Don't Make Me Beautiful (13 page)

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.
 
They were happy and they died that way.
 
No regrets.”

“Are you married?”

“Nope.
 
I was.
 
Now I’m not.”

“Where is your ex-wife?”

“She’s in town, about fifteen minutes from my place.
 
She’s got our son right now.
 
Normally he lives with me.
 
She travels a lot for work, but she’s going to keep him for a few more days for me while I get you settled.”

“What if I don’t want to get settled?”
 
She feels mutinous right now.
 
Like she needs to challenge him.

“Then tell me where you want to go, and I’ll bring you there.
 
Anywhere but where you came from.”

She looks away, staring at the wall.
 
“I need to go back.”

“Bullshit.”
 
He reaches up and puts a single finger on her chin, guiding her face back and forcing her to look into his eyes.
 
“You are
not
going back there.
 
I don’t care what you say or what bogus bullshit poor-me excuse you try to come up with, I’m not letting you go back.
 
So, get that crap out of your head right now.
 
Banish it.
 
Forever.
 
Gone.”

“You’re not my keeper,” she says as angry, frustrated, and sadly hopeful tears pour down her face.

He wipes them away, first on one side of her face and then the other.
 
“You are your own keeper, Nicole.
 
I’m just your protector.
 
I can’t let you go back to him.
 
He’ll kill you next time, you know that, don’t you?”

She tries to look away, but he won’t let her.

“He might,” she concedes.
 
“But I still have to go.”

“Why?”
 
He looks really sad, and it makes her heart hurt to see it.

“Because.
 
He’ll just find me anyway. He always does.
 
And if he finds me at your house, he could hurt you.
 
Or your son.”

“He won’t find us, and if he tries to lay a finger on any one of the three of us, I’ll beat him to a pulp and put him in jail for the rest of his life.”

The spark of hope that has stayed alive deep inside her springs up into a tiny flame.
 
“Why would you do that for me?
 
I’m just a woman with a destroyed face and body and nowhere to go.”
 
The sob leaps from her throat and shakes her whole body.

He leans in and pulls her torso forward gently, enveloping her in a hug.
 
“No, you’re not.
 
You’re a girl who fell in love with the wrong guy. Your face doesn’t matter, it’s your heart that’s important.
 
And if you can love a guy like that, then I know it has to be twice the size of a normal one.
 
Besides … you do have somewhere to go.
 
You’re going to my place.”

“Because I’m your sister,” she says, feeling like she’s almost ready to surrender.
 
She has nothing to lose except herself, and right now that seems hardly worth much to fight over.

“Yeah.
 
Because you’re my sister for now.”
 
He puts her back down on the bed, smoothing her hair away from her face and smiling.
 
“Please say you’ll do it.
 
I promise to keep my hands to myself.”

She snorts sadly.
 
“That’s not a hard promise to keep around me, considering what I look like.”

“Don’t say that about yourself.”
 
Brian goes back to holding her hand.
 
It’s barely been without his warmth since she entered the hospital.
 
“Beauty comes from inside, not out.”

“Is your ex-wife pretty?”

“Yes.
 
She’s beautiful.”

“Then I’m not sure I believe what you’re saying, but I appreciate the effort and the thought.”
 
It makes her sad to think that her life with a man is over, but she’s not stupid enough to think that any man could love who she is now.
 
She has nothing to offer.
 
No pride, no beauty, no accomplishments … nothing.

“A pretty face brings people to you, sure,” he agrees.
 
“But it’s the personality and what’s inside that keeps them there.
 
Personally, if I had to choose between a pretty face and a great personality, I’d choose the personality.”

She looks at him, taking in his ruggedly handsome face, his soft blue eyes, and his muscular frame.
 
Sighing, she says, “I guess that means your personality isn’t worth a hoot.”

He barks out a laugh and leans in to kiss her cheek, making her go all warm inside.
 
She can’t remember the last time a man kissed her with such tenderness.
 
Maybe never.

“That’s hilarious.
 
I’ll take that compliment, thank you very much.”
 
Brian’s grin lights up his whole face.

“Who’s Briana?” Nicole asks, suddenly feeling the immensity of her life. In this moment, everything she ever knew about herself and the world is being turned upside down.
 
The only question she has left is,
Why?
 
Why is this man helping me of all people?

His smile disappears.
 
He has to clear his throat before he can answer.
 
“Briana was my twin sister.”

“Where is she now?” Nicole asks very softly, sensing the answer will be difficult for them both.

“She died a while back.”

“I’m sorry,” she says.

Brian lifts her hand and kisses the back of it.
 
“So am I.”

Chapter Nineteen

BRIAN’S CELL STARTS BUZZING IN his pocket.
 
When he sees who it is, he steps outside the hospital room to take the call.

“Hey, Helen.
 
What’s the deal?”

“Wow, let’s just jump right into the conversation why don’t we?”

“Sorry.
 
I’m just anxious.
 
I really need your help.”

“Yeah.
 
I get that.
 
Anyway, I’m cool with keeping Liam through this coming weekend.
 
I need to bring him back Sunday night, though, because I’m leaving for Denver on Monday morning.”

“That’ll work.
 
She’s getting out Friday. That’ll give us a couple days to settle in.”

“Why is she getting discharged so soon?
 
She must not have been hurt that bad.”

“Actually her injuries are pretty terrible, but she doesn’t have insurance.”

Helen hisses out an angry breath.
 
“Now, that just pisses me off.
 
Are they actually kicking her out?”

“Not exactly.
 
But I’ve talked to the billing department, and it’s just better if she can do some of her rehab outside their facility.
 
Her bill is already more money than she’ll probably ever make in a lifetime.”

“She’ll have to declare bankruptcy.”

“Maybe.
 
We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
 
Do you need to go by the house to get more clothes for Liam?”

“No.
 
I took him shopping.
 
He’s all hooked up with plenty of tacky Spiderman-wear.”

“Good.
 
You’ll be the favorite parent for the next month.”

“Ha.
 
Who are you kidding?
 
I’m the favorite parent all the time.”

Brian doesn’t argue the point because he hopes it’s true.
 
Both Liam and Helen need that closeness emotionally since they can’t always be together physically.
 
Brian knows he’s the lucky one, favorite parent title or not; he gets to tuck Liam in most nights and see him first thing in the morning with his hair sticking out all over the place.
 
Those are the times when he’s an absolute angel who can do no wrong.
 
It’s later on in the day when he starts hitting autographed baseballs through neighbors’ windows that Brian’s perspective changes on that a little.

“Whatever,” says Brian.
 
“Would you do me a favor and warn him that someone’s at the house?
 
But don’t tell him who it is.”

“Why not?” Helen asks.
 
“Maybe preparing him for her injuries is a better idea.”

Brian sighs, not looking forward to this part of the conversation.
 
“Because.
 
He’s already seen her once, and it wasn’t pleasant.”

“How’s that?
 
And why am I just hearing about this now?”

“Because it’s kind of a long story I’d rather tell you in person.
 
But I guess I can’t wait that long since you should know now and I don’t want you to bring him here to discuss it.”

“So talk.
 
Spill it, bud.
 
I have things to do.”

“Hot date?”

“Yeah.
 
With a six-year-old.”

“Remember the other night when we went to the Marlins’ game and caught that ball?”

“How could I forget?
 
I’m still suffering hearing loss from the good news phone call.”

“Well, the trouble-maker decided he wanted to try and hit like Wilson, so he snuck the ball outside and went one street over to take a couple swings where I wouldn’t see him.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yeah.
 
He hit the ball through her window.
 
And when he went to get it, he caught a glimpse of her and freaked out.
 
He ran all the way home and wouldn’t come out of his room for hours.”

“I don’t get it.
 
Was she all beat up then?
 
Why wasn’t she in the hospital already?”

“No.
 
Yes.
 
Well, kind of.”

“Which is it?”

“Like I said before, she’s been beat up many times.
 
It’s permanently disfigured her.
 
That’s what Liam saw.”

“And she got beat up after that again?”

“Yes. Apparently. The day Liam hit the ball through her window, I went over there later to apologize and offer to pay for it.
 
We met her boyfriend.
 
Something about him seemed off, and then Liam was really bothered by something he said about Nicole.
 
That’s her name, by the way.
 
But we’re calling her Briana.”

There’s a hesitation before Helen speaks again.
 
“Why are you calling her your sister’s name?”

“Don’t say it like that.
 
It’s nothing weird.
 
I just needed to keep her hidden.”

“Oh.
 
Okay, that makes sense.”

“Anyway, I couldn’t let it go.
 
I had to go back and make sure everything was cool.
 
So Monday after you took Liam, I went over to talk to whoever was home.
 
When I was checking out the hole in the window I saw her on the floor.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah.
 
It was bad.
 
I think he beat the crap out of her the night before, after we left, and just left her there on the floor all night.”

Helen is silent for a few seconds, and when she speaks, there are tears in her voice.
 
“That’s the most horrible thing I think I’ve ever heard.”

“I’ve been doing a lot of research, Helen.
 
This shit happens to women all over the place.”

“I know it does, but not to people we know.”
 
She sniffs loudly, and clears her throat.

“You’d be surprised.
 
Anyway, she’s probably going to think she has to go back to him, so my goal is to at least get her to realize she doesn’t have to do that, that she has other options.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“By showing her.
 
By being patient.
 
By being a friend and giving her a place to stay.”

“Do you like her?”

Brian hesitates before answering.
 
“Uh, yeah, I guess.
 
She seems nice.
 
Scared and pretty much shattered, but nice.
 
And she’s smart.
 
I can tell by the way she talks.”

“I mean,
like
her.
 
As in being attracted to her.”

“No, don’t be silly.
 
I mean, she’s totally broken, Hel.
 
Liam will tell you.
 
He calls her a monster.”

“But that wouldn’t matter to you, Brian.
 
I know you.
 
You’ve always been about beauty only being skin deep.”

“I don’t even really know her.
 
Let’s not even go there, okay?
 
She’s just a girl who needs some help, and I’m just a human being willing to help, all right?”
 
He says all this because it makes complete sense, but there’s something special about Nicole that he can’t ignore.
 
Yes, he likes her.
 
Why?
 
He has no idea, really.
 
But naming her after his deceased twin sister isn’t just a simple accident.
 
He doesn’t analyze it any further than that.

“Okay, fine.
 
I just know you.
 
You don’t get involved and go halfway.
 
That’s just not your style, so I hope you’re prepared for that.
 
Sounds like you’re taking on a lot of baggage to me…”

“Whatever.
 
Is there anything else you need?
 
I should probably get back into the room.”