No, she couldn't, and she didn't want to. She shuddered involuntarily as her sisters continued to prattle on about Jess's boyfriend.
"Isabelle." She turned as her mom's head appeared in the doorway. "
Yeah?" she asked shakily.
Her mother frowned as she stepped fully into the doorway. "You okay?"
"Yes," she lied.
Her mother's gaze searched her face, but Isabelle forced herself to remain outwardly serene, even though she was a seething mass of turmoil. "I see you've heard the news."
"Yes."
"It will only be for a little while, and Jess goes back to school in two weeks. Plus, the new house will be finished soon."
Isabelle nodded numbly. "It's okay, mom."
"Well, until the house is ready, I was wondering if um..."
Isabelle's cold chill became an iceberg as her terror from earlier blazed back to life. If somebody shared a room, there would be more beds open at the other house, and Aiden was leaving soon for football practice. Please no, she begged silently. Please.
"Would you mind staying at the other house with the guys and Jess?" her mom inquired. "I know it's a lot to ask, but Aiden leaves for college on Monday, and Ian leaves in a week and a half. In no time at all, you'll have more privacy over there. It will also give you a chance to catch up with Jess. You two were close as children.”
Isabelle's shoulders slumped as her unheard pleas went unanswered. At any other point in time Isabelle would jump at the opportunity, but now the thought made her stomach cramp.
"Do you think they're soul mates mom?" Abby asked excitedly.
Her mother smiled as she shook her head. "I don't know honey, maybe."
"That would be so awesome!" Abby gushed, ever the romantic at heart.
"So, Isabelle, what do you say?" her mom asked, her violet-blue eyes hopeful as she studied Isabelle.
Isabelle wanted to say no, she wanted to scream no, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her mother was so sad after Ethan told her he ran into Kathleen. The nostalgia in her mother's voice when she'd spoken of her old friend had torn at Isabelle's heart. This was her mother's chance to catch up with Kathleen, to spend some time with her friend, and to regain some of the time she was forced to give up.
Her mom would do anything for her; Isabelle couldn't refuse her this simple favor, no matter how unhappy it made her. It would only be for a couple of weeks; she could handle a couple of weeks. Nothing bad was going to come of it. She hoped.
"Sure mom, no problem." She choked out the words past the lump in her throat.
Her mother beamed at her. "Thanks, Isabelle, I owe you one." More than one, Isabelle thought. "Why don't you guys take some drinks down to the building site," her mom suggested to the twins. They bounced off the bed eagerly and fled down the hall, bickering over which one of them would get to serve Stefan. "I think they have a crush on him."
"Yeah," Isabelle muttered absently. Her mind was already focused on how she was going to get through the next week.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, mom, I'm fine."
"Do you need a hand moving your stuff?"
Two hours later Isabelle was greatly regretting the fact she’d turned down her mother's offer of help, opting to recruit Abby and Vicky instead. They’d done nothing but talk her ear off about Stefan and how amazing he was. She had a pounding headache, and she swore if she heard his name one more time she would scream.
Not to mention, they were almost no help at all. She only packed three bags and two suitcases to take with her. She had already packed most of the things in her room in preparation for the move to her new home, so there was little left to take with her.
Ethan opened the screen door for her when they stepped onto the porch. He took one of the suitcases from her as he glanced back at the twins with an amused smile. They were each carrying one small backpack, while she lugged both of her suitcases and a bag.
"Taking a break?" she asked irritably.
He flashed a grin at her as he walked back into the house. "Damn right. It's hot as Hell out there. I can see you have a lot of help."
Isabelle looked at the kitchen tile beneath her feet —so covered with dirt and footprints it was difficult to tell the tile was light blue instead of dingy gray. The kitchen was clean, but only because they didn't use it often.
"Yeah," she mumbled.
"Doug's going to bunk with David, so you'll have the basement to yourself. There's a half bath down there."
"I know," she mumbled.
He flashed another grin as they headed into the living room where it was excruciatingly obvious a bunch of bachelors lived here. Two forest green couches faced the big screen TV on the far wall. Two green reclining chairs were set at an angle at the end of the couches; their worn footrests were still in the air. The coffee table in the center of the oval was dark wood, but the varnish was faded and scratched, and at least a dozen water rings marred it. A screen in the corner had once been white, but dust and time had yellowed it, and the picture of a deer in a color-filled meadow was faded.
The room was a light cream color, but the walls were marred by dirt and fingermarks and in desperate need of a new coat of paint. Dust covered the TV and the light green curtains. The windows were as smudged as the walls. The bookshelf, in between the two windows on the left-hand wall, was cluttered with old paperbacks tossed haphazardly onto it.
Wrinkling her nose, Isabelle studied the room with mild distaste, wondering how long it would take to clean everything. "We're only going to be here for a
