A few weeks later, and life had returned to normal. Well, as normal as it could get. As predicted, Mrs Jove never called to ask after me. When I passed by their house, when she and the kids were in the garden, she hurried the kids inside. The kids had stared after me, afraid of me.
They had all the reasons to be afraid. My face had been carved into a replica of Jeff's, just with eyelids. The scars at the corners of my mouth gave me a permanent menacing smile. If I forced a genuine smile onto my scarred lips, it made me look insane. I hated smiling and catching a glimpse of my face in the mirror. So I made a note of never smiling again. The scars did all that for me. I was forever smiling now.
People stared at me down the street. My boss said to take as long as I needed, and had been pretty friendly and caring, but as I'd walked out of his office I'd glanced back and seen a disgusted look on his face. Well that bastard could go fuck himself. I tried to make do with my new appearance. Sometimes when I woke up I thought I was the most beautiful thing in the world. But then a horrible swirling cloud of pain and visions of Jeff's face hit me like a bomb, and I retreated under my duvet, deciding today was not a good day and that I'd feel better under the covers of darkness.
Then I met Louis. He talked to me like I was a real person, and didn't sneer at my face. He brought me flowers and helped me tidy up the garden. He made life a bit sweeter, taking good care of me, soothing me back to sleep when I woke up screaming. He wasn't just a friend. He soon became my boyfriend, and as well as that he posed as a father-like figure, guiding me and helping me. Within a few weeks of meeting him, I was back at work and smiling wherever I went, not caring that I probably looked half-deranged. The scars started to heal well, turning from red to pink, then to pinkish-silver. They were less noticeable now.
It was as I was weeding the front garden one morning that I saw a group of kids at the end of the street. Some teenagers. They trotted about, without a care, then moved on. Only one kid remained. He'd been tailing the pack, unnoticed by the other youngsters. I thought he was just another teenager at first, but then I looked closely.
Black messy hair.
Darkly rimmed eyes.
Carved smile.
Staring intently at me.