Slowly, she worked her way over his skin with the warm cloth, cleaning and patching him up. Neck, shoulders, back, and chest. The entire time, he watched her from the uninjured eye.
When she felt she’d done all she could do, she slipped her clean t-shirt over his head and helped him get his arms in the sleeves.
One of his hands rested on the thigh of the dirty denim and she realized several of his nails were cracked and broken down to the quick.
“I’ll be right back.”
Upstairs, she found her small manicure kit and a throw blanket. Pulling a chair close, until their knees were almost touching, she trimmed the broken pieces of nail and washed his hands. A strange wound around his wrist was cleaned and disinfected. It looked like a wound that was reopened often.
“Can you get in the sweats alright?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. You can do that here and I won’t look. I’m worried about you walking yet.”
There was the sound of his zipper and the rustling of cloth as he stripped off his jeans in her brightly lit kitchen and pulled on the other pair of pants.
“It’s alright now, Lizzy. You can turn around.”
Blushing brightly, she did and gathered up his clothes. “I’ll wash them while you lie down.”
She started the load and it gave her time to get her skin under control. Shaking two ibuprofen tablets into her palm, she got him a glass of water. “I’ll give you two more after you rest. It will help with the swelling and the pain.”
He took them and stared down at his lap. “Thank you.”
“Are you hungry? I can make you a sandwich or we have leftover stew.”
“I’m alright.” Dylan avoided looking her in the eye.
“I have to eat since I went running. I’ll make us both something.”
Without giving him time to answer, she bustled around reheating bowls of the hearty stew.
If she hadn’t seen his starved upper body, the instant he started to eat, Elizabeth would have known Dylan didn’t get nearly enough food.
Her heart clenched in pure agony and she sent up a silent prayer of thanks for her idyllic grandmother and the care she’d always shown.
Dylan finished one bowl and she made him another one.
They didn’t talk while they ate and she liked that it gave her time to contemplate how funny life could be sometimes.
Elizabeth Clayton knew she wasn’t beautiful, that she would never be the butterfly her Nana had told her about, and that she would always be more masculine than was popular for a woman to be.
On that day, in her Nana’s kitchen, none of those things mattered because she would have this moment to think back on for the rest of her life.
The circumstances were horrifying but she had fed Dylan and tended his wounds. The young man she’d loved before she understood what it meant to love.
He would never see her the way she secretly wished he would but she had the memory of being able to help him when that was the only thing he needed.
It would be enough.
Chapter Two
The first day Elizabeth took Dylan home with her, he ended up sleeping on her living room sofa for several hours. She washed his clothing and folded it neatly.
When her Nana came downstairs, she raised her brows in surprise but said nothing. They knew one another well and she knew a young man wouldn’t be sleeping in her house without a very good reason.
Watching her elderly grandmother tiptoe around downstairs, in an effort not to wake Dylan up, made Elizabeth’s heart feel too big for her chest.
It was nearing dark when he came awake in a panic and hurriedly jerked his own clothes on. The swelling was down in his eye and many of his scratches looked much better already.
Shrugging his shirt over his shoulders, he grimaced. He walked to stand in front of Elizabeth after he managed to get his boots tied. Though she offered to help, he did it himself.
For a long time, he simply stared at her. They were the same height, a new experience since she usually towered over other boys her age at a level six feet.
“Your eyes are so green.”
It was a strange thing to say but she thought it might have been a compliment. “Yes.”
More silence stretched between them.
“Thank you, Lizzy.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Please don’t…”
“No one will hear a word from me, Dylan. Not ever.”
It was getting dark. She walked toward the back door and picked up a small reusable grocery bag she’d packed for him. “There’s more ibuprofen in here and ointment for your cuts. If you need more, let me know.” She didn’t mention the canned foods that filled the bottom. There was no reason to make him feel more awkward.
He took it from her with a small frown between his eyes. The weight told him there was more than bandages and ointment inside but he didn’t ask her about it.
“I have to go.”
“Be safe, Dylan.”
He moved to step around her to the door and she touched his arm with her fingertips. He turned his head.
“If you’re ever…hurt again, come here. Don’t go to the park. I’ll help you.”
“Why? Why will you help me, Lizzy? You don’t even know what happened to me.” His voice went quiet. “It could have been my fault.”
She shook her head. “I’m a human being and I care about other human beings. There is nothing you could have ever done to make your injuries your fault. Even if you did something horrible, it wouldn’t make what happened to you okay.”
Swallowing hard, she told him, “I’ll help you, no questions asked. All you have to do is come here, Dylan.”
Leaning closer, he kissed her cheek and she wondered if he could tell how warm it was. No one but her Nana had ever kissed her before.
“You’re a good person, Lizzy.”
“I try to be.” He nodded and opened the door. She watched him walk down her back steps, into the alley, until he disappeared around the corner.
Still she stood there for a long time, her fingers resting over the place where Dylan’s lips had touched her cheek. She wondered if she would ever see him again and worried that he would die if he were beaten again so badly.
Closing the door, she turned and met her Nana’s eyes on the other side of the kitchen. The elderly woman’s eyes were sad.
“I love the woman you grew up to be, Elizabeth.”
“I had a good example, Nana.”
Eventually, they would talk about Dylan’s presence in the house and her Nana would be the only person to hear the secret she swore not to tell for almost a decade.
As her only friend and family, Elizabeth needed the comfort and strength her grandmother represented – qualities she shared unselfishly with others.
* * *
The summer passed slowly and she tried to put Dylan out of her thoughts.
Unfortunately, having so few interactions with other people gave her hours with him a much larger significance in her mind and she found herself thinking about him, wondering if he was safe, almost constantly.
Several weeks later, she was running through the park when she saw him up ahead on the path, leaning against a tree.
Surprised, she slowed as she neared him and stopped a few feet away. His eyes were clear but there was a fresh bruise along his jaw.
“Hi, Lizzy.”
“Hi, Dylan.” Nervously, she wrapped her fingers together. “How are you feeling?”
“As good as I ever do, I guess. How are you?”
She smiled. “I’m as good as I ever am, I guess.”
“Do you mind if I walk with you a little?”
“Of course not.”
They fell into step side by side and were quiet for almost a quarter mile. He smelled like muscle ointment and her stomach knotted in concern.
“You run a lot.”
Without looking at him, she replied, “I’m training for the NYC Marathon.”
&n
bsp; “Really?” She nodded. “That’s amazing. I’ve never known anyone who did that. When is it?”
“In September. I’m almost to my twenty-mile mark now.”
Elizabeth took down her ponytail and put it back up after smoothing the flyaways along the sides of her head nervously. Though short hair was easier to maintain, she learned long ago that she needed as many ways as possible to advertise that she was, in fact, a girl.
They walked a little further before he stopped and touched her arm. “I have a little sister, a half-sister. Her name is Carol and she’s thirteen.”
Terror that another person lived in a house where violence took place regularly settled in her chest.
“Her mom was my step-mother before my dad died. She’s my guardian now, the reason we came to live here when I was ten. There was nowhere else for me to go.”
Unable to be still, Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her torso and waited.
“I need you to know why I stay there. I don’t want you to think I’m a loser or a wimp.”
Frowning, she said, “I would never think that.”
“You’re different, Lizzy.”
“Yeah, I hear that a lot.” Ignoring the lump in her throat, she started walking again.
“Hey…” Tugging her wrist gently, pulling her to a stop, he shook his head. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. You’re the nicest person I’ve ever met.”
The lump was harder now, so much that she didn’t think she’d be able to talk around it.
All she could do was look at him. Then Dylan Lang leaned forward and lightly kissed her lips. It was a small peck and quickly over.
To him, it was probably nothing.
Elizabeth imagined that an eighteen-year-old boy who looked like him had given and received many kisses. Had more complex kisses with girls who were very different from Elizabeth…probably more than kisses.
For Elizabeth, it meant so much more. It was her first true kiss.
“Why did you do that?” she asked him quietly.
Dylan shrugged his shoulders. “You looked like you needed it.”
She nodded and headed toward the park exit. Across the street, she walked into the little market and picked up a few things to make for lunch. Adding two large apples to the basket, she carried it to the register. Thanking the cashier with a smile, she reached for the bags but Dylan picked them up.
“I’ll carry them for you, Lizzy.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
“Thank you.”
They didn’t say much on the way to her house and she held the back door open so he could go inside. Nana sat at the table with one of her magazines.
“Elizabeth, have you seen this foolishness with that Britney girl? She needs a hug and better friends, I think.”
Glancing up, her eyes widened when she saw Dylan. “Hello there. I’m Jewel.”
“Hello, ma’am. I’m Dylan Lang.”
“What a gentleman, carrying bags. Would you like a cold drink?”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
Elizabeth slid out a chair. “Have a seat. I’m making lunch if you have time to eat.”
Once again, she gave him no chance to answer as she moved around the kitchen. From the corner of her eye, she saw him lower slowly into the chair.
Nana came to her rescue and filled the silence. “I like the gossip magazines. As much dirt on those wacky celebrities as I can absorb. Elizabeth says they’ll rot my brain. I think she’s right because I forget some of the presidents but know where Angelina and her brood were spotted last.”
Dylan laughed and the sound went straight into a part of Elizabeth’s soul she didn’t know she possessed.
His laughter settled there, warm and gentle, as if it had been waiting for him all along.
Grinning, Nana winked at her new friend. “She refuses to give The Bachelor a chance but with enough guilt, I can get her to watch American Idol with me.”
Elizabeth smiled to herself as she made sandwiches. Her Nana would bang her hand on the arm of her chair, yelling, “What is wrong with you? Why do you have to be so mean all the time?”
“I don’t watch much TV. I read comic books mostly but I like Piers Anthony and Kurt Vonnegut. Ray Bradbury’s stuff is great, too.”
“Hmm…heavy stuff. I read those when I was young. When you get to be my age, you read for cheap thrills. I get them where I can.”
They were discussing Fahrenheit 451 when Elizabeth set sandwiches down in front of them with a large plate of sliced apples and cheese.
Dylan looked up and smiled. “Thanks, Lizzy.”
“Sure.” She murmured as she moved away to pour glasses of tea.
“What do you plan to do with yourself, Dylan?” Nana asked him kindly as she nibbled an apple slice. “Any future plans now that high school is done?”
Elizabeth turned to watch his face with the tea in her hand.
She wanted to see his expression because his answer was very important to her as well.
He looked at her grandmother and smiled sadly. “Survive, ma’am. All I want to do is survive.”
Chapter Three
Summer faded and Elizabeth met the changing season with a sense of excitement and trepidation. She didn’t see Dylan and her thoughts drifted to him at the most unexpected times.
The week of the marathon had arrived and she wondered if he would come to watch. It was silly because she knew they weren’t exactly friends.
Not that she didn’t wish they were.
Nana didn’t plan to miss the marathon for any reason and Elizabeth found a lovely little café near the end of the race for her to sit and relax. She took the waitress aside with a smile.
“It will be a few hours. She won’t be any trouble but I don’t want her outside. It’s still too hot. If you’ll keep her in tea and little snacks, notice if she needs anything, and talk to her now and again – she’ll be just fine. I know she wants to be here for this.”
The woman was older, heavy, with silver roots showing along her hairline. Her eyes and smile were kind.
“Don’t you worry about her one bit. Enjoy your race, dear. I couldn’t run from here to the next block over if a bear was chasing me.”
Elizabeth grinned. “There was a time I didn’t think I could either. Thank you so much.”
Nana kissed her and wished her luck and she took a cab across town to the starting line.
The experience was unlike anything she’d imagined. So many thousands of people but there was a camaraderie and a sense of teamwork among them. People of all ages and races ran together, sweated together, and helped each other. Spectators lined the route and cheered for all of them.
For almost four hours, Elizabeth felt what it was like to fit in, to be around a group of strangers who didn’t care what she looked like, how manly she was, or that she was shy.
They ran, she ran, and it was breathtaking.
Elizabeth promised herself that as long as she was able, she’d run the marathon every year to remind her that peace and contentment could be found in the strangest and most unexpected places.
As she crossed the finish line, she felt overwhelmed with awe. Strong and focused…truly proud of who she was and what she’d accomplished.
She took plenty of time to recover; walking around, eating orange slices, and drinking what seemed like her weight in water. Nana would worry if she came back gasping and cramping.
On her third lap of cool down, she glanced up and saw her grandmother standing on the corner. Nana was smiling and waving with both hands.
Dylan stood beside her.
“You did it, my darling girl! I’m so proud of you!” Her favorite person in the world was practically jumping up and down with excitement.
Approaching with her heart in her throat, Elizabeth kissed her forehead. “Thanks, Nana. I’m all sweaty or I’d hug you.”
“Psshhtt! Come here, best girl!” Then she was wrapped in a tight hug. “Outstanding, Eli
zabeth.”
She nodded as Nana pulled her face down and kissed her cheeks.
To the man standing less than two feet away, she said quietly, “I can’t believe you came. I didn’t expect you to do that.”
Hoped, but never believed.
“It’s a big deal…the marathon. I wanted to cheer you on. The crowds are ridiculous.” He smiled down at Nana. “She was standing outside watching as I made it to this end.”
His face lifted and copper eyes stared into hers. “We were able to watch you cross the finish line. Good job, Lizzy.”
“Thank you, Dylan.”
There was no way she could have said more but she thought he saw the tears in her eyes.
The rest of the runners eventually made it across and she wore her medal of completion with pride. They passed the time at the little café and Elizabeth tipped the friendly waitress heavily for watching over Nana.
It was a good day.
When they made it back to Long Island that night, Dylan walked them home and lightly kissed her lips again on the back steps.
“Goodnight, Lizzy.”
“Goodnight, Dylan. Thank you for coming today.”
His smile was slow. “It was my pleasure.”
He turned and went down the steps. She watched as he walked into the dark with butterflies in her stomach. Every personal interaction with Dylan entrenched him further into her mind and heart.
At the time, she didn’t realize it would be almost a year before she saw him again.
* * *
During her first introduction class for college, Elizabeth sat quietly near the wall and tried to slouch a bit. There were times she could appear hulking and she didn’t want to stand out.
Across the aisle, a gorgeous young man gave her a careful smile. Frowning, she analyzed him for a long moment because he looked familiar.
“Riley Pritchard?”
“Hi, Elizabeth.”
“Hello.”
She stared at the front of the room and ignored the heat that spread over her body in embarrassment.
Why did someone she’d gone to school with have to be in the same class? Hadn’t they tormented her enough?
Elizabeth heard him clear his throat. “Hey…can I talk to you for a minute, Elizabeth?”
Completely Wrecked: A Dramatic Romance Page 2
