A Few Little Scars Read online

  A Few

  Little

  Scars

  by

  Casey McMillin

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 1

  It took every ounce of Molly's motivation to suck up the overwhelming emotion she was dealing with and drag herself to Nashville to spend the weekend with her childhood friend, Hannah. She almost told Hannah she couldn’t get off work at her dad's hardware store, but she just couldn't bring herself to lie. It was a Friday night in late September, and Molly had been invited to a party to celebrate Hannah's boyfriend's new hit song. Actually, it was a really famous country singer named Cam Bishop who recorded it, but Hannah's boyfriend Jason wrote it, and there was a big hoopla about how many copies it had sold during the week it released.

  Molly was happy for Hannah and everything, but visiting her friend's newfound perfect life was slightly intimidating. She was excited at the prospect of meeting famous people, but at the same time scared she wouldn't fit in or have anything in common with them. She didn’t share her reservations with Hannah. Her plan was to pretend like she was perfectly comfortable and hope her feelings would follow suit.

  If everything would have gone as planned, Molly would have moved to Nashville when she finished high school two years before, but that wasn't how it went down. Her dad needed help at the family hardware store, and promised she could move as soon as Molly's brother Ben was discharged from the Army. This was taking a lot longer than planned since he agreed to make two more deployments from his station in Germany.

  Molly wondered what it would have been like if she'd gone to Nashville first. She was pretty sure she wouldn't have had the same level of success as her friend, at least not within the first few months of living there.

  It was the first time she'd seen Hannah since Jason's song became a big hit. It was one he wrote about her, which made the whole thing that much more surreal. Hannah was extremely down to earth, but Molly couldn't help but be anxious about the prospect of meeting so many new people. She knew Hannah's boyfriend, but everyone else she'd meet that night would be new. All this in consideration, Molly changed her outfit four times, and had to give herself about fifty pep talks to get out of the house and on the road to Nashville.

  She'd been in touch with Hannah over the phone, but much had changed in the time since she'd last seen her, and Molly half-expected her friend to look and act completely different. Molly was relieved to find the same old Hannah waiting for her in Nashville. She had a new dress, but nothing else had changed, and they laughed together and hung out for a while like the good old days before leaving for the party.

  They left Molly's car at the apartment and took Hannah's brand new ride downtown to the place where the party was being held. Molly searched the radio until she found a station playing a song they both knew by heart, and the two sang at the top of their lungs. Jason had specified a parking lot on Second Avenue where he was supposed to have someone waiting to walk them to the bar.

  Molly was already feeling on edge at the prospect of meeting so many new people, so when their escort turned out to be a young, gorgeous, tall, dark, and handsome sort, she nearly regretted making the decision to go to the party at all. Hannah recognized the guy immediately, and seemed really familiar with him. She called him Nick, and Molly instantly knew who he was.

  He was one of Jason's best friends, and son of the country music legend Leroy Logan. Hannah had already told Molly all about him, including the fact that he'd used his father's money as start-up to make a fortune of his own. Apparently, he had some rare talent for the stock market. It was an odd choice for the son of a country star, but Hannah said he was really smart, and had been helping all of his wealthy friends invest. Molly played it off when she was introduced to him in the parking lot, acting like she didn't know anything—not even who his father was or what he did for a living. She couldn't help but be a little intimidated by him.

  Nick had dark hair and eyes, and was wearing a sharp-looking, dark outfit that only added to his somewhat dangerous appearance. His hair was cropped short on the sides, but was longer on top. It was combed away from his face, and at one point during their conversation he ran his hand through it. Molly caught herself staring at him wondering if everyone she would meet that night would be gorgeous. Hannah's boyfriend was gorgeous, and apparently so was his friend Nick. Maybe that was the secret to making it in the world—just be gorgeous, and good things will happen to you.

  The girls had a brief conversation with Nick on the way into the bar. They mostly talked about Molly and the fact that she'd been trying to move to Nashville for the past two years. Molly found it challenging to focus on the conversation because she was trying to pay attention to putting one foot in front of the other. The bar was located in the basement, and the stairway they descended was dimly lit. The place was called The Pit, which was a completely appropriate name considering what it felt like walking in.

  A rush of cold air and country music hit them as soon as the door opened, and they followed Nick across the bar to the spot where Jason was standing. Jason had been talking to someone when they came in, but when he caught sight of them, he excused himself and came over. He thanked Nick and greeted Molly before going to Hannah and pulling her into his arms as if he hadn't seen her in a year.

  Nick wondered how in the world his friend could be so whipped after only a couple of months, but he knew better than to say anything about it. Instead, he just stood there and watched them catch up. He was staring blankly at Hannah's friend Molly, debating on going to the bar to get a drink. He thought back to the conversation they'd just had on the way in. He remembered her saying she wanted to move so she could start something, but as Nick stood there watching her talk to Jason and Hannah, he couldn't for the life of him remember what she said she wanted to do. Had she said she wanted to go to college?

  Nick tuned into what the others were saying just as Jason was telling Hannah and Molly he wanted them to spend the night at his house after the party that night.

  "…I don't care if you guys want to stay up and put clay on your face or whatever, I'd just like you to crawl in bed with me when you're done, and you can't necessarily do that if you spend the night at your place, now can you?"

  The girls laughed and made fun of Jason for saying they should put clay on their face.

  Clay or no clay, Nick loved places where lovely ladies were in their PJ's. "Sounds like a party," he said.

  Jason gave him a warning glance. "Don't you dare," he said.

  Just then, Taylor, Hannah's friend from the coffee shop, came up to talk to everyone. The crowd noise in the venue was starting to pick up, and Nick had a hard time hearing everything the girls were saying to each other. He found himself staring at Molly again.

  There was something about her—something about her face, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He tried to get a good look at her without being caught staring. Then he saw it. He couldn't make it out at every angle, but when she smiled just right, he could see the line of a scar on her cheek near her mouth. It wasn't
small either. The thing looked to be at least a few inches long.

  He focused on that spot, watching to see when the scar would show up. He also noticed one other thing about Molly's smile... her canine teeth came to a sharper point than most peoples'. Not freakishly sharp, but sharp enough for him to notice. The combination of the scar and teeth made Nick unable to stop staring at her. It really was beautiful how they complimented each other. She wasn't the type of girl he'd normally notice, but she had a cool look, and her face intrigued him. He felt the urge to study her like you would study a painting. Then from the corner of his eye, Nick saw Jason look down at his phone before he announced to everyone standing around that Cam was on his way.

  "You guys have fun tonight," Taylor said. "I'm going to make sure everything's good in the back."

  Molly looked at Hannah. "I need to use the ladies room," she said. "I'm not sure where it—"

  "I'll take you over there," Nick said. "I was planning on hitting the bar anyway."

  Molly nodded, letting Nick know she'd like to follow, and without another word, Nick took off toward his left, with Molly at his heels. She thought about what she could say to a guy like him, smiling as she wondered what sort of conversation you carry on with beautiful famous people. Luckily, Molly had a rule in place for the night. She'd already decided to keep her mouth shut when she wasn't sure what to say because otherwise, she would ramble nervously and say something she regretted. She knew herself well enough to make that rule, and she was happily sticking to it as she followed a step behind Nick in complete silence. She was having vow of silence thoughts when Nick glanced back to speak to her as they were walking.

  "Where'd you get that scar?" he asked.

  Molly was taken completely off-guard by the question. She had the thing since she was a baby, and everybody in Sparta just knew it was there and never brought it up. She knew there was always the possibility of it being noticed when she met new people, but she had taken great care to conceal it with her makeup that night, and somewhere in the back of her mind, hoped to avoid the subject.

  "Dog bite," she said. The music was loud and she sort of yelled it at his back as he walked in front of her. She was hoping that would be enough of an answer, but apparently it only served to peak his curiosity even more because Nick stopped walking and turned to face her. Molly came up short, putting her hands out so she wouldn't bump into him.

  He focused on her face—at the scar—really examining it like he was a doctor or something. People had said a lot of uncalled for or awkward things over the years, but no one had ever just stopped and stared at it unabashedly the way Nick did right then. Molly felt like she wanted to squirm under the scrutiny.

  She kept her eyes trained on him, but turned to the side, concealing the scar from his view. When he could no longer see the scar, he looked up to meet her gaze.

  They stared at each other for a few seconds before he spoke. "What kind of dog did that?"

  "A pitbull." She smiled with a touch of sarcasm and lifted her eyebrows. "Is that what you want to hear?" she asked.

  "Is that what did it?"

  "No."

  "Then no, that's not what I want to hear. I want to hear what did it."

  "It's not that interesting," Molly said, still having to speak up over the music. She gave a little shrug. "I think it was some kind of shepherd mix. I don't even really remember other than it was grey with black speckles." She paused. "I was three years old when it happened, so I really only remember what other people told me about it." She smiled and pointed over his shoulder. "I see a sign for the ladies room right there," she said. "Thanks for showing me over here. I'll make my way back to Hannah when I finish up." She was already walking away from Nick when she turned back and said, "It was nice meeting you."

  Nick felt like the conversation had been cut short. He wanted to hear more about the scar. He almost yelled after her and asked if she wanted a drink, but decided not to. This girl Molly was just intriguing enough for him to be tempted to change his plans, and that was something he didn't want to do that night. He had been texting back and forth with a girl named Daisy Lee, and he had to remind himself that his plans to hook up with her that evening had to be a priority. Daisy was a friend of Cam's and presently one of the hottest names in country music. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to leave her hanging.

  Nick and Daisy had met several times over the years, but hadn’t really gotten to know each other until a week or so before when Nick went with Cam to one of Daisy's video shoots. They'd been texting a little bit since then. She was going through a high profile divorce, and couldn't be seen with anyone, but had been really flirting with Nick over the phone. Daisy liked the fact that Nick wasn't looking for commitment, and it was definitely a bonus that he was Leroy Logan's son. It seemed like a win-win for both of them, and Nick was looking forward to catching up with her later that evening. No one besides Nick knew she was coming—not even Cam or Jason. She'd be crashing the party, but she liked it that way since she was trying to stay out of the spotlight.

  Chapter 2

  Molly stared at herself in the ladies room mirror. She zeroed in on the scar that ran along her cheek to her lower lip and took a deep breath feeling relieved that it wasn't as bad as she thought. Sometimes it acted up and looked a little more red or raised than usual, but at the moment it was behaving. She stared at it, feeling a huge sense of relief that it didn't look as bad as she anticipated.

  She took her trusty compact of mineral makeup out of her purse and applied another layer of it for good measure. She felt shaken from the whole exchange with Nick. No one had ever stared at her scar like that, and she was embarrassed and flustered by how intently he'd been scrutinizing it.

  Her palms were tingling like they wanted to start sweating and Molly decided to hang out in the ladies room for a few minutes while she gathered her wits. A girl in a server's uniform came to stand beside Molly at the lavatory when she was done using the restroom.

  "Do you work at Common Grounds with Hannah and Taylor?"

  The girl regarded Molly via their reflections in the mirror. She gave a friendly but curious smile. "How did you know that?" she asked.

  "Hannah's my best friend from back home," Molly said, "and Taylor told us that some of the coffee shop people were working with her tonight."

  "Oh, that's cool," the girl said. "I'm Gina. I only work a shift or two a week at the coffee shop, but I'm also roommates with Taylor."

  "Gina," Molly said. She smiled at the reflection in the mirror. "I think I've heard Hannah mention your name. I'm Molly."

  "Nice to meet you, Molly. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around."

  "Yep."

  The girl smiled and gave a little wave as she ripped a paper towel from the dispenser and walked out.

  Molly hadn't planned on randomly making small talk with a girl in the restroom—she just wanted to test her conversational skills. She was glad they held up, and felt a little less nervous about joining the crowd after there was no scar drama with Gina. She took one last look and deep breath in the mirror before heading out to find Hannah.

  She had never experienced anything like the party they went to that night, and found that once she relaxed, it was easy to have a good time. There was an open bar and delicious food, and Molly took advantage of both. She purposely avoided Nick since she didn't really feel like talking about her scar, and she was fairly certain by the way he stared at it earlier that he was obsessed with it. She had a few good conversations throughout the night with random people, including a few more servers that were friends from the coffee shop. She'd already heard of an infamous character named Nothing, and was glad to finally put a face to the name. He wound up looking exactly like the guy she'd conjured up in her mind, and laughed to herself when she met him, thinking about how accurately Hannah had described him.

  She had a ten-minute conversation with the very famous Cam Bishop. It was surreal seeing how familiar he was with Hannah, and Molly was tripping out o
ver it the whole time he was standing there talking to them. Cam wasn't the only famous person to show up that night either. Another really popular singer named Daisy Lee crashed the party, and that's all everyone could talk about once she arrived. There was speculation about a romance brewing between her and Cam since she was going through a divorce.

  Molly had been having a good enough time, but the energy needed to stay upbeat and meet so many new people had taken it out of her, and toward the end of the night she snuck off to get some fresh air.

  She walked past the restrooms down the long, dark hallway that would eventually lead to the door on the other side of the building. They'd entered the bar from Second Avenue, but the building took up the entire block to First Avenue. If you followed that long hallway, you'd eventually end up at the exit on the backside of the building that let out on First Avenue.

  Molly didn't take the hallway all the way till the end. She stopped when she came to another hallway that led off to the right. It was completely dark back there. She had no idea where it led because there was no light at all. It could be a hundred feet of empty hallway, or a big mob of scary clowns—there was just no way to tell. She was okay with that. She wanted the darkness. She needed a few minutes to chill and not have to smile and meet someone new.

  After about three minutes of being back there, Molly heard the sounds of people coming down the hall. It sounded like they were coming from the same direction Molly had come, and she rested her head on the wall to wait for them to pass.

  "Are you sure this leads outside?" a voice said.

  "I swear. There's a door right up here that lets out on First Avenue."

  "It doesn't look like anyone uses it, though. What if it sets off an alarm?"

  "It won't. I've already been out there once to smoke a cigarette."

  Molly watched as the group passed. It looked to be three or four people, but even the main hallway was dimly lit, and she was trying not to move or make a sound. She smiled to herself as she heard the sound of the door opening and closing. She decided she'd just take another minute or so to be quiet before getting back to Hannah and the party.