Faceless Love

Chapter 4

Melissa walked into Savanna's stylish apartment and noticed that in six months, it had changed too, but only in little ways. A pink ukulele sat proudly in the corner and a framed observational drawing of a fruit bowl hung on the wall. Savanna had also replaced the sagging light blue coach with a brand-new, white one. Melissa chuckled- that wouldn't last long, not if her boyfriend Dean was still living with her. He wasn't just obsessed with food, he was a really messy eater. He could eat a single bag of crisps, and you'd still find crumbs on the carpet a week later. Savanna busied herself with making tea, and Melissa perched on the sofa. The rug was new, too- black and white cross-hatched. Melissa remembered her own rug at her new house-a crude fluffy one with a strange and disturbing depiction of a giraffe on it. Savanna set the two mugs on a blue coffee table, and flicked the TV on. We watched some random reality TV show in silence for a little, enjoying each other's company and sipping tea. "I should really come over to yours soon... the hospital said you have a new apartment? Is that true?"Savanna gushed, trying to break the silence. "Yeah," Melissa said slowly, thinking of the all the differences between her best friend's colourful, cute apartment and her gothic, mismatched small flat. "Yeah, you should come over soon, maybe once I've got it furnished?" Savanna nodded and smiled. "Text me the deets, kay?"she said quickly. Melissa nodded and fishes her phone out of her pocket. "I have to go now, I have a doctors' appointment. Sorry I couldn't spend more time with you, Sav, but this is really important. Love you lots!"said Melissa quickly, and blew Savanna a kiss. Savanna smiled and waved after returning the kiss.

'Well,'Melissa pondered on the way home. 'At least I went before it got too awkward, I guess.' The doctors' appointment thing had been partly true-she did have one, but it was in roughly two hours. Melissa came into her own small, sparsely furnished flat and she collapsed on the patchwork sofa. She had suffered yet more anxious looks on her way here, despite the fact that her hoodie was zipped up all the way to her neck. She supposed that she would have to get used to it; this was her new life now. Oh, but Melissa really didn't want to. She felt so sad, trapped in the way that she would have to spend the rest of her life looking like this, looking like...a monster. She would have to deal with it or at least that would be what everyone else would tell her. They would tell her that it would all be alright, that her amazing personality would shine through...but that's not really true. At that moment, Melissa wished with all of her heart that it was true, that everyone would be able to get past her looks. She, however, wasn't even fooling herself.