Beautiful Tragedy (A Standalone Romance Novel) (4 page)

After they took it out, they did a few rounds of chemo
just in case. I lost my hair and everyone at school knew I had been sick. Grandma
bought me a wig and I would wear it every morning to make her feel better, but
before I got to school I would take it off and put a scarf over my head. I
didn’t have the heart to tell her she had bought me a wig in bold
nineteen-eighties
style. Everybody still tried really hard
to be nice; I guess I have to give them credit for that. It was weird though,
an awkward kind of nice. People who had never spoken to me before would give me
that piercing look and say, “How are you, Molly? Really?” Again, they were just
being nice, but it annoyed me.

In my senior year, just as my hair had finally grown
out enough so I no longer looked like Peter Pan, they found a tumor on my left
kidney…as in the only one I had left. So most of that year was spent with more
chemo and radiation. The tumor was stubborn, and although it was small and it
seemed to grow slowly, it just wasn’t going to go away. That was the reason I
decided to go to school here. My doctor had found out that they were having a
lot of success in their experimental treatments of my kind of cancer. So here I
am…a guinea pig with one missing kidney and one bum kidney. I do my best to
live and act normally; that’s why I don’t want anyone here to know except
Megan. She’s never treated me any differently. She was just always my friend
and things never got uncomfortable.

But if I were to have a boyfriend, I don’t think this
would be something I could keep hidden forever. I mean at some point when I was
sick from the medications or refusing to eat ice cream because the dairy
doesn’t sit well with me, he was liable to ask questions…wasn’t he?

I pulled on my red sweater and my favorite pair of
jeans. Looking at myself in the mirror I thought, “Good enough.” Then I threw
on a knit hat my grandma made me and grabbed my red coat and I was ready to go.
I stuffed all the other clothes back into the closet so that when Megan came
home, she would never know. And speaking of the devil, she came bounding in
just as I tossed in the last pair of jeans and closed the closet door.

“Hey, Molly. Are you ready?”

“I’m ready. Where’s Jake?” What I really meant was;
where’s Jake’s friend? But it may have been rude to phrase it that way.

“He’s in the car. He says that Brock was doing
something, but he was going to meet us there. I hope he doesn’t flake.”

“Oh well, if he does it’s no big deal,” I told her. I
was trying to sound casual but Megan knew me too well.

“Sure,” she said with a grin. “That’s why you look so
cute, because it’s no big deal.”

“Shut up,” I told her.

“Okay,” she said, still grinning. “Let’s go.”

I followed her out the door, wondering what the hell I
was doing. I was also wondering what Brock was doing. Did he change outfits
three times before he left too? I laughed at the thought.

“What’s so funny?” Megan said.

“Oh nothing,” I told her.

I got into the back seat of Megan’s Honda Civic and I
said hello to Jake. He immediately said, “Brock’s coming. He was finishing
something up, but he’ll be there.”

“Yippee!” I said, sarcastically…I hoped.

“He likes you, Molly.” Jake said.

“How nice for him.” That time the tone was acerbic, I
was sure of it.

He turned around in his seat as Molly pulled away from
the curb.

“You know, Brock could have any girl he wanted.” Jake
said, suddenly incensed with the need to stick up for his friend. “It’s a
compliment that he likes you so much after you only met once.”

“But of course, I’m thrilled,” I told him with a grin.
I knew that I should be nicer to Jake. After all, he was Megan’s knight in
shining armor. It was fun to poke at him though. I always made sure not to
pierce the armor…

The football stadium was only a few blocks away, but
it was going to be super cold tonight, so Megan had wanted to drive. We were
all regretting it now, however, as we made our way around the lot for the third
time. Finally she decided to park on the street. We could hear kick-off taking
place as we hurried towards the entry gate. There was a sudden roar of a
motorcycle, and then Jake stopped walking and waved. I looked in that direction
and saw Brock, on a red Harley. Of course he had a Harley. It wasn’t enough
that he was gorgeous, he could sing, he could play the guitar and he seemed
really nice, he had to have a Harley too. I watched as he swung it into a small
space reserved for motorcycles and parked. As he had on stage singing, sitting
at the taco stand, walking me home, and watching as I went inside the dorm, he
looked amazing. I could feel my heart actually speed up in my chest. I was
afraid that it was beating so fast and so hard that if you looked directly at
it, my sweater and coat would be moving in and out too. This was ridiculous.

We stood and waited for him to saunter over in his
black leather jacket and dark shades that I personally didn’t care for. I
preferred the blue eyes. When he got closer and pulled off the shades, I
physically jumped. I suddenly worried that he could hear my thoughts. How
messed up would that be?

He and Jake did their stupid guy bump thing, like
maybe they didn’t just see each other before they left the house. Then he
looked at Megan and me. I don’t know if it’s my imagination or not, but those
blue eyes seemed to linger on mine a little longer than they had on Meg’s.

“Hey Megan, Molly.”

Megan and I both said hi, and we all headed for the
entrance. The game was well into the first quarter by then and the stadium was
packed. Our seats were pretty good ones, but they were in the middle of a row
and I think we slightly pissed off a few of the people we had to step over and
push past. As we got closer to where we’d be sitting, I felt a hand on the
small of my back, helping to guide me. It was Brock’s hand, and my silly brain
thought that I could actually feel his body heat searing through my coat and
sweater onto my back.

I dropped down into the seat next to Molly, and Brock
took the one on the other side of me. He grinned at me then, and again I had to
wonder what was always so amusing to this guy. Maybe when you were gorgeous and
young and healthy and musically inclined, you just never had any reason to not
be happy.

I feigned watching the game for a while, because just
having him sitting so close with his arm brushing lightly against mine left me
afraid to open my mouth, not trusting what might rush out. Sometimes my brain
forgot that the opening of my mouth was the key to engage. Finally, leaning
close enough that I could feel his breath on my face Brock said, “You look
cold.”

Again, stating the obvious, but at least he was
trying. “I’m freezing,” I said, trying to smile through the tightness of my
face. The sun had just started to go down and a cold wind was kicking in. I
felt ashamed that I was still glad I came, however.

“Do you want some hot chocolate?”

I thought about that. Chocolate wasn’t really on my
diet, although the nutritionist did tell me that I could indulge every once in
a while as long as I didn’t overdo it. I also like the idea that he cared
enough to offer. “That sounds good, thanks.”

“I’ll be right back.”

I watched then as he risked his life, once again
crossing in front of the dedicated fans. Brock smiled at them all, and I
realized then that females weren’t the only ones affected by his blue eyes and
boy-next-door grin, and I also realized as I watched him, that he knew it.

CHAPTER
FOUR

BROCK

I made my way down the crowded aisle, trying not to
tramp on anyone’s foot. Towards the end there was a guy who looked like a
recent football alumni, sitting with his girlfriend. The guy had to be at least
two-twenty and his arms looked like the trunks of medium sized trees. His
girlfriend was petite and blonde, and she was smiling at me. Why would a woman
want to put me in harm’s way like that? Instead of looking directly at her as I
passed, I smiled at the big guy and said, “Excuse me.” He stood up then, all
six foot four of him and sucked in his gut so I could pass. He smiled back too.
I guess my strategy worked.

I made my way to the concession stand thinking about
Molly. I hadn’t planned on liking her so much, but it wasn’t my fault. She was
so damned cute in her red sweater and little knit beret. Her poor little
freckled nose was as red as her coat though, and she looked miserable. I
considered putting my arm around her, just to keep her warm. But then I had
thought about the hot chocolate and thought being told “No” about that would
feel like less of a rejection.

The line at the concession stand was long and as I
stepped behind a grandpa and his grandkids I heard a familiar voice. It was Tammy…the
stalker.

“Hey Brock.”

 
She sidled up
next to me and said, “I thought you said you hated football.”

This is what I had told her, and in my defense it’s
mostly true. Tammy was a cheerleader last year. I hadn’t gotten the story about
why she wasn’t on the squad again this year, but last year she used to invite
me to the games every time I saw her. I tried making excuses at first, but when
at last I ran out of them I had just straight up told her…I don’t like
football. She had still tried to persuade me, but I had stuck with my
convictions.

“Hey, Tammy. I still don’t like football. I just
agreed to come with some friends.”

“Oh, are you with that girl I saw you with the other
night?” She asked the question like she had some right to know. I literally went
out with this girl twice. She acted like she was my ex-wife or something. Move
over Glen Close, there’s a new stalker in town.

“Yes, actually. Her name’s Molly,” I said. Just the
sound of her name made me smile. “She’s one of Megan’s good friends.”

“Oh,” Tammy said in that holier-than-thou way Tammy
had about her. It suddenly dawned on me; Tammy didn’t like Megan, at all. Back
at the beginning of the summer, after I had brushed her off more than dandruff
off a black coat, she had met Jake. He’d just started here, and Tammy didn’t
know that he was my roommate. They had a class together, and she set her sights
on him. Jake wasn’t interested, but he’s a polite guy, so he didn’t tell her
so…until he met Megan. He came to one of my shows about a week after he’d met
Tammy. Megan was there with a friend, and as they say…the rest is history. He
straight up told Tammy to her face about a week later that he wasn’t
interested. She, of course, blamed Megan for “moving in on him,” and pretty
much tried to have her blackballed from everything on campus. To Megan’s
credit, she didn’t get rifled at all over it. She just kept being her sweet
self and people liked her of her own accord, in spite of Tammy’s jealous
protestations.

As Tammy opened her mouth once again, the guy behind
me said, “I’m sorry, but weren’t you behind me?” Tammy looked embarrassed and
appalled that this guy would have the audacity to call her on it. The guy
suddenly became my new best friend. I mean, I actually for the first time in my
life (and hopefully the last) thought about full-on kissing this guy on the
mouth. Tammy looked at me, expecting me to help, so I did. I smiled at the
wonderful man and said, “I think you’re right. She was behind you.” It may have
been the cold, but I swear I saw smoke shoot out of her ears as she went back
to her spot in the long line. By the time I got mine and Molly’s hot chocolate
and turned around to head back to our seats, she had decided to turn her back
on me.
The cold shoulder…how refreshing
,
I thought with a grin.

When I got to our row this time, I didn’t even have to
smile at big boy again. He not only got to his feet to allow me past, but he
pulled his skinny girlfriend up with him. Molly was watching me as I approached
and I handed the cocoa to her and said, “I’m sorry. The line was ridiculous.”

“That’s okay,” she said, “I stopped being able to feel
my hands and feet so long ago that I wasn’t even sure how much time had
passed.”

I sat down and as I did, her arm brushed against mine.
Okay, the fact of the matter was that her wool coat sleeve brushed against my
leather jacket sleeve. It still gave me a little thrill, and since it was
cheap, I’ll take it. “What did I miss?” I asked her.

Without missing a beat she said, “The quarterback ran
a Statue of Liberty play and the running back went for an eighty-five yard
touchdown.”

“Really?” I said.

“No,” she said with a grin, “I don’t have any idea
what I even just said.”

I laughed, “Wow, you sounded so convincing.”

“I am looking forward to the half-time show,” she
said, sipping her cocoa.

“Why? Who’s playing?” I asked her.

“Oh, I don’t know, I just have to pee.”

This girl is something else. I was now not only
surprised that I came to a football game, but I was also surprised that I was
so happy about it. I’m sure I must look like an idiot, sitting here with a grin
on my face that looked like I’d slept with a coat hanger in my mouth the night
before. But, I couldn’t stop smiling and she made me not even care about that.