Scarred Beauty(4)

“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.