16 Your Mom

Davis' P.O.V.

"Iz, what gives? You knew I was coming home." I asked her as I sat on the couch. My leg was throbbing so badly, a consequence of walking on it before it was ready.

"Yeah, and?" She crossed her arms, sitting on the arm of the couch instead of the cushion.

"What's wrong? This isn't about that kid." I pointed towards the kitchen where that bastard had gone. I still have half a mind to punch him.

"Neal," she corrected me with a roll of her eyes. "Look, I just wanted to fool around. You're doing it, so why can't I?"

And there it was. Her excuse. That was not what was really wrong.

"I'm not fooling around Izzy. I love Lisa, a hell of a lot. It's been a very long time since I felt this way about someone. Since your mother, really. Your mom was everything to me, you know that. It's part of the reason I lost myself, and you, when she died," I admitted to her, remembering the turmoil Grace's death caused.

Izzy lowered her gaze, staring at my feet now. Those green eyes were identical to Grace's, pulling me in every time. Her full, small lips frowned as her brows pinched. She was thinking of her mother, and that always caused a mixture of sadness and anger in her.

"Glad you could find some happiness," she said bitterly.

"I know you don't think I deserve any, Izzy. I've felt that way for years, but that's wrong. Your mother's death was tragic, and I will forever blame myself, but I won't stay in this darkness any longer. Neither should you. If this Neal guy is really the one for you, then I'll bite my tongue. But if he can't even face me for you, then I don't think he's really worth it."

A man should be able to face the father of the woman he loves. I was one to talk, not having spoken to Lisa's father myself. That was going to change this week, taking a page out of my book and facing him. He would know I meant business. Let him try to come for me. He wouldn't survive.

"Yeah, okay."

She was over this conversation, rolling her eyes and looking towards the kitchen to check on Neal. When her eyes found him, she didn't smile, instead assessing him. I fought the smirk from my face as I knew my words had reached her, seeing her pensive face as she more than likely thought about whether Neal was worthy of her time.

"I love you, Izzy. Always have, always will, but I won't give up Lisa, because it makes you uncomfortable. I also won't force you to think of her as a step-mom or force any sort of bond between the two of you. Will you allow me this happiness?" I asked her.

For some reason, I really felt I needed her approval. She sighed, picking at her nails and playing with the spinning ring on her finger. Her black nail polish was chipped, as she liked to pick at it when she was stressed or worried. I'd seen her pick at it when she came to visit me at the hospital. I hated that I scared her so much.

She flew out of there the moment she knew I was okay. She hated hospitals since she had to see me lay on a hospital bed for a week when her mother died. I was surprised and extremely touched that she had shown up for me at all. It had to take a lot out of her for her to come.

"Yeah, okay. It's weird as hell, but if she really makes you that happy, then fine, I'll deal with it." She finally looked back up at me. Those green eyes stared at me softly for once, like the ten-year-old girl she once was.

"Thank you, Izzy."

She slid off the arm of the couch and made her way towards me. She curled up into a ball, nuzzled into my side. I wrapped my arm around her and held her for a long while, surprised she was allowing me to do so. I felt whole again with my daughter in my arms. It had been a while since she had let me hold her.

"I was terrified I was going to lose you," she admitted, breaking my heart for causing her any pain.

"I'm sorry, Iz, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"I know. Just be more careful, okay?"

"I promise, I will be."

"Is she really okay with us?" Lisa asked, surprised when I told her Izzy had approved, at least mostly.

"I mean, she thinks it's weird, but she's okay."

Izzy had left after we spoke for a moment, Neal followed closely behind with his head down. He was like a scared dog as he left my house with his tail tucked between his legs. The boy had no backbone, and I seriously hoped that Izzy would break up with him soon.

"She's not wrong. We have a pretty big age gap." Lisa stopped tracing random patterns on my chest to look up at me. Her beautiful blue eyes peered at me through those long dark lashes.

"That doesn't matter to me. I love you, Lisa."

"I love you, too."

She got quiet again, and I worried that she was thinking more about our age difference. I knew it was different and people would talk, but I hoped it wouldn't bother her. I forgot that she was still in her twenties, and as such, worried about these things more than I did. Hopefully, she won't worry about it so much that she would leave me because of it. I don't think I could survive losing Lisa.

"I want to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" she asked, sitting up to better look at me.

"I am going to visit your dad and talk with him."

"You're what?!"

"Lisa, I need to talk to him. He needs to know that I am serious, and that you won't be seeing Chris ever again. Not him, not Daniel, not any of them. There won't be a contract marriage. He can come for me if he likes."

"Davis, that's not a good idea."

Lisa was scared at the mention of her father. I could see it in the way she sank into herself. Her father caused such a fear in her. She had turned him into this untouchable monster in her head, one that haunts every waking moment of her life. What she didn't seem to realize was that he was just like any other man, just has more money than most.

"I can handle it, Lisa. Trust me."

I cupped her face, making her lift her head. She never needed to look down. She was strong and powerful. She just didn't know it yet. I would show her. I would keep training her alongside Carter, and she would grow to be a great fighter. She just needed to believe in herself more. She would get there.

"I trust you, Davis. I am just scared of what he could do." Her shoulder sank as she let out a heavy breath. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will be. You're worth anything he throws my way."

"Thank you, Davis."

"Don't thank me, Lisa. I am doing this for selfish reasons. I want you to stay by my side without ever having to leave me for Chris' place again."

"I never want to go back there again."

I knew she was still reeling from Daniel's attack, not having cried about it yet. It just goes to prove my point—she was strong. She had been holding herself together, and I knew it took a lot of emotional strength to do that for the sake of someone else.

"I'll make sure you never have to."

I'll keep you safe, Lisa. Always.

Lisa's P.O.V.

Dad: You can't keep ignoring me, Lisa. I am coming for you and your brother full force, unless I hear from you today.

Dad's text had caused me to go pale. Davis was at a doctor's appointment that Carter took him to. I was sitting at Davis' house alone and utterly frightened at the prospect of Dad coming for me. My fingers hovered over my phone, deciding whether to text dad back when the front door opened.

I jumped, frightened that it was him and he had found me. My nerves were shot and adrenaline was pumping through me like a raging river, but I was ready to attack whoever crossed the threshold. I met her concerned green eyes as she stepped through, feeling myself slump with exhaustion as the sudden rush of adrenaline caused me to crash.

Izzy sported her hair in a braid similar to her dad's today. She wore a black crop top with a black choker and smokey eyed makeup. Those pink, full lips of hers frowned as she met my gaze. Her thick leather biker boots thumped against the floor as she slowly made her way towards me. Her hand was held out before her as if she was approaching a frightened animal and wasn't sure if it would attack.

"You okay?" she asked, still slowly making her way towards me with her hand slightly extended.

"I- I thought that you were…" I sighed, unable to fully collect my thoughts.

"What?" She cocked her head to the side, pinching her brows together as she watched me carefully.

"I thought you were my dad," I finally blurted.

"Oh," she didn't seem to understand why my father would cause such a reaction. How could she when her father was Davis? The kindest, strongest man around.

"He's not a good guy," I explained.

"I see."

Izzy stared at me a moment longer, probably wondering a lot about me now.

"And by not a good guy, you mean what, exactly?"

"It's a long story."

"I have time." She sprawled herself out on the recliner, looking at me expectantly. I could tell she wasn't going to let this go. She was stubborn, like her father.

I sighed, plopping back down on the couch, back in the warm spot I had left. I pulled my legs up, curling up in a ball as I picked at the fringed ends of the blanket I was using. My eyes refused to look away from the white knotted ends of the fabric.

"Well, it goes back as early as my childhood," I started, finding it extremely easy to talk to Izzy. She listened attentively as I told her all about dad, all about me and Lucas and how we grew up. I had to go on and tell her about Chris and what was going on.

"That SOB better pray he never crosses my path, because I won't hesitate to show him how powerful a woman can be."

Izzy was pissed with her lips pressed into a tight line. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her parted knees, looking more like a badass than a nineteen-year-old.

"Let's go," she said, pushing herself off the recliner, causing it to rock back as her weight left it.

"What? Where?"

"We're going to visit this Daniel and beat the ever living shit out of him since Dad can't right now."

She looked over her shoulder, and for a moment, I thought I saw Davis. Her back looked strong, just like his, protective and fierce. She may be young, but she was powerful, and she knew it. I stood up, affected by her intoxicating aura. It was almost contagious. I felt powerful beside her, finding courage I didn't know I had.

"Are you sure?" I asked her, feeling nervous about doing this with Davis' daughter. Would he be mad? We won't have Carter either, or Liv, for that matter. She was at work.

"More than sure. Let's go teach him a lesson. It may not be your dad, but it'll certainly make you feel better."

She led the way out of the house towards her mustang. Her hands were fisted beside her as she marched towards her car with her head held high.

She was definitely Davis' daughter.

I felt secure beside her, empowered even. My inner warrior, as Davis called it, was screaming to be released, and I was ready to do so as Izzy drove us towards Daniel's house. The mansion came into view about fifteen minutes later.

Izzy and I had been blasting music to keep the anger burning in us. We were currently listening to Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit as we pulled up to the enormous mansion at the end of the road. Trees branched over the driveway, providing a beautiful scene as we drove in.

Feeling ready to rage, we marched side by side up the driveway. I'd never felt so alive before. The gravel kicked beneath our feet as we made our way to the large red door. Izzy didn't hesitate to bang on the door like she was ready to break it down.

She stepped back, ready to attack the moment that door opened. Unexpectedly, a young man answered the door, his brow furrowed as he took us in. We both stared at one another for a moment, worried we had gone to the wrong house, but as I looked at the man more closely, I saw the resemblance.

I recalled Chris mentioning he had a younger brother, the one who stood to inherit everything if Chris didn't go through with the contract marriage.

"Is Daniel home?" I asked him, trying to keep the sting out of my tone. He had done nothing to me, but with a father and brother like his, he can't be too far off.

"Uh, no. Is everything okay?" He asked, looking concerned as he looked between Izzy and I.

"Yeah, it's fine."

"The hell it is," Izzy argued, looking ready to bite this poor guy's head off for no reason. "Where the hell is your sick ass father?"

Chris' brother looked taken aback by Izzy's forwardness. It was like the anger was oozing out of her pores as she locked eyes with him. He seemed shocked for a moment before composing himself.

"What did he do now?"

He sounded exasperated as he asked, like he was so tired of his father and his antics. I was surprised by it, but I didn't let it sway my opinion of him. He was probably just as rotten as the rest of the males in his family.

"He tried to rape her," she pointed at me, causing my eyes to widen at the way she just blurted that out.

I felt embarrassed, as if the truth was something I should be ashamed of. I was unsure of why my body reacted that way. It wasn't my fault and I shouldn't be ashamed at all, yet I was.

"Are you serious?" He looked at me with such deep sympathy that I could only assume it was genuine. He took a step out of the door, finding himself on the porch with us. "I am so sorry he did that to you. I hate that man like no other. Follow me, I'll take you to him."

I couldn't believe my ears as he walked off the porch towards the side of the house. Izzy and I looked at one another, unsure of his intentions. Izzy shrugged and followed him, still determined to punch something. I followed her, catching up and matching her powerful strides. We approached a large shed to the side of the house, its doors opened to show the gym that was set up.

Daniel was in the middle of reps when he spotted us. His smirk made my stomach twist, causing bile to rise in my throat. One look from Izzy was all it took to remind me I shouldn't be frightened. I held my head up high again, letting that inner warrior in me take over more. I pushed my insecurities and worries aside and pulled on my anger and fury until it felt like it was consuming me whole.

"Did you change your mind, Lisa?" He kept that smug smirk on his face as he spoke to me.

"You really think I would sleep with a man as vile as you? You and your son are the scum of this world. A piece of trash stuck to the bottom of my shoe that I can't seem to get rid of. So I'm here to scrape it off by force."

My voice barely sounded like me. It was strong and powerful, filled with anger as I stared down at him. I didn't back away or shrink as he stood tall, puffing his chest out as if to try to intimidate me. Izzy laughed at his display, earning her an angry look from him. She didn't care, only laughing harder.

"He thinks he's so big and bad." She clutched her sides as she continued to laugh. She wiped at her eye as she calmed herself.

Daniel was furious, not wasting any time as he approached Izzy. He pulled his hand back, ready to smack her. Three things happened all at the same time at that moment. First, I reached for his hand, grabbing his wrist to stop his punch. Second, Chris' younger brother stepped forward, grabbing the same wrist I had gone for. His hands and mine met as we locked eyes, surprised by each other's response. Third, Izzy pulled back her arm, landing a hard punch on his diaphragm.

"You'll find that Lisa and I know how to fight back. We're not some weak girls you can control or toy around with. As my father always says, 'only a coward would place his hands on a woman'. So let me show you what we do to cowards. The coward's special."

Izzy grabbed him by the collar of his shirt as he bent over, trying to catch his breath from her last punch. Chris' younger brother and I let go of his wrist, allowing Izzy to pull him close and punch him repeatedly in the face. I joined in, punching his side until we found him on the floor. I kicked his stomach for good measure, feeling a surge of power course through me. There was a high in me I never wanted to end.

Is this what being strong feels like?

"You guys better go before anyone sees you," Chris' younger brother told us once Daniel was unconscious, bloody and bruised on the ground. I felt no remorse, no guilt, no pity as I stared down at him.

"Thanks for your help. Glad to see at least one Darnell isn't a twisted, sick bastard," I told him, as Izzy and I sprinted away like bats out of hell.

"I'm sorry about my family," he called after me, and for a moment I felt really sorry for him.

I didn't know him well enough to really know if he was a good guy or not. Time would only tell. For today, he was on my good side. I felt exhilarated as we entered Izzy's car and she peeled out of the driveway like a racecar driver at the start line.

"Thank you," I told her, really having needed this.