10. Isabella

Ireturn to New York late at night. Enzo sent a car to pick me up at the airport. It was unnecessary; it's not like I'm going to run away or something. When we arrive at the house, someone steps out to carry my luggage. I exhales softly before entering.

He's in the living room, pacing. The action reminds me of Graham. As soon as I think about him, I feel a sharp pain in my gut. Regret and need swirl together inside of me, refusing to be ignored. I spent the entire plane ride agonizing over my decision to cut all contact. I know he was angry, but I know I'm doing the right thing.

He has his future in front of him. A lot is riding on him returning to his father's company. He didn't tell me the details, but I know it's important to him. And I'm not going to be an obstacle to that. He doesn't need any distractions right now.

I'm also a hypocrite because I like to call him a coward, but this time, I'm the one running away. What happened between us scared me and I need some time away from that.

"Oh look, the prodigal daughter returns," Enzo says, glaring as I enter the living room.

I roll my eyes. "Your analogy needs work, cugino. Try to brush up on the story."

I take a seat on the couch beside Rosa. She offers me a small smile, but I can immediately tell something's wrong. I frown, taking in her puffy eyes and the dark circles. That's not because of me.

His glare intensifies. "You left," he grits out. "Without telling me or anyone. You left without informing us."

"I told Maria and Matthew," I say unhelpfully.

"Don't even get me started on those two," Enzo snaps. "We found out you were gone a day after and when I asked them where you were, they refused to tell me. Refused! You're teaching them to keep secrets from me?"

"Yeah," I answer easily. "You don't need to know everything, Enzo."

"Actually, I fucking do. Because it's my job to protect you. Do you have any idea how it felt during those two days when no one could contact you? Not even Matthew and Maria? We were worried sick."

I feel a little guilty. I can only imagine how he felt. Enzo has his faults. He annoys me to no end, but in a big brother kind of way. We care about each other. We're family, after all.

"There was a snowstorm. Seriously, Enzo, you already yelled at me over the phone. Do we need to continue?"

"You could have told me you were going to Denver," he states. "I wouldn't have stopped you."

"No, but you would have insisted I take someone. ‘For my own protection.' You would have ordered one of your men to go along with me."

"Because you could have been in danger. You understand better than anyone how this family works."

"I do," I say tiredly. "I just needed a break."

Rosa shifts closer, placing a comforting hand on mine. "That's enough, Enzo. She said she was sorry. It's fine now."

"When did I say I was sorry?" I ask.

"When did she say she was sorry?" Enzo questions simultaneously.

We both stare at her and she rolls her eyes. "You both need to relax. It's over. Isa's back, everything's fine. It's late, so let's just go to bed, okay?"

"Fine," her husband mutters.

I swear he turns to putty in her hands. She's the only person that has any form of control over him. He starts to walk out of the room.

"Enzo," I call out, "I am sorry. It won't happen again."

"Thanks," he says before leaving.

Once he's gone, I turn to his wife. "What's going on?"

She shakes her head. "Sorry about that. He was transferring some aggression. It's been a rough night."

"What happened?" I ask worriedly. "Were you crying?"

She sniffs, rubbing her face. "Uh, yeah. It's nothing serious, don't worry. It's just… we thought I was pregnant. But apparently, I'm not."

I can hear the pain in her voice clear as day. "I didn't realize you two were trying," I say softly.

"We were trying to take it slow at first. But now that we've been married for a couple of years, we're both ready. We've been trying for a couple of months now and a few weeks ago, I felt nauseous and stupidly told him I thought I was pregnant. I took a test and it was positive. Enzo scheduled a doctor's appointment and we just got back a couple of hours ago. The test was wrong."

My heart aches for both of them. No wonder Enzo was pissed. The decision to have a child couldn't have been easy for him, especially considering his childhood.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea," I say, feeling even more guilty for all the stress I caused them.

"It's not your fault, Isa."

"I'm sure it'll work out eventually. The two of you deserve all the happiness," I add earnestly.

She smiles. "It's always weird whenever you're nice to me."

That makes me laugh. "Enjoy it, since you don't get it too often." Before I can talk myself out of it, I shift forward and hug her. "Stay strong," I whisper.

"Thanks." When she pulls away, she eyes my clothing. "Whose hoodie is that? I've never seen it before."

"What? Oh. It belongs to a friend," I say uneasily.

"Is this the same friend you were with during the snowstorm?" she asks, smiling.

My eyes narrow. "Don't be nosy."

Rosa laughs. "Fine, I won't push. Welcome home, Isa. Good night."

"‘Night," I tell her.

She leaves, and I sit in silence for a couple of minutes before heading upstairs. I check up on Matthew and Maria in their rooms, and they're both sleeping soundly. Our reunion will have to wait till tomorrow. I'm walking to my room when someone suddenly grabs my arm, pulling me into another room.

I gasp as I'm pushed against a wall. The person places their hand behind me to cushion the impact. It takes me a second to recognize the brown eyes looking back at me.

"Jason." I glare. "For someone who doesn't live here anymore, you sure do spend a lot of time in this house."

He huffs out a breath, stepping away from me. "I just had to make sure you were okay. I was worried sick, Isabella."

I lean away from the wall. "Yes, that seems to be the general feeling around here. Worry. You all do realize I'm not a child?"

"Where were you?"

"Not sure why you're asking me that when I'm sure you know I was in Boulder."

"I do know that, but who were you with? And whose hoodie is that?" he asks, eyes narrowing.

"For the love of God, why do you all care so much about what I'm wearing?"

"Who were you with, Isabella?"

"None of your business," I snap. "Are you even supposed to be talking to me right now? What if your boss finds out?"

A muscle ticks in his jaw. "You never make anything easy, you realize that? Hell, even forgetting you isn't easy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jason runs a hand through his hair, his expression tight. "Just forget it. As long as you're safe."

"I'm perfectly fine. You need to stay away from me."

I'm still angry. Maybe not as hurt as before, but I'm still mad at him.

He sighs. "Good night, Isa."

I watch him leave before letting out a soft breath. I'm exhausted. It's been a long day, and all I want is my bed. In my room, I make quick work of divesting of my clothes. After a moment's hesitation, I put Graham's hoodie back on.

It's comfortable and it smells like him. I can't believe I already miss him. I miss his laughter and his stupid remarks. I miss the way he looked at me like I was the only one he cared about. I miss his green eyes.

I shake myself to snap out of it. It's only been a few hours, Isabella. Don't be so weak.

Graham has probably returned to D.C. by now. Or maybe he's still in Denver. There's a chance I'm the furthest thing from his thoughts now that there's no proximity keeping us together.

That thought makes my heart ache.

We spent only a couple of days together, but it felt like forever. It felt like a dream—and now that I'm awake, reality sucks. I fall asleep thinking I should have just given him my number when I had the chance. If I had, his voice could have been the last thing I heard.

Instead, all I have left is the memory of his face and his voice.

I wake up the next morning and immediately head to the kitchen. We have help in the house and a chef who cooks our meals, but since I like cooking so much, I like to take over once in a while. I decide to make some blueberry pancakes this morning. The twins love them and I can't wait to see the smiles on their faces when they wake up to find a big stack on the table.

Soon enough, they're ready, and the twins arrive right on time. Maria lets out a squeal as soon as she sees me, running into my arms.

"Isa!"

"Hi, sweetheart." I laugh. "I missed you, too."

"I missed you so much," she says, her face buried into my stomach.

Her brother's not too far behind her. He rushes for me too, and I let Maria go to hug him as well.

"Hey, Matty."

"You can't leave again. We won't let you," Matthew states.

"Really?" I smile. "I seem to remember it was you two that convinced me to leave in the first place."

"It was a bad idea," Maria says immediately. "We missed you a lot."

"Okay, mia cara," I say, running my hand through her hair. "I won't go anywhere again."

The two of them are so unbelievably strong. They lost their father a few years ago, and while he might not have been the best person, he certainly loved them. I'm sure they still miss him. All of that coupled with their mother's absences and it's easy to understand the look in their eyes when I catch them staring at me sometimes. They're worried I'll leave one day, too.

It breaks my heart that they have those thoughts. They've never voiced them, but I know them well enough to understand.

"Come on, you two. I have a surprise for you," I say, leading them to the dining table.

"Blueberry pancakes," Matthew says, grinning.

We all sit at the table and, after sharing grace, start to eat. It's just the three of us, which I'm happy with. The twins tell me everything that's happened in the past few days between bites of their food. I listen attentively, commenting on the exciting bits.

"Now it's your turn, Isa. What did you do in Denver?"

"Hmm. I went to a party," I tell them.

A party at a club where I was almost molested. I've tried to push that night to the furthest parts of my mind. Graham was the perfect distraction, but now that he's not here anymore, the feeling of anxiety over what could have happened that night is impossible to ignore.

"Was it fun?" Matt questions.

I nod. "Yeah," I lie. "It was amazing."

"What else happened? And who is the friend you were with during the snowstorm?"

I sigh. Why is everyone so curious? I might as well tell them, though.

"He's a new friend. I met him at the party. He invited me to his place and I got stuck there," I say, skirting around the truth.

Maria's eyes widen. "You were stuck with someone you didn't know?"

It's good that they get that the situation was not ideal. It means they're old enough to understand stranger danger. Thankfully, I ended up with Graham, but my experience could have been so different with someone else.

"Yeah. Crazy, right? But luckily for me, he was a really great person."

"Tell us about him," Maria prompts.

"Well, his name's Graham," I start. "He's really tall with green eyes, and he's funny, too. He listens to Taylor Swift so I'm sure you'd like him, Maria."

Her eyes gleam. "Can we meet him?"

"I don't know, sweetie. He's a busy person. And we kind of parted ways."

They seem confused by that.

"Why did you part ways if you like him?" Matthew asks.

"Because sometimes you need to make hard choices."

Maria frowns. "But I want to meet him."

"And you will, sweetie. One day," I promise.

I wasn't lying to Graham. I fully plan to seek him out eventually. When he's settled, maybe when I'm healed. My mind's still a mess, and Jason is still constantly hovering. I'm also not sure what I want from him. So, despite how hard it is, our separation's a good idea.

I'll see him again soon.