Chapter 6 #2
We walk up to my room, where I have fairy lights lit across the ceiling like stars and I have the bed covered with plush blankets and made sure the pillows were fluffed.
“Looks cozy,” he said, taking in every detail of my bedroom, before wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulled me closer.
“I just wanted you to be comfortable. I really appreciate you staying with me tonight” a sudden wave of nervousness washes over me.
“Isabel, I have never slept as well as I did last night with you in my arms, and we were on the floor. I am comfortable anywhere, as long as you’re with me.” whispering, while he cups my face.
He steps closer, closing the space between us, his presence pressing against me in a way that makes it impossible to look away. His hands rest lightly on my shoulders, just enough to make my pulse quicken.
Leaning in, his lips hover near my ear as he whispers, “I think we’re moving too fast.”
There’s a sharp edge to his tone, teasing and controlling all at once. I can feel the heat of him, the pull he has over me, and the way his gaze pins me in place. Every word, every deliberate movement, makes it clear, he’s in control, and I can’t help wanting him to be.
A quiet sound slips out of me, pure disappointment.“You’re probably right,” I sigh, even though every part of me wishes he wasn’t.
He shifts, sitting up slowly, creating distance he knows I’ll feel. “If we keep going,” he murmurs, “I’m going to feel like an asshole.”
He looks at me then, soft and serious, like he’s doing this for me. “I love you. I really do. But I just told you that tonight.” His voice drops, careful and deliberate. “If we sleep together now, it cheapens it. Makes it seem impulsive. And you deserve more than that.”
The words wrap around me, convincing, almost comforting, like restraint is proof of depth, like wanting me but not touching me makes it mean more.
I just look at him in amazement, because no man has ever treated me with that type of respect.
“Thank you,” I say while kissing him gently “for respecting me enough to stop, and to make sure that I know your words are valid”.
We lay there and turned on some random streaming service.
I crawled back onto my bed and I just laid in his arms for a moment.
“I’m pretty sure I love you too” breaking the silence.
“Can you please repeat yourself, so that I know I heard you correctly” he looks at me with his glimmering, ocean-blue eyes.
“ I love you, and honestly, it terrifies me” refusing to make eye contact with him while being the rawest version of myself.
“Why does it terrify you?” He sits up and grabs my hand.
“Well, guys have not been very kind to my heart.They tend to just disappear and drop me for other girls like I was nothing, so I’m a little scared that falling this hard, this fast is going to just hurt me again in the end”.
“I already told you,” he says quietly, firmly, like this has been decided already. “I’m not that guy. I would never hurt you. Not intentionally.”
He cups my face, thumbs brushing my cheeks, tilting my head so I have to look at him. His eyes don’t waver. “I want to be with you. I want a family..with you.”
The word with lands heavy.
“I don’t want anyone else. Ever,” he continues, voice low, almost reverent . “You’re it for me, Isabel. I see it so clearly.” His grip tightens just a fraction. “I want to bring you into my family. I want to create our own family. I want a future that doesn’t include anyone but you.”
He leans closer, forehead nearly touching mine. “This is it. I’m not looking anymore. And neither should you.”
And just like that, regret settled in. A pit opened in my stomach-not butterflies, just tight, tangled knots twisting deep inside me.
This wasn’t the feeling I was supposed to have when your dream guy says those words.
So what was wrong with me? I rested my head back on his shoulder and said nothing.
Liam catches the hint that I don’t want to talk about it anymore. He wraps his arm around me and I cuddle into his chest and drift into a sleep. The next morning we were woken up by my doorbell.
“Ugh, who the hell is here at” I look at my clock groggy “eight am”.
I grab my phone from the nightstand, and check the ring doorbell, not falling for Noah’s antics again. Liam begins to open his eyes and looks at me peacefully.
“Good morning babe” kissing me on the cheek.
“Good morning” kissing his lips, I waited on my phone to load, “Oh shit” frantically jumping out of bed. “You need to get dressed and meet me downstairs”.
“Uhm okay, who is it?” he moves in slow motion, sounding kind of confused.
“Seriously babe, it’s my brother. Get it together” I rush out the door.
What the hell is he doing here?
I ran down the stairs, throwing my unbrushed hair in a messy bun.
“What’s up slut” my brother Gabe says opening the door before I get to it.
“Why did you ring the doorbell if you had a key?” very much annoyed.
“I have no intentions on seeing my little sister naked, saying there’s a car I’ve never seen before in the driveway” amused, looking around the house.
“You’re so annoying” I roll my eyes and start the coffeemaker. “Did you at least bring breakfast?”.
“I did. Cinnamon pancakes for the win” throwing the bag on the counter. “And I assumed your boy toy is over here, so I brought him some too”.
“Thanks. And it's my boyfriend.” I said with a smile.
“You’re welcome. Now, where is the poor bastard?” looking around once more.
“He’s getting himself together before he comes down. You woke us up” I said, as I stuff my face with my favorite breakfast.
Just then I hear footsteps come down the stairs.
“Speak of the devil. Liam, this is my brother, Gabe. Gabe-Liam,” I said, making the introductions.
“Nice to meet you,” Liam replied, offering his hand.
“Yeah. You too,” Gabe said half-heartedly, shaking it.
“He brought us breakfast-cinnamon pancakes from the diner in town,” I added, gesturing to the to-go box.
“Cinnamon pancakes?” he asked, his voice unsure.
“What? You don’t like pancakes?” Gabe said, clearly offended.
“No, I love pancakes. I’ve just never heard of cinnamon pancakes.” He opened the box. “Oh my god, they smell amazing,” he said, breathing in deeply.
“Oh trust me, they taste even better,” taking another bite “ and coffee is over there if you’d like some” winking at him.
“So,” he said, trying to sound intimidating, “how long have you two known each other?”
“A few weeks.”
“And he’s already slept over?” he asked, glancing at Liam.
“I hate being alone. I asked him, and he agreed.”
“Did you at least wear a condom?”
Liam choked on his food.
“Gabriel, stop,” I snapped, glaring at him-letting him know he’d crossed a line.
“On that note, I’m going to go home.”
“Isabel, I will call you. Gabe, it was nice to meet you, and thank you for the pancakes. You were right, they were amazing” Gabe said, as he kissed me and darted out the door.
“I swear to God, Isabel, do not let him knock you up. You have so much potential, you’re going away to a nice school. Please just be responsible this summer” he said in a big brother tone.
“Gabriel, we didn’t even have sex. Chill”.
We walked into the living room, and Gabriel was shocked by that information.
“So, tell me about him,” Gabe says.
I told him it was just Liam and his mom, that his grandparents had left him a beach house near St. Augustine-so he’d be able to visit me when I went to Castillo.
“Just promise me you’ll slow down,” he said, taking my hand, his voice low with warning. “There’s something about him I don’t like. He carries himself with a kind of arrogance.”
“We are taking it slow, I promise. But he did say something last night that kind of threw me. He said he wanted to start a family with me..that I was it.”
“That’s a red flag, sis. You’re nineteen, and he’s what?”
“Twenty-one.”
“Yeah, that’s fucking weird,” he said. “I’m twenty-two and I have zero intention of starting a family anytime soon. That’s concerning, Bella. He says those are his intentions, but you’ve only known each other a few weeks and he already knows you’re the one? That sounds like love-bombing to me.”
He looked genuinely worried. “Bella, it took you eighteen years to think Noah was the one-and look how that ended. Isabel, I love you, and I can’t watch you go through that again. Please, just be careful with him. Something about this feels… off.”
“I know,” I said quietly. “I feel like we’re rushing things, too. We even agreed at the start that this summer was just supposed to be fun-no pressure, no expectations. And now… it’s only been three weeks, and I think I love him.” I let out a shaky breath. “What is wrong with me, Gabe?”
“You love him?” Gabe snapped, his eyes locking onto mine, all concern gone sharp.
“I think so. I don’t really know,” I admitted. “When I’m with him, it feels like I’m the only person in the room… no, the only person in the world. He’s always looking at me, like nothing else exists, and when he touches me… it’s like my whole soul catches fire.”
I smiled, then hesitated. “I guess the only thing that surprised me was when he talked about wanting a future with me. I thought I’d get butterflies, but instead, I felt this pit in my stomach. Maybe I was just overthinking it.”
“You wear your heart on your sleeve, and that’s exactly the problem,” Gabe said coldly.
“You’re too trusting. You convince yourself every guy has your best interests at heart, and they don’t.
Most of them just want to get laid, ninety-nine percent of the time.
” He shook his head, frustration written all over his face.
“That knot in your stomach? That’s your instincts finally waking up.
Oliver and Noah tore you apart in less than six months.
You don’t need Liam lining up to do the same. ”
His voice dropped, sharp and final. “So be careful, sis. I’m not asking.”
Just then, we hear the door open.