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Authors: Sam Crescent

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BOOK: Scarred Beauty
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“I’m twenty years old. That crap about falling
in love and finding a man who’ll love me for me is bullshit. You know that. I
know that. So stop trying to fill me up with false promises.” She folded her
hands under her breasts to try to stop herself from touching her face.

“If someone can learn to love me then they can
love you.”

She wanted to shout at him. His situation had
been different from hers. He would never carry around physical scars on his
body. Brad, or Bradley Welch, had been sober for two years. He’d suffered with
alcohol and drug addiction along with a gambling problem. When she listed the
problems she could understand the comparison. She’d only lived with the scars
down one side of her face and neck. Brad did have the hardest thing to deal
with. Every day he had to live with the temptation always in reach for the
substances he craved.

Blinking back the tears she turned to him. “What
do you think?”

He moved to her side, ran his fingers through her
hair. “You do know men will see past your blonde hair and full figure to see
the woman underneath.”

“All they have to do is get past the revulsion
of the scars on my face.”

“The hair colour looks lovely, but it’s not
yours. You’re only hiding. How long will this one last?” he asked.

“Until I grow bored.”

“Or until another man checks you out, sees your
scars, and recoils, as you’ve said many times before.”

The first time a guy had checked her out, she’d
been shopping for their groceries. Brad had pointed him out to her. Without
thinking, Noelle turned round to see who’d been checking her out, only to see
the guy change completely as he looked at her face. Since then she’d spent most
of her time changing hair colour, which she miraculously did without the use of
a mirror.

Brad owned the only available mirror, and Noelle
hated staring at it.

“I’ve got a lunch date tomorrow. Are you going
to be okay by yourself?” he asked.

Rolling her eyes, she nodded at her best friend.
“I can look after myself. I did a great job before you came into my life.”

He kissed her on the head. “But I’m the best
thing that’s ever happened to you. You should call your family.”

“Why would I want to do that?
 
I’m better off on my own.”

“You think you’re better on your own curled up
in an apartment all day?”

“I get by. Besides, who is the date with?” she
asked changing the subject.

“My brother. I’ve not seen him in years, and I
contacted him and asked for a date to talk to him.”

She had heard him talk about his older half-brother.
There was conflict between Brad’s mother and the older brother’s mom or
something.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” He kissed
her on the head and left her room. Noelle played with a curl of her ultra
violet hair. The colour had been a radical change. She knew it was a mistake,
but she wouldn’t change it. Unconsciously she began to finger the line of her
scar. The car accident that had created the resulting damage was still a blur.
Her father hated himself, and because she blamed him, too, Noelle stayed well
away from home. She hadn’t visited once in the two years since she left.

Sighing, she lay across her bed, grabbed her
book and began to read. Romances were her guilty pleasure. There was no book
that she’d read where the main heroine didn’t get her man. Whether she might be
on the fuller side or have something wrong with her, the men all fell in love,
eventually.

She fell asleep during the early hours of the
morning with her romance book clutched between her fingers.

 

 

Chapter Two

 

 
Isaac sat
waiting in his favourite Italian restaurant for his half-brother to show. He
sipped the strong blend of coffee they were famous for and perused the menu.
Meeting his brother after so long apart would certainly provide some source of
entertainment. None of the dishes appealed on the menu appealed to him.
Frowning, he placed the menu down on the work top as he looked around at the
people inside the small building.

He recognised few. The flirtatious gazes from
women he was accustomed to. He couldn’t believe how much he’d changed in the
last few years. So many women would welcome him into their bed, but none of
them would see past his glamorous lifestyle.

The moment Bradley Welch walked through the
door, Isaac recognised him immediately. He’d been the oldest son of the next
generation of Welches. Twenty years separated them in age. Staring at the man
coming towards him, Isaac felt great respect for him. The challenge of
contacting an older brother must have required great courage, especially since
Isaac had publicly disowned his father’s new family many years ago.

Bradley stood at the table.

“Are you going to sit, Bradley?” Isaac asked.

“My name is Brad, and I was making sure I’d be
able to sit down.”

Isaac nodded his head and watched as the younger
man sat down. Isaac signalled the waiter over to take their orders. When they’d
ordered a light lunch the two men observed each other, neither speaking a
word.
 

The waiter came and served them coffee, and
placed their lunch in front of them.

“Thank you for seeing me,” Brad said, the words
breaking the ice.

“I was intrigued by your message. I wondered
what you could possibly want to see me about.”

“Steps.”

Isaac glanced over at him as Brad stopped the
waiter from pouring wine into his glass. The restaurant always served the
finest wine with every meal.

“Why don’t you have some wine? I promise you it
is quality.”

“I don’t think serving wine to a recovering
alcoholic is considered a great step on the road of recovery.”

Silence met Brad’s admission. Isaac felt like an
idiot. When he’d disowned his father and family, thinking about them had never
entered his head.

“How long have you been free of alcohol?” Isaac
asked.

“Three years from alcohol and gambling. Two
years free from drugs.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-three.”

“But I thought you were twenty,” Isaac said.

“No. Mum and dad had me while he was still
married to your mum. You left as they were moving me into the house.”

The silence well and truly broken, Isaac stared
down at his salad. The thought of eating it repulsed him.

“I’m sorry to hear about your problems.” For too
long he’d dealt in the business world where his emotions were not needed.
Speaking with his brother was awakening something within him, making talking
very difficult.

“Don’t be. I’ve gone through shit, but I’m
better now.”

“I guess you better start from the beginning.”
Isaac sat back, sipped his coffee as he listened to Brad inform him about his
life. The steps to recovery and Isaac were part of a collection of people he
wanted to get to know. He learnt the alcohol was only the beginning. His mum
and dad completely missed the drug and gambling abuse. With every passing
minute, Isaac felt like a complete and total asshole of a brother. He’d been so
convinced of his superiority and of his mother’s superior situation, he hadn’t
thought the damage it could do to others around him. He’d known Brad existed
but had failed to even give a shit about him. The other man had been dragged
under by his position and had fought his way out.

“What made you decide to quit and seek help?”

“I met someone. I met a lovely young woman who
showed me love and happiness can come from other places than at the bottom of
the bottle,” Brad said with a smile.

“Are you engaged to be married?” Isaac asked as
he noted the other man wasn’t wearing a ring of any kind.

“No. It’s nothing like that. Noelle is my best
friend. We share an apartment together not too far from here. She’s amazing,
but she has her own demons to live with. Anyway, you see, I’m gay.”

Isaac waited for the food to be taken away
before starting up the conversation again. The female friend sounded like
someone who really mattered, so Isaac brought her up again.

“I guess Noelle is one of a kind,” he said.

“She’s the most amazing friend I’ve had.
Throughout the rehabilitation process and the start of my new life she’s been
by my side.”

“How come you didn’t bring her today?” Isaac
wanted to meet the woman whom Brad talked so fondly about.

“I wanted to meet you in person, alone for my
first time. She wouldn’t come out. She doesn’t like going out much.”

Isaac noticed the vague answer from his brother
but left it alone. Other people’s business had nothing to do with him. When his
phone went off, he told his secretary to reschedule all of his appointments as
he would be busy for the remainder of the day. Isaac was shocked by how much he
wanted to get to know the man in front of him. The life Isaac led left him
unsatisfied, and the only way to get out of it was to take charge and be the
type of man he wanted to be.

They talked about everything, the restaurant
buzzing around them. Isaac didn’t pay attention to the waiters as they served
coffee and then dinner. The day went by as Isaac and Brad got to know each
other. The first meeting was a huge success.

Brad’s phone beeped during a conversation. Isaac
watched as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and went to delete the call.

“Shit. I’ve got to take this,” Brad said and
made to get up.

“Don’t worry. Answer your call. I won’t be
offended.”

“Hi Noelle. ... I’m perfectly fine. Yes, I’ve
met him. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. All right....”

Isaac could hear the concern Noelle had for his
brother. He wondered what the woman was like. Did she have a family of her own
to care about? Brad started laughing, shaking his head.

“I’ve got to go. I’ll be home soon. Take care,
bye.” He ended the call. “I’m sorry about that. We usually call each other on a
regular basis to make sure we’re okay.”

“She sounds like a wonderful woman.”

“She is. You’d like her, but I doubt very much
you’d meet her.”

“How come?”

“She rarely leaves the apartment, especially
during the day. I don’t want to talk about it as she’s my best friend, and her
problem isn’t a part of this.”

“Then by all means, continue with what we talking
about before.”

He listened to Brad talk some more and spoke
with him. The problems in his own life were irrelevant as he sat drinking
coffee and talking with his estranged half-brother.

****

Noelle placed the phone back into the cradle and
stared out across the dark night skyline. The lights were switched off in the
apartment, so she couldn’t see her reflection in the glass. Opening the doors
on the fortieth floor, she stood on the patio and looked down at the street
below. She saw people walking around, oblivious to their life being observed.
Sighing, Noelle folded her arms over her chest and walked back inside the
house. When Brad hadn’t phoned to say he was okay, she’d been worried half to
death.

For the past three years, they’d been each
other’s strength. She’s met him when she was seventeen, in the last year of
high school. He’d been sat in an alley way as she walked past. Her gut had told
her to stop when she walked in front of him, so she had knelt down. He’d stared
at her with a vacant look. Her scars had meant nothing to him. His addiction
problems meant nothing to her. Together they’d survived their painful pasts.

They could depend on no one but each other.

Winter was fast approaching, and soon she
wouldn’t be able to leave the house without the added comfort of a hat, gloves
and scarf.
 
She picked up her romance
book and began reading. The storyline was about a full figured woman who
couldn’t find a man and ended up finding love through an escort service. The
story was hot with massive amounts of tension and a gripping plot. The sex was
dirty, which made her yearn to be the woman on the receiving end of such
passion.
  

Putting the book down, she glanced around the
room and saw Brad’s laptop sitting closed at the table. Curiosity biting at
her, Noelle moved to the screen and pressed a few buttons.

In no time the internet was up, the search
engine ready for her to type. She placed the book by the side of her and typed
in some words. Male escort service.

The search bought up a huge list of sites. She
clicked on a few and gasped at the naked pictures on some of them.

Being a virgin and never having kissed a man
before, Noelle stared in wonder at some of the women being fucked on the screen
before her. The only knowledge she had was the stuff she’d watched in movies
and the television, along with the reading of the erotic romance books. Licking
her lips, she searched through all of the sites available. No man had ever
looked at her with pure, naked longing. For once she wanted to be able to be near
a man and know what it felt like to be touched, to be cared for, and maybe even
to be loved by a man.

BOOK: Scarred Beauty
3.57Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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