Faceless Love

Chapter 3

That night, Melissa didn't sleep. Her test results had been good; she was free to go home. She was slow, sad, as she packed away some of her things that had been salvaged from the fire (her laptop, the romance novel she had been reading and her phone). She opened her phone and saw around a 100 messages. The majority were from her best friend, Savanna. There were a few from her ex, and multiple emails from her other friends wishing her to "get well soon". Melissa wished that she could get better at all. She called Savanna. It picked up on the first ring. "Hey, babes, how are you?" Savanna's friendly voice filled the room and her heart. "I'm good, fine. I woke up yesterday." Melissa said slowly. "Omg, we should totes go shopping together. Hashtag BFFs forever!!! Yeah, can you go to Lindy's on Monday? For lunch?" she gushed. Melissa laughed. Lindy's was their ultimate meet-up place; a small cafe selling homemade cakes and overpriced coffee. "Of course!" She said quickly. "See you then?" But Savanna had already hung up. Monday, then. Melissa put her things in a plastic bag, which had been provided by the hospital. "How generous," Melissa thought. She trudged out of the Yorkshire General Hospital for the first time in six months.

By Monday, Melissa had bought new clothes (the majority of which were hoodies), bought some furniture for her new flat (which was mismatched, but homely) and kind of got settled in. She was not used to the looks people gave her-it was either outright staring, a series of embarrassed glances, or a small gasp followed by immense concentration on the floor. Savanna would help her get through this, she was sure of it. She entered Lindy's in a black hoodie, distressed jeans and black sneakers. She could see Savanna out of the corner of her eye, looking as beautiful as ever in a red off-the-shoulder top, denim shorts and red slip-ons. Her perfectly curled long blonde hair hung down her back, and her piercing blue eyes travelled from place to place as she waited anxiously for Melissa to arrive. Melissa gathered the confidence to walk up to her, and did. Savanna smiled as she approached; showing perfect, white teeth. She could easily be a supermodel. Melissa sighed and slowly raised the hood off of her straggly hair. Savanna made no attempt to hide her pity. First, she gasped and hugged Melissa. "Omg, Melissa, babes..." she said quietly, her voice trailing off at the end. Melissa couldn't hide it. "I know," she sobbed and hid her face in Savanna's top. She held Melissa, and gently stroked her head. "Let's go to my apartment," she said softly. Melissa nodded, and they got into her light blue Fiat. Melissa shamefully put her hood back over her head. Ten minutes later, they pulled over in front of a white, gleaming, modern, tall apartment block. The bottom floor boasted of a state-of-the-art gym complex, and an outdoor pool. Melissa had always sighed in jealousy whenever she saw the paradise that her best friend lived in, but now it didn't seem to matter that much. Savanna led her into the brightly polished chrome elevator and pressed the button for the 24th floor, the second floor from the top of the building. As the elevator slowly moved upwards, Savanna looked at Melissa with concern in those beautiful, piercing blue eyes. Then the elevator pinged, and the doors slid open. As Savanna was unlocking the door to her apartment, Melissa wondered if her new...appearance would impact Savanna's opinion about her. But it seemed as if Savanna was one of the only things that hadn't changed.