Page 20 of Chase

“You may be all expensive suits and business, Theo, but you’re still my little grandson. Besides, I don’t have time to be anything but straight to the point,” she says with a no-nonsense tone of voice. She’s never sounded so firm in her life, but I have to say, I’m impressed.

“So, did you do as I asked?” she says while surveying theroom of wedding guests, none of whom I know that well. I’m surprised I was invited at all after everything that went down. I suspect the lady sitting beside me had something to do with it. Particularly as my parents didn’t receive any kind of invitation. “Did you see her?”

“In a way, yes,” I reply sheepishly because I did choose the coward’s way by hiring Max to tail her. I shrug my shoulders guiltily as I watch her finally spy the girl who she’s been searching for. It’s not the bride, her granddaughter, Tilly, it’s one of the bridesmaids. Wearing a knee-length navy dress with her blonde locks spiraling down her back, she looks virtually the same as when I left her. My breath catches at the sight before I force myself to look back at Grandma with a sad sigh.

“And…?” she asks, still staring at the back of Izzy. She is standing next to her father, with her brother close by, still looking like a bulldog keeping guard. From her body language, however, Izzy appears to be less than impressed at being passed around all these ridiculous people as if she’s some sort of ornament.

“She seems to be able to take care of herself,” I finally reply, leaning my arms onto the table as though this will give me a better look.

We watch as they come closer to where we’re sitting, but not near enough to realize we’re here. As I said before, prime position. A waiter walks up behind her with a bottle of rose, whispers something in her ear, then gestures to the table next to us. She nods so he leaves it on the table before making his way back to the bar. Her father turns to face her so he can introduce her to an older man and what looks like his son, a guy of a similar age to me. I look at her side profile and feel a rush of adrenaline; she’s still a beautiful woman, still unique, still natural. She rolls her eyes at her father while the men aren’t looking but he stifles herwith a glare of warning.

“Watch,” Grandma instructs.

“Jeffery! Simon! How are you both?” Uncle Craig beams at the two men in front of them. Grandma and I look at each other knowingly over his usual over-the-top greeting. Pompous ass. “Having a good time?”

“Yes, this is a beautiful wedding, you must be very proud of Matilda,” the older guy says while the younger one looks Izzy up and down. My fists instantly clench over his ogling her.

“Of course, and Ethan is now engaged too. This is my youngest, Isobel, she’s currently single. Just waiting for the right one, aren’t you, sweetheart?”

She nods with a severely bored expression on her face, as though she’s been doing this for hours.

“Oh, Simon’s single too,” the older guy says, then places his hand on top of his son’s shoulder, all the while Simon smiles lustfully at Izzy’s chest.

“Simon,” he says to her with his hand held out. She offers him a fake smile and reluctantly shakes hands with him. He holds on to it for much too long, to the point where she has to yank it back, which only causes Uncle Craig to scowl at her. “So, what is it that you do, Isobel?”

“Oh,” Craig chuckles nervously, “this is a standing joke with Isobel; no one quite knows what she does.”

The father and son frown at each other, both with ugly smirks on their faces. I suspect they think she’s like Tilly, living off her father until a rich husband comes along. The perfect opportunity for Simon to try and score himself a hot wife when hecan only be described as mediocre at best.

“Oh, I’m sure you can tell me, Isobel,” Simon says, bridging the gap between them. “Don’t be shy.”

“Stripper,” she says with a deadly serious expression, to which the older guy nearly chokes on his drink. I smile to myself; there’s the eight-year-old girl I remember so well.

“Oh?” Simon pushes, smiling lasciviously over her chest again.

“Yeah, it gives me enormous job satisfaction working that pole. Sure, there are some nights I’m not feeling it but then I picture that pole as some big, dirty, hairy biker, and I slide myself right around it like it’s covered in chocolate-flavoured lube. Mmm, so yummy,” she says while theatrically rolling her eyes back.

The two men stare at her with their mouths gaping wide open, all the while she polishes off her drink. Craig covers his face with his hand, whereas Ethan, her evil big brother, looks like he could strangle her.

“Can I go and hang with the cool kids now, Daddy?” she asks with wide eyes and an innocent bat of her lashes.

“Just get out of my sight, Isobel,” he mutters angrily, “I should have known you’d behave like this.”

“What can I say? I like to be consistent,” she says, then turns to grab hold of the bottle of wine and waltzes outside.

I turn to Grandma with a wince, to which she says, “I told you so.”

“Please go and follow her,” she asks with a hint of fear in her voice. “She needs looking after, especially when Ethan isaround.”

I kiss her cheek, stand, fasten my jacket, then walk outside to follow after the girl I fell in love with. When I make it onto the patio where many of the other guests are mingling, I spot her instantly. It’s as if no one else exists out here. She’s making her way beyond the patio, but is suddenly caught hold of by Ethan, who grips her upper arm with force. I drop back to see how she handles him, getting ready to intercept if needed.

Izzy

“You little bitch, when the hell are you going to grow up?” Ethan spits inside of my ear, the flehm making me shiver the moment it hits my skin. I feel sick with the image I conjure up inside of my head. But then I remember my armor, the façade that stops me from jumping off that cliff, stops me from slicing my wrists to pieces or downing that bottle of pills I keep in the cupboard, just in case.

“Oh, calm down, brother dearest,” I say loud and clear, turning to face him with a smile so fake, I’m in danger of getting cramps in my cheeks. “I’m going to go and tuck myself away so no one has to see the disappointment you have for a sister. You can even pretend I don’t exist if you like. In fact, I’d prefer it.”

“Come back and make an effort for your family, you selfish little brat,” he growls. This guy always growls, especially whenever he’s talking to me. Especially when… never mind. Don’t go back there or those pills will be calling out for you even more loudly than usual.

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