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10
Dennis
Ihung up the phone and wished that things were different. I looked in the mirror and I didn't even recognize the person staring back at me. Things had changed and I was still having flashbacks of the night, over and over again. It was playing out in my head and I wasn't able to stop it.
I don't really remember what happened after I got hit in the head. Apparently, I was beaten to a bloody pulp and I was found near death, according to the doctors. Whoever it was, whatever they wanted, I still had no idea. I had no idea who the person in the mask was that was shaking his head as I went down. I had no idea who the person was that hit me, and I didn't have any idea what it was all for.
I didn’t know who these people were or what I had done to them to deserve this. It is a strange thing, all of it, but now it was like a dream that I could barely remember as soon as I woke up. I grasped for it desperately, knowing that there was something important that I needed to remember, but it never came to me.
Life was different because I was different. Because of my upbringing and family, I'd been living in this bubble like nothing could touch me. I think, honestly, that I really felt like nothing was going to touch me ever. I was free from it all, but that actually wasn't the truth. Instead of feeling free, I felt locked up, knowing that things would never be the same again.
The worst part of not knowing was that I was afraid people close to me might be attacked. I had no reason to think otherwise. That brought me to Kimberly and the need for her to stay as far away from me as possible. It was strange to feel that way so suddenly, when I had tried so desperately to get her to stop thinking that way herself. She had told me time and again that it wouldn't work, couldn't work. She had pretty much ground it into my head, and now I finally realized that it was the truth. She was right. I didn't want her to be right, though. For whatever reason, the universe, something in my past, my family's money, something was always keeping us apart and maybe it was just time for us to listen.
I laid down and tried not to wince when I did so. Everything hurt, literally everything, and sleep seemed to be the only time that I wasn't in pain. It was welcomed, considering how awful I felt.
I shut my eyes, and I must have dozed off because I was awake and quickly coming out of a state of rest. There was a sound of someone at the window and naturally, I feared the worst. I don't think I was going to be able to think about anything else but what had happened or what could happen. My mind was genuinely in fight or flight mode, and I yelled into the darkness that if they came any closer, I was going to throw them back out the window that they came through.
I was just getting to my feet when the intruder spoke for the first time. It was then that I start to calm down and actually took a couple of steps back. What was she doing here? I didn't want Kimberly here. I didn't want her to see me like this. I had been stomped in the face and as one would imagine, it made a mess of it. I knew that I would look hideous to her, and I didn't want her to see me like this. Maybe it was my own bit of vanity, but I just couldn't let it happen.
“You need to stay back.”
“What do you mean? I just went through holy hell to get here, Dennis. You can forget it, if you think I'm going anywhere until I make sure you're alright.”
“I told you as much on the phone. Why are you here?”
She took a step toward me and told me that she needed to talk.
“You weren’t interested in talking before.”
“No, I guess I wasn't. I want to talk about it now.”
“There is nothing to talk about.”
“Obviously, that's not true. You've been hiding for well over a week, and you won't even let me see you. What is going on with you, Dennis?”
“No one's told you. I would have imagined that it would have been all over the school by now. You know how the people are on campus, always have something to say.”
“No, it was nothing like that. I was told by your bodyguard that first day when you didn't come to class that you were attacked. That's all I was told. You sounded strange on the phone when you finally answered and so, I came to see you. Why are you acting so weird?”
“Because I was attacked, Kimberly. Isn't that enough of a reason to act a bit out of sorts?”
She shrugged. “I guess. Is that the whole reason?”
“I don't know, I'm sure it's part of it.”
“And what's the other part of it?”
“The other part of it was I have no idea who did it and I don't want anyone to be hurt that's close to me. What if they come back? What if you were here and something happened to you? I wouldn't be able to live with myself.”
Even though I meant every word of it, I realized that I probably shouldn’t have said that. It was going to make it harder for her to leave, if I was talking like that. It certainly wasn't time for me to push my love and try to get her to stay. That wasn't what I was trying to do. I needed Kimberly to get as far away from me as she possibly could. She wouldn't do that, if I told her the truth.
As much as I wanted to keep my distance from her, Kimberly was making it impossible. She kept walking toward me and even though I had told her again and again that I wanted her to back off, Kimberly wasn't going to listen. That really wasn't anything new, her personality wouldn't allow it.
She stopped in front of me and I heard this light intake of breath. It was probably the lightest gasp that I'd ever heard, but I heard it. I now know that she has seen my face in all its glory and for obvious reasons, it bothered her. I knew that it would, and I pulled away, disappointed to be proven right when I hadn’t wanted to be.
“I really wish you would leave now.”
“Why, because of your face?”
