19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

ISABEL

I was terrified when Annie and I pulled up at home. My chest was tight, apprehension pulsing through me, but we looked at each other, sharing a moment of solidarity before stepping out of our truck. We were in this. Together. I steeled myself, shoving my insecurities back. I could do this. We could do this.

Jet and Tucker came up as we got out, and Jet held his arms open for Annie as I slid into Tucker's embrace, drinking in his boost of silent support. I'd suck it down in trenchfuls if it meant I could get through today. Instantly, my nerves began to settle, everything in me calming with him near.

I pulled away, my eyes locking with Annie's, and we headed up the walk, our hands grasping each other's as we climbed the porch steps. Jet and Tucker followed, our rocks at our backs.

Annie pushed the door open, taking the lead, and my heart skipped as we stepped inside .

I heard one of the guys shut the door behind us, and Annie and I stopped short only a few steps behind the large armchair.

Mom was seated on the couch with Archer tucked under her arm as he showed her his binder from school. Uncle Blake sat at the other end, a wide smile on his face as he watched them.

They all looked up as we came in, and it was impossible to miss the happiness radiating off my brother, but I was too busy taking in Mom to focus on him for long.

She looked different. The same. More like her old self. She was healthier with more weight on her bones. She'd been looking so skinny before. I hadn't even realized how much until I saw her now and could see the difference. The lines of tension she wore on her face were down, barely visible, and the beaten down look in her eyes was gone. She was better. Healed.

I was nowhere close.

A moment of jealousy swarmed through me, and I clenched my jaw shut, holding the tears back.

Mom looked between us, the joy in her gaze from talking to our brother shifting into one of apprehension and hope.

I didn't know how to start.

I didn't know if I could.

Annie did it for me.

"Welcome back." But the comment was anything but welcoming.

The hope dimmed in Mom's eyes.

"I'm so glad y'all are home. I missed y'all." She patted Archer's leg for him to scoot over and then stood. I took a step back, and she stopped, her eyes flitting between us. She didn't know how to approach us. I didn't want her to.

I was doing everything I could not to flee while Annie stood firm. Though, inside I knew my twin was shutting down, her expression closing off.

"I'm glad you're back. Archer needs you." Her voice was deadpanned and dry, and she took my hand to guide me around the couch. The guys followed, forever our support.

Mom's face fell, and Uncle Blake stood up. "Y'all wait. You don't get to just walk off like that."

Annie's shoulders tensed as we paused, and Jet reached up to touch her arm, steadying her. "I really think you'd prefer it if we did."

"Annie, please." I heard Mom behind me. "Izzy?" she tried when neither of us looked.

I just shook my head. I couldn't. Couldn't she see I was this close to breaking down? I felt Tucker's chest behind me as he stepped close, his fingers wrapping around my arm in a gentle squeeze, and my lungs filled, my breath returning with him near. Still, it was Annie who spoke.

"We're going to our rooms upstairs. Maybe we'll feel like talking later."

"Y'all's rooms ?" Mom questioned, sounding genuinely confused, and Annie finally turned, her gaze cold and hard.

"Yes. Our rooms . Izzy shares the guest room with Tucker now. Something you might have known if you hadn't screwed up and left us. So, while I appreciate you finally deciding to stay and check in, Uncle Blake, you might have to make other plans for where you're going to sleep. "

My eyes were wide by the time she was through, the entire vibe of the room shifting. I gave Annie a panicked look, and she shook her head. She was done.

"Izzy?" Mom asked, but this time her voice sounded appalled. I stiffened, and when I turned my head to look at her, I found her exchanging a concerned glance with my uncle before she looked back at me. "Is that true?"

I popped a shoulder. "Why would we lie?" I snapped, surprising myself with the bitterness lining my tone.

Anger flared in Mom's eyes with my response, and I knew at that moment that any chance we had for a civil reunion had just flown out the door. "You're kidding, right? After everything you went through in the fall? You want to risk that again by sharing a room with your boyfriend?"

Her glare went to Tucker, and my own eyes flashed. How dare she? She knew nothing about what our lives were like now. How dare she judge what I chose to do with my life? What I have to do to survive.

Tucker stepped closer, his abs pressing securely against my back, and he slid an arm around my waist under my breasts. "I will never put Izzy in that situation again." His voice growled from over me.

Mom's eyes snapped to his, her hands going to her hips. "This doesn't concern you, Tucker. Either of you boys. This is between me and my daughters. Especially you, young lady." She looked back at me. "You are crazy if you think I'm going to just sit aside while you shack up with your boyfriend in my house and not say anything."

" Your house? Funny, it feels like it's only been Annie and I living here for months. " I saw Archer watching with wide eyes, and I knew I should hold back, but something in me had snapped. Luckily, Uncle Blake seemed to notice, and he quickly swept my brother out the back door as I exploded.

"You left us, Mom, whether you meant to or not. You need to deal with it. Things have changed. Oh, and that leads me to Tucker. He's not just my boyfriend. He proposed , Mom, right about the time you were sticking too many pills down your throat. So, if I feel like sharing a room with my fiancé , I will. Especially since it's literally the only way I can function and sleep. He's been here for me." I clasped my arm over his, securing him to me around my waist, his body like a rock behind mine. "While you've been off taking care of yourself , Tucker has been everything for me. I'm glad you're better. I'm so happy for you. Archer needs you, but Annie and I? We've got things figured out on our own. So, no thanks."

I flicked my hair back over my shoulders and took off for the stairs, but as soon as my hand touched the railing, Mom's voice rang out cold with her warning.

"Unless you're heading up there to clear your things out of that guest room, young lady, you will not be heading up there. I mean it. I messed up, yes. I will forever regret it, but I will not stand by while you ruin your future. You are not getting married, and you are not sharing a room with Tucker."

I scoffed, my derisive laugh ringing throughout the room. "Fine. I won't stay here, then." I took off up the stairs, leaving everyone gaping behind me.

I heard the front door slam shut moments later, and footsteps followed me up the stairs while I headed straight to my old room to grab a bag from the closet .

Jet stopped in the doorway with Annie to watch. "Um, are you sure about this, Izzy?"

"Positive." I brushed past them and headed to the guest room, finding Tucker waiting on the upstairs landing. "There's another bag in my closet if you need one," I said, hurrying past him into our room. I started grabbing my things from the bathroom, tossing them into my bag, and came out to find all three of them standing in the room. I set my bag on the bed and headed to the chest of drawers.

"Tucker, are you packing?"

"No."

I glanced over my shoulder as I grabbed some pajamas and a change of clothes. "I doubt Mom's just going to let us stay here. But you've got stuff at your place, anyway." I shook my head for not thinking and then my eyes widened as I realized the problem. "Crap, you're thinking about your parents, right? I know they aren't a fan of us staying together over at your place, but do you think they can make an exception? At least for tonight?"

"Maybe, but I'm not going to ask."

I stopped with my hands hovering with my clothes over my bag and looked up at his tone. The warmth swirling in his gaze was stagnant, hardened with the lines of his jaw, and I finally took in his stance and the way his arms were crossed over his chest, every muscle from his neck down through his legs tense. He was pissed.

"Tucker?"

"Can y'all give us a minute?"

"Yeah. Sure." Jet quickly guided Annie from the room.

I dropped my clothes on top of the bag and stood straight, confused. "What's wrong? "

He shook his head, his eyes glancing away as I watched the muscle tick in his jaw. "You seriously don't know?"

I wracked my brain, desperate to make sense of it. What had I done? "Are you mad that I yelled at Mom? Because I know I probably shouldn't have, but what she said down there and accused us of?" I shook my head, disgusted. "I just couldn't."

"How about what you said down there?"

"What?" Seriously, what had I done? My chest clenched, terrified that he was mad. That I'd ruined things somehow.

He brought his hardened gaze back to mine, his body unmoving in his anger. Just fury in his expression and the set of his jaw. "That we're engaged ? The last time I checked, you turned down my ring."

Understanding washed over me. "Let's fix that, then. Where is it?" I walked towards the nightstand.

"It's not here. And I'm not giving it to you."

"What?" I spun back to face him, a new terror striking me from within. "But you said when I was ready—"

"But you're not," Tucker barked, throwing his arms out. "You're just asking for it now to piss off your mom, and I deserve better than that." He held a fist to his chest. "We both do. So, no, I won't be gathering my shit, but you can take that bag you just packed and walk it over to that room with Annie, cuz that's where you're going to have to stay tonight and every other night until you realize how fucked up what you just tried to do is."

"Tucker?" I called to his back as he stormed out, but he didn't turn back. I raced to the top of the stairs. "Tucker!"

"Not now!" he roared, and I stood there, my bottom lip trembling as I watched him walk away. The door slammed, and I flinched, my insides crumbling as everything that held me together started to come undone.