Beautiful Disaster (The Bet)

by Francette Phal

  "Mama?" Sophie wobbled their way and at the sight of her mother's tears, she too, began to cry. Ellie reached for her and bringing her into her tight embrace, she calmed herself enough to comfort her child.

  A little while later found Nicholas and Sophie in the living room, while Ellie carted in paper plates and plastic utensils, which she set down on the mahogany coffee table.

  With the Chinese take-out splayed out in little white boxes in front of them, Ellie made Sophie a plate, then Nicholas’s, hers naturally came last. They ate in amiable silence, her earlier breakdown seemingly inconsequential. She softly smiled; her sordid past another milestone in their fledgling friendship. She commended him for being such a good friend, having thought the worst of him, Ellie was coming to appreciate the fact that she was proven wrong.

  She ran her tongue over her bottom lip and came away with the sugary taste of duck sauce. She started to grab another crab Rangoon and found Nicholas' eyes on her, the smoldering look in those gray depths, induced shivers along her skin. "Stop that." She whispered, refusing to let that look affect her.

  "Stop what?" he asked guilelessly, gobbling up the chicken finger Sophie offered him.

  "You know what."

  "I haven't the slightest idea what you mean." He smiled in spite of his words and Ellie fought the urge to laugh.

  "You're not as cute as you think you are, Grayson."

  "So you think I'm cute?"

  "No," Her rosy cheeks said otherwise.

  "That's okay. Sophie thinks I'm cute. Right babe?"

  With mouth full of fried chicken, Sophie nodded her head. "Nicky cuet."

  The musical tone of Nicholas's cell phone rang four times before Ellie inquired as to whether or not he was going to answer it or not.

  "Nope."

  "It could be important."

  The seriousness in Nicholas's voice belied his playful expression. "Nothing is as important as being here with you two."

  Touched, Ellie smiled, resting a hand on Nicholas's knee. "And we'll be here when you get back. I appreciate you making us a part of your life, but I don't want us to consume it. You had a life before us."

  "That wasn't a life. I was just living for the sake of living. Meeting you has actually given me a sort of purpose to be bigger than what I was---if that makes sense." The fact that he said that to Ellie made Nicholas realize exactly how much he had changed in such a short time. The thought once again set him on edge.

  "It makes perfect sense; I'm glad you forced yourself into my life and made me realize you could be so sweet. You turned out to be a nice surprise."

  "I'm glad I finally warmed up to you."

  The cell rang again. "Go answer it. I'll clean up Sophie."

  Reluctantly, Nicholas handed Sophie over and excusing himself, he stood to answer the call. He came back later and Ellie instantly knew something was wrong.

  "Nicholas?"

  "My mother's been in a car accident." He uttered the words so impassively that Ellie wondered whether this was the same guy whose voice had been filled with warmth a minute ago.

  Nicholas pocketed his phone and picked up the keys to his bike from where Sophie had left it after playing with it.

  Ellie deposited Sophie on the floor and hastened after Nicholas. She caught him halfway out of the foyer, and grabbed his hand to get his attention. "Are you okay? Can I help with anything?" He shook his head, pulling his arm away.

  "I'll call you." His voice was like ice, his face stoic. He turned and walked away.

  "Nicholas!" Ellie went after him.

  "We're only just starting to understand each other. Don’t…don’t pull away from me.” Hesitantly, she raised a hand to his cheek.

  "Old habits," He said quietly, turning his face into the warmth of her palm. He tenderly brushed his lips on the inside of her wrist. "I'll call you." He said just before walking out the door.

  Chapter Eight

  By the time the weekend rolled around, Ellie was a complete and utter mess. The stress of dealing with her attorney, the judge and finally Tony himself, had taken its toll on her by Friday morning. Having woken up with a throbbing head and stuffy nose, Gabe had forced her back to bed. Therefore, the whole of Friday was spent in bed trying to fight a cold. Saturday, feeling relatively better, her thoughts reverted back to Nicholas, who, for the better part of the week had been oddly absent, not even bothering to show up for the two classes they shared. Concern for him had caused her to swallow her pride and to go ask his friends of his whereabouts. They, as she'd expected, refused to cooperate with her. The entire scenario was enough to drive anyone to illness.

  Adding further insult to injury, she now had to share visitation rights with her worm of an ex. Not exactly one to drag a custody battle through the courts, she'd taken her attorney's advice, choosing instead to allow Tony his rights in seeing their child. Sophie, despite how he'd wronged her mother, deserved to know her father. They'd both made mistakes and each had gone to great lengths to rectify those mistakes. Tony, despite his faults, seemed to genuinely care about his daughter. Ellie just hoped she wouldn't come to regret her decision in allowing him to see her.

  Another person who also worried Ellie had been Maddie and her progressively un-Maddie like behavior. Ellie had made it a goal to find out what was going on with her friend during the week and had been more than surprised to find that Maddie hadn't been feeling particularly happy with her. Happy, to put it mildly hadn't been the exact sentiment Maddie had used. "Boyfriend stealing bitch" had been more like it, which, she'd practically screeched above the din of the cafeteria a few days ago, causing everyone, Ellie included to gape at her.

  Her bafflement hadn't ended there. That very same day, on her way to the last track practice of the season, Maddie had cornered her, apologized wholeheartedly and then gone on to break down in Ellie's arms, with little to no explanation of her peculiar behavior. Ellie, unsure of what to do, but knowing Maddie needed her had instantly forgiven her. They’d made plans afterwards to go to Splendor and grab a bite to eat. That date had been made for Saturday night, which was today. Feeling remotely better than yesterday morning, Ellie dressed for the occasion, minding the fact that it was about twenty below outside. She finished the final touches on her two French braids, grabbed her wool hat, matching scarf and mittens from her closet then strolled out of her bedroom. She made her way down the stairs. Ellie was grateful that Gabe had volunteered to take Sophie to a friend's house tonight, giving her time to be a normal teenager for once.

  The simultaneous ring of the phone and bell had Ellie rushing downstairs to pick up the headset. Hitting the talk button, she made her way to the door.

  "Hello?"

  "Hey,"

  "Nicholas!" Ellie almost dropped the phone at the sight of him, his haggard appearance alarming.

  "Ellie?" Maddie voice filtered through the headset.

  "I'm still here." Ellie stepped aside, silently allowing Nicholas to step in. "Are you on your way?"

  "Actually do you mind if I take a rain check on this one? Something suddenly came up." Funny, how Maddie conveyed her own thoughts, Ellie silently thought.

  "No that's fine, uh...just…I'll call you later, okay?" there was a slight squeal, before Maddie’s breathless voice answered Ellie.

  "Y---yeah-la---later, Ellie."

  "Madd---"

  Click.

  Frowning down at the headset, she hit the off button, curious as what exactly was going on with that girl. But that was a subject for a later time. Her heart stuttered in her chest at the thought of the dark haired man waiting for her in the living room. She bit her bottom lip, both elated and wary, but more than happy to see that he was alright.

  He was a sight for sore eyes, surely. Standing at the fireplace, with his back to her, he occupied himself with the pictures on the mantle, intermittently raising his hand to touch each photograph. He wore dark jeans and a cream-colored sweater beneath his leather jacket, his sinfully dark mane skimming the edge of that ja
cket. As if sensing her eyes on him, he turned around and she was able to see the day or two old shadow of stubble along his jaw and cheeks. There were dark marks beneath his eyes, making the diamond gray gaze seem sharper, wilder, darker than usual. Unable to meet the intensity of those eyes, she peered down at the silver frame he held in his large hands, the photo in that frame all too familiar to her.

  It’d been taken just after giving birth to Sophie. Despite looking worn and wearied, she'd had the biggest smile of her life in the picture. As she held her daughter close, she'd looked into the camera, her joy practically shining through.

  "Ugh...I looked gross in that picture." She said self-consciously, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

  "I can't imagine you looking more beautiful." His silvery blue eyes bored into her so intently that Ellie's own dared not to look on for much longer, afraid to drown in their intensity.

  "Thanks." She murmured fiddling with the red mittens attached to the scarf.

  "Were you on your way out?" he motioned to her outfit, which aside from the scarf, hat and gloves, consisted of a pair of dark skinny jeans, a cotton candy pink cashmere sweater and her Ugg boots.

  Ellie shrugged, "My date canceled."

  "Date?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Ellie looked up at the curious sound of jealousy. "Yeah, with Maddie." Something in her reveled at the thought of making Nicholas jealous.

  Nicholas set the picture frame back on the ledge, advancing on her with those impossibly long legs of his; he came to stand meters away from her. "I didn't call."

  "I know..."

  "I wanted to."

  "So why didn't you?"

  He raked his fingers through his hair, a sure sign of his agitation. "It was easier to stay away than to share my feelings. I'm not like you, Ellie. I don't wear my emotions on my sleeve. I'm not comfortable with exposing myself like that…making myself so vulnerable to someone in a way that I could get hurt."

  "So why did you come back?" She was truly curious.

  "Because despite my best efforts to stay away from you, I keep finding myself back in your gravity. You’ve become this thing I can’t be without. Your voice in my head---your face in my dreams---your smell all around me. I---I've changed…" he trailed off. He began to pace the length of her living room, his rampant energy coiled around him like a venomous snake ready to strike at any given moment.

  Ellie watched, unsure of what to do. She ached to go to him, but prudence kept her rooted.

  "You're so good. You've made life so good for you and your daughter despite your past. Your strength…your heart…I didn't think people like you really existed. All great and morally driven and good. I've seen the way you interact with Sophie and the amount of wisdom you have for someone so young. It's so much Ellie…so damn much." Nicholas suddenly stopped, eradicating the short distance between them. He cupped Ellie's face between his hands and looked into her eyes.

  "I know I'm not making much sense. But when I was in that hospital room with my mother I looked down at her looking so pale and fragile and all I could think about was that you went through so much just to make a better life for you and your daughter and she couldn't even take a second out of her busy schedule to hug me, her son, her flesh and blood. My respect for you in that moment grew so much and it hit me, like a fucking ton of bricks, just how much I have come to need you. You’ve become this thing I can’t be without, Ellie and it scares me.”

  "What are you saying, Nicholas?”

  Nicholas rested his forehead to Ellie's and softly brushed his lips at the corner of her mouth. "I'm saying you’re here now.” He guided her hand to his chest, right where his heart thundered. “Let me be the guy you run to when you’re ready and I’ll always be there to catch you. I want to be the Romeo to your Juliet.” He said with emotion referencing one of Ellie's favorite Shakespearean tragedies.

  "I don't know, Nicky, Romeo was pretty damned devoted to his Juliet. He went so far as to die for her---"

  "I'd go through hell for you.” He said gravely, the intensity of his emotions nearly drawing her under. Ellie pulled him into a fierce hug.

  “Thank you, Nicky.”

  Maddie sat against the wall of her bathroom, had been sitting there for quite some time now. Exactly in that spot with her head on the wall, her bathrobe clad ass on the floor and the idea of committing suicide flowing through her mind. She felt like she'd been crying for weeks and even now, when she believed she had no more left to shed, the tears kept coming, crawling down her cheeks in a slow descend.

  She licked her parched lips and sniffed, hesitantly rising on wobbly legs. Then, she walked to the sink and fearfully her eyes strayed to the sink counter, the small white stick she'd left there taunting her.

  Her bottom lip trembled, she slammed her eyes shut as if doing so would make it disappear, make everything disappear. Her grip on the sink counter tightened, frantically she prayed the urge to retch would pass. She wasn't so lucky. She hunched over the sink and heaved.

  "Oh God." She prayed, lifting her head, she stared with unseeing eyes at the unrecognizable wretch staring back at her through the mirror. Limp hair, raccoon eyes, sunken cheeks, colorless lips. She looked like a corpse. She felt even worse!

  With trembling fingers, she took hold of the white stick. She stared at it, fixedly, her brain refusing to accept what the eyes conveyed. But no matter how hard, how long she stared, the result remained the same. The dark blue plus sign glared back at her, taunting her with the horrific fact that she'd more than likely ruined her life.

  "Oh God. I can't be. Please, God." She breathed, the sharp sting of tears prickling her eyelids and her nose. She let a sob escape, then covered the ensuing ones with her hand. She stumbled back against the wall and fell unceremoniously to the floor.

  She shoved the stick away from her, as though it were infected, but regardless of what she did, Maddie couldn't escape the fact that she was pregnant.

  The holidays were rapidly approaching and Ellie couldn't have been more grateful. Life had been hectic over the last few months. It would be a treat to settle down with the family and take a breather for a bit. Of course, having Nicholas around wouldn't hurt either. The invitation she'd made to Thanksgiving dinner was still up in the air, he'd yet to give her an answer, but Ellie was hoping he'd come.

  She grabbed the bag of apples from the fridge and dumped them into the sink running cold water over them. She couldn't help, but smile as she thought about the changes she'd seen in Nicholas over the last few weeks.

  He was sweet in his own way, quite caring when he wanted to be. Ellie was even surprised to discover that he could still blush. It was quite rare and on those occasions when she had witnessed it, she'd felt a silent sense of joy to know she'd been the provocateur of this uncommon reaction. The usually reserved facade of stoicism he had presented obliterated every time he was in Sophie's presence.

  It never ceased to amaze Ellie when she saw him on the carpeted floor of her living room; he was completely oblivious to his surroundings as he obliged Sophie in whatever game she wanted to play; whether it were having tea parties with her countless stuffed animals, building multicolored fortresses made completely out of Legos or Nicholas teaching her how to read. He was always game and Sophie couldn't have loved him more for it.

  Each time Nicholas came around, Ellie swore he took a little piece of them with him and she was quickly coming to realize that she didn't mind it at all.

  "I don't think I've seen you smile like that since you were twelve." Gabe reached around Ellie's body to grab an apple.

  Ellie shrugged, peeling the apples with a little too much enthusiasm. "I'm just happy school's almost out."

  Gabe chomped down on the apple, curiously regarding his goddaughter. "Uh huh, and I've developed a sudden affinity for that rat of a sperm donor you used to go out with."

  "That rat happens to be Sophie’s father."

  "Only by blood and if I have any say in it, it'll remain that way. No
w, stop changing the subject and tell me why you're so happy."

  "Don't I have the right to be happy?" Ellie inquired, scooping up the sliced apples and dumping them into the large bowl she’d based with lemon juice, cinnamon, water and sugar. Handing her the flour bag, Gabe leaned against the kitchen counter, crossing his legs at the ankles.

  "You have all the right in the world. Forgive me, if I made you think otherwise. I'm just wondering why the goofy grin."

  Ellie worried her bottom lip, "Gabe?" she looked up from her task, meeting Gabe's royal blue gaze. She wondered whether or not she should proceed with her next question.

  "Hmm?" Gabe tossed the apple core in the trash, washed his hand and Gabe readied the pie crust as he waited for Ellie to continue.

  "What do you think of Nicholas?" The question came from left field and easily took Gabe by surprise. He turned his facial features to neutral before responding.

  "Do you want my honest opinion?

  Ellie washed her hands, not sure she wanted to hear this. "Of course."

  "I don't trust him for one goddamn second. I may not know much, but I know people and I know that Nicholas is trouble. He's trying to get something from you and I guarantee he'll say and do anything until he gets it. I'm the last person to judge anyone, but my first concern is and will always be you and Soph and I don't think Nicholas Grayson is at all good for either of you."

  "He's changed."

  "He's a charmer and he can make you see whatever he wants you to see. I'm not saying he's not a good person and I could be wrong about his intentions, but I just want you to be careful. I don’t want you to fall too hard."

  Ellie sighed suddenly, not in the best moods. "I'm not falling for anything. He's my friend, I have faith in him. He's different when he's with me and Soph and I trust the fact that he's become a better person because of it."