“You are scexy… I really want your fingerders to touch my this,” I say rubbing my other hand down my body and his eyes darken with desire.
“Let’s just get you to bed.”
I open my mouth to speak.
“Alone,” he cuts me off before I can proposition him. I pout as he chuckles in reply.
“You taking her home, son?” I hear my Uncle Saul say from behind me, and it’s like a foghorn.
“Shhh,” I say spinning around, but I lose my balance and topple. Two strong hands quickly grip me, and I’m easily lifted into the air and his arms. I blink looking up at Isaac’s face.
I want to sit on his face.
I giggle to myself, and Isaac looks at me raising an eyebrow.
“Where’s Toby?” Isaac questions. There’s an edge to his tone.
“He left. Have you two still got issues? Neither of you are too big for me to remind you I’m your damn father, and I don’t give a shit about your fucking super abilities, you’re still my son.”
“Dad, for fuck sakes, shut up,” Isaac slams back, jostling me around in his arms.
“Shit, sorry. Just… are you and Toby okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just surprised he left her.”
“We are her family, Isaac. It’s not like she’s unsafe without him.”
Isaac grunts. My eyes must close because the next thing I know he’s laying me on his bed, and my head feels slightly clearer.
“This is your bed.”
Isaac strokes his knuckles softly down the side of my face.
“It is.”
“I’ve never let you go,” I tell him.
“I know,” he whispers.
“I need to let you go.”
“That’s never going to happen, Via. Now sleep.”
I study his face, and although I’m still drunk and a little hazy, there is no denying the love that shines in his eyes.
“Morning, sunshine.”
What the hell is going on, and who let wild horses take up residence in my skull? Come on brain, engage, piece together my life… now would be good!
The puzzle starts slotting into place. With my eyes still closed the bed dips, and I know Isaac is sitting next to me. I keep the duvet pulled over my face and will the ache in my head to subside.
“Take these, it will help.” Isaac tugs the duvet away from me. I’m weak from the hangover, so I have no strength to protest—not that I’d win against him.
Blinking and trying to adjust my eyes from the pitch black under the cover to the now semi-darkness of the room, Isaac’s smiling face comes into focus. Feeling like I’m about to throw up with a brass band fighting wrestlers inside my body, I still just want to lean up and kiss him. Morning breath stops me—morning breath—not the fact he has a girlfriend, or that he lied to me. The affirmation of Isaac’s very real relationship slams into me and stings like a bitch.
“Where’s Shelly?” I utter huskily.
His warm smile slips, and that hurts even more.
“How are you feeling?” he replies, totally bypassing my question.
“I’m fine.” Automatically the answer comes out, but I take a second to decide it’s not enough. Not anymore. “Answer my question, Isaac,” I demand.
He rubs the back of his neck as his eyes glaze over.
“Forget it.” I sigh and close my eyes for a second.
“I told you we broke up.” I look up at him as his eyes move over my face like he’s committing it to memory.
“Well, first, that still doesn’t actually answer my question, and second, I know you’re lying,” I mumble as an ache throbs behind my eyes and I close them again.
“Why would you say that I’m lying?”
“Toby told me she’s still living here and that you’re still together.”
Isaac doesn’t say anything, so I squint and open one eye slightly. It’s enough to see him staring into the distance as his jaw works. I close my eye again and give him his moment.
“There’s a lot to tell you. I promise I’ll be completely honest with you, but I can’t do it all in one go. There is some stuff I might never be able to tell you, but there’s little point in being honest about the rest if you never accept that certain things will have to remain a mystery.”
It’s probably the most confusing non-explanation he’s given me yet.
I grind my teeth and yelp when the pressure hurts my head. His big, warm hand cups my cheek, the heat feels good against the pain.
Keeping my eyes closed, I tell him what I need. “What I won’t accept as a mystery is Shelly. Why you haven’t spoken to me for so long, or how you really feel about me,” I whisper.
I feel his warm breath as his lips kiss each of my eyelids. “Those things I can be completely honest about,” his voice vibrates against my skin.
At his words, a few bricks tumble from the wall inside me, and a solitary tear releases a tiny bit of emotion as it slides from my eye and down the side of my face toward my ear.
Isaac’s thumb wipes it away, then with all the care in the world, he kisses my mouth. No tongues, just the gentle pressure of our lips before he moves his head back and eases me up carefully from my horizontal position on the bed so he can hold me in his arms.
Finally, I open my eyes again and face reality. “Where is she?” I repeat my earlier question.
His body sags against mine. “She’s still here in the house.” I try to pull away, but he holds me tighter. “We were never together… it was all a front, Via. A pretence because of the type of work I’m involved in. Mum, Dad, and Toby know about Shelly, about me, and my work,” he
