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She had been wrapped in layer upon layer of bandages. Her face was now unrecognisable through all the bruises the concrete had given her. My hands shook with pain. How could I do this to her?
"We will have to operate tonight" Says the doctor.
Operate.
"Did you want to stay with her?" She asked, sensing my tattered emotions.
"No, I must go. This is unbearable" I shut my eyes to try and rid myself of the body. But it spread like a plague through my every vein.
With tears streaming down my face, I sprinted out of the hospital. But I wasn't quick enough.
"What are you doing here, Daniel?"
That voice stopped me dead in my tracks. Not wanting to show her my face, I faced the exit.
"I-- err. I will see you tomorrow." The words tumbled out of me like blood escaping from a fresh wound.
I didn't wait for her answer. At that point I didn't really care. At this moment, I hated my every molecule of existence.
^^^^^^^
The next morning was like waking up with a really bad hangover. I nearly killed a random stranger, and I ignored Luce. I rolled through the ways of how I could act around her today. The best I came up with was to pretend I had forgotten all about it. So I strode past the school gates as if I owned the place. My over-exaggerated confidence seemed to work anyways. It was seconds before Luce came up to talk to me.
"You seem much better, Mr Confident" she joked.
"I feel on top of the world" I replied with a cocky grin.
If only the power of mind reading was readily available... God knows what she thinks of me.
She seemed to like my new persona, though, as we chatted idly all the way to first lesson, which happened to be Algebra.
As we sat down - seats at the back for maximum chatting time as Luce said - I curiously scanned the incomers for the blonde from last lesson. Yet she never turned up.
Half of the lesson passed by, yet, the space in front of me remained forever empty. The teacher - Mrs Armstrong - droned on, equation after equation was scrawled onto the grubby whiteboard and I found it hard to keep my eyes from drooping.
In the nick of time, Luce thrust a sheet of lined paper into my grasp.
Alright there, Mr Confident?
I shook my head and started to scribble a witty remark when she gripped my arm. Another piece of paper landed in my hands
Don't laugh it off. I can see right through your facade.
She had me intrigued now. In haste, I scribbled out the last comment and instead wrote the truth. Well, almost.
I feel like life has given me another chance, yet I'm wasting it. Before I came here, everything was simple and now it seems that I care about things. And yet, when they break, there is nothing I can do about it.
She just stared. Right into my ancient eyes, probably seeing for the first time the truth beneath this skin. Nobody had ever dared look that closely into me before. And I liked it.
If anything happened to her, I swear I would kill the bastard responsible.
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