Colors You Might See After Getting Punched in the Face

1. Red

Depending on how hard the bastard hits you this time, the capillaries in your face burst into crimson blooms. 

You call me in the middle of the night to pick you up from a roadhouse. You’re celebrating with friends until one of them gets flirtatious. 

Fresh blood pools under your skin as my blood boils. 

“Do you need me as a nurse or a sister?” I ask. 

When I arrive, you're in the parking lot, holding ice cubes wrapped in a cocktail napkin against your cheek, eyes blank, face swollen. 

2. Blue

You get into my car, mascara running in rivulets, splattering your low-cut blouse. 

In a day, your reddened cheek turns blue as the trapped blood loses oxygen.

You use figurative language to blame yourself for walking into your husband’s fist. What is it this time? Did you open a can of worms? Stir the hornet’s nest? Add fuel to the fire? 

“I opened Pandora’s box,” you cry. 

“Hope was at the bottom of Pandora’s box,” I snap. “A pile of shit is at the bottom of yours.” 

3. Purple

In another day or so, your shiner darkens as the blood underneath your skin breaks down. This is the most painful stage. You use my makeup to conceal what he’s done to you. 

You lay on my couch. He blows up your phone with badly-thumbed apologies. Every time I see you scroll through his messages, both your facial discoloration and my rage become more inflamed. 

I snatch the phone from your hands, yank down the attic ladder, and clamber up. Frantically, I hide the phone in an old trunk next to our high school yearbooks. 

4. Green

A week later, the hemoglobin breaks down to biliverdin. Your bruise has a greenish tint, underscoring your hazel eyes. They sparkle a bit these days. 

You act like your old self. You play with my dogs. You have dinner made when I get home from the hospital. 

“How was your day?” you ask.

“Better,” I lie. The emergency room is full of patients who trust people they shouldn’t. 

5. Yellow

After ten days, the bruise is still visible, but the swelling has gone down. In technical terms, the bilirubin has degraded and is being reabsorbed by your lymphatic system. 

“Are you feeling okay?” I ask.

You give me a smile that doesn’t reach your eyes. 

I pull down the attic ladder and scramble up the rungs. I open the trunk. Your phone is missing. 

A chill runs down my spine and sickens my stomach.

6. Light yellow

Your face has almost healed. You want to go home.

“I want to get my stuff,” you say. “Check on the cats.”

“I’ll go with you,” I offer. “We’ll find you another place. You can always move in here.”

“I’ll be fine.” This time, you lie. 

7. White

Bruises on the face heal faster than other parts of the body. 

Broken limbs, however, take much, much longer.