Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Isaac
Iwake up to the sight of Alexa’s perky, pierced tits.
“Morning, baby. Nixie called. It’s your turn to drop her off today,” she says as she slips on her blue yoga shorts.
I let out a groan, stretching my arms above my head before throwing the blanket off me and rolling out of bed, heading straight to the bathroom to get myself situated.
“Want to grab dinner tonight?” she asks.
A yawn escapes my mouth the moment I open it to answer. “Sibling dinner tonight, can’t.”
My reflection greets me while I brush my teeth with the toothbrush Blondie keeps for me, taking in the blooming bruises.
One underneath my eye and another on my jaw.
Fuck, I did take a beating, and today I’m definitely feeling it.
My body is sore in all the right places to make moving feel like a chore.
From somewhere inside the bedroom, my phone rings.
“It’s Nixie again,” Alexa calls out.
That’s enough to kick my body into gear, finishing up with my teeth and washing my face just as Alexa walks into the bathroom. Her arms wrap around me, and her chin rests on my back. My soul till this day recoils at the contact, but it’s the small mercy of intimacy I can spare.
“Are you coming back tonight?” she asks. I shrug, taking the opportunity to move away without making it noticeable.
“Not sure, might go see Sledge. Gotta collect payment for last night,” I answer as I walk away from her grip. My heart tugs when I look back, and I instantly regret it when I see the hurt and disappointment on Alexa’s face.
She deserves better, but I’ve always been clear on what I want, and despite it all, she still thinks she can convince me to choose her, to love her.
As if my heart could ever rip out the love for Ronnie to make room for her.
If only it were that easy. Grabbing a pair of jeans, I slide them on while the silence grows heavier.
The expression isn’t difficult to read; her pain is laid bare for me to see.
Even though she will never question me. She was never one for long discussions or emotional confrontations.
That’s one of the reasons why we ended up together, I guess.
And in a way, I guess it’s what makes me an asshole and a coward.
Alexa opens her mouth to say something, but closes it when my phone rings once again. Quickly, I press the green button and answer it.
“Nix,” I say cheerfully. My little sister’s voice fills the other end of the line.
“Hey, bro,” she chimes in her chipper voice. “You’re late! You promised!”
“Sorry, Nix,” I apologise as I glance at the clock and curse under my breath.
“I’m on my way.” From the corner of my eye, I watch as Alexa leaves the room, not bothering to look at what is behind her.
“Can we grab something to eat?” Nix asks, pulling me out of my mind.
A small chuckle escapes my lips as I slide into my boots.
“You know I never turn down a chance to eat.” She laughs at that. I race out of the room and head towards the front door.
“Call you later,” I call out to Alexa, who I hear in the kitchen.
The door slams shut behind me, quickly. I rush towards the elevator and then race toward my car. I open the door and slide into the leather seat before revving it back to life and driving off to my folks’ house. “I’m on my way.”
“Okay, see you when you get here,” Nix replies before ending the call, and almost immediately, my phone rings again. My heart thumps frantically the moment Ronnie’s name pops up on the screen. Wasting no time, I press the green button to answer the call. “Talk to me, gorgeous.”
She scoffs. “You’re late to pick up Nix, asshole.”
A playful smirk tugs at my lips, hearing the hint of sarcasm in hers. And, as always, despite our age, I resort to teasing antics.
“Long night and overslept,” I reply teasingly, making sure to emphasise the words ‘long night’ and add, “I’m on my way now.”
Ronnie is silent for a moment, and I can already picture what she’s doing.
I bet everything I own that she is twirling her hair, a nervous habit she has when she’s about to say something serious.
She’s been doing that ever since we were kids, and it’s a tell I’ve never missed.
There’s so much we both want to say, but this wall she has placed between us is impenetrable.
Trust me, I’ve tried, and just when my fingertips graze the edge, I go tumbling down.
Yet, I can’t help the feelings she still invokes inside me, the way butterflies dance wildly inside my stomach, fluttering deep inside my chest. Even in my balls.
“I miss you,” I say, not being able to resist holding back my need to see her. She lets out a breathy moan, the same one she desperately tries to hide with her words as she replies, “Iz…”, but her voice falters, emotion tightening her words. “I… we can’t.”
I’ve grown to hate those two words, the same ones hacking through the warm bubble of love I had started to enclose around us.
A sigh slides past my lips, my grip tightening around the wheel, listening to her shallow breaths.
I wish I could say that I expected something different… I didn’t, but a man can dream.
Hope.
However, we’ve done this dance too many times, and it always ends with me crashing and burning.
“I know…”
“Iz,” she whispers, “Nix needs you right now. She needs her big brother more than I need—“ Her voice trails off, and silence enshrouds the line before she ends the call. Once again, I’m left stranded in the land of longing and agony, silently cursing myself for pushing her again, but I couldn’t help it. I never can.
Every part of me wants every fucking part of her, and I just can’t be subtle with it.
My hands tangle in her wet hair as my inexperienced mouth finds hers.
A moan escapes our lips, only to be drowned in each other’s mouths.
I don’t know what I’m doing, but I want to feel every inch of her, kiss her as I’ve seen in the movies her mom watches.
Ronnie finally told me the reason she’s been distant.
And I’m pissed that Alexa lied. Told her we hooked up when I hadn’t even had my first kiss. That has changed, though.
It doesn’t matter that we are both inexperienced.
We will be each other’s first… We will be each other’s everything...
The sound of a car pulling into the driveway pulls us away from our kiss.
I jump to my feet and walk toward the window, watching our parents climb out of my father’s car, and what happens next makes my blood run cold.
My body freezes in place as my father takes her mother in his arms and kisses her.
The kiss is not a quick peck, but very much like the ones I would see in movies.
The very same thing that I want to spend a lifetime recreating with Ronnie.
“What the fuck?” I snap my eyes, glued to our parents who walk hand in hand. Happy. My father’s walking towards the door, holding her like a precious gemstone. My heart sinks to my ass, causing something ugly to twist inside me.
It all feels suffocating, in slow motion, the moment they step inside and ask us to take a seat. My body moves mindlessly, plopping myself next to Ronnie, who looks just as sick as I feel.
“Guys, we have something to say.” My father is the one to break the heavy silence, looking over at Mariana, and continues, “We are dating.”
I could have died right there, the ground opening wide beneath us—swallowing us whole, I’m sure. My frowns turn into a deadly glare, anger flowing through me.
“What the fuck?” I ask as I kick over the coffee table. “Since when?” I grip my hair. “Why?” The question rushes past the lump forming in my throat, and along with it, a single tear when I look over at Ronnie, who’s already crying.
“Isaac,” my father snaps, only to be silenced by Mariana.
“I thought you guys would be happy,” Ronnie’s mom chimes in.
Do I look fucking happy? I turn to her, anger still seething through every cell in my body.
From the corner of my eyes, I can still see Ronnie as she plays with her fingers, trying not to look up at her mother or at me.
My heart lurches, my stomach flipping almost as if in a warning, and then the other shoe drops.
“We’re expecting,” she whispers. “We’re having a baby.”
The blood drains from Ronnie’s face as she stands from the couch and rushes toward her room.
The ground opens wider, swallowing not only me but the world.
My lungs seize inside my chest, making it difficult to breathe.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop the stinging in my eyes or the blur in my vision as I glare at my father before storming out of the house and running down to mine.
Tears stream down my face, feeling the pieces of my heart crumble…