World I Never Knew

Angela looked up when she heard the water from the kitchen sink stop running. She set her book down and looked towards the kitchen. Joe was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, running his fingers through his hair and muttering to himself. Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion as she watched him throw his hands in the air and decided to go see what was going on. She stood in the kitchen doorway, leaning against the frame and cleared her throat. Joe looked up at her shaking a finger.

“I… I know what happened.” He said with a slight stutter.

“Happened?” she asked and he nodded his head. “Happened to what?”

“To you. I know what happened to you.”

“That’s not possible.” She said, shaking her head and turning to walk away.

“There was a fire.” He blurted out, stopping her in her tracks. Slowly she turned around and stared at him.

“How…”

“You flinched when you looked at the fire. There are burn marks on the floors and walls and in some places the ceiling. Your scars… are burn scars.” He said, whispering the last part.

“No.” she said strongly. “You’re wrong.”

She turned and started walking again. He followed and reached out, grabbing her right wrist. He spun her around so she was facing him and held onto her shoulders.

“There is no way in hell that I am wrong.” He said, looking into her eyes. She stared up at him and could feel a lump rising in her throat. “Tell me the truth, Angela. I want to know everything.”

She looked up into his eyes that were deep with pleading. They were so warm and brown; there was no way she could say no to him. She sighed and walked over to the couch and he followed. They sat across from one another on the same couch. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and he sat with his legs crossed, one over the other.

“I was fifteen,” she started, looking down at her hands on her knees. “It was six months after my parents died in the car accident. I was cleaning around the house, blasting some music. I had a few tapers lit on the table and was vacuuming the living room rug.

“While vacuuming I was dancing and I bumped into the table, knocking the candles over. It took me a minute to realize what had happened. I smelled smoke and turned around and saw the blazing orange flames. I started freaking out and tried to distinguish it but nothing was working. That’s when I noticed my sleeve had caught on fire… and then my pants. It wasn’t long until my entire left side was on fire.

“I ran outside to try to roll in the grass to distinguish myself. That’s when the mail man saw me, whipped out his cell phone, and dialed 911. He then rushed over to help get rid of the flames that were slowly but successfully burning my body. It seemed like forever but he soon stopped the flames and then I heard the sirens of the fire trucks.”

She stopped talking then… wiping away the solitary tear that fell from her right eye. Joe subtly wiped away the tear that was threatening to spill over from his own eye. It seemed as if Angela wouldn’t continue but Joe wanted to know what else happened so he cleared his throat.

“Then what happened?” he whispered.

“Then I blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital with a tube down my throat and bandages all over the left side of my body. A doctor came in and told me that I had been unconscious for two whole days and that I was very lucky.

“Only 15% of people with burns as serious as mine survived the trauma room in the ER. He said it would be a long and grueling process but I would be back to something close to normal in no time. I had been admitted to the hospital in the burn unit and was undergoing physical therapy treatments. Slowly the amount of bandages decreased and I was closer to seeing what I looked like.”

She sucked in a deep breath, her voice had become shaky. Joe reached a hand out and placed it on top of hers, resting on her knee. He stroked his thumb over the scarred skin, feeling the bumps and the roughness but… he didn’t even seem to realize. His eyes were locked on her face, finally seeing the emotion escape.

“The day the final bandages came off and I saw my face was one I never want to relive.” She whispered and Joe gently squeezed her hand. “I was mangled. Deformed. I had a face that no one would ever want to look at. I didn’t even want to look at it. Ever again. Because I felt so strongly about it I grew bitter. I stopped talking to my friends… my neighbors… my estranged family. I shut myself in here. I never go out; I haven’t had face to face contact until you came along. I’m… a monster.”

“Don’t say that.” Joe whispered, reaching across with his other hand to wipe the tears from her face.

He left his hand on her cheek and ran his thumb across the smooth skin there. The difference between the… two sides… of her was monumental but he didn’t mind it. It was all Angela, every bit of it, and right now all he wanted to do was comfort her.

“I’ll say what I want.” She retorted. “I am a monster and that’s never going to change. I’m going to live in this house alone for the rest of my life and die here.”

“What if the right guy comes around?” Joe asked with a shrug. She pulled away from him and stood up.

“Did you not listen to a word I just said? You’re the first person I have talked to in almost five years. There is never going to be a “right guy”. Even if there was a guy to come along, no one could ever love me. Who would want to marry someone with a face like mine?”

“Haven’t you ever heard it’s not what’s on the outside that matters but what’s on the inside?”

“Of course I have but that’s not how I lived before this shit happened. I had rich parents; I got everything I ever wanted. I was popular, I was hot…”

“But were you happy?” he asked softly. She simply stared at him. “I didn’t think so.”

“Don’t act like you know me, Joe.”

“But I want to know you.”

“Why? As soon as all this snow disappears and the phone lines are repaired you’ll be on your way to your happy famous life and your family that loves you. You’ll forget all about me.”

“How could I forget the person who took me in when I really needed help? My life will forever be in your hands.” He said, standing up and facing her. “You know… you really intrigue me.”

“Intriguing isn’t liking.” She said bitterly.

“Sure it is.” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

“You don’t have to feel sorry for me.”

“I don’t.” he automatically said and she scoffed. “Okay… I am sorry this happened to you. I’m sorry your parents died when you were so young. It sucks. It really does but I’m not the one who feels sorry for you. You feel sorry for yourself.”

“Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to get to know me?”

“Like I said… you intrigue me… and I like you. When you like someone you want to get to know them.”

“Why? Why do you like me?” she asked, not understanding anything that was coming out of his mouth.

“Because you’re different.” He said and again she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Good different.”

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I wanna know, everything about you.
And I wanna go, down every road you've been.
Where your hopes and dreams and wishes live,
Where you keep the rest of your life hid.
I wanna know the girl behind that pretty stare.
Take me there.
Take Me There - Rascal Flatts