True Beauty

Chapter 5

"Oh my god. Shit," I hissed, spinning on my heel and facing the wall so Tyler couldn't see my face.

"I came to apologize," he said.

I could hear his footsteps coming closer and closer. My palms started to get clammy, and I attempted to dash towards my room. He was too fast though. Grabbing my wrist, he twirled me around to face him. My eyes avoided his as I saw a grimace twist onto his face and contort his features.

"Oh my god," he whispered, letting go of my wrist.

Tears started to drip out of my eyes and flow down my cheeks. My knees trembled and threatened to collapse as I watched Tyler's horrified expression through my tears. What if he tells everyone at school?! Oh my god!

"What the hell is that?" he hissed, backing away from me and continuing towards the door.

A choked sob escaped my mouth. I looked at my mom for help, pleading for her assistance with my eyes. She stepped in front of Tyler, breaking his view of me. She sighed loudly and pulled the door open.

"I think it's time for you to leave," she said, practically pushing him out the door.

She slammed it shut and rushed over to me. Cradling my head against her chest, she kissed the top of my head. Uncontrollable sobs erupted from my mouth as she rubbed my back in attempt to comfort me.

"Shh. Honey, he's not worth your tears. Shh," she whispered as my tears fell onto her blouse.

"He's- He's gonna- Tell- Everyone at- at school," I sobbed, sniffling and choking on my words loudly. "He looked at me like- like- I was a fricking- monster"

"No he won't. Shh"

****

After I finally stopped crying, I went back to my bedroom to finish my Spanish assignment. After I finished it, I pulled out my iPhone and dialed Belinda's number. It rang three times before she answered.

"Hello?" she shouted into the phone over screaming in the background.

"Hey," I replied, twirling a lock of my blond hair around my forefinger.

"Hold on," she told me as the noise died down. "Sorry. My brother is being annoying again."

"It's alright," I laughed, lying down on my bed.

"Okay, what's up?" she asked as I heard her shut her bedroom door in the background.

"Tyler found out about my birthmark," I stated, staring at the white, plain ceiling.

"What?! Oh my God! Are you okay?! What happened?!" she interrogated.

"I had just taken a bath and got home from a run. I didn't have any makeup on, and he just showed up at my house," I explained as my voice broke towards the end of my sentence.

"Oh, Laura. I'm so sorry," she answered as a single tear fell down the side of my face and landed on my pillow.

"What if he tells everyone," I worried, wiping away the trail the tear left with the back of my hand.

"He won't. Trust me."

I sighed and rolled onto my stomach. Shooting my feet into the air, I wrapped my torso up with a blanket.

"Well I hope not."

"Everything will be okay," she promised. "I have to go. My mom is calling for me to help her with dinner, but I'll see you tomorrow. Keep your head up, Laura. You'll get through this."

"Okay, thanks, Belinda. Love you. Bye."

"Love you too."

I hit the End Call button and plugged the phone into the charger that was connected to the wall. My door opened as I snuggled deeper into the blankets.

"Hey, are you okay? Mom told me about what happened," Jenny asked, entering my room and sitting on the edge of my bed.

"I'm fine," I replied, looking at her concerned face.

"You know Mom is right. He's not worth you getting upset over, Laura," she said, raising her eyebrows at me.

"Since when are you the expert on boys? I thought I was the older one," I laughed, staring at my wise little sister.

She smiled and patted my hand. "Laura, you're tough. You can get through this. I know it."

With that, she rose from her spot on my mattress and exited my room. While she shut the door behind her, I smiled to myself. I listened to my mom and sister have dinner. They conversed about alot of different topics but avoided the subjects of me, my birthmark, or what just happened with Tyler.

When I tried to close my eyes, I felt them sting from the loss of moisture. Tyler's disgusted grimace continued to replay through my mind as I watched the sun set out my window. Pinks, purples and reds swirled together and spread across the glorious sky as the golden disk disappeared under the horizon.

"Did you want anything to eat?" my mom asked, poking her head into my room.

"No, thanks," I replied as she flipped off the light.

"Okay, I'll let you be alone for awhile," she said, shutting the door and leaving me alone in the darkness.

Yawning, I rolled over and snapped my eyes close. Even though I was emotionally worn out I knew there was no way I could fall asleep. A tight ball wedged itself into my stomach and twisted violently whenever I thought about Tyler telling everyone at school about my imperfection.

Suddenly my phone began to light up and vibrate. When I glanced at the Caller ID, I realized it was Tyler. My heart pounded quickly in my chest as I picked up the phone. I took a deep breath, answered it, and pressed it against my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"What do you want?" I asked as the ball twisted in my stomach painfully.

"I want to apologize for making you cry," he said. "And what I said about Emily earlier."

"You're actually apologizing like a good person would?" I asked in shock at his behavior.

"Yes, I figure if you just wear make-up all the time, so no one sees the birthmark then we can still be together," he explained as my pounding heart started to slow.

"So you'll still be my boyfriend?" I confirmed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Yes, as long as you always wear make-up around me and other people. We'll just forget about this whole thing."

He's ashamed of me, I realized. Sighing, I knew I would never find someone who loved me for who I was, and Tyler was the best I'd ever be able to get.

"Okay, thank-you, Tyler."

"No problem. Just make sure I never have to see that nasty thing ever again."