“I’m not gonna do anything, Demi. I promise.” His jaw clenches. “But I am gonna sleep next to you in case you get sick again.” He reaches out and pushes some hair behind my ear. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.
And before I can ask why he’s sorry, my heavy eyes betray me once again and close.
Present
I stand in the kitchen, getting ready to leave for school Monday morning. It’s been two days since my Halloween party. I threw it on Saturday night, knowing that Halloween was on Friday night. I knew that Austin had plans to take Lilly trick-or-treating, and that if Cole didn’t come to my party, Deke might not either. So I had to plan my party accordingly. I was a tad worried that Cole would bring Austin, but I was hoping she would stay home with Lilly. Thank God, I was right.
I hear the front door open and close, and then seconds later, my mother’s housekeeper walks in. “Good morning, Demi.” She greets me with a nod of her head.
“Isabella.” I smile at her warmly. “I spoke to my mother last night, and she said to give you the day off today.”
She frowns, looking at the scattered cups and liquor bottles that litter the kitchen. I haven’t touched that shit. “The day off, ma’am?”
I nod and slide the white envelope over to her. “Here. Take a day for yourself. Go shopping and get you something nice for Mr. Rodriguez.”
Her chubby face lights up, and her brown eyes widen. The leftover trash from my party long forgotten. “Thank you. Thank you so much. Tell your mother thank you.” She nods quickly.
I wave at her as she all but runs out of the kitchen and then the front door.
That was easy.
I hear the door open and close again, and I smile behind the rim of my coffee cup. That would be my sister. She walks in, pulling a rolling suitcase behind her. “God, I just saw Isabella leaving. Where the hell is she going? She needs to get in here and do her job. This place is disgusting.” She huffs as her blue eyes roam around the kitchen.
“How was Collins?” I ask, ignoring her.
Her lips pull back in disgust. “The same hellhole.”
“Then why did you go?”
She doesn’t answer. I think she’s seeing someone in Collins. Why else would she go back and forth so much? And it’s never for a week at a time. She only spends a day or two there.
This time, she chooses to avoid answering my question and goes to walk out. “Oh, wait. Who is Evan Scott?”
She comes to a stop and spins around to face me. “Why?” she asks slowly with narrowed eyes.
“Because I got a friend request from him Saturday night. I have you as a mutual friend.” She snaps the phone from my hands. “Okay, then,” I say, taking a drink of my coffee.
She begins to type on my phone.
“What are you doing?” I ask her.
“I’m sending this fucker a message.” She growls.
“What? Why?” I reach for it, but she spins around, giving me her back. “Message him back from your own phone,” I snap, setting down the mug.
“This motherfucker … talking to my sister.” She rambles to herself. I don’t correct her that he didn’t message me. He just sent me a friend request. “I’ll kick his fucking ass.”
“Is he like an ex of yours?”
She gives a rough laugh. “He’s an ex all right.”
She turns to face me and holds out my phone.
I look down and see she still has messenger open. “I’ll kill you, fucker.” I nod in approval. “Nice. I bet he’s scared to death.”
“He should be.” She tosses my phone onto the countertop.
“Thanks,” I say as it bounces a couple of times before stopping right before it falls off the edge. “Not like I have important shit on that or anything.”
“Let me know if he says anything else to you.” She growls. “And by the way, tell Seth to lighten the fuck up.” She glares at my neck. “He’s a man, not a vampire.” She looks over my hickeys and bite marks.
“Oh, you noticed them?” I ask, pressing my fingers to the sensitive skin. I’ve heard of a few tricks to get rid of them, but I chose to wear them with pride. I didn’t even bother caking on the makeup.
“Of course,” she spits out. “Cover that shit up.”
“Have a nice day,” I singsong as she walks out of the kitchen.
I smile, picking up my keys and walk out the front door. The moment I sit down in my car, my cell begins to ring. “Hello, darling.” I greet Seth.
He snorts at my pet name for him. “So, did it work?”
I smile to myself as I pull through the open gate, waving to the guard who sits in the guard shack. “A woman never kisses and tells.”