Remember Me

I

She got made fun of in school a lot for being "ugly." She wore very thick glasses that always seemed to sit on her nose instead of high up on her face like they were suppose to. The thickness of the lens made her eyes appear really big and even with the glasses on she was always squinting or scrounging up her face like she couldn't see. She was tall and lanky, awkwardly built. She had very light skin that was smooth as it should be at her age, but her fingers were horrible looking. She never had any nails because she also chewed them off, down to the cuticles. The skin off her fingers were also missing. Sometimes she peeled the skin off her hands so far they bled.

Sean had took her to the doctor to figure out what was wrong with her and why she was harming herself. He was devastated because he didn't know if a child so young could be suicidal. The first time he saw her fingers bleeding he thought she just cut herself on something, but as she got older and he noticed her chewing her own self until the pinkness of her fingers showed, he became worried and truly creeped out.

When Toryn first started doing it she was three, so Sean just thought she was teething. It wasn't much damage she could do to herself at that age anyway. But shortly after he learned she was being abused at daycare he dropped her off at while at work by older kids. So he took her out of the daycare and transferred her, but she never stopped doing it. Her biting herself up like that didn't register to him as a problem since she was a baby. It wasn't until it got really bad and her fingers looked like they had gone through paper shredders did he take her into the doctor.

Apparently when he went to the doctor, he learned that she suffered from dermatophagia. Which was a disorder where someone chewed at their own skin and flesh until it bled and became discolored. It was a mental issue caused by nervousness. It was hard for Sean to believe at first because she had started doing it at three and there would be no reason a three year old would have nervous issues. But it did start with the bullying at the daycare. She had always been a target for children to mistreat, so he couldn't argue with that.

It was really hard for Sean to see his baby girl go through this, on top of the fact she had mental issues. It was hard taking care of Toryn on his own as a single parent but he loved his little girl nevertheless. Her mother was in a mental hospital suffering from severe schizophrenia and memory loss, a type of dementia. She was so young and it was sad, but it was life. And unfortunately, due to genetics, Toryn suffered from the exact same thing.

Sean use to take her to see her mom, but stopped after a while because Toryn was scared of her. Her mother would terrify the shit out of her. Scream and yell at her, always asking the nurses to make them leave. Toryn's mother Allen, didn't remember anything. She didn't even remember the fact she had a daughter, she didn't remember Sean or her own parents. On some days she would get flashbacks or her memory would come back temporarily, but it would go right back to blankness within a matter of days or even hours. Sean thought he should let Toryn make the decision for Toryn to visit her mother when she got older if she wanted to. But for now he left it alone.

"Okay, you good?" Sean asked, smiling.

Toryn nodded her head and gave her dad a high five. Sean smiled and scooped her up and she began laughing while he tickled her. He kissed her cheek and she latched onto his side as he began to walk toward the door. She could feel herself getting nervous. She wondered if the girl was pretty...would she make fun of her like most people did? Was she tall like her or short? Was she mean?

Toryn began chewing her nail on her index finger. It had just grown out a little and she was already biting it off again. Her little stomach was bubbling and honestly she didn't want to go anymore. Sean walked across the grass next door and knocked on the door. He knew Laura's man was suppose to be home soon, but she said it was fine that he could come over because her boyfriend wasn't the jealous type. Sean wasn't a pussy either, so he of course took her up on her invitation.