Home is Where the Heart Is (Home #1)

by Cheynee Filkov

  “I don’t have to listen to this,” Isabelle hissed. “You stay away from Tate or I’ll make you.”

  She left before Kimberley could retort and jogged down the street to her car, pulling the keys out of her pocket and hopping inside, without paying much attention to anything around her. Pulling out of the street, she was still seething about Kimberley’s words.

  At a red light she tried to calm her breathing and relax so she wouldn’t be in an accident while her mind was elsewhere. She was going to have to call Tate and tell him about this before Kimberley had a chance to spin the story to turn him against her. The calm, factual way in which Kimberley had spoken to her was bothering Isabelle. There was no crazy in Kimberley’s eyes and she wasn’t spitting venom or throwing punches.

  It wasn’t until Isabelle was nearly home that she realised why she couldn’t calm down. For the first time in her life, Isabelle was confronted with the truth; that she had been coddled and treated with kid gloves for most of her life.

  Kimberley had - in her own uniquely annoying way, been looking out for Isabelle. Which also meant that Kimberley had been the only person to recognise her as the selfish, careless monster that she had become.

  Kimberley had been right about everything. And Isabelle hated her for it.

  She had also left her damn bag at Kimberley’s place, with her wallet and phone, and all her school work.

  Resting her head on the steering wheel as she contemplated her next move, Isabelle finally sighed in defeat and then turned the car around back the way she had just come.

  *

  The sun was starting to set as Isabelle drove back into Kimberley’s street. The sky was a beautiful massacre of reds, pinks and oranges, bleeding across the blue in gorgeous, vivid colours.

  Parking in the same spot, Isabelle locked the car and was again struck by the eerie feeling creeping relentlessly up her spine. She didn’t like this neighbourhood, didn’t like how quiet this street was, and she certainly didn’t like the warning bells shrieking in her gut.

  Ignoring it once more, Isabelle moved slowly towards Kimberley’s unit but stopped at the front lawn when she heard angry voices.

  Did Kimberley have friends visiting? God, like this wouldn’t be awkward enough. Unsure about whether to approach, Isabelle stayed still and just listened.

  “- don’t you touch me! How are you even here right now?” Kimberley growled.

  “You weren’t easy to track down, and you were never left alone. Always with that Jace boy, or at parties being a whore. I finally caught a break with your little blonde friend. I’ve been watching you both for months, but you always slipped away before I could get a lock on you. Little blondie lead me right to you today, but she didn’t seem too pleased with you. What did you do? Fuck the pretty one’s boyfriend?”

  The male voice was dark and sleazy. With horror, Isabelle realised that it must have been her who had lead this creepy man to Kimberley today.

  “This can’t be happening,” Kimberley said in a high voice. “You were in prison, and they would have called to warn us if you were being released.”

  “Good behaviour,” he cooed. “I’ve been out for a couple of months now. You’re not eighteen yet so they would notify your Mother instead. Oops! Did she forget to tell you? Or maybe she was too high when they called and forgot all about it. Never matter, I’m here now and I’m going to take care of you.”

  “Let me go!” Kimberley yelled. “You’re hurting me!”

  “You look even prettier than I remember. You waste it on all those boys though. Do you like it? When they run their hands over you and treat you like the whore you are?”

  “Get off me, I won’t let you do it again, I won’t live through this again!” The unbridled fear in Kimberley’s voice shot right through Isabelle’s heart.

  “I’m the parent,” he sneered. “So you’ll do as I say. Now, be a good girl and give your Daddy a proper welcome home.”

  “No!” Kimberley’s shriek of pain tore something inside Isabelle and her fight or flight instincts kicked in.

  She had to act fast if she had any hope of preventing a kidnapping, or something even worse. Calling the police was out of the question because her damn phone was in her bag in Kimberley’s unit. Desperately, Isabelle considered her limited options.

  A chilling breeze swept Isabelle’s hair across her face as she heard Kimberley let out an agonised sob. Isabelle heard a noisy struggle, bottles breaking and heavy thuds.

  There were really only two choices, Isabelle decided. She could run for help, praying they arrived in time to prevent something terrible from happening. Or she could take matters into her own hands and attempt to help Kimberley in any way she could.

  “Please!” Kimberley shrieked. “Don’t do this!”

  “Shut your mouth!” the man yelled, and then Isabelle heard the sickening sound of a body being smashed onto the hard floor.

  No one deserved this. No one. And Isabelle couldn’t just stand idly by while Kimberley took another blow to her body and to her soul.

  Picking up the huge scotch bottle and gripping it tightly in her hand, Isabelle crept towards the back of the house, praying a door was open so she had a shot at sneaking up on Kimberley’s assailant.

  Luck was on her side tonight. A big window at the back was already wide open, and low enough for her to climb up. Scrambling through, Isabelle raced towards the front of the house and saw a heavy, red haired man pinned on top of Kimberley - much like Isabelle had been under Jason. She saw with alarm that Kimberley wasn’t moving or struggling and there was a large pool of blood under her head, a broken mug smashed in many pieces beside her.

  It was the blood; dark and soaking into the yellowed carpet, that snapped something inside Isabelle. With a burst of adrenaline she sprinted over and smashed the bottle against the man’s head, completely shattering it and raining glass everywhere. He rolled away, clutching his head in pain, revealing an unconscious Kimberley with her shorts halfway down her thighs, her shirt ripped to expose her black bra, and an already swelling eye. There was blood everywhere.

  “Kimberley? Kimberley, you need to wake up!” Isabelle checked for a pulse and, while she could detect a beat, it was also very faint.

  Shit. He must have repeatedly bashed her head against the carpet and then cracked the mug against her head when she kept struggling. Jesus! Isabelle was pretty sure she was going to be sick.

  “You bitch!” the man roared as he clumsily rose to his feet, one hand still holding the bleeding back of his head.

  Isabelle scrambled to her feet, standing guard in front of Kimberley.

  “You need to leave,” Isabelle stated, in what she hoped was a firm voice. “There’s nothing for you here but more prison time.”

  He bared his teeth in a sick version of a smile. “You’re a stupid little girl. You should never have come back here because now I’m going to have to take care of you too. Don’t worry, I’ll try and make it quick.”

  Fear was a strange thing. It had the ability to completely shut your body down, rendering you useless; or it could wake you up in the most intense way. Everything seemed razor clear to Isabelle as he lurched forward to grab her. Quicker than she thought she was capable of, she kicked him in the gut and dashed out of his reach.

  He growled in pain, stumbling toward her with terrifying intent. Isabelle backed away slowly, trying to draw him away from Kimberley and keep his focus on her. Truthfully, she didn’t have any clue how she was going to get them both out of this unharmed, but she was too pumped with adrenaline to stop and think it through.

  His black eyes watched her with a predatory gleam, without a hint of mercy or compassion.

  “That’s your daughter,” Isabelle said without thinking. “How could you hurt your own daughter?”

  “I gave her life,” he sneered. “So I choose what she does with it.”

  He faked a lunge to her right, and Isabelle stupidly jumped right into the trap he had set. His beefy arms e
nclosed her like a vice as she struggled pointlessly against him. Grabbing the back of her hair, he yanked her closer, ripping out chunks of hair and stretching her neck uncomfortably.

  His hot breath tickled her neck as he rubbed his nose against her. “This is a family matter that doesn’t concern you. You should have just stayed away, but now you get the pleasure of joining in the fun with Kimberley.”

  Oh God. Her heart fluttered as his words sunk in under the pain. Stomping hard on his foot to loosen his hold, Isabelle made a break for the front door, running over broken glass and creating more as she stomped through other bottles.

  He had surprising speed for a man so large. Before Isabelle could make it more than a few steps she was tackled from behind, winded as his weight landed on her heavily and roughly.

  “Stupid girl,” he hissed into her ear, smacking her face into the broken glass on the floor. Isabelle actually felt the moment her nose broke and the blood began gushing onto the filthy carpet and down her face. So preoccupied with the pain and blood, she wasn’t even aware that he’d moved away until she felt his boot connect with her ribs, and she curled into a ball, howling in agony.

  He crawled on top again, pinning her writhing body under his grotesque build, making it impossible for her to do anything but lie there, powerless. It was sickeningly familiar - except this time it hurt so much more than what she experienced with Jason. Isabelle ceased to struggle against him, even as his hands enclosed her neck and began to tighten.

  Locked with fear - her mind broke, and she fell back into the memory that haunted her every living moment.

  Black eyes merciless as they stared at her, a hard body pressing her down into the floor, rough long fingers penetrating her most delicate area and hurting her carelessly.

  She thought Jason had loved her. She had ignored every warning and doubt because he had a beautiful face and told her pretty things. She had known he was a player, had witnessed firsthand the destruction he had created with his previous conquests, but she had wanted to be loved so badly. She had willingly placed her heart in his hands, only to be betrayed by the actions of one idiotic boy. The truth was - she had not wanted to speak to anyone about what he had done to her because, on some level, she had been utterly convinced that she deserved what had happened, that it was karma for being so wilfully ignorant.

  Isabelle’s airflow was starting to cut off, and her eyes bulged, the desperate need to breathe bringing her back into the moment, struggling futilely against the brutish man.

  She closed her eyes and just prayed it would be over soon, but then Jace’s face appeared in her mind and she mustered the little strength remaining.

  Kimberley had been right; she was pathetic. Here she was in another situation where she was going to allow herself to be the victim, instead of finding the courage to be her own hero. She didn’t want to die, not before she had a chance to make things right with everyone. Not before she could let go of the past and most importantly; forgive herself.

  No more cowering, no more hiding; no more being a victim.

  Consciousness was fading but Isabelle wasn’t going to go without a fight. A blood vessel popped in one of her eyes as the pressure around her neck increased but Isabelle pushed it away, focused on finding something - anything to help. Her hands flapped aimlessly around on the floor until a jolt of pain coursed through her right hand.

  Her vision starting to fade, Isabelle resolutely grabbed a piece of broken glass tightly in her fist and, with the last of her strength, jammed it into the monster’s neck before succumbing to the darkness.

  Chapter 16

  Jace

  He didn’t have the nightmare last night. For the first time in years, Jace wasn’t tossing and turning as his mind was locked into a house of horrors from which he could not escape. He had no idea what time it was now as he lay with his eyes closed, sun warming his face and chest, and the smell of bacon wafting through his room. But he knew he couldn’t stay in bed all day when he had to man up and face school today.

  “Breakfast time!”

  He winced as Maia’s shrill voice boomed against his ears, so loud that he was sure dogs from several neighbourhoods away could hear, and her body barrelled against him.

  “Jesus Christ, Maia!” Jace grumbled, lightly pushing her away from him.

  Her pixie face was alight with joy as she looked down at him. “Mum’s made breakfast for the whole family! She even made your favourite chocolate chip pancakes! Why couldn’t you have gotten yourself grounded sooner? Best. Week. Ever!”

  Pressing a swift kiss to his cheek she raced out of his room down the stairs with the grace of a stampeding elephant.

  Annoying as hell she may be, but her joy and bright smile - bigger than he had seen in years, were infectious. She was right - the last couple of days had been beyond amazing. So far, being grounded had meant mowing the lawn, going to Bunnings to pick out pot plants with his Mum, talking with her and Maia at lengths about everything they should have told each other years ago, and booking their first family counselling session.

  He wasn’t allowed to go to parties, couldn’t have any friends besides Matt over, and had to hand his phone to his Mum before he went to bed each night. But, having an active parent in his life was worth any small punishment she thought up for him. He hadn’t touched alcohol, cigarettes or any type of drug since that night. Although two days didn’t seem like much to anyone else, for someone who had relied on some kind of chemical escape for years; it was a huge step.

  “Jace!”

  He winced at Maia’s scream and pulled himself out of bed, trudging downstairs in his boxers.

  Maia was sitting at the kitchen bench, while his Mum served up three heaping plates of food on the other bench.

  As soon as they felt his presence they looked over, Maia with a roll of her eyes as she took in his attire, and his Mum with a warm smile that took at least five years off her face.

  “Good morning. Sit down and eat up, and then go and get ready for school. You don’t want to be late today. I’ve called the office and set up a meeting with the Principal so we can work out how far you may be behind and what we can do to catch you up.”

  Jace opened his mouth but she cut him off. “No, don’t say anything, don’t argue with me. You are so brilliantly intelligent and I’ve been a terrible Mother for letting you throw a future away because I was too ashamed to face you. You’ve lost a lot because of my neglect, but you’re not going to lose a bright future in which you can be anything you want to be. It’s non-negotiable.”

  Her fierce tone, coupled with her bright eyes filled with love, twisted at his chest and he felt like he had to blink away the moisture in his eyes so he wouldn’t do something stupid like cry.

  “I was going to ask if being grounded means you’re taking my car or could I still drive to school?”

  It hurt when her shoulders slumped in relief and she eyed him in disbelief, obviously expecting him to fight her and totally unsure of how to react when he didn’t.

  Moving forward slowly, he tentatively wrapped his arms around her thin shoulders and pulled her into a hug, patting her back awkwardly. The fluffy material of her robe was oddly soothing as his hands ran over it. There was stiffness in both of their limbs as they embraced each other. It was like roller skating again for the first time in years; you knew what to do, you remembered what needed to be done, but your body was stiff and awkward as it struggled to ease into unpracticed moves.

  “Wow…that’s super awkward. Totally adorable, but so awkward,” Maia said, breaking their moment.

  Jace released his Mum and glared over at Maia, but it wasn’t heart felt because truthfully it was awkward as fuck. Maia’s upfront comment had eased some of the tension - his Mum’s furrowed brow was smooth again and a small smile tugged at her lips.

  “You’re such a brat,” Jace snapped.

  Maia smirked for a moment before glaring back. “Mum! Jace is being rude again!”

  He caught Maia’
s small smile and knew what she was doing, so he played along.

  “Stop being such a sook for once.”

  “Mum, are you hearing this!”

  Their Mum was just standing still, watching them with wet eyes and soft affection all over her face. It was totally messed up that this little domestic scene, familiar in households everywhere around the world, was something they were all holding tight to at the moment. It was the first bit of normalcy they had experienced together in so long.

  Pulling out of her thoughts, Jace’s mother pointed the spatula at them threateningly.

  “That’s enough both of you! If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.”

  Her words were typical parental exasperation, but her eyes were alight with love, and they caught the grin on her face before she could turn and hide.

  *

  “OK, so go out and learn lots and whatnot,” Claire called to Jace and Maia.

  They rolled their eyes at her but smiled and waved.

  “Jace, you’re still grounded so you come straight home, OK?”

  He gave her a chin lift to acknowledge her words and a wink. “You got it, Boss.”

  She chuckled and waved again before heading back into the house.

  The smile was still on his face as he parked and headed into the school. He was acting like a total pansy, but he didn’t give a damn what they thought about him when he was a fuck up, so he wasn’t going to start giving a damn now that things were starting to look up.

  “Hey there smiley, are you actually heading to class?” Giselle asked, walking in step with him.

  He slung an arm around her shoulders lazily. “Yeah, got some catching up to do.”

  Her small lips tipped into a smile and she elbowed his ribs lightly. “Then you know we have Math and you’re going in the wrong direction?”

  Maths? Shit, he thought he had Woodwork. When was the last time he had even turned up to a Maths class anyway?

  Giselle giggled at his confusion and redirected them. “You know, you’re kind of hot when you’re confused. Too bad you’re like a gay brother to me.”