Beautiful Boy(31)

I made it to her studio in a little over thirty minutes, and before I  could even lock my car behind me, a short woman with dark, wild hair met  me in the parking lot. I ignored her at first, because I had no idea  who she was, but once she came to stand in front of me, I assumed her to  be Novah's best friend, Shari.

"I wanted to talk to you before we go inside."

I blinked at her, glancing back and forth between her dark eyes and the front door. "Okay."

"You don't remember me, do you?"

I shook my head, honestly unable to recognize her from anywhere, yet thinking maybe I should've been able to.

"I'm Shari. Novah and I were like attached at the hip in school. Surely if you remember her, then you'd remember me."

The muscle in my forehead tightened as my gaze narrowed on her, my mind  wildly trying to picture Novah with anyone in high school. Truth was, I  knew Novah had a friend, probably a few … but I couldn't remember anything  about them.

"I'm sorry, Shari, but I don't remember. That was such a long time ago."

She perched her hand on her hip and extended a leg while she tilted her head at me. "Then how can you remember Novah so well?"

I shrugged, not caring to give this woman any answers. "The mind is a  funny thing sometimes, Shari. I don't know what else to tell you."

"Okay, I'll accept that." She started to turn around, but then stopped  and glared at me. "You're not here to get some kind of revenge against  her, are you? I know a lot of shit went down, and you blamed her for  what happened to you …  Just tell me this isn't some kinda game."

My chest suddenly clenched and the air around me grew thick and muggy,  making breathing extremely difficult. "What all has she told you?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm her best friend, and ever since you showed back  up, her life has been flipped upside down. She has the right to talk to  someone about it. Don't blame her for opening up to someone she trusts."

Was I mad Novah decided to share my secrets with someone? I knew I  shouldn't be. Her friend was right-we all needed people to talk to when  things got hard. Otherwise, it sits in our minds and turns everything  else foggy and unbearable. But I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother  me to have people talking about me behind my back. Granted, I didn't  know what she'd told Shari, and she could've told Shari the bare  minimum.

She placed her hand on my arm, bringing my attention back to her  scrutinizing gaze. "Don't be upset with her. She's a strong  woman-probably the strongest I know-but it doesn't mean she is incapable  of struggling with things."

"I make her struggle with things?"

She laughed and glanced back to the door. "Yes. And I think it'd be wise for you realize this."

"Can you tell me what she struggles with?"

Her tongue peeked out and wetted her lips before she ducked her head,  blocking my ability to fully see her expression. "No." She glanced back  up at me, and her onyx eyes had softened tremendously. "That's something  you have to see for yourself. I'm not going to play the hard-ass best  friend and tell you if you hurt her, I'll gut you. But I will give you  some advice. Whatever this is, whatever demons you're battling, affects  more than you. Novah cares about you, which is nothing you don't already  know. But you should keep your eyes open around her. She's invested in  you, and with any investment, it can take a toll on a person."         

     



 

I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but I couldn't speak. Worries  and fears swirled around in my head until they merged, twisted, and  became nothing but a muddled black mess.

"Come on. Let's get inside before Novah finds us out here chatting. She wouldn't be very happy about it."

"Oh, so she can chat with you all she wants about me, but we can't have a  conversation behind her back?" It was a joke, meant to tease her, but  from the way she arched her eyebrow and blinked slowly at me, I could  tell the humor was lost on her.

"You have much to learn about women, grasshopper. And I suggest you learn quickly."

"Any tips, oh wise one?"

My jest earned a smile from her. At least she understood some humor.  "All you have to do is watch her. I know you've been through a lot, and  maybe your sight is a little clouded with grief and pain … but just focus  on her. She tells the world her feelings through her eyes. That's all  you need to know."

Then she turned around and headed toward the door, leaving me to follow behind. Why are women so damn confusing?

"Hey! You made it!" Novah met us as we walked inside, and the moment my  eyes landed on her, the entire world stopped spinning and gravity no  longer existed.

I always knew she was the most beautiful woman in the world-past and  present, and I'd safely bet the future, too-but I swear, she had this  insane ability to become even more stunning every day. She wasn't as  dressed down as I'd seen her the last two times, but she wasn't dressed  up by any means, either. Her denim shorts were frayed around her thighs  with the material of the pockets hanging lower. Instead of a T-shirt,  she wore a tank top and didn't bother to hide the straps of her bra over  her shoulders. It wasn't a low-cut tank that revealed cleavage, and it  hung loosely on her, but it was the sexiest thing ever. Simple, yet more  flattering to her body than anything I'd ever seen her wear before.

"You ready for some fun?" she asked excitedly, snapping me out of my lust-filled observations of her attire.

"What are we doing?" My voice was rough, as if all my saliva decided to thickly coat each word, and I had to clear my throat.

Shari ran to the room in the back where the office was while Novah  pulled me aside. Her bright eyes met mine with a gleam, like she had  some sort of internal light that lit them up brighter than a burning  star-a supernova. Excitement burned within her, and I couldn't stop it  from infiltrating me, leaving my body buzzing with the contagious  energy.

"What's going on, Novah?"

"So … do you remember how we talked last weekend about finding something to make you happy?"

I nodded. How could I forget? It'd been on my mind all week and left a  cloud of frustration dangling over my head. I'd spent nights staring up  at my ceiling, contemplating what used to make me happy and trying to  find some small sliver of optimism in anything I had come up with, yet I  found nothing. It'd left me feeling like a failure, and darkening my  mood each and every day until hopelessness owned me.

"Well, this may sound stupid, but I thought it could be fun. And all I ask of you is to just try to enjoy yourself, okay?"

I laughed at her nervousness and realized it was my first real laugh in  quite some time. "Are you going to tell me what you planned? Or just  force me to make blind promises?"

"That night at the junkyard, you told me you used to love taking  pictures. You were amazing at it in school, and I just so happen to be a  photographer with my very own equipment and space."

"You want me to take pictures?" I had to admit, the idea didn't sound  like fun at all. Having a camera around Novah would more than likely  lead me back down the dreaded rabbit hole to the cause of all my misery.  And that I didn't want.

"Hear me out before you say no. I thought we could go out back, behind  the studio, and goof off. Have some fun with the camera. It's a  beautiful day out, and the sun might do us some good. What do you say?"  Her fingers twisted in front of her stomach, showing the anxiety her  eyes hid. Her smile was hopeful and her posture screamed determination,  yet her fingers gave it all away.

Shari had been right … all I had to do was watch her in order to see the honesty she'd never share otherwise.

"So you just want us to go out back and take a bunch of pictures of  what? Trees and flowers? The sun? I'll do it, but I'm going to be honest  with you, Novah, it doesn't sound like fun. Maybe relaxing, or  soothing …  When I hear ‘fun,' I think laughing. Or at the very least,  smiling."         

     



 

"Well, this was actually Shari's idea."

Before I could ask what she'd meant by that, her friend came bounding  out of the office in a purple bathing-suit-looking thing with a pair of  bright-yellow spandex pants. White socks scrunched around her ankles and  were paired with white Keds on her feet. Sweatbands adorned both  wrists, along with one on her forehead, and her hair was pulled back in a  ponytail on top of her head. If her attire didn't scream eighties, then  the bright-blue eyeshadow certainly did.

My stomach rumbled, and then my chest vibrated. Before I knew it, my  cheeks ached, and that's when I heard the roaring laughter fill the  room-my laughter.

"What is this?" I asked, glancing between a smiling Novah and a very excited Shari.

"It's a photo challenge," Shari began, bouncing on the balls of her feet  like a child in a candy store. "I've always wanted to be a model, but I  think I missed my time. The eighties were a way better era for style.  You two are going to be my photographers, and when we're done, I'm going  to pick the best picture."