Pacify Her

Your Very Presence

"Hey, "I answer groggily. "Do you mind if I visit you at lunch?" He asks, in a sort of rushed tone. "Umm-" I start.
"Pleeease?" He begs. "Okay. Okay. I'll text Jiro and reschedule." There's a pause. "If you already had plans that's fine. I just wanted to see how you are."
"Toshi, Jiro comes every day of the week. We can plan a double date with Bakubro and Mido another day. Just come." I try not to sound desperate but I miserably fail when I add, "Please." He waits a minute to respond. "Are you sure you wanna throw that all away for me?" I look at the phone with a puzzled expression. "Umm hello? I'm looking for Hitoshi Shinso. I'm inviting him to lunch because I just canceled my plans with my girlfriend so he might as well come now." He gives me a stifled laugh. "I've missed you," he admits. "Me too," I whisper.

"I'll see you soon?" I ask, nervously.

"Yeah. See you then."

"I l- Bye, Toshi!" I stop myself from saying the L-word.

"Bye Kaminar," He says before he hangs up the phone. My heart is beating rapidly in my chest as I jump out of the bed and start cleaning up. Around 11:46 I finish cleaning and then I just pace back and forth in front of the mirror trying to decide whether or not to put on makeup. I look in the mirror, seeing my various bruises. Makeup it is. I walk over to my bookbag, pulling out my white makeup bag with lipstick mark patterns all over it. I put on the makeup quicker than I ever have before. 20-minute makeup challenge I'm coming for you. As I'm applying my mascara, he knocks. I smile softly, whipping the wand back in the bottle and looking at the finished result in the mirror. "Coming," I shout when I see that I look okay. When I open the door, he looks confused. "Is Denki here?" He asks, seriously.

"In your very presence," I chirp, smiling wide. He looks at me with an angered expression and I haven't the slightest idea what I've done wrong. "No," he says harshly. "Take it off," he demands. "What?" I ask, hurt by his words. "You're too pretty for all of that, I don't care what girl or guy your dating and trying to impress. I don't want to ever see you trying to be more or less than the Kaminar I know and like." He slides his thumb across my cheek, capturing a tear I didn't know had escaped the premises of my eye. It takes all my effort to move away from his touch in hunt for the wipes. When I find them, he takes the bag out of my hand and takes one wipe out. Through the thin wipe, his warms fingers send a jolt of electricity into my heart. "I'm sorry it didn't work out between us," I whisper, softly. He looks at me and I'm shocked to see tears in his eyes. I'm unable to stop myself from hugging the male. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," he states, admittedly. "Shhh," I try to calm him, "it'll be okay." After standing there for minutes, trying to soothe him while he cries, he gasps and jumps away from me. "The bruises-" he starts but then seems to be at a loss for words. "Can we not talk about it?" I pull my hood up on my jacket and tilt my head to the ground. "Is she hitting you?" The first person my mind goes to is my mom. "These bruises aren't from her! They're from me!" I scream. My mother. She's- She could be dead. She still hasn't called me. I start to hyperventilate when the realization comes in and the world starts to blur around me.  "She-she's dead?" I ask. "She can't be. It's all my fault." In the background, someone is saying something but I don't pay attention. I feel as if I'm drowning, going deeper and deeper. Then, just as I'm about to hit the ground, he resuscitates me. "Mom," I  beg. "Mom!" Reality starts to become clearer and I feel I am losing her every step I take forward. I feel lips on my forehead and arms around my back, pulling me close. "I need you," I cry. "Please don't die."