Beautiful One (2 page)

****

Living on the coast was great, but the morning air was usually overcast and foggy. This morning was no different. I embraced the thick, moist air, allowing it to fill my lungs. I turned on my music, put in the earbuds, and walked toward the creek bed that led to the ocean. This was going to be my routine.

Maggie tugged on her leash, guiding me through our tree-lined neighborhood. When we approached Mrs. Chapman's yellow house, I pulled Maggie back and made her sit. The pink and white rosebushes that lined the side fence needed to be trimmed, and the grass was overgrown, but the home was still as charming as ever. Bracing myself against a streetlamp, I stretched out my legs. My eyes focused on the
Sold
sign in the front yard.

The house had been vacant since she died. Those last few months of her life had been difficult for me, but I had wanted to be there for her, no matter how much the pain of losing someone hurt. Every free moment I had, I found myself at her bedside, looking into her wise, blue eyes that never seemed to lose their sparkle. When she was tired but still wanted my company, I would read to her, love stories usually, but her favorite was when I used to sing. I couldn't even count the number of times she'd made me sing her favorite song, “The Way We Were,” from the movie that always made me cry.

When the end of her life had been near and she hadn't been able talk to me anymore, I sang her favorite song through tears of pain and said my final goodbye. A few days later, her hospice nurse told me she had passed, and I knew I would never sing that song again. I walked away, wiped a tear from my eye and wondered who had purchased the home that held such bittersweet memories for me. I hoped they would love it the way that I did.

The fog was beginning to lift as I rounded the dirt trail and headed toward the ocean. The warmth of the rising sun felt good against my back. Inhaling a deep breath, I surveyed the shimmering blue Pacific in the far-off distance. Dana Point, what a beautiful place to grow up and live, but finally, I made the decision… I wanted a life.

The music that blasted through my phone spurred me on, taking me from a stroll to a fast-paced walk and finally a light jog. After about thirty minutes, I was panting as much as Maggie and decided it was time to head back. “That's enough for today, girl. We'll go farther tomorrow.” I gave Maggie a few face rubs, and we headed home.

When I opened the front door, I was immediately hit with the aroma of coffee brewing. That meant my mom was up.
She would never admit it, but I knew Mom was embarrassed I was overweight. How could she not be? When my mom had been younger, she'd been striking. Even now, at forty-four, Mom still turned heads with her shoulder-length light brown hair and hazel eyes.

There was no doubt my mother was proud of my brother and me. We did well in school, had impeccable manners, and both sang and played with the band at church. But the bottom line was I was heavy, and Mason was not. Mom had never had a weight problem, so she couldn't relate to me.
I knew when she saw me sweaty in workout clothes, she'd be ecstatic.

My mom entered the kitchen and glanced down at my bright pink sneakers.

Wide-eyed, her face lit up. “Morning, sweetie, where were you?”

“I went for a walk with Maggie.” I took a long drink of my water.

Immediately, Mom started in, “Oh, sweetie, I think that's great! Are you trying to lose weight? How far did you walk?”

“I went up the creek bed for a bit.”

“Well… you know you should start out slow. You don't want to overdo, because then you might not keep it up. Do you want me to make you some oatmeal? You should eat something to get your metabolism moving.”

My mom was just trying to be nice. I knew she was excited for me and hopeful to say the least, but I was already tired, and my day had just started. All I wanted was to drink my water and get ready for school. I answered her with a simple “No thanks, Mom” and headed toward the stairs.

“Why do you have to be like that, Elizabeth? I'm just trying to be helpful.”

The tone in my voice may have sounded disrespectful, but I didn't mean it. I guess I was having a hard time looking at my thin mother while I was sweating from the exercise I hated doing.

“I'm sorry, Mom. I just need to get ready for school.”

My mom gave me a nod, and I climbed the stairs. Sometimes she could be so temperamental. Maybe it was a mother-daughter thing, who knows? I wished she could be more even-keeled like my dad. Not that I didn't love my mom any less, I just found it easier to relate to my dad. Perhaps because he struggled with weight too.

People always said how much my dad and I resembled each other. I always took it as a compliment because my dad was an attractive man, but other than our eye color being the same light shade of green, I didn't see it.

I hopped in the shower, checked the time, and was already out when I heard Mason's alarm clock ringing. Since Mason and I shared the bathroom, I was always first up, first in, and he followed behind. Mason and I each had our own cars, but because our school schedules both finished at lunch, we usually drove together.

My brother and I have always been close. I'm not sure if it was because it had been just the two of us growing up, or maybe it was a twin thing. But I knew he always had my back, and I loved him for it.

“I'll drive today, Liz,” Mason yelled. A few minutes later he lightly knocked on my door and peeked his head in. Munching on a granola bar, he mumbled, “Ya ready?”

“Yep, let's go.” I grabbed my green sweater from the closet and followed Mason out the door.

When we reached his black sedan, he clicked his automatic door locks, and I got inside. I had never asked Mason about Aidan. Now that I had seen him, I was so curious. I wanted information. I turned on the radio, and, when I settled back in my seat, I decided to start in on my quest to find out more about him.

“What's Aidan like?” I fixed my gaze out the side window and watched the scenery blur by.

“Aidan? He seems like a good guy. He's liked. Especially by the ladies.” Mason smirked.

“Does he have any brothers or sisters?” I lowered the volume on the radio. “What about his parents? Have you met them?”

“I don't know. Usually we just talk about music. Why so many questions? You're starting to sound like Mom.” Mason chuckled.

“I don't know… just curious I guess.” I turned the radio back up and looked out the window. I realized Mason wasn't going to be much help. I guess I'd have to find out more about Aidan on my own.

****

On my way to first period, I found myself scanning the halls looking for Aidan. No luck, but I smiled when I saw Melissa fast approaching me.

“Hey, Liz.” She paused, giving me that I-want-to-tell-you-something smile. “I know you hate when I bring this up, but Mason and I were talking about you last night. He wants you to sing with the guys' band. Mason said he doesn't want to bug you about it anymore, but you know me, I'm relentless.” Melissa batted her big blue eyes at me.

“We've been over this so many times.” I rolled my eyes. “Singing for a bunch of church kids is one thing… but getting up in front of a restaurant full of strangers — no way.”

“You've got so much talent, I wish you'd just…” But before Melissa could continue to badger me, the bell rang.

“I hate to be late. I'll see you later.” I took off running then my stomach growled. For a second I wished I had eaten the oatmeal my mom had offered me.

Melissa laughed and yelled, “I'm not giving up, Liz!”

“You never do,” I hollered back. I heard faint laughter as I entered my calculus class.

****

My day was pretty uneventful until I was walking to Mason's car. I noticed a few girls standing around a silver truck. Leaning against it, looking model-perfect, was Aidan. I rushed to the car and quickly got inside. Thankful for the tinted windows, I was able to stare across the parking lot and watch Aidan interact with his fan club. I couldn't hear what they were saying but one of the girls kept giggling and touching his arm.
Oh, brother.

The other girl was desperately trying to get his attention. I was pretty sure she was out of luck. Aidan seemed set on the handsy one. The next thing I knew, Aidan gave Miss Touchy Feely a sexy smile and motioned for her to get into his truck. Left alone, the dejected girl walked away. I was surprised when Aidan walked over to her. He motioned to his truck, but the girl shook her head. Aidan shrugged his shoulders and smiled. The girl smiled back and waved before he hopped into his truck and started it up. I craned my neck to watch them as they left the parking lot. The last thing I saw was Aidan and his pretty passenger laughing when they drove away.

****

Each day blended into the next as I continued my workout routine. I was surprised I was actually starting to enjoy it. Sort of…

Feeling energized and slightly proud of myself for losing my first ten pounds so quickly, I decided to take Maggie out for a late afternoon run. When I rounded the corner, my mom was pulling into the driveway.

“Hey, Mom,” I huffed.

“Hi, sweetie, perfect timing. Can you help me with the groceries?”

“Sure.” I dropped Maggie's leash and grabbed a couple bags.

My mom pulled a couple of bags from the mall out from the back seat of her SUV. When she opened the front door, she yelled upstairs for Mason to come down and get the rest of the groceries. I heard him holler, “Okay.” I placed the bags on the kitchen island and started to unload them.

When my mom entered the kitchen, she held a bag up from my favorite store. “I bought you a present, two actually.” She grinned. My mom loved to shop. Not so much for herself, but if she had an occasion to shop for someone, she loved it. I guess I had become that occasion. “Well… come see!” My mother's eyes were bright with excitement.

I opened the bag and pulled out a teal chiffon top with a small keyhole opening in the front.

“Mom! Thank you, it's adorable.” I held it up in front of me as Mason walked in juggling three bags of groceries.

“Good color, Liz,” Mason said,
placing
the bags on the island.

“Mom picked it out.” I smiled,
glancing
at the tag that had an
L
on it instead of an
XL
.

“This too, sweetie.” Mom tossed me the small brown bag.

I pulled out what looked like a keychain with a pump attached to it. I read the tag because I had no idea what it was.

“Pepper spray?” I questioned. That got Mason's attention. He immediately came to my side and held out his hand so he could inspect the safety device. “Mom, what am I supposed to do with this?”

“Clip it to Maggie's leash… you never know.”

“Cool… c'mere, Maggie.”

Maggie came bounding over to Mason. She still had the leash attached to her neck, so Mason unhooked her and clipped the spray to it. He handed the leash back to me. “You're all set, Liz… for all those bad guys hangin' out in the bushes waiting to attack.” Mason smiled at my mom, and then we both laughed.

“You two…” She smirked.

****

Melissa and I sat on the couch with Maggie snuggled between us. The crisp October breeze drifted through the open garage door with the scent of fall in the air. Mason was chatting with Kyle next to the keyboard. Kyle's brown eyes widened when he grasped what Mason was trying to get across to him. He started to tap the keys while Mason hummed along to their newest collaboration.

Kyle and Mason had been friends since grade school. He was kind of like a second brother to me. His family was over-the-top wealthy, but they never flaunted it. I think that's why I liked him so much. He was kindhearted and sweet, which made his average looks more attractive. Derek was the complete opposite of Kyle. Kyle's shoulder-length dark brown hair was such a contrast to Derek's spiky blond. Kind of like their personalities. Kyle was more of an introvert, like me, and Derek… he was as outgoing as Melissa.

Mason and Kyle continued to look over the pages of their spiral binder. Derek exhaled in boredom and then started to lightly tap on the drums, which surprised me. I couldn't believe he could lightly do anything, with Derek it was all or nothing.

Aidan had his cell phone out and was texting. When he finished, he slipped his phone in his front pocket and casually walked over to us. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks when he sat next to me on the arm of the couch. Maggie's head popped up. She glanced at Aidan and crawled over my body to get to him. We both laughed. Melissa chuckled and got up to go see Mason.

Aidan bent forward and stroked Maggie's soft face. “I love dogs,” he murmured, then Maggie began to nuzzle into his touch.

“Do you have a dog?” Unable to make eye contact, I continued to pet Maggie's soft coat. Aidan didn't answer right away. I looked up at him waiting for a response.

“No. I always wanted one. But, my mom wasn't into it. She said it was too much work.” He shrugged.

“Did you ever have any animals?”

“Nope, we moved around too much.”

Aidan got up and glanced over his shoulder. The guys were getting back in their positions to play.

“That's sad,” I whispered.

“Yeah, it sucked…” He gave me a brief smile and picked up his bass as the guys began to play.