Page 43 of Chase

As she warms up to a normal temperature, she finally turns around to face me. Remaining silent, she looks deep into my eyes, and I soak up the intimacy of the moment. She lifts her hand to cup my cheek, and although her skin is still cold against my warm skin, I find myself naturally leaning into it with needy desperation.

“What happened, Iz?” I whisper as she massages my cheek. Her eyes dart from side to side across my face, as if trying to find the words and the courage to finally give me her truth. However, as soon as the first tear falls, she breaks into uncontrollable crying; the sound of which breaks my heart along with hers. I pull against me, letting her whimper as I hold onto her for dear life.

“Please, baby, tell me; let me help you!”

“I can’t,” she cries. “If I tell you, you won’t look at me like you do anymore. You’ll see me differently.”

“I won’t, Iz, I could never—”

“Please don’t make me tell you, I can’t!” she cries more urgently, so I accept her answer and instead, gently try to soothe her tears away. Mom’s right, my job is to show patience…for now, anyway.

_____

Theo

When Izzy has warmed up, I help her to change into her PJshorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt, trying my best not to steal glances at her womanly curves. My willpower is not as strong as I thought, though, and I obviously do a bad job of trying to look discreetly because she tuts and tells me not to ‘drool’. I laugh anxiously before telling her that she’ll need to sleep in my bed, given that hers is now soaking wet. She stares at me like I’ve grown an extra head, all the while I gather up her robe.

“Don’t the spare rooms have any beds in them?” she asks with real fear in her voice, to which I look back at her quizzically. It’s not like we haven’t slept in a bed together before; she knows I won’t touch her without permission. Neither would I take advantage of her in her sleep. She should know she’s safe with me.

“No,” I reply before shaking away how hurt I feel. “No one else ever stays here, thiswasthe spare room. I can sleep on the couch if it’s that big of a deal for you.”

“Theo,” she sighs as she closes the gap between us, “I’m not the best person to sleep with. I have nightmares. I often end up screaming and…stuff. I get night sweats and-”

“Izzy, it’s fine. My bed is huge so it’s not a problem. Besides, I’ll be wearing my sweatpants to bed,” I try to reassure her, but she still eyes me with suspicion. “We can even put pillows down the middle of the bed if it makes you feel safer.”

She begins to let go of the tension in her shoulders, as though she’s now starting to believe me.

“I know it might be hard to keep your hands off me and all but…”

My teasing is the final thing that reminds Izzy of our once-upon-a-time close friendship; I’m not one of the monsters sheneeds to run from. She can trust me, lean on me, and be close to me without fear. I smile with satisfaction as she nudges my chest and walks past me in the direction of the hallway.

Once I’ve set her up inside my bed, ensuring she’s warm and comfortable, I return downstairs to inform everyone that Izzy is feeling unwell, so it’s time for them to go. I eye Ethan with suspicion; he had something to do with this, I’m certain of it. However, looking after Izzy is more important right now, so I let him leave without question. That will have to come later.

“Has she had too much to drink again?” Tilly snorts before knocking back her own last gulp of wine. “Are you sure you want to marry my little sister? She’s a handful, you can’t deny that.”

“Maybe that’s part of the appeal,” I reply dryly. “And for your information, Izzy has only had two drinks this evening; that’s always her limit.”

Tilly raises her brow in such a way, it tells me she believes that about as much as I enjoy her company.

“Look, I’m glad I’ve got you alone, Theo,” Craig begins to say as he passes me by the door. “I’ve been talking to your father, and, well, Isobel’s mother and I agree this could actually be a good thing, especially for Isobel.”

I hold back a gasp of disbelief over his audacity. As if I really give a shit about what he or his vapid wife thinks. However, as I am playing the role of the gracious host, I plaster a smile on my face and thank him.

“Thank you, glad to hear it,” I tell him quietly, for I cannot bring myself to give him any more than that.

_____

Izzy

As soon as Theo leaves the room, I jump out of his monstrosity of a bed and begin pacing around the interior. I know it’s wrong of me to pry, but having a sneaky peak of his life might help to calm me down and push what happened with Ethan to the back of my mind.

To start with, I run my fingers over his suit jackets, take a whiff of his cologne, then flick through some of the photographs on his tablet.Is it weird I knew his password? And is it weird because I knew it would be my name? And is it exceptionally weird that I like the fact that it’s my name?

Shaking those thoughts away, I take in the faces of some of his friends from back home. Most of them are in black and white but some of the ones that are taken on the beach show the bright Californian sunshine. There are so many different people, people I don’t know, and he’s happy with all of them. A pang of sadness hits me, reminding me of the life he’s been living without me.

There’s one of him and another equally gorgeous-looking man sitting in deckchairs on the beach, both in just their board shorts and sunglasses. It can’t be that old because he’s definitely in his mid to late twenties here, and he looks totally ripped. I mean muscle upon muscle is now staring back at me, the sight of which has me feeling inadequate in my love heart PJ shorts and oldLabyrinthT-shirt.

I can’t make peace with how unequal our lives have been, how unequal I still feel next to him, so I wander around to his side of the bed and have a sneaky peak inside of his bedside drawer. There’s not much of interest apart from a framed photograph; it’s of me and Theo on our bridge from when we were kids. I must beabout twelve. I remember Nonna had taken it for us shortly before we fell out over his need to have relationships with girls of his own age. I smile over the sight of him holding me in a piggyback lift. My hands are in the air and I’m wearing the biggest genuine smile, all because I was with my best friend, and I was always happy when I was with him.

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