Such a Pretty Face by Annabelle Costa

Chapter 31

Brody works from home most days, but he goes in at least one day a week. And his office isn’t far from where I live. So if Abby isn’t going to be around, we sometimes meet up at my apartment after he goes to work, although I can tell Brody doesn’t love coming to my apartment. Even though he can fit through the door, he feels more comfortable in his own space.

It’s the little things, you know? Like at his apartment, he can control the television with his phone, but all we have at my apartment is a remote with all these teeny tiny buttons. So he can’t control my television at all. And, since we don’t have his lift here, there’s no chance of him being able to get in and out of his wheelchair.

Still, it’s nice not to have to trek all the way over to his apartment. Also, Brody looks so cute when he’s all dressed up from work. Like today he shows up, and he’s wearing a tie. It’s a simple dark blue tie that somehow makes his eyes seem bluer. I’ve seen him in dress shirts many times before, but never a tie. It’s really hot. “I love ties,” I say.

“Oh?” Brody says. He stops in the middle of his attempt to hook his fingers into the loop and pull it off.

“Yeah, they’re sexy,” I say. “But you don’t have to wear it.”

“I don’t mind,” he says, although he loosens it slightly.

We decide to order a pizza, even though it will mean breaking my diet. Much like all New Yorkers, Brody and I are both pizza snobs. We both have a very definite idea of what makes up the perfect pizza. When I went to college in Boston, I suffered through some mediocre pies from chains like Little Caesar’s (ugh), Dominos (okay) or Pizzeria Uno (better, but still not acceptable). You just can’t get a decent pie in Boston. And don’t even get me started on the deep-dish Chicago pizzas. Just…no. A perfect pizza has thin crust.

Brody and I have solemnly agreed that Mike’s Pizza is the best and only place to get pizza. And best of all, they deliver in twenty minutes or less, or else the pizza is free. Which is perfect, because we’re both starving.

At the twelve-minute mark, I hear the buzzer and I applaud the pizza guy for being early. I buzz him up and unlock the door, ready to fling it open the second I smell that distinctive oil and cheese and tomato sauce aroma. I ordered a large pie with pepperoni and extra cheese, but I can only eat a maximum of two slices in front of Brody. Even that is kind of pushing it.

When the doorbell rings, I hurry over to answer it. I fling the door open, but unfortunately, it’s not the pizza guy. It’s someone entirely different, someone who is the last person I’d want to see standing at my door. I recognize him immediately from his photos.

It’s Norm.

Oh shit. What the hell is Norm doing here?

I stare at him, my mouth hanging open. Unlike me, he looks pretty much identical to his photos, although he’s shorter than I expected. It’s not like he’s a heartthrob, definitely not as cute as Brody, but there’s nothing ugly about him. He looks at me with a pleasant smile on his face, and that’s when I notice he’s carrying a small bouquet of roses. “Hi,” he says. “My name is Norm. Is Emily around?”

My first instinct, of course, is to lie. Emily moved. Yes, she used to live here, but she’s long gone. No forwarding address, sorry. Except at that moment, Brody comes wheeling over to me and says, “Emily? Who’s at the door?”

There’s this horrible moment when I can see the wheels turning in Norm’s brain as he figures it all out. His eyes become saucers. “You’re… Emily?” he manages.

If only Brody weren’t here. I could fix this if I were all by myself. Goddamn Brody. Of course, now Brody is staring at me just as intently as Norm is. “Yes,” I croak.

“Emily Davison?” he asks. He still can’t believe it. Poor schmuck.

“Yes,” I say again, my voice barely a whisper. Please leave, Norm. Please.

He blinks a few times. “Are you the one that I…”

I can only nod.

Norm’s face morphs from stunned to furious. A vein bulges in his forehead. “If you’re Emily Davison, then who the fuck was the pretty girl in all those photos you sent me?”

My cheeks burn. “I’m so sorry, Norm. I didn’t mean to…”

“All this time,” Norm mutters. “All this time I was in love with you, and you’ve just been playing me. I can’t fucking believe this.”

Brody wheels closer to us, his eyebrows scrunched together. “Emily, what’s going on here?”

“This must be the boyfriend,” Norm sneers. He looks at Brody. “You should know that your fat girlfriend here is messing around with guys on the internet, acting like she’s into them, and sending them photos of other girls. Hot girls.”

Brody looks rattled. I don’t want him to think I’ve been cheating on him, even on the internet. I haven’t—not even once. “It was before you and I were together,” I say desperately. “I swear.” I look at Norm. “We haven’t talked in almost a year. I told you not to contact me. Why are you even here?”

“Because I thought I was in love with you.” Norm’s lips twist into a grimace. “Of course, that was before I knew you were a big fat liar. A big fat disgusting lying pig.”

Even as my eyes fill with tears, I know I deserve this. I lied to Norm. He was in love with me and bared his soul to me, and I bullshitted him. All I can say in my defense is I didn’t do it out of maliciousness. I did it because I was lonely, and I knew he wouldn’t love the real me.

And now it’s all exploding in my face. Brody is going to hate me now—I wouldn’t blame him for leaving me after this. And that’s the worst part of it. Losing Brody would kill me.

“Hey,” Brody says to Norm. “You can’t talk to her that way.”

Norm looks at Brody in surprise. “What?”

“I said you can’t talk to my girlfriend that way.” Brody’s voice is calm but there’s a menacing edge to it. Something I’ve never heard before from him since he’s always been nothing but sweet around me. He’s staring down Norm, an intense look in his usually mild blue eyes. “I want you to apologize to her right now.”

“Hey, buddy,” Norm says. “She’s the one who lied to me.”

“I don’t fucking care.” Brody moves his chair closer to Norm. “You’re going to fucking apologize to Emily and you’re going to do it right now.”

I look up at Norm’s face. What’s crazy is that he looks frightened. Why, I can’t imagine. Brody’s clearly in no shape to take him on in a fight. Yet I have to admit, the way he’s talking is a little scary. Menacing. Honestly, I wouldn’t have guessed Brody had it in him.

“I’m sorry, Emily,” Norm mutters, staring down at his feet. Wow. I can’t even believe he apologized. This is amazing. I should apologize too, but my mouth feels glued shut.

“Good,” Brody says. “Now get the fuck out of here.”

Norm lifts his eyes. “You know, she might be lying to you too.”

“I missed the part where that’s any of your business.” Brody raises his eyebrows. “Now get out before we call the cops.”

And Norm is gone like a lightning bolt. He practically sprints down the hall. I shut the door behind him, my hands shaking. I lean against the wall, still blinking to hold back the tears. I’m afraid to even look at Brody. I can’t even imagine what he must think about me.

“I wonder where the pizza is,” Brody says.

I stare at him. How could he be thinking about pizza right now? Even I’m not thinking about pizza right now. “You’re not… angry at me?”

Brody shrugs. “Why would I be angry? He’s the one who came here acting like a maniac. You haven’t talked to him since we’ve been together. I saw that text message. He was harassing you.”

“But…” I bite my lip. “I lied to him.”

“Yeah, so?” He shrugs again. “I mean, you messed around a little on the internet. Big wow. It’s not like you’re the first person in history to do that.” He takes a breath. “I mean, to be honest, I’ve done it before too.”

I frown. “You have?”

“Well, yeah, of course,” he says with a shrug. “Look, I’m a guy in a wheelchair. You think girls on the internet get super excited when I share that information? So, you know, I don’t.”

Somehow it never occurred to me that Brody had ever done the same thing I’ve done. It makes sense though. Still, I want to be completely honest with him. “It wasn’t just online though,” I admit. “I talked to him on the phone… we were almost going to meet up but I… well, obviously I didn’t go through with it.”

“Yeah.” Brody nods. “Been there, done that.”

I stare at him. “Are you serious?”

“Emily,” he says in a calm, sensible voice. “You think guys don’t get lonely too? Most girls… like ninety-nine percent of them aren’t interested in me for… well, for obvious reasons. Online relationships are easier. You can… you know, tell them only what you want them to know. They don’t need to find out that I need help to take a goddamn shower or get dressed, that’s for sure. I even spent like an hour getting the perfect angle for the camera on my computer so that my wheelchair wouldn’t be visible on Skype.” He rolls his eyes. “It sounds so pathetic when I say it out loud, but… I don’t know. Anyway, I’m glad I don’t have to do that shit anymore.”

Wow. That is a surprise. But what he’s saying makes sense. He’s right that a lot of girls wouldn’t date a guy as impaired as he is. But something about it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. “So, um, can I ask you something then?”

Brody smiles. “Sure.”

“When you asked me out,” I begin, “was it because you liked me, or was it only because you thought I’d say yes.”

The smile fades from Brody’s face. He sighs loudly and rubs his chin with his curled fingers. “Emily.” He wheels closer to me so that he can run his hand over my chest. “I find you incredibly attractive. I think about you all the freaking time. The thought of being close to you just… it floors me. I love you.” He lifts his blue eyes to look into mine. “Is that enough of an answer?”

“Yes,” I say honestly. “And I have to tell you, it was pretty damn sexy the way you stood up to Norm for me.”

Brody grins. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” I run my fingers along his jawline, feeling the stubble of his beard. “Weren’t you worried that he’d, like, hit you or something?”

Brody laughs. “That guy? Are you serious? First of all, nobody who meets their girlfriends on the internet is getting in a fistfight. And second, there was no way that guy was hitting anyone. Not a chance in hell.”

“How did you know?”

“I just knew,” he says. “I’ve been Sean’s brother long enough to have seen my fair share of fights, believe me.”

I raise my eyebrows at him. “You know, my sister told me you got suspended for being in a fistfight at school.”

Brody laughs. “Oh, right. I remember that. Junior year. This guy Evan Rogers got all pissed off at me because I made out with his girlfriend at some party. He came right up to me in the hallway and shoved me. It was entirely his fault, but everyone loved him, so I got suspended and he just got a slap on the wrist.”

I smile. “Did you win the fight, at least?”

“No, I got the shit kicked out of me. I mean, the guy was on the football team.” He shakes his head. “It was a stupid move making out with his girlfriend.”

I try to imagine Brody in a fight, but it’s hard. Aside from that one photo in the yearbook, I’ve never seen him as anything other than a quadriplegic. His brother in a fight though—that I can imagine.

The buzzer rings again and we both jump. “That’s probably the pizza,” I say.

Brody winks at me. “You sure it’s not some other boyfriend of yours?”

I laugh, but this was a close call. Norm came so damn close to ruining everything for me.