Waiting For Superman

Love Me Back

“Thanks for the lovely dinner Sharon,” Kara said gratefully as they stepped out of the café together. “No problem,” Sharon said with a smile. “We haven’t met up in ages anyway.”

As they walked past the toilets, Kara stopped and said, “Could you wait for me? I need to pee.” Sharon nodded and watched Kara head for the toilets. She shook her head and sighed. Kara had lost so much weight since the last time Sharon had seen her, and no matter how hard she tried, Sharon knew she was hiding bruises on her arm.

Just then, she spotted Johnny walking around the corner. As she was about to turn in the direction, she noticed that he was with another girl, and she was holding his hand. She could feel the anger begin to bubble up in her and she stalked over to Johnny.

“Hey Johnny,” she said bitterly as she walked up to him. “Can I have a few words?” Johnny rolled his eyes and said to the girl, “Why don’t you go get a table first?” The girl nodded and threw Sharon a dirty look before flouncing off.

“What do you want Sharon?” Johnny asked tiredly. “Oh so it’s what I want? Well for starters, care to explain why you’re cheating on Kara?” Sharon sputtered angrily. “It’s none of your business Sharon. Keep out of it,” Johnny retorted, his face flaming.

“And you better stop hitting Kara,” Sharon said, daring him to say otherwise. “It doesn’t matter what I do. She’s my girlfriend and I can do what I want with her,” Johnny said venomously. “Girlfriend? Or is she one of your girlfriends?” Sharon asked angrily, pushing him backwards.

“Don’t be a bitch Sharon,” Johnny hissed as he stalked off. Sharon watched him walk away before hurrying back to the entrance of the toilets just as Kara came back out.

“Who were you talking to?” Kara asked they headed for the car park. “Oh just my cousin,” Sharon lied smoothly. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home,” Kara offered. “It’s alright. I still have to go grocery shopping,” Sharon said, pulling a face. Kara laughed and waved goodbye to her before stepping into the lift.

On her way home, Kara couldn’t help but hope that Johnny was still caught up with work in the office, like he had been for the past few days. As she parked her car in the car park, she saw his car parked a few cars down and sighed. It wasn’t that she didn’t love him. She truly did love him, more than any of her previous boyfriends. But she just wasn’t looking for a fight tonight.

“Honey, I’m home,” Kara called out as she stepped into the apartment. “Finally. It isn’t that long a drive here from VivoCity you know,” Johnny growled as he walked into the living room.

“How’d you know I was there?” she asked confused, dumping her bag on the dining table. “Because I saw your friend Sharon,” Johnny said, walking up to her.

As she tried to step past him, he grabbed her arm and said roughly, “And guess what? She threatened me. She knows I’m hitting you.” Kara squirmed under his intense gaze and said, “I didn’t tell her, I swear. I’ve been covering up the bruises.”

“What a liar you are Kara. You sent her to tell me off didn’t you? You can’t even defend yourself,” Johnny said menacingly as he shoved her into the wall. “Johnny, please. I swear I didn’t tell her. You told me not to tell anyone,” Kara said pleadingly as she tried to walk away.

“I’m not done with you bitch,” Johnny said as he yanked her back towards him. “Why can’t you ever do one thing right? Or even listen to me?” Kara could feel herself starting to cry again, but tried her best to stop the tears.

“Oh there you go again crying,” Johnny said exasperatedly. “Do you ever stop?” She was shaking at this point, and she could feel her head start to throb. “Stop crying,” Johnny commanded, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t stop the tears.

“I said to stop crying bitch,” Johnny shouted, starting to hit her consecutively. If there was one thing Kara had learned since Johnny started hitting her, it was that the best thing to do was just let him do what he wanted, and he would stop sooner or later.

After what felt like eternity, Johnny threw her aside and walked away saying to himself, “What a piece of trash.” Kara reached over for a tissue and began wiping her tears away, her entire frame trembling. She tried to get up, but her ankle was throbbing and she winced as she put weight on it.

She slowly dragged herself up, hobbling towards the kitchen. She grabbed an ice pack and sat down at the kitchen table, icing her ankle. She could hear Johnny in the room and she heard him step into the shower.

Hobbling to the toilet, it took her a few seconds to muster the courage to look at herself in the mirror. She dabbed at her bleeding lip, wincing at the pain. There were bruises flowering up and down her arm, and she had a cut on her knee.

Reaching for the antiseptic cream, she slowly applied it to her knee before washing off the dried bits of blood. She headed out of the toilet and switched off the lights, hobbling into the bed room.

Johnny was still in the shower, and she took the chance to dig through his drawer for an ankle guard. Slipping it on, she yanked off her shirt and threw it in the corner and slid into her side of the bed, her heart still pounding.

“I borrowed your ankle guard,” she said quietly as Johnny stepped out of the toilet. “Whatever, you’re weak. Just take it,” Johnny said gruffly before leaving the room and slamming the door shut behind him.

Kara heard him leave the apartment, and she sat up in bed. She looked down at herself and started crying again. She grabbed her pillow and hugged it tightly, her tears soaking the pillow case.

When her eyes were dry and swollen, she lay back down and stared up at the ceiling. Closing her eyes, she suddenly had a childlike thought. “I wish this is a dream and when I wake up, Johnny will love me back,” she whispered. But this is life, and it would take a miracle for that to happen.