She had survived Jason, she had survived the almost unthinkable and then pretending like she wasn’t tainted for life, so this? This would be a walk in the park for her.
“Belle?”
Isabelle jumped a foot in the air at Tate’s voice.
He held his hands up to appease her as his eyes searched hers hungrily. “Sorry, are you ok?”
You can do this. This is just Tate, the guy you used to have tea parties with when you were younger.
“Is Dad here?” she asked in a shaky voice.
Tate’s eyes whipped between Isabelle and Jace shrewdly and noted their position in the window seat.
“Yeah, he’s here,” said Tate, holding out his hand.
She took it without hesitation; the warmth she had felt a million times before filled her palm and sent a wave of calm through her body. It was just Tate, her anchor to this world. She felt nothing different.
Waves of memories crashed over her as her whole childhood with Tate ran like a movie trailer before her. Tate having tea parties with her, painting her nails, letting her straighten his hair when he had worn it longer. Making his favourite dish on his birthday every year, and the handmade cards he gave her on her birthday in return.
They didn’t just grow up, they just simply grew together, and throughout all of her stages in life he had always been the one constant she could count on.
“You’re the best, Tate,” she blurted out and then instantly started to panic that it was the wrong thing to have said.
Tate raised an eyebrow. “No more shots for you. From now on, it’s chocolate milk and bed before ten.”
Isabelle smiled more to herself than anyone else, letting Tate wrap his arm around her shoulder and begin to lead her away. He stopped before they left the room completely, glancing behind at Jace who was exactly where Isabelle had left him.
“Are you coming or what?” Tate asked briskly.
Shock swept over Jace’s face for a moment before the usual mask of calm replaced it, and he stood without saying a word and followed closely behind them.
CHAPTER 8
JACE
Time as always waited for no one.
Jace had no idea how the hell it had gotten to the last day of holidays already, yet here he was, roped into a farewell lunch for Tate who was heading back home.
They were at his and Maia’s favourite beach side café, Cruise, with their regular group. Indulging in burgers, pancakes and milk shakes, and the sun smiling down on them, the skies clear of any clouds.
Jace smiled brightly to himself as he looked down at his hand on Isabelle’s knee where it had been for the past hour without any resistance. He had no idea what exactly had gone through her head the night of Ben’s party, whether or not hearing Tate’s declaration had been the turning point, but for the past few days it had been amazing between them. She was more accepting of his touches now, only pulling away on occasion, and almost always rewarding him with that megawatt smile that had him reminding himself to breathe each time he was lucky enough to receive it.
On cue he felt the familiar burning of Tate’s eyes on him and, as usual, Jace just looked up and gave the dude a bright smile and wink.
I’m not going anywhere buddy. How about you get used to it?
Tate inclined his head slightly, almost as if he understood Jace’s thoughts and his lips actually quirked up at the sides slightly like he was fighting a smile.
Jace sat with an amused smile on his face, trying to look interested in Maia telling everyone a very animated story about her and Matt’s first kiss, but he was still a bit lost in his thoughts. Isabelle wasn’t the only one who had changed towards him since that night.
While Tate had never been nice to him, the antagonism had stopped and he had been tolerant, if not amiable, towards him. Jace glanced over to Tate who was trying to conceal the fact he was texting someone under the table, a pleased look on his face.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Tate had been glued to his phone for the past couple of days and too distracted with his own little world to try and destroy Jace’s. He felt weirdly curious about the girl who had pulled Tate’s focus from Isabelle, and nervous about what was going to happen if Tate got his focus back and continued with their pissing contest over her affections.
“Jace, are you even listening?”
He snapped his head up to where Maia was glaring at him.
“Not really,” he replied sheepishly, earning a quiet chuckle from Isabelle.
“I should have eaten you in the womb when I had a chance,” Maia replied, rubbing her forehead with her fingers.
Jace laughed the insult off, knowing how empty Maia’s words really were. Maia rolled her eyes at him but her face was absent of any darkness.
“I was saying that you had better get a move on if you wanted Tate to make his flight. Unless of course you were deliberately trying to keep him here, so Tate can become Jace 2.0.”
Her eyes flicked to Isabelle meaningfully and Jace got the message loud and clear.
With a curt nod to his sister he patted Isabelle’s leg affectionately.
“Ready to bail?”
Isabelle nodded with a smile, letting Jace pull her out of her chair.
“It’s been great seeing you, man,” Ben told Tate with a slap on the back.
Tate grinned back at him and the total relaxation in his smile completely transformed his face, even Maia seemed affected.
Pulling him into her arms, Maia squeezed Tate tight. “Have fun back in Lamesville without us, try not to scowl with your face out the window or it’ll get stuck.”
Tate smiled at her affectionately, shook Matt’s hand briefly and then, before he could do much else, Giselle was upon him.
Fitting her lips over his she pulled him in close, leaving no room for escape.
Jace looked to Isabelle to see if there was any trace of jealousy or unease in her expression and was relieved to find she just looked amused.
Giselle finally released Tate, giving him a lusty wink. “Don’t be a stranger.”
With a slight flush to his cheeks Tate moved swiftly, grabbing Isabelle’s arm as he continued his path to the car.
Jace smirked at Giselle. “Very subtle.”
She shrugged. “I don’t believe in wasted opportunities.”
He waved goodbye to his friends and strolled to his Ute where Isabelle and Tate were already strapped in and waiting.
*
After checking into security and barely holding his tongue as Isabelle received the ‘random’ pat down from the young security guy, the trio waited at Tate’s gate for instructions to board.
“You’ll come back though, right?” Isabelle asked, her eyes wide.
Tate ruffled her hair affectionately before pulling her in for a hug that seemed weirdly platonic. Was this guy the best actor in the world or what?
When Tate released Isabelle, his eyes slid over to Jace and all warmth left them.
“Can I talk to you for a sec?” he asked.
Jace almost turned around, convinced there was no way Tate would be seeking him out for a personal goodbye, but Tate looked at him directly, an eyebrow raised, waiting for a response.
Isabelle’s hand gripped Tate’s arm tightly.
“Tate…” she began.
Tate gently pulled out of her grasp and held his hands out in a placating way.
“We’ll just be over there Belle; it’s just going to take a moment. Besides, I went through security with you guys; I’m not armed.”
Isabelle looked like she might protest further but Jace was curious enough to let it play out.
“Yeah, sure,” he told Tate, giving Isabelle a reassuring smile to let her know it was OK.
Tate nodded in thanks and then strode away, not even bothering to check if Jace was following him or not. They stopped a few gates away where they were still visible to Isabelle but definitely out of ear shot.
Jace crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at
Tate expectantly. He had agreed to this little convo but he wasn’t going to make it easier for the guy to spit out whatever was on his mind.
“Has she told you?” Tate began quietly.
Jace didn’t need any hints on what Tate meant; the violence in his eyes could only mean one thing.
“No, but I know enough,” Jace replied. “Punch that fuckwit in the face for me when you get back, would you?”
Tate clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. “And then some.”
“When she’s ready, if she ever is, I’m going to be there for her to work through whatever damage that tool did, and until then I will make it my goal to show her every day that she’s not broken.” Jace had never meant anything more than those words in this moment.
Tate narrowed his eyes at Jace as he listened to the vow. “I still don’t like you.”
Jace raised an eyebrow. “I still don’t care.”
Tate’s mouth quirked up and he nodded subtly. “I can see why she does though.”
Wait…what?
“Does what?”
“Like you. It kills me to admit it but she’s happier, confident and brighter around you. I thought you were just another drug fucked loser who wanted to conquer another pretty face but…”
He drifted off and cleared his throat as he gathered his thought again.
“I still think she can do better. But I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t feel as bad leaving her, knowing you’re here to take care of her now.”
Jace fought back the smirk that was threatening to cross his entire face.
“I’ll take care of her, I promise,” he swore sincerely to Tate.
“But if you don’t, if you even accidentally make her cry or do anything to hurt her, no matter how small, I will come back and dedicate my life to destroying yours. I promise,” Tate retorted forcefully, placing his hand on Jace’s shoulder and squeezing to the point of pain.
“If I do anything to hurt her, I promise I’ll save you the trip and fly to you so you can lock me up in your torture dungeon and do whatever you need to.”
Tate actually gave him a real smile then, removing the pressure of his hand. “She could do worse.”
With a final clap of Jace’s shoulder Tate spun around and moved briskly back to Isabelle as his flight was called for boarding.
Jace hung back, wanting to give them a moment of privacy while he processed everything that had happened, and regained his control.
It was as close to a truce as Jace was going to get from Tate, and certainly way more than he had expected. Which ultimately just made it that much more important that he start to get his shit together and leave the self-loathing and self-destruction behind him.
Even though it was Isabelle who had moved here, maybe it could be a fresh start for him too.
He began approaching just in time to see Isabelle cling to Tate tightly, her head pressed firmly against his chest as he tried to gently extricate himself from her.
“Love you,” Tate said as he broke away.
Despite hearing Tate’s revelation a few days before, Isabelle didn’t even miss a beat.
“Love you too.”
Tate pulled out a travel size pack of Kleenex from his back pocket and placed them in Isabelle’s hands gently before hoisting his back pack over his shoulder and making his way down the passage to his waiting plane.
Isabelle watched Tate slowly move out of view as tears silently fell down her cheeks, pooling into the hollow of her throat. Jace noted without surprise that although her face was a little red and tear stained, she was still beautiful even in her sorrow.
Feeling bold and always a sucker for a distressed female, Jace wrapped his arms around Isabelle and held her steady, trying to be her centre until she found her own.
“I’m s-sorry.” Her voice was muffled in his shirt. “I know I’ll see him again. I’m just terrible at goodbyes - I cry like a baby every time.”
Mentally Jace added ‘pretty crier’ and ‘hates goodbyes’ to his list of things he was compiling about Isabelle.
“That settles it then,” Jace pronounced loudly. and pulled back enough so that he could wipe the tears from her face.
“Settles what?” Isabelle asked through a sniffle.
“You’re going to have to cancel whatever plans you had today so there’s no goodbye for me because I don’t think I can handle seeing a beautiful girl cry twice in a day, let alone be the reason why.”
Isabelle looked at him weirdly for a moment but then a mocking smile pulled at her lips.
“Oh yeah? And what if I have a hot date tonight or something?”
“Guess the dude gets a package deal then, hope it’s not too awkward for the poor guy.”
Pulling out a tissue and cleaning her face, Isabelle smiled up at Jace as he began to walk towards the car park.
“You would be that creepy too, wouldn’t you?”
Jace smirked in response, unable to tell her that if he had anything to do with it, there would be no other guy taking her on dates.
“So, what did Tate want anyway?” Isabelle asked as they were almost to the car.
“Oh you know, to ask how to get his skin as flawless as mine, his hair so effortlessly stylish, and other tips to improve his appearance…the usual guy stuff.”
“Really? And what did you tell him?”
Jace gestured to himself in a sweeping motion. “I told him this couldn’t be replicated and I couldn’t teach him what I had just been blessed with naturally.”
Isabelle giggled, allowing him to help her in the car.
“Must be incredibly hard being so beautiful,” she mused as he started the engine.
Jace leant over to her, gaining a thrill out of the little gasp she let out when they were inches apart, their faces almost touching. Wanting to keep the promise he’d made her about waiting for her permission but struggling against his inner caveman, he breathed heavily as he reached up to grab her seat belt and then slowly pulled away, buckling her in.
She was flushed, her breathing uneven as she turned her face towards the window, hands shaking nervously in her lap.
Jace smiled to himself in triumph. She could pretend all she wanted but he affected her, made her respond to him without even having to touch her. He was a total screw up and she could probably have any guy she wanted but somehow, he had been the guy to grab her attention.
For the first time ever, he was pumped about going back to school, about being the familiar face Isabelle looked for, and spending his days learning all there was about her.
He was very in danger of trading one addiction for another, but with the warmth spreading in his chest and a beautiful girl next to him, he couldn’t bring himself to care.
CHAPTER 9
ISABELLE
The green grass glistened in the early morning sunshine as birds sang happily to each other, and Isabelle pulled nervously on her skirt as she hovered by the school gates.
Her fight or flight instinct was kicking into over drive… or rather her flight instinct. She hated attention and already she was drawing curious gazes and judgemental once overs.
If it weren’t for the fact that Jace had promised to meet her here and walk her in she would have bolted home already and shut herself away in her room as her panic attack crashed over her. She was barely keeping it together as it was and she hadn’t even walked past the damn gates. God only knew what the rest of the day would be like.
“Hey Barbie.”
Isabelle spun around to find Kimberley watching her from her post against the grey metal gate.
“What are you doing here?” Isabelle snapped.
Kimberley raised an eyebrow, and weirdly enough Isabelle could see that without dilated pupils surrounded by clouds of blood, her eyes were actually a beautiful chocolate brown.
“I go to school here,” Kimberley replied slowly like she was talking to an idiot. “To attend school, I have to actually walk through the gates.”
Isabelle flushed in embarrassment. “I meant what are you doing watching me?”
Kimberley was silent for a moment and her brown eyes were intense as they scrutinised her.
“Curious, I guess,” she finally replied.
“Curious?”
“You’re still a virgin,” Kimberley told her bluntly.
Told her, not asked.
“You don’t really like to party, and you’re pretty fucking clueless to everything around you. So yeah, I am very curious as to what you have that has this hold over them.”
“Them?” Isabelle repeated.
Kimberley rubbed her forehead impatiently. “Like I said, pretty fucking clueless. Listen princess, you can play your innocence card all you like with everyone else around here but don’t for one second think that I buy your whole rainbows and unicorn’s bullshit.”
Anger slammed into Isabelle eradicating her earlier anxiety. “You don’t even know me.”
Kimberley smirked at her but oddly her eyes were almost sad. “Barbie, just because a tomato and a strawberry look different doesn’t mean I don’t know they’re both fucking fruit.”
“Are you high?” Isabelle demanded. “What the hell are you even talking about?”
“What’s going on here?”
Isabelle slumped back in relief as Jace’s warm body pressed up behind her.
“I was just giving your little girlfriend the welcome wagon,” Kimberley replied her eyes immediately softening as she looked at Jace.
“I’m not his g-girlfriend,” Isabelle stammered out before Jace could reply.
She felt him stiffen behind her and watched as Kimberley’s smirk grew.
“Because that would mean you couldn’t lead everyone else on right?” Kimberley sneered before turning to Jace. “I told you she wasn’t part of our world, that she would be too embarrassed to ever let you get close enough. Call me when you’re sick of being a dirty little secret and just want to get dirty.”
She sauntered off, her denim skirt riding high on her thighs as her butt swayed seductively.
Jace was silent for a moment and Isabelle was scared to turn around and face him. Had she upset him already because of her insistence that they weren’t together? Should she apologise to him or something?
Home is Where the Heart Is (Home #1) Page 18
