Beautiful Disaster (The Bet) (32 page)

The symphony of machines simultaneously working together to keep her alive sounded like rushing waves, soothing and yet disturbing. Nicholas looked down at her. She was so small. The tubes, wires and patches against her flushed pink skin looked abnormal, they did not belong there.

He settled his hand against the plastic glass and he clenched his jaw to keep the tears at bay. No, his little girl did not belong in there. She was a princess, with curling tufts of his dark hair. She deserved to be in a massive palace with the world at her feet.

Was this how Ellie felt when Sophie had fallen ill? This feeling of helplessness that had him wishing and praying that God would give him her pain? He wanted to fight for her. He was her father. He would slay dragons for her. He would give her the moon and the galaxies if she but asked it of him.

"Come on my, baby...let daddy be your dragon slayer...."

She only laid there, small chest struggling to take in oxygen. She was sleeping now, God was allowing her rest, but Nicholas knew it wouldn't be long until she woke and fought for life.

Nicholas sniffed. "Please be strong. I know I'm not allowed to ask you for anything, but please be strong for me? You have to beat this so that you and I can have a chance. I want to be your daddy and I want you to be my princess. We have so much to do you and me, so much to share, so much I want to show you...give you. You can have a stable full of ponies...our home will be your little kingdom, princess..." Nicholas's tears poured now, his voice choked with them. "Y---you'll get to meet Ellie and Sophie, you'll love them. They're very special to me and they'll love you almost as much as I love you. So you have to pull through this princess, you have to be strong and survive this, because I---I can't bear to lose you. Please."

Nicholas remained at her side, watched her small face contort in pain and then relax, and watched her small nose wrinkle cutely as he counted ten fingers and toes, all dainty and small. In his head he silently christened her Bella because there was nothing else that suited her more. Nicholas watched over her until the very moment when the nurse came to inform him that visiting hours were over and even then he stole a few more minutes to be by her side before he reluctantly left the room.

There was only one other person who he yearned to see in that moment and nothing or no one was going to stop him.

"Welcome to Splendor, my name is Ellie and I'll be your waitress tonight." It was a switch she turned on, one that served the purpose of putting the customers at ease, make them feel welcomed. A good waitress earned a good tip. Let the sweet smile grace your lips, slip on the mask of enthusiasm and be eternally patient. Above all else, your problem, whatever baggage you had going on wasn't their concern, so leave the issues at the door and pick it back up when you're done with your shift. These were the rules Ellie lived by, ones she'd come to rely on a lot recently.

School, along with everything else hadn't been pleasant as of late. She no longer had the shroud of anonymity. Everyone at school knew who she was now. They whispered behind cupped hands as she walked down the corridors, following her every move with hawk-like eyes as they recounted the events of that day. Some didn't even make it a point to whisper but rather blatantly spoke about the intimate details of her relationship with Nicholas like it was tabloid news.

The girls were especially malicious in mixing lies with half-truths that Ellie didn't even recognize the stories they told. The pitying looks were the worse though and the teachers were the number one provocateurs of that. It all became too much after a while.

Not for the first time in the last few weeks had Ellie not felt like the entire world was against them. Waiting with bated breath for either Nicholas or herself to give into the pressure, sigh in exasperation and wave the white flag. Renounce their love so that everyone else could be happy.   

It was a sore temptation for someone like Ellie, who had experienced both the miserable aspect of life and love to just give in. Even now Ellie felt tempted to forget their love affair had ever existed and just move on. Forget that for a brief stretch of time she'd been truly happy. Forget Nicholas...forget everything.

But then a sudden thought occurred to Ellie and she wondered if it was at all possible to truly forget the other side of her soul. Could she forget his face, so permanently etched within the grooves of her mind? Was it possible to forget the sensation of being in the arms of a person who made you see the world so differently? The imprint of his lips upon hers still lingered, like ghosts now, but Ellie still felt them. The memories of those rare passionate moments they'd shared were impossible to forget.

And the answer to all her questions became clear. Ellie didn't want to forget Nicholas, because she
couldn't
forget about Nicholas. She was physically and emotionally incapable of doing so. Moreover as clichéd as it may have been, Ellie believed that Nicholas was the other side of her. Nicholas Grayson was her soul mate.

Love was a two-sided coin etched with eternal heartbreak and eternal joy and as miserable as it made you feel at times, the rewards reaped because of the misery would be bountiful. Ellie had to believe that good things were coming their way. She just had to keep her faith and know that love was leading her down the right path. She had to believe with her entire being that Nicholas would wait for her down that path.

So today was yet another day she had to endure. The pain of missing Nicholas was always there, lurking in the depths of her heart, expanding until at times it was all she felt, but Ellie couldn't allow herself to fall victim...not again.

"I have the beer braised beef with mushroom for the gentleman," Ellie carefully maneuvered the large plate of steaming food in the front of a giant man by the name of James Laurens, a regular at Splendor who happened to be a great tipper.

Laurens or rather James as he'd asked Ellie to call him upon their first meeting, was a self-made millionaire who'd made his riches by breeding animals people paid a ridiculous amount of money to own. By just the looks of him, one would never surmise that he was worth anything. He had a joyful demeanor and a bawdy good-natured sense of humor that always managed to put a genuine smile of Ellie's face.

"Well ain't this the grandest meal I've seen in a bit of a while. Gabe must be in the kitchen." Everything about James was bigger than life and that included his laughter, a jovial sound that reminded Ellie of Santa Claus.

Ellie smiled. "Yeah, Gabe actually managed to get off his lazy butt and cook. He made the beef extra tender for you. And for the lady, I have the Lemon chicken and your potatoes will be right out. Can I get you anything else?" James looked over at the woman seated across from, who Ellie could only guess to be the infamous Tinsley Davenport. Ellie had heard lots things about her from James and she hoped that Tinsley made the gentle giant happy. He more than deserved it. With a promise to return in a little while to check on them, Ellie left them to their meal.

With the dinner crowd arriving en masse, the rest of the evening did not allow Ellie a moment's pity as both the staff and customers pulled her in every direction. The thought of Nicholas did not enter her mind until well after the last customers made their way out the door.

"Ells, Gabe told me to let you know he left early to go pick up Sophie." said Sandy, a slim and pretty brunette who hadn't been with Splendor overly long, but was a pro with the customers with her friendly attitude and ready smile.

Ellie tipped them out, peering down at the receipts she punched in the last three numbers in the calculator before looking up. "Alright Sandy, thanks for the message. You can close up the back door and tell Josh to lock the kitchen and you're all free to go."

"You're a Goddess! Did I ever tell you're my favorite person to close with, Ells?" She asked sweetly sweeping the terry cloth across the bar.

Ellie wearily grinned. "I aim to please."

"Hey, do you want to go out clubbing with us? Josh and Kennedy are coming with me."

"No thanks, I'm really beat. I think I'll just go home, shower, and hit the sac."

"I'm sorry, Ells, but you have got to be the most boring eighteen year old girl I know."

"Josh!" Sandy threw her cloth at the lanky, auburn haired man who made his way towards them. A grin split his lips as he caught the towel and threw it back at her. "Don't be so mean."

Josh rolled his eyes, as he settled into one of the spinning stools set before the long bar. "I'm not being mean, I'm being honest. For a girl as hot as Ellie is, life should be one massive orgy of parties and guys! My freaking Grandmother acts younger than her and she's like knocking on ninety!"

"As much as I hate to agree with him, I'd have to say he's right Ells. Come on, it'll be really fun!" She cajoled, her bottom lip jutting out in a pout. "Please…?"

Ellie calmly put the calculator away, sighing she looked them. "My life is fun. Just because I don't go club hopping and getting smashed doesn't mean I don't have fun. Besides I'm really not into that scene anymore, I went through it and I really don't want to go back. Now, if you two are done with everything in the back I'm going to go grab my coat and keys so that we can leave."

"But---"

"No buts. Thanks for your concern, but I don't want to discuss my life anymore." With that said Ellie turned on her heel and headed to the back to get her coat and keys.

Sandy and Josh waved her goodnight before hopping into Sandy's red hot Mustang and driving off into the night. Ellie set the alarm on the door, before she too made her way to her car.

The flickering orange glow from the street lights illuminated the unblemished snow on the asphalt, catching a crystallized snowflake every now than. Ellie mindlessly admired the simple beauty of it as she dug inside her coat pocket for her keys.

She hadn't lied when she'd told Sandy and Josh that all she wanted to do was go home, get a shower and go straight to bed. What she wouldn't do for the warm comforts of her bed right now. Ellie sighed for the umpteenth time today, with any luck she wouldn't dream of Nicholas tonight, she was so tired. The sudden gust of frigid air had Ellie tugging the black pea coat tighter around her body; it was only a little bit more until she reached the Ridgeline.

The sudden screech of tires gripping the slippery asphalt prompted Ellie to look over her shoulder, wondering if someone was fishtailing. There was a white van heading her way...alarmingly fast. All thoughts escaped her as she started in a dead run, she could see the truck now, just yards away. The annoying vroom of the engine warned Ellie that the van was gaining on her, she cursed under her breath as she ran faster. Only a little bit more...

"Just a little bit furt---" Ellie wasn't given a chance to finish her sentence as an arm wrapped around her midsection and snatched her into the dark confines of the moving van.

Ellie struggled, fought and bit like a hellcat ready to be declawed. She swore and vowed revenge, but her assailants would not be deterred as they brutishly held her down, tied her hands, bound her legs, blindfolded her and wrapped a foul tasting cloth around her mouth, effectively stifling her swears.

As suddenly as it all happened, everything froze to a deafening halt and the only sounds Ellie heard was the wheezing cough of the engine as the van zoomed down the silent parking lot, snow crunching beneath the tires. The anger slowly melted away, the adrenaline pumped at a more sedate pace and the chilling fingers of fear slowly took hold and began to freeze her insides. Fear and panic fused, formulating vicious thoughts and images.

She didn't want to be raped! She didn't want to be killed! And she most certainly did not want to be KIDNAPPED! This couldn't possibly be happening to her!

Ellie fruitlessly tried to loosen her bonds, her body writhing on the floor in her desperate attempt to be free. When that didn't work, she used her weight to thump against the walls of the van-if this was to be her fate, than she would not go down without a fight!

Thump!

Thump!

Ellie did not know whether her captors where bothered by this, but she would make damn sure that they were. She needed to get them to come to her so she could---well she hadn't worked out quite what she was going to do, but right now her sole objective was to annoy the hell out of bastards who had captured her.

Thump!

Thump!

THUMP!

That one hurt her left shoulder; Ellie hoped she hadn't dislodged anything.

"Shut up the fuck up back there or I'll come and shut you up" Ah! So she did have their attention.

"The boss said not to lay a finger on her."

"No shit Einstein, like I'm really going to hurt her. I just want to scare her a little, you know, get her to stop the banging!!"

There was a momentary lapse of silence and Ellie would've gone about thumping some more if it hadn't been for the next words spoken.

"You think it's a good idea going against the big boss like this? I mean I'm not afraid or nothing, but we could get in real big trouble..."

"What are you, five? Grow some fucking balls Vinny! Besides, it ain't the big boss we need to worry ‘bout. The little boss is pretty damn scary when fucked with."