by Sam Crescent
“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Bradley Welch. He’s my friend who I shared an apartment with in the city.”
They all offered him thanks.
“Let’s leave Noelle with her friend. He looks like he wants to speak to her alone,” her father said.
She watched her family leave. When she thought about seeing Brad, she imagined it would have been in privacy. Taking his hand, she noted how clammy he felt to the touch, and took him to the dining room.
****
Brad took a deep breath as her family left. The people were making him nervous. Since leaving Ben at the cemetery he’d been lost. He’d spent the last few days trying to find the only rock he had in his life.
Her touch made him nervous. Could she feel the change inside him?
She dropped his hand and began clearing away the table. He followed her around, unsure of how to ask for her help.
“I need to talk to you, Noelle,” Brad said. His hands were shaking. He was so close to falling off the wagon. He needed his tower of strength, the one woman who’d stood by him through thick and thin. Isaac was a mess from her loss, and he knew the only thing to keep him from going under was Noelle.
“I don’t want to talk to you. You interfered in my life, Brad. That kind of shit you don’t forgive. Why did you come out here?” She slammed around the room putting away jars of pickles. The rest of her family sat in the sitting room. They’d given her privacy while he visited.
“I know I fucked up,” he said. Getting his brother to play the role of being an escort had been a mistake. He should have introduced them like a normal couple. Instead, he’d been a bastard and gone behind her back.
“Yeah. You fucked up in a big way. I can’t believe you did that to me,” she said.
Brad heard the words while he was nervous about what he had hiding in his jacket. The burning inside him grew.
“Help me,” he asked.
“What?”
“I’m really sorry, and the only consolation I can give you right now is that Isaac does love you. I know you don’t believe me, but, Noelle, I need your help.”
He’d gotten her attention as he began to close up inside. The struggle to breathe began as he saw the grave-stone in his head. Through his own useless acts, he’d been responsible for the death of a wife and child. He hadn’t been able to talk to Ben. He’d left Ben to go to his apartment and find Noelle.
Staring at his friend the usual peace he felt was failing him. The desire to grab what was inside his jacket and lose himself was strong.
“I can’t handle it anymore. I need your help.”
“What’s going on, Brad?” The tears began to well in his eyes as the hunger gripped him.
One sniff and one drink, and you’ll be at peace. No more remembering. Just the sweet bliss of oblivion.
He shook all over from the effort to try to hold it inside.
He was failing.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“What’s going on, Brad?” she asked again.
Noelle watched as he pulled the spirit bottle out of his jacket along with a couple of hits of some drug. She saw the white powder and knew it was cocaine.
“What the fuck?” She grabbed his arm, pulled him out of the house and down to the shed at the bottom of the garden.
Taking his jacket off, she checked his arms for any signs of open track marks, her heart pounding the whole time. For the past couple of weeks she hadn’t been able to keep her food down. She felt dizzy from the movement and ended up leaning against him for support.
“What’s the matter, Noelle?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I just came over a little light-headed.”
“I shouldn’t have bought this problem to you. It was unfair.” Brad went to grab his jacket. Her dizziness subsided, and she slapped his hand. Then she slapped his face.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, you asshole?”
“I ruined Ben’s life,” he said. His tears returned with full force.
“What?”
“He holds me responsible for the death of his wife. She found out about us when I was hyped up on drugs. She crashed into a tree killing herself and the baby she carried in the process. Ben will never forgive me.” He cried, collapsed to his knees, and sobbed against her waist.
Noelle couldn’t help the tears which came as she mourned for Ben and his wife, and she mourned for her friend as well.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Brad said over and over again.
She held him through his pain. Looking down at the white powder in her hand she planned to dispose of it later. Putting it into her back pocket, she wrapped her arms around him.
“I’ve got you, Brad. Let it all go.”
Closing her eyes, she tried to deal with everything he was telling her. Ben had been married, and he had an affair with Brad. The whole sordid affair had come out while Brad had been in one of his high alcohol and drug moments.
“How could I have been so stupid? I’ve broken him, Noelle. There is nothing I can do to make it right.”
“I don’t ever want to hear you talking like that again, Bradley Welch. Do you hear me? You’re not responsible for the death of someone else’s wife. Ben should know better, and I’m disappointed in him for blaming you,” Noelle said.
He went to grab the drugs and alcohol, but she held it out of his reach. “Give me my fucking stuff,” he said, his anger coming through. She’d seen this side of him before. Grabbing the bottle of alcohol, she smashed it on the tiles in the corner. The dark liquid soaked down and into the wood.
“If you want that, lick it up like a dog, Brad,” she said. Her heart pounded as she spoke the words. Taking a deep breath, she captured his face in her hands forcing him to look at her. “You don’t think you know what you can do to make it right? Well, for once I’d say you fucking pull your shit together and be the Brad he’s come to know. Ben deserves the man you are right now. A strong man, not a man who’s more interested in his own problems than that of the man he claims to love.”
The words were harsh, but being the best of friends she knew she had the right to say them.
“Ben was alone while you dealt with your problems. Don’t leave him alone now. He needs you more now than ever before. Be strong, Brad. Be the man I know you can be.”
He stared at her for several minutes. Neither spoke, and she waited for him to process everything.
Eventually, the tears fell once again, and he wrapped his arms around her.
“I love you, Noelle,” he said.
“I love you, too.”
“Come home.”
She didn’t think she would want to live with him again, but seeing him so lost had changed her mind. “We’ll go home. Come on. I want you to meet my family.”
Taking him by the hand, she took him to meet her family. The people helped with his situation, and he spent the night on her floor before they left in the morning. She disposed of the drugs the moment he was occupied.
When they got home, Noelle was too preoccupied by the upcoming auction to give Isaac a call. She saw several newspapers and magazines with pictures of him with flawless actresses and models. Knowing she couldn’t compete with such beauty, she threw herself into her work.
Brad spent a great deal of time at the apartment. The youth centre had called and offered him a job. She asked for them to keep it on hold as he was dealing with his own problems at the moment.
Spending time with him was essential. She’d gone to the club and told Ben about his episode. The other man looked so unhappy. Noelle convinced Ben to give him time. Brad would get stronger, and then Ben wouldn’t know what to do with his time.
Most of her nights were spent thinking about Isaac. She would wake up flustered as her dreams were filled with erotic images. The love within them was so apparent. She missed him and didn’t know if she could handle a lifetime without his touch.
On the day of the auction, she left Brad at home and travelled to the art gallery where i
t was being held. On the way there she stopped off at a pharmaceutical shop and picked up a pregnancy test.
For several mornings she’d been waking up with sickness. Part of her didn’t want to be pregnant because of the conflict between her and Isaac. Another part of her was so happy at the thought of carrying his child. Either way, she would have to deal with that hurdle when it came.
There were many people inside the gallery, looking at her paintings among other items. She left to go to the bathroom. Several women were giggling and putting on make-up. Noelle ignored their presence. She pulled out the pregnancy test from her bag.
She read through the instructions and then followed the directions. Peeing on the stick was the strangest feeling in the world. Her hands shook with terror at what the little white science stick would say.
Women walked in and out, distracting her from what she was doing. Noelle watched the clock for the three minutes the stick required. With every passing second her hand shook. She kept looking at the stick and then at her watch. Keeping her eyes on her watch she waited for the three minutes to finish before turning back to the stick.
She glanced at the stick.
Oh fuck.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“What the fuck are you doing here? If I wanted to talk to you I would have made an appointment to see you.” Isaac cursed.
His dad stood less than two feet away. In his presence Isaac didn’t feel like the forty year old business man that he was. He felt like a young boy craving his dad’s attention – only to be pushed aside for another woman, a young, gold-digging slut of a woman.
“I know you don’t want to see me, son. I needed to see you.”
“You’re years too late,” Isaac said. The damage from the man before him had already been done.
“When you were younger and had no idea what life had to offer I accepted our relationship. I won’t accept this anymore,” his dad said.
Isaac got up from behind his desk. He stood in front of his father and felt nothing. For many years he’d wanted to hurt the man before him. Looking at him now, he saw the uselessness of such actions.
“I’ve got nothing to say. You left mum for a gold-digging slut because she opened her legs for you.” The words were harsh.
“Don’t say another word against her. You have no idea what is going on.”
“I know you wanted this woman more than you wanted Mum. I had to listen to her crying over you.”
“She was crying because of the fucking scandal, son. I married your mother because I had no choice. Our families had arranged it, and back then, we did what we had to do. She knew I was never in love with her.”
Isaac listened to what his father had to say, and the words spoken did make sense. When he looked back to his parents’ marriage there had never been any love between them. They didn’t kiss or hug like other parents. In fact there weren’t even the long stares as they gazed at each other. He knew about love. He’d felt it with Elle. The woman he had had and lost due to his own fucked-up reasoning. His mother liked the free life she had. He’d seen it recently as she talked about the women at her village. Closing his eyes, he rubbed his temple.
“Why have you come here?” he asked.
“Because I don’t want you to make the same mistake that I did.” His dad pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to him. “Your scarred beauty is holding an auction for her art work at the gallery just a few blocks from here.”
The paper was the one of them at the French restaurant. Folding the paper in two he handed it back.
“So? There is nothing going on between us.”
“No? Then tell me why you’re looking at her as if she’s the best thing in the world, and you want a piece of it?”
“It is amazing what they can do with air brushing these days.”
His dad held up his hand. “Don’t, son. There is a woman a few blocks from here who is clearly in love with you. Do not do what I did. I cared for your mother, but I love the woman I’m with. You may not like me, but I’ve got a woman who will open her arms to me when I go home. What have you got?” He passed him the paper and walked out of the office.
Isaac opened the paper and stared at the woman who plagued his thoughts day and night.
Running a thumb over her face on the paper he pictured her in his arms. He remembered the smooth soft skin of her body, the easy response as she came apart in his grasp. He stared at the paper where the woman who held his heart sat.
Throwing the paper down, he called down for a ride.
He was going to win his woman.
****
“This is a very special portrait of the painter herself. Miss Noelle Evans is the distinguished artist. Her self-portrait, titled Scarred Beauty, is a rare item. I would like to start the bidding at ten thousand dollars,” the auctioneer said to the crowd.
I’m pregnant. I’m going to give birth to Isaac Welch’s baby.
Stop thinking or panicking, and stare at the work being sold. This is good business. The baby can wait.
Only nine months.
Long enough.
Noelle stood back, tears in her eyes as she looked at the painting she’d done of herself after her time with Isaac. That man had made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. Closing her eyes she tried to block out the pain. The auction was turning into a huge success, better than anything she could have ever imagined.
The prices escalated for her self portrait. She guessed the reason for her increase in popularity was down to her relationship with Isaac Welch. Not Isaac the man she knew but Isaac the successful business man. When she thought of the betrayal Brad and Isaac had put her through, her heart ached, and she felt filled with humiliation. Her best friend had asked his older brother to play an escort. Was everything she felt in his arms a lie? The inner turmoil of that had happened over the last few weeks shocked her.
“Ten million dollars.” Gasps echoed round the small room. She looked inside the room. Isaac stood in the doorway his hair drenched from the rain outside, his eyes blazing with passion. She stared at him with the comfort of the curtain between them. This was the first time she’d seen him since the episode in the loft over her leaving.
“Does anyone want to increase the bid?” the auctioneer asked.
Biting her lip, Noelle stepped from behind the curtain. “His bid does not count. No sale,” she said.
He moved down the aisle, and she couldn’t tear her gaze away from him even if she wanted to. He captured her attention like the first time she had met him.
“I want that painting.”
“You’re not getting it.”
He stood at the bottom of the stage staring up at her. She moved down the steps so she was the same height. Looking down on him felt wrong.
“You’re going to give me that painting, Elle. It’s mine. You’re my scarred beauty. No one else has a right to that picture. I watched you paint that portrait.”
The vision he brought into her mind had her weak at the knees. There was a point at which she painted where he’d sat on a chair in front of her painting, parted her thighs and sunk deep inside her. She’d painted part of the portrait while he was making love to her. The sensuality of the painting captured the feelings he evoked.
She gazed out at the audience, her blonde hair wrapped off her face for once. No one looked away from her in disgust. They all starred at her with rapt attention. How had her life changed so much?
Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she turned back to the man who’d crushed her heart.
“Take the painting. I have no use for it.” She held her head high and walked past him. Down the aisle she walked not daring to look anywhere but straight in front.
“You will always be my girl, Noelle.”
She stopped at the last row of chairs, her back straight. He’d never in all the time they’d been together called her by her full name. The only time she’d heard her name from his lips had been in the media coverage of
their relationship. Without thinking, she turned back to face him. He stood in the same spot.
“I’m not your girl,” she said, even though in her heart she knew she’d never be with anyone else.
“The best time of my life was the moment I met you.”
“Why are you saying these things? Now? Today? Why?” When their relationship had come to light, she’d read the article where he’d denied any contact with her. The feature in the newspaper had stung her more than the betrayal of her best friend and lover.
“Because I fucked up. You’re right. I spend most of my time acting as if I don’t care what people think when the truth is, I let it get between you and me. I love you, Noelle. My love will never stop.”
His words were cutting her deep.
“And if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I will make sure you never go a day without my love. Every morning when I wake up I will prove to you with more than words what you mean to me. I cannot even begin to express the extent of the love I feel for you.”
Tears were streaming down her face as with every word he spoke, he took a step towards her.
“When you paint, I will be there to watch. When you’re sick, I will hold you until the pain stops, and you’re better. There is nothing I won’t do for you. All this means nothing to me.”
He opened his wallet and pulled out his credit cards and cheque books, throwing them at her feet. His expensive designer watch went on the floor along with a few other things he held.
Isaac grabbed her hand, placing it over his heart. She felt the heat of his body through his clothing, up her arm and inside her own heart. Staring into his eyes she saw the love he felt for her.
“I ask that you forgive me,” he said. Noelle was about to say the words when he went down on one knee. “Noelle Evans, will you make me the happiest man in the world and become my wife?”
He went to his pocket and pulled out a small square box.
The lid opened revealing a small, delicate gold band. The simple band meant more to her than any diamonds.