she had been and she told me she had just suddenly got sick and that even as we spoke, she felt dizzy and real gross.

“I remember asking her what happened at that party we had gone to with David and she told me she had gotten real drunk and her and David had gone up to his friend’s room for, well, you know. She didn’t remember anything besides that. But she said she was real sore and she had bled a little when she had gone to the bathroom. I had known what happened after she had told me that story and I figured she was still a bit hung over.

“At that moment though, I thought nothing of it. I just figured hell she lost it and there was nothing else I could do. And about her being sick, I mean, everyone got sick once and a while. We completely forgot about it for the next three weeks and Karissa attended school the next day.

“Even after the fifth week, Karissa continued to get sick just so suddenly. Smells would make her nauseous and she would run to the nearest bathroom to puke. Different kinds of food would make her sick and we didn’t understand what was going on with her. All our friends were wondering if she was okay and what could I tell them? I didn’t know.

“It wasn’t until one of our friends, Stephanie, mentioned something. She said that Karissa was getting fat. I had always been protective of Karissa and I remembered snapping. I’m not going to tell you what I screamed at that bitch, but you can imagine. We had gone at each other for hours, until she finally pointed out that Karissa had never had trouble fitting into her pants and how her boobs had suddenly gotten bigger. I mean, I just thought she was filling in and maybe she was eating little more calories nowadays. Girls tend to do that. And Karissa and David had been fighting throughout the time a bit. I just figured she was depressed and that’s when I went to her house and we talked.

“I was surprised when she told me she had gained weight and she hardly fit into any of her jeans. She told me every morning, she would always have to run to the bathroom to puke because she felt like shit. And then, it hit me. I remembered just rushing her into my car and we drove to the walking clinic. She asked why we were here and I told her. She couldn’t believe I was thinking such stupid things, but she knew I was right. The sudden weight-gaining; her breasts growing larger; the morning sickness; everything was just another sign we hadn’t seen.

“That day Karissa found out she was six weeks pregnant. I remember dropping her off at home and then, going home myself and just sitting in my room, repeating what that doctor had said. I didn’t want to believe Karissa was pregnant, especially at sixteen. I thought about all the possible options of what she could do with the upcoming baby and every time I thought, I remembered it was always abortion. I mean, I didn’t want her to get something done to her and that baby, especially that baby, but she was sixteen. Having a baby at that age would be horrible. It would bring so much stress to her and her studies.

“Karissa chose not to tell David until the following week. She had gone home with him after school, like she did most of the time they had been dating. She told me she was nervous because she didn’t know how David would react, but she loved him and he loved her,” Kayla rolled her eyes at the mention of David’s love, and then she continued, “She thought that would make him understand and I thought so, too.

“Like I said, David and Karissa were the perfect match. They were always together. Sometimes I got jealous that she was spending so much time with him, and not me. But, I understood that she loved him and I never got in between them. I let them be. I was happy that my best friend was happy and that she had found someone who loved her in return. But how wrong did I end be being.

“That evening, Karissa had shown up at my doorstep crying. I had never seen her cry like that in my entire life and it scared me. I remember pulling her up to my room and she explained everything to me. David didn’t want anything to do with that baby and especially, Karissa.

“Karissa told me that they had gone up to David’s room and everything was like it was supposed to be. They cuddled; they talked about other things; they kissed, etc. She finally mentioned it. She told me she had said, “David, if we were to have a baby at sixteen, tell me what you would do.” Of course David had just thought she was asking him this question for the hell of it. And he answered, “We’d keep it.” That encouraged Karissa to finally tell him she was seven weeks pregnant with his baby.

“He kicked her out of his house the next second. He called her all these profanities and accused of her sleeping around behind his back. He warned her that if she ever placed a foot on his property, he would file a restraining order against her. He said all this bunch of bullshit, when he knew very well Karissa’s baby was his. And then, Karissa ran.

“I had spent the night at Karissa’s, consoling her and we told her mom about the pregnancy. Her mom didn’t take it too well and I don’t know what mother would, especially with a daughter pregnant at sixteen. She had threatened to kick Karissa out in the streets, but she didn’t want the baby having to deal with being homeless. Karissa and her mom were at it for hours, and Karissa had mentioned abortion, but her mom refused. We had gone upstairs and we had fallen asleep.

“It was the next day that changed Karissa’s life and put her in this hospital today. I don’t know when it had begun, but rumors about Karissa had already been spread throughout the entire school and people just began making up shit. All our friends would come up to Karissa and ask her how she could do such a thing to David and we didn’t know what the fuck they were talking about. Karissa thought at one moment David had told the whole school about her pregnancy.

“I had gone up to David during lunch time and I had asked him what the hell was going on. In front of every single person in that cafeteria room, he accused Karissa of sleeping behind his back with all these bunches of guys Karissa didn’t even know. Honestly, we didn’t even know if these so-called “lovers” went to our school, but apparently, it didn’t matter because Karissa was already a slut.

“Throughout the months after that incident, people were just…awful. Everything had completely changed. People barely spoke to Karissa and when they did, they had something to say about David. They would accuse her of all these other things David had supposedly said. I remember hearing a new thing about Karissa everyday. One thing had lead to another and every time I would defend Karissa and I would tell them the truth. Karissa had never slept behind anyone’s back; she wasn’t a whore, etc. But people only believed what David said.

“Three months into the pregnancy, Karissa started showing. That’s when the real drama started. They destroyed Karissa piece by piece and David just watched. Everyday there would always be a group of people questioning Karissa’ small belly and every time I would take her away. Everyday she cried.

“Deryk, she has gone through so much in the last two years. It has only been two years and I know she’s been through more than one person can go through in a lifetime. She’s been humiliated, pushed down and she’s been in the hospital more than once because of girls ganging up on her and guys ganging up on her. The last time she was in the hospital was two weeks ago because a group of guys decided to beat her up because she was the slut that had cheated on David. She didn’t even know these people, but they knew her and they beat her up.

“Nine months later and Karissa gave birth to Alexis. Of course, everyone knew. I had gone back to school and that was first thing they asked. It wasn’t their business to know, but they did and I don’t know how or who would’ve told them. And the thing that still pisses me off ‘till this day is that, David knew Karissa was having a baby and he didn’t even come to the hospital to see his daughter. He’s only seen her once and he denied Alexis was his.

“David spreads rumors about Karissa everyday. You would think he would stop, eventually. It’s just not enough for David. He continues and continues to lie, and those lies have gone up to his head because he believes them himself and he knows they’re made up shit. David and all those people you saw watching Karissa get beat down by that slut, will never leave her alone. They will keep on beating her until there is no Karissa anymore and I don’t want to see her being lowered in casket down to the earth. She doesn’t need this life. Everyday she steps out onto her own street, there’s a risk someone will recognize her and hurt her.

“I’m sick of seeing her crying and I’m sick of people accusing her of things she hasn’t committed. All this time and even two years back, she’s been loyal. She left David alone and she moved on. She has worked her ass off to take care of her two year old daughter. She has gone to school, and taken everything they have thrown at her. And when Whitney beat her until she couldn’t even stand, it was enough. This was the last place I wanted to see Karissa in, looking broken and disfigured,” Kayla wiped away the tears leaking down her cheeks and Deryk watched her, unknowing of what to say.

Kayla’s body was shaking and again, she wiped her eyes, licking her dry lips. Deryk’s hand was lying on his lap, clenched and tensed. His teeth were gritted and his heart pounded, rapidly against his ribcage. He was completely at loss for words.

People had told Deryk about Karissa, even warned him to stay away from her and every time he had shrugged them off. Whenever Deryk walked down the halls, and Karissa would be standing at her locker, gathering her books for her next class, he would see people watch her. They always whispered about her and some were even brave enough to comment loudly about her, but Karissa would shrug them off. Everyday it was the same and everyday he knew another piece of Karissa’s heart would break through her eyes.

“Kayla, you know I’m here to help her. I will do anything,” Deryk answered, honestly and he leaned forward, grabbing Kayla’s hand lying on the table. She squeezed his large hand and nodded, realizing this was the time. Deryk now knew the truth about Karissa.

“You’ll do anything for Karissa?” Kayla asked, seriously, watching Deryk intently.

“I will do anything. I want to help her, Kayla,” Deryk replied, truthfully and Kayla nodded.

“Deryk, I want you to promise me you’ll take Karissa back to Chicago with you. In two weeks, like you told me, when you get on that plane, I want Karissa to be boarding that plane, too. Please, Deryk, be the one she needs to help her restart her life and get out of this hell hole. You’re her only chance at starting over again.”