Free Beautiful Tragedy (A Standalone Romance Novel) by Alycia Taylor

eat. “They make these really
good fruit cups at the corn stand,” he said. I was sold. We walked around some
more as we ate our fruit. There was a giant old eucalyptus tree that had a
swing in it, and I sat down and Brock pushed me. That was fun; I haven’t been
on a swing in a long time. The announcer from the dark somewhere announced that
the haunted train ride would be leaving the station in fifteen minutes, so we
headed over there. On the way, we had to cross this old, suspended wooden
bridge. It was cool, except there was a twelve-year-old boy on it with us that
thought it would be fun to swing it back and forth. I hope he had fun with it,
because it didn’t sit well on my stomach.
    We passed a castle playhouse with a moat and an old
schoolhouse playhouse that Brock told me had a slide that went underground. I
opted to try that one next time. It’ll give me time to think of an out. We
finally found the line for the train. It was long, and the cold was horrible,
but the employees had bonfires lit and a bizarre pack of clowns that looked
like Gene Simmons were handing out hot chocolate and cookies.
    We had to wait for four trains before it was our turn,
so we got to hear the faint sounds of blood-curdling screams in the distance,
and we watched a few sweaty, shaky people get off the train as well. It only
increased the excitement factor. Brock let me pick the car we would ride in.
Being a huge chicken, I picked one in the middle. These cars aren’t covered,
and I’m guessing that when things jump out, the front and the back probably get
the worst of it.
    The car was small, so we were sitting really close. No
one sat opposite us, so we also had it all to ourselves. As the train began
chugging along I had to think that Megan had been right…again. This was really
romantic.
    Just as I had that thought, Michael Myers and his
trusty, sister-killing bloody knife stepped out of the corn and waved at me. I
wanted to scream, but thought maybe etiquette dictated it was too soon, so I
waved instead. I did grab Brock’s jacket and I didn’t let go of it either. If
Michael was there, Jason and Freddy were sure to follow.
    “You okay?” Brock asked when he felt me jump and grab
onto him.
    “I’m fine,” I said with a smile. “I should have
brought dry pants though.” He cracked up at that. How did he know I was
kidding?
    All in all, the ride was a blast. The best part was,
and I don’t plan on telling Megan this when I see her and having to look at the
smug smile, that it was really romantic. I liked being close to him, and I was
starting to realize more each time that I was with him, just how far things had
gotten.

 
    CHAPTER
EIGHT
    BROCK
    Sometimes I look at her and think I would pay money
just to know what she’s thinking. She sits there quietly a lot and I can almost
see the wheels turning in her head. A girl who thinks is a precious animal as
far as I’m concerned. It’s one of the things that attracts me to her the most.
That, and her incredible smile, and her sense of humor, and the fact that she
always smells good, and her eyes. Okay, there’s a whole list, and the more we
hang out, the more things I find to like about her.
    I haven’t asked her out on an official date since that
night at the club. I’ve discovered that she seems so much more comfortable when
we both act like we’re just hanging out. It’s been a great month. I’ve had a
lot of fun with her, and she’s actually the best math tutor I ever had. I’m not
just saying that because the last one had a booger that stuck out of his left
nostril…all the time. She’s really smart, and she’s patient with me. If I don’t
get it, she explains it again. Sometimes she has to lean across me to show me
something and then I get to smell her, and I also get a clear shot of her
nostrils…no boogers.
    The problem with all of this hanging out is that now
we’ve gotten into the friend zone. It’s not a bad thing. As a matter of fact
it’s been