Handsome and the Hideous

Chapter 23

Breakfast was silent. I was in the kitchen frying eggs and Cody was in the living room watching tv. He hadn't eaten yet and I wanted to ask him if he wanted anything, but I couldn't get the words out of me. Even though I knew I should forgive Cody, I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to open up to him, knowing he didn't understand me the way I needed him to.

But glancing at him, my heart ached. I yearned for him and wished he'd look at me, but he didn't. He hadn't acknowledged me, leaving me feeling alone.

Realizing I was suffocating with my feelings, I knew I needed to go outside and breathe. Being in the same room as Cody was overwhelming, so I scarfed down my eggs and grabbed my jacket. Without a word, I then left the house.

*****

I didn't want to be seen, especially by news reporters, so I pulled up my hood as I walked over to a swing. Sitting down on it, I let my legs swing freely and I stared at the ground, not knowing what to do. In only two months, my life had changed vastly.

I had never been in love before and I had never had a best friend, but Cody had came into my life. He had showed me what it was like to have someone treat you with respect, and he had made me feel normal. That was all I ever wanted and I had fallen in love with him. He was everything I ever wanted, but yet things weren't perfect. Because he was handsome and I was hideous, there was a distance between us I couldn't shrink.

And thinking about my dad, I felt my heart sink. I felt my throat constrict and began to blink wildly, hoping I wouldn't cry. I had spent the last few weeks crying myself to sleep and I knew I had to stop. My dad was selfish, he didn't care about me, and I knew I shouldn't care about him. But, it was hard to forget about the man who was supposed to love you like no one else would.

Sighing, I looked up at the sky and wondered what I did wrong. I didn't understand what I did to deserve everything wrong in my life. The world was unfair, but it also seemed to be cruel. At the thought, I had to bite my lip to stop my tears from slipping down my face.

"My ball!" I heard a little girl scream.

I looked to where she had yelled and saw her running towards a tree. She stopped beneath it, looked up as the wind pushed back her blonde hair, and huffed. She began to jump, her arms reaching for a big, red ball that was stuck in the branches of the tree. I watched her, my eyes soft as I watched her try to reach the ball.

Knowing she was too short, I got up and walked towards her. Reaching her, I smiled when she looked at me, her eyes brimmed with tears.

"My ball," she said, pouting. "It's stuck."

"I'll get it," I said.

I reached up, tiptoeing, and pulled the ball out of the tree. Holding it out to the girl, I watched as her eyes flew wide. She soon began to smile and I couldn't help but smile as well from the joy that seemed to radiate off of her.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, grabbing the ball. "You have a beautiful heart!"

The girl ran off, but I stayed where I was, surprised by her words. Blinking, I replayed her words in my mind in an endless loop. I began to feel warm at the thought of someone who barely knew me saying I had a beautiful heart, and smiling to myself, I walked back to the swing.

Sitting on the swing, I shoved my hands into my pockets because it was beginning to get chilly. But when my hand reached my pocket, I became surprised when I felt a paper in it. With a frown, I pulled out the paper and my eyes widened when I saw what seemed to be a note in my hand. Staring at it, I realized it was in Cody's writing and began to read it out loud to myself.

"Dear Charlotte, I know you don't want to talk to me, but I have something to say. That's why I wrote this note," I read. "You are more than your face. I know you can't believe that, but you are so much more than what you were given without a choice.

"I know you're scared people only see you as the hideous girl, but I want you to know there are people who think you're more than that. To me, you're the girl who's stronger and kinder than anyone I've ever met. I know you have a beautiful heart and that's why I fell in love with you. I fell in love with your heart."

My heart skipped a beat at his words, unable to believe he was in love with me. Neither of us had spoken about how we felt about each other and hearing that he loved me made my heart flutter. With a smile now on my face, I knew I loved him too.

"Then there's Rosalie who sees you as the girl with a huge heart. She thought of you as her daughter and she's proud of you. She loved you, too," I continued to read. "Maybe not everyone will see you as who you really are, they will be ignorant and only focus on how you look, but those people don't matter. You are loved despite the way you look and I hope you know that."

I couldn't help it, I began to sob. Heaving and gasping, I let myself become consumed with a mixture of heartbreak and love. I was so sad about what I'd been through and how I loved Rosalie, but I was so happy to hear I was loved. I was glad to hear there were things to love about me.

Wiping tears away from my face, I then realized I had to do the court trial. After they killed Rosalie, I couldn't let her death go to waste. She deserved justice and even if that meant I'd have to speak in front of hundreds of people, I would do it. For Rosalie, Cody, and for myself, I knew I had to make sure my dad ended up in jail. It was the justice we all deserved.