“SHHHHHHH,” the teacher warned.
A group of students turned their heads in our direction. My face grew hot, but the embarrassment in no way deterred me from staying silent. He tried everything in his power to get my attention since the beginning of class, but I refused to give in.
“I am really sorry, even if you don’t believe me,” Carter continued to whisper.
Just before I was able to get up and seat myself somewhere else, someone let loose a thunderous fart. The whole class exploded into laughter right away, including me and Carter. I glanced at Carter, who was almost in stitches, wondering how I could deny such an innocent, perfectly charming face. Holding his mother’s wrongdoings against him made me no better than her.
Carter slowly came back to life and said, “I still wanna be your friend if you wanna be mine.”
“Yeah, I still want to be friends,” I replied with a smile. “Best friends forever.”
Chapter 9:
The Wrong Place at the wrong time
I believed at one time that I wasn’t prepared to juggle school and a boyfriend. Surprisingly, the more time I spent with Scotty, the more I changed my beliefs. I found myself falling in love for the second time. It didn’t take me long to discover that Scotty was a rare breed. I’d truly never met a real man like Scotty out of all the boys I dated since Carter. He was the type most women prayed for: loyal, handsome, understanding, and extremely easygoing. In other words, he was my very own prince charming. This white knight’s childhood, however, was anything but a fairy tale. Shortly after we met, I was quick to learn about a tragedy that turned the lives of Scotty and his family upside down.
On the afternoon of October ninetieth, thirteen-year-old Scotty, his mother and two younger sisters packed themselves into their station wagon and waved their father goodbye. It was just a typical day where the family headed off to the local grocery store to pick up a few items for dinner. Bill, Scotty’s father, was on the rooftop that early afternoon fixing a leak. He was also in the process of removing some branches from a tree close by. He equipped himself with a rope, saw, and ladder as he readied himself to get on with the household chores. No one knows what happened from the time they drove off until the moment they got home. Scotty recalled how driving up to the house after their grocery store trip was almost like something out of a nightmare. Bill’s six foot-two muscular frame dangled in plain view from a tree branch with a rope caught around his neck. The ladder lay on the ground just below him. This heinous image would haunt Scotty for years to come. It got worse when people tried to pawn his father’s death off as a suicide, but his family knew better. They never had any issues that would cause Bill to kill himself. The Logan’s were the all American family with absolutely no skeletons lurking in their closet. The only logical explanation was that it was a freak accident—one of those unexpected twists of undesirable fate that just couldn’t be explained. From that day forward, life changed drastically for Scotty and his family.
The widowed Evelyn Logan suffered from severe depression for the next two years. Just when she was at her breaking point, she met a man named Jim Seaward. Call it a blessing in disguise, but somehow Jim helped the family get through their darkest hours. Evelyn and Jim married six months after they met.
Of course, Scotty’s sisters, Elizabeth and Jaime, were not exactly thrilled about the new merger. Jaime was the middle child at twelve-years of age and the first to lash out. She rebelled by getting into drugs and alcohol soon after their new stepfather made it official with their mother. The out-of-control pre-teen seemed like a lost cause. In an act of desperation, Evelyn sent Jaime away to a boarding school in San Diego where she ended up spending the rest of her schooling, but the family wasn’t in the clear yet.
Elizabeth was next with the defiant behavior. The ten-year-old had a habit of going to the mall and stealing anything that would fit into her oversized Hello Kitty purse: sample perfumes, designer wallets, makeup, body lotion, and other smaller purses. Elizabeth’s room was filled with her heart’s desires, things her mother never purchased nor cared to even notice. The shoplifting did not cease until the fateful day she got caught. Elizabeth was with her best friend at an accessory store at the mall. Evelyn left the two girls while she went to Nordstrom’s to buy herself some facial cream. The moment Lacy went to the back of the store to check out a hat, Elizabeth stuffed a handful of cheap plastic earrings into her purse. She would later tell her therapist it wasn’t about desiring something she couldn’t have, but rather, it was about the adrenaline that surged through her every time she got away with stealing, whether she wanted the item or not.
Throughout all her months of shoplifting, Elizabeth never had a more gut-wrenching feeling than she did the moment she was just about to exit the store. Elizabeth felt almost nauseated, but she ignored her instincts. She figured that since she never got caught in the past, she would never be caught this time around. Just before Elizabeth slipped out the door, someone tapped her on the shoulder. A ruddy-looking woman asked her to come into the back of the store where she made Elizabeth dump out the contents of her purse in front of her. The store manager discovered Elizabeth’s loot and the police were notified.
The night her youngest daughter got caught stealing, Evelyn stepped into Elizabeth’s room and took notice of her surroundings for the first time. She thought it was wise to send her to juvenile hall. Evelyn wanted her daughter to get a taste of what life would be like if she continued such inappropriate, criminal behavior. As a result, Elizabeth spent a week in a detention center and was forced to speak to a shrink about her problems.
Thankfully, Scotty did not turn out to be a druggie or a shoplifter. His mother got in the habit of calling him her “angel child.” After all, he seemed to be the only one who did not act out his emotions in a negative or violent way. After Elizabeth’s incident, Scotty’s mother sent him to a therapist just to make sure he wasn’t a time bomb waiting to explode. Of course, the therapist discovered that Scotty suffered some emotional damage due to his father’s untimely death, but nothing like his two sisters—something his mother profusely thanked Jesus for.
***
The night of a big date with Scotty, I found it difficult to sit still. Mom helped style my hair in my bedroom. She was more excited about the date than I was.
She ran her fingers through my hair and asked, “So you really like him?”
“So far,” I said as I dabbed on a touch of lipstick.
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “Like, really, really like him?”
“Mom—”
“Oh come on. I’m just curious, that’s all.”
I sat up straight and sighed heavily. “Yes, I really, really like him, but he’s a lot shyer than I am.” It was true. We’d gone on several dates, and Scotty had yet to even attempt to kiss me. I was beginning to think that maybe he was waiting for me to make the first move. Unfortunately for both of us, I wasn’t the type of girl to do something like that.
A wave of surprise shot through Mom’s eyes as she looked at me through the mirror. “You say he’s shy? How so?” she asked.
“You know what I mean, Mom.”
“Don’t worry. He’ll come around. In my opinion, when a guy acts shy around a girl, it usually means he really likes her.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” Mom took my hands in hers, and just when she was about to speak, the doorbell rang.
“Oh my God,” I said, frantically. “He’s here. How do I look?”
She looked up at me and smiled. “You look absolutely beautiful. He’s a lucky man.”
I opened the front door to find Scotty dressed handsomely in dark denim jeans and a cream-colored dress shirt.
“Wow. You look stunning,” he said right away.
“Thank you.” I felt myself blush in response. “Please come in.”
“Hello,” Scotty said to my mom.
“Scotty, this is my mother, Denise.”
“It’
s so very nice to meet you,” Mom said, taking his hand.
“It’s very nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Moore,” Scotty said.
Mom’s face glowed as though she’d been kissed by the sun. I hadn’t seen her look like that in years. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Mom—”
Scotty turned and looked at me adoringly, like he had just won a million dollars. “I must say, I really admire your daughter.”
Mom squeezed my shoulder in recognition and said, “I think the feeling is mutual between you two.”
“I’m sorry to cut this short.” Scotty glanced at his watch. “I would love to stay and talk, but we have a seven-thirty reservation.”
“Of course. You two should get going. We can chat another time.”
“Don’t wait up for me, Mom,” I said, kissing her cheek.
Mom grabbed my hand and whispered in my ear, “Be good to this one, Alexa. He’s a keeper.”
***
Scotty picked a quaint Italian restaurant on the coast of Newport Beach. We sat outside on the patio, lit only by the softness of candle light. The flames flickered in the occasional humid breeze that whipped past us.
“So your mom seems to be doing well,” Scotty mentioned as he helped himself to his third glass of red wine. “You know, with everything that’s happened.”
I rarely discussed my father’s death with Scotty because it was still a bit awkward and uncomfortable for me to talk about. “Yes, that and everything I’ve put her through.”
Scotty took a sip of wine and smiled. “Hey, but you turned out okay.”
“I know this might sound crass, but I want her to meet someone.” I took a forkful of cheesecake. “She loved my father, but he wouldn’t want to her to be so lonely.”
“Maybe she’s happy being alone. Some people are.”
“I know she’s not,” I replied, “and I’m not expecting her to get remarried. I just want her to have fun with someone. I want to see her like she was the moment you walked in the door, you know. There was this glow on her face and a light in her eyes. I haven’t seen her look that way since my father was alive.”
We drove down to Huntington Beach after dinner and walked along the pier hand in hand. I never believed in the woman making the first move. In my opinion, the man was the one who was supposed to take charge, but Scotty hadn’t tried anything. It hit me that maybe he wasn’t as physically attracted to me as I had assumed.
“Alexa?”
I gazed at Scott tenderly, despite the annoyance building inside me, and replied, “Yes?”
“I want you to know that I really enjoy spending time with you.”
“I enjoy spending time with you too.”
The chilly night air nipped at my face. According to my watch it was a half-hour before the beach closed itself to the public. A handful of people were still scattered along the pier like they were ready to pull an all-nighter. Scotty wrapped his arm around my waist, and pulled me in close. We approached the dead end at Ruby’s Diner, which meant we would have to turn around and walk back. We snuggled together and gazed at the moonlit ocean from the wooden railing of the pier.
“What an amazing view,” he commented.
“I could stand here all night.” I gently took his hand and said, “Thank you for a great evening.” I stared into his eyes, finally giving up. I pulled his face close to mine, and met his lips. When our tongues touched, a tingling sensation shot down my spine. I drew back and waited for his reaction, unsure of how he was going to respond to my impulsiveness.
“Wow,” he said, almost breathless.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you for weeks,” I confessed.
He pulled me up to his chest and swung his arms around my neck. “You do something to me, Alexa. I usually don’t get so nervous around women.”
I brushed my mouth over the patch of stubble on his cheek that felt like sandpaper. The texture tickled my lips. I breathed in Scotty’s scent, a mixture of soap and sunshine combined with the salty, fresh ocean mist.
Scotty cupped my face and when his lips pressed up against mine, I went dizzy. “You are incredible, Alexa Moore. Do you know that?”
***
My house lights were still on when we pulled up to my driveway, so I decided to try my luck one last time. I was really looking for any way to stall this perfect evening from ending.
“Want to come in for some coffee?” I asked. “The night’s still young.”
Scotty looked out the passenger window and said, “I don’t know. It’s late. I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t. My mother loves guests, no matter what time of day. We don’t get enough company to keep her entertained.”
He shot me a sexy grin and pecked me on the cheek.
“How can I refuse an invitation like that?”
All seemed desolate inside the house. “Mom?” I called out.
“Oh, you’re home,” Mom said, appearing in the hallway. She was wrapped in a pink bathrobe. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Did I wake you?” I asked.
“No. I was just watching a little television. Did you two have a good time?”
“Yeah, we had a lot of fun,” I said a bit too noncommittally. At the thought of what Scotty and I were doing for the last hour, I was sure I turned as pink as her robe from the neck up.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Moore. If you’re uncomfortable with me being here so late, I can—”
“Don’t be ridiculous! And please call me Denise.”
“I was just going to make Scotty some coffee,” I said.
“You’re more than welcome to join us,” Scotty chimed in.
“I would love that. I think I have some leftover coffee cake in the fridge,” she responded in delight.
We all gathered in the kitchen. Mom poured coffee and served cake. Listening to her converse with Scotty was interesting. It seemed like ages since she had any real male companionship. For a moment, the mother before my father had passed away came back to me. How I missed her infectious laugh and the gleam in her eyes. Just by his presence, Scotty somehow resurrected a side of Mom that died the day my dad took his final breath. When Scotty finally went home for the night, it was as though he took her spirit with him.
***
School was becoming more intense. At that point, Isabella had us working with live models, and doing everything from theatrical makeup to using prosthetics.
Isabella set a document on our desks as she walked around the room observing each of us in work mode. “We only have a few short months left. As you remember me telling you on the first day of class, I predicted half of you would drop out. Look around. You will see that I was more than correct. Less than half of you are left. The rest of you still have a chance to work beside me. I truly hope some of you will sign on with agencies as well. Now is the time to work harder than you ever have in your life. Your project will account for more than fifty percent of your final grade. It will also determine my choice for intern.”
The final project required us to we come up with something unique using theatrical, commercial, print, or movie makeup. Finding a subject willing enough to volunteer and be a test subject was imperative. I needed to take photos and document every step. The solution to the problem was simple, and I knew exactly who I wanted to use.
***
I called Scotty a couple days later and asked him to come over to the house. Somehow it slipped my mind to tell him about my intentions. I ignored the tug of guilt when he showed up on my doorstep. I assumed he came straight from work since he was still dressed in his business suit.
“Take off your coat,” I demanded.
“Why?” Scotty asked. “What’s going on?”
“I need to use you as my guinea pig for class.”
“Does this mean you’re going to put makeup on me?”
“Not technically,” I replied, hesitantly.
The smile on his face froze. “Oh hell no.”
I grabbed his ar
m just before he was able to walk away. “It’s not the kind of makeup you're thinking of. I’m going to make you look like you were in a deadly car crash and survived. It's for my final project.”
“Well, as long as there’s no lipstick involved.”
“I promise—no lipstick.”
He followed me to my room where I forgot to warn him about what he was going to witness. The blood drained from my face the moment he set foot in my bedroom.
“Wow...um...I don’t know what to say,” he said, looking around at all the posters of Carter.
“Yeah, I should have warned you.”
“Big Aiden Storm fan, huh?”
When I glanced at a poster of a seventeen-year-old Carter holding his guitar, nostalgia hit me like an unexpected slap in the face.
“Once upon a time, believe it or not, I was friends with him—before he got all big and famous.”
“Seriously?” Scotty asked. “What was that like?”
“Let’s just say he was a very motivated boy, and it paid off,” I said. “I always knew he would make it.”
“Do you still talk to him?” Scotty asked.
It still hurt to bring up the past. How pathetic would I sound if I told Scotty a day hadn’t gone by where I didn't think about Carter and how much I missed him.
“No,” I answered. “Our friendship just sort of ended when he moved away.”
I diverted my thoughts by pulling out my makeup kit, and pretended to be unaware of the sudden awkwardness. I started with the foundation, followed by the prosthetics. The last part consisted of painting on the bruises and gashes. With any luck, no one would recognize Scotty when I got through. At the very least, they’d want to call 911 if they saw him coming. The whole process took about two hours to complete. When I finished, I handed Scotty a mirror.
Forever Blue Page 13