Incredible Beauty (20 page)

"Oh my god, you're here!" she rushed forward, embracing me in a big Kella style hug. I laughed at her enthusiasm. Kella Roberts had more energy and life than anyone I knew. Our friendship was odd, because we were so different. She was more like Abby than me, which had often caused friction between those two when Abby was still alive. They had possessed the same stubbornness, the same loyalty and the same love of life. Kella reminded me a lot of my sister and I loved that.

"I can't believe you're here!" Kella squealed again, her arms still around me.

It suddenly hit me again that, at nineteen, I was finally entering college, a year after Abby and I should have been starting together. Before her diagnosis, we used to imagine our lives together at college, away from parents and rules. We were close. Best friends, who could talk about anything. Imagining life without her had been gut-wrenching and the guilt I felt about moving on with my life scared me.

"Yes! I'm here," I replied, giggling, her happiness was infectious. I pushed all the thoughts and anxieties out of my head. Kella was comfortable and I needed comfort more than anything right now. "How are you? Tell me everything."

"Me? You know, the usual. Studying, working, picking up." she giggled. Kella had just come out of a relationship. She had been with Mel for close to three years. In her own words, Kella liked 'boys and girls equally', so when she spoke of picking up, it could've meant anyone.

"Oh? Anyone interesting?" I giggled.

"Nobody worth remembering," Kella said, rolling her eyes, "Tell me about you. How's your mom? And Anna?"

"Good. You just missed mom. They're well. Anna's going really well at school and she's on the junior national team for basketball this year."

"Really? That's awesome!" she squealed, hugging me again, "Coffee?" she raced through to the kitchen. I giggled, Kella was so hyper all of the time, caffeine was really the
last
thing she needed.

"Great, thanks," I nodded. I leaned across the kitchen counter as she made the coffee. "I have to organize my classes today. I'm excited about starting." I admitted, clasping my hands together. Abby's bracelet hung over my left wrist, each little charm celebrating a milestone in her short life. Kella caught me staring at the bracelet.

"Still having the dreams?" she asked, her dark eyes full of concern. I nodded, ignoring the urge to correct her. They weren't dreams. 'Dreams' implied they wasn't real.

"Yep. But it's good. I think it's my way of dealing with it, you know?" I shrugged. As much as she loved me and supported me, I knew Kella struggled with the whole dead twin communicating thing, so I usually tried to avoid bringing up the topic.

"Yeah, I know." Kella smiled. "I'm glad you're here, Lil."

"Me too." I smiled back. "So, tell me everything!" I banged my palms on the counter, forcing lightness into my eyes. I took the cup Kella handed me and followed her into the living room. "Nice to see you've unpacked," I commented wryly.

"Hey, get off my back! I haven't been here that long!" She rolled her eyes, sinking into a beanbag.

"Uh huh, only a year." I joked. I sat on the sofa, curling my feet under me, careful not to spill coffee on what looked like a new sofa.

"Brought it last week." Kella nodded at the sofa. I rolled my eyes again, knowing that meant before that all she'd had was the beanbag she was sitting on. The sofa was comfortable, at least. Falling asleep and waking up five hours later with a headache kind of comfortable.

"So, tell me about school. Who do I avoid and who do I ass kiss?" I joked, pulling my blonde hair over to one side.

"Nah," Kella waved her hand, "stick with me kid, I'll get you in with the right people. Just watch Professor Rendals. He likes to pay 'special' attention to some of his students. And Gordens, if you're taking History, is a painfully hard marker," she added. I mentally scrapped History off my electives. The last thing I needed was a professor with a god complex. With my study load I needed as much help as I could get.

I finished my coffee and scrambled to my feet. It was already past noon, I had less than an hour to get myself enrolled.

I was about to become a college student!

Chapter Two

The short walk from our house to the campus took less than ten minutes when you cut through the park directly behind Kella's place. There were plenty of students scattered around the sprawling green lawns that surrounded the large buildings, which surprised me, considering it was Saturday afternoon. I followed the signs to student services, my stomach fluttering as the realization I was about to start college hit me again.

I'd taken some classes over the summer in order to try and catch up some of the year I'd missed. As a result, Kella and I would actually be in a couple of classes together. I'd cross checked her schedule with mine to make sure they matched up where they could.

I pushed my way through a heavy wooden framed door, marked 'Student Administration' and into the small lobby, which contained a few seats, a vending machine and a table scattered with out of date magazines and brochures for campus clubs I had no intention of joining.

Ahead of me was the reception desk. I took my place in the line, which consisted only of me, standing directly behind a cute guy who was leaning against the desk, his elbows on the counter.

"Mr. Hanson, regardless of the classes you took over summer, you will still be four units short of graduating this fall." The lady behind the counter looked sympathetic, but her voice was firm.

"That's not fair! I've worked my ass off in order to catch up. I've done everything my guidance counselor said needed to be done in order to advance this year and now you're telling me I'm stuck as a sophomore for another year?
Fuck
that." he kicked the bottom of the counter, showing his frustration.

I tried not to eavesdrop, pretending to be overly engrossed in my transcripts, but I couldn't help but look at him. I could only see him from behind, so I didn't have much to work with, but he was the type of guy you couldn't
not
look at.

He was tall, a good few inches taller than me, his shaggy brown hair had a slight curl to it and looked in dire need of a cut, but it didn't detract from his appeal at all. He wore a black leather jacket over a gray shirt and worn denim jeans which framed his ass beautifully. That's where my eyes were. This guy's ass was mesmerizing. You could have taken a picture of his ass in those jeans and used it on a billboard, that's how good it looked.

He stepped back suddenly, catching me off guard. I was so focused on his ass I didn't have time to side step out of his way.

"Ouch!" I gasped, as he fell back into me, his foot crushing mine. "Shit!" I winced in pain, letting myself fall onto the ground to relieve the pressure on my foot. Suddenly, my strappy heeled sandals didn't seem like such a great idea. Pain ripped through my big toe as he crouched down beside me.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry," he gasped, his eyes wide, "are you okay? I didn't even know you were there!" My back tingled where he'd placed his hand to support me. He was even better looking from the front. His unruly hair fell across his forehead and his ice blue eyes felt like they were invading my soul. His face was creased with concern, concern that maybe he'd really hurt me.

"It's fine," I gritted my teeth, managing a smile, knowing it was completely my fault, but not about to admit why, "Sorry, I shouldn't have been standing so close to you…"

My voice trailed off as I remembered why I didn't move. I'd been so engrossed in my perving session. A blush spread across my face. I forced myself to stand and bare weight on my foot. Fuck, it hurt.

"See? All good," I smiled, ignoring the pain that radiated through my entire foot. I looked down. God, it was starting to swell. He smiled back, still looking unsure.

"Okay. Can I help you somewhere?" he asked. Why wouldn't he just leave? I was embarrassed enough as it was!

"Uh, no. I have a friend picking me up. I'm fine. I promise," I added. He waited a moment longer, before nodding and backing toward the exit.

"If you're sure…" he raised his eyebrows, giving me one last shot to go with him. Me being the nerd I am around guys, waved him off.

"Are you sure you're okay, honey?" I turned to smile at the lady behind the desk I had forgotten about. I blushed. Knowing she'd just witnessed all that made me feel even worse.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Who, uh, was that?" I asked casually. She smiled knowingly. Okay, maybe I wasn't acting as casually as I thought.

"Dane Hanson," she smiled, "nice young boy, but he's had some issues…" her smile faltered, her voice trailing off as she realized she probably shouldn't really be talking to me about a fellow student, "Can I help you, dear?" she asked, her voice clipped.

"Right, yes." I handed her my transcripts and my enrolment form. She looked over her glasses at me, her eyebrows raised.

"That's quite a big study load, Ms. Somerton."

I nodded, "I'm very keen to catch on the year I missed," I smiled, bracing myself for the prying questions that came naturally with a missed school year.

"Ah, what was it, travel? A year working?" She shook her head, pursing her lips as though she'd heard it all.

"Something like that." I nodded, not really wanting to get into the whole twin dying, mental breakdown, world falling apart thing. I stood by the counter awkwardly as she tapped away at her computer. I lifted my foot so I didn't put pressure on it. Fuck, it hurt like crazy. After what felt like hours, she handed me a form.

"Your class schedule. Good luck." She said it as though she thought I'd need it. I flashed a fake smile, instantly disliking her judgment of me. Why did she think she could lump me with every other student she'd enrolled? She knew nothing about me.

Outside the office, I began the limp back home. I walked through the pain, trying not to concern myself about the numbness that was starting to set in. The sun was beginning to set, which had caused a change in the wind. I shivered, wishing I'd taken a jacket with me. I pulled my long blonde hair back with my hands, wrapping it around itself into some sort of knot. It stayed put, but threatened to unravel at any point.

I glanced down at my thin pink shirt and my cotton shorts. I made a face as I caught sight of my foot. I'd managed to block out the pain pretty well, all things considered, but seeing the blue black discoloration spreading across the joint of the big toe made me feel queasy. Maybe I should've called Kella.

I limped inside the house, kicking the sandal off on my good foot and gingerly easing it off the other. My first stop was the kitchen, where I grabbed a bag of frozen beans. My second stop was the sofa.

Sitting down, I sighed as I put the towel wrapped frozen beans on my foot. The pain was back with a vengeance. I don't think I'd ever felt this much pain before. The deep throb was beginning to extend all the way down to my ankle and my toe looked like some kind of over boiled frankfurt that was about to burst out of its skin.

"Hey how did-" Kella stopped short, staring at my foot, "What the hell happened?" she screeched as she plopped down next to me. She lifted my makeshift ice pack and made a face, "Fuck Lil, I think that's broken," she gasped, her face going a shade of green, then white.

I peered around my knee to get a glimpse. It wasn't good. My whole foot was now swollen. I was beginning to think Kella was right. There was a teeny tiny chance I'd broken my toe, or rather,
he
had broken my toe.

Dane Hanson. My heart swooned.

My mind wandered back to eyes. So blue, the color of the sky on a clear, sunny day. When he looked at me, I felt like he was staring right inside of me, feeling my feelings and reading my thoughts. Then there was his smile. Oh god, that lopsided grin, those lips I'd just wanted to touch.

"Lil?" Kella wacked my shoulder. I jumped.

"What?"

"I said I should really take you to the hospital," she repeated, "I'm no doctor, but I'd bet my entire shoe collection that it's broken."

Wow. This must be serious. Kella loved her shoes more than she liked eating. At last count she had more than a thousand pairs, everything from flats, to heels, to boots. Why someone needed so many shoes I never understood. Just as Kella couldn't understand how I could get by with only five pairs. My runners, sandals, two pairs of pumps and a pair of boots. And Kella was the last person you'd expect to have an obsession with shoes. She hated shopping, unless it was for shoes. I couldn't drag her down to the mall to shop for clothes without promising to look at shoes too.