AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sighing, I press a quick kiss to her lips. “Well, I am. I’m so fucking sorry that I dragged you into a game you shouldn’t have been forced into playing. You told me that my shit would bounce back on you, and I didn’t listen. But I’m not sorry that I get to help you with your sister or that you’re still wearing my ring. I hate that you got hurt, but I love that you’re on my arm, in my bed, and that I get to tell the world that you’re mine. Because you are Izzy, you’re mine, and I’ll never be sorry for that.”
Lifting her arms, she wraps them around my neck, pulls my face down, and kisses me for what feels like the very first time without any subterfuge. I don’t know if this kiss is an acceptance of my apology or her agreeing to be mine, but I’ll take it no matter what it means because she’s kissing me, and that’s all that matters.
When she eventually pulls back, I let her, even though I don’t want to. Thorn and Davis are both here too, chatting with Kip and pointedly ignoring the way Izzy and I are making out against my locker. School is over, and it’s time for us to leave, but I’m not sure I want to deal with whatever shitstorm might be waiting for us outside if her mom really does turn up, expecting Izzy to leave with her.
“Are you ready to deal with your mom if she’s out there?” I ask her quietly.
Exhaling slowly, she shakes her head. “Not even slightly, but I’m going to do it anyway.”
Looking up, I wait until I have all of the guys’ attention. “Whatever happens, Izzy leaves with us.”
They nod, and I nod back, taking Izzy’s hand in mine and entwining our fingers together. “Let’s go home then.”
Tension radiates through her as we step out of the school building and into the bright afternoon sunlight. There are a row of cars idling at the curb, and I spot Thorn’s family’s limo right at the back, several cars behind the Rhodeses’ town car.
Penelope is standing halfway down the steps with her friends, but she doesn’t look like she’s paying attention to whatever they’re saying to her because she’s scanning the crowd. When her eyes find us, a smug grin stretches across her mouth.
This morning she was impressed by her sister’s boldness, but as the day’s progressed, she’s gotten more and more pissed off at being forced to take her own classes and handle her own shit for a change.
Pulling Izzy against me, I tip her chin up. “We’ll have dinner with Dad, then we have a thing tonight. Fitzy’s bringing you some dresses to choose from, okay?”
She nods, but even with her body pressed up against mine, her attention is still focused on the car that’s moved to the head of the row and is now in front of the school steps.
I hold her a little tighter as the driver circles the car and opens the rear doors. I pin her to my side when Trudy Rhodes emerges wearing a tight black fitted dress with a black tailored jacket. Her hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail at her neck, and her eyes are covered by large black sunglasses. She looks like she could be in her twenties, but it’s all artificial.
Izzy’s entire body stiffens the moment her mother turns her poisonous gaze in our direction. A part of me desperately wants to push her behind me and form a human wall between my girl and her evil mother, but I can’t. So instead, I glance at Trudy, then look away, dismissing her as I focus on the beautiful ghost in my arms.
“Fuck her,” I murmur, smiling against her lips.
Her sharp exhale is audible, and she nods, forcing a shaky smile. “Don’t let me go, okay?”
“Never,” I promise.
Turning in my arms but staying as close to me as she can, Izzy presses her back against my front, and I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my chin on her shoulder. The guys all crowd around us, and the five of us stand our ground, not moving as Trudy glares at us from her position on the curb, her toe tapping impatiently against the sidewalk.
Lifting her hand, Izzy waves at her mom, and I snicker, burying my face in her neck. Despite Trudy’s Botox-filled face being practically immobile, I still see the tic in her jaw when we don’t make any move to go to her, despite her obviously expecting her daughter to come to heel like a fucking dog.
After a long, silent showdown, Trudy sighs and strides confidently up the steps to where we’re standing.
“Izabella,” Trudy sneers.
“Hello, Mother,” Izzy replies.
“We’re leaving,” Trudy snaps, immediately turning and starting to walk away.
“Well, it was nice seeing you,” Izzy says sweetly.
Freezing mid-stride, Trudy slowly spins back around and lifts her sunglasses onto her head. “I’m not playing, child. Get in the car. This farce is over,” her mother hisses, her eyes suggesting she’s scowling, although her expression remains neutral.
“It’s so nice to see you again, Trudy. Our car is actually just there.” I point toward Thorn’s limo. “But thank you so much for offering us a ride home,” I say with a wide “fuck you” smile to my future mother-in-law.
Ignoring me completely, Trudy steps into us, her long, white-tipped fingernails digging into Izzy’s arm as she grabs hold of her and tries to physically pull her out of my embrace. “Get into the goddamn car right now,” she snarls in Izzy’s face.
I give an almost imperceptive nod, and Kip, Hawthorn, and Davis crowd around us. Thorn drops his arm over Trudy’s shoulders, smiling widely as he dips his head down and speaks so low that only we can hear. “I suggest you get your fucking hands off her right now.”
“Go home, Mother. I’m not coming with you, and I’m not taking Penelope’s classes anymore. If you hadn’t noticed, I’ve moved out, and I’m never coming back,” Izzy says with only a slight tremor in her voice.
Trudy’s expression manages to darken without her face actually moving, and her lips part.
