Home is Where the Heart Is (Home #1) (37 page)

Oh God. Her heart fluttered as his words sunk in under the pain. Stomping hard on his foot to loosen his hold, Isabelle made a break for the front door, running over broken glass and creating more as she stomped through other bottles.

He had surprising speed for a man so large. Before Isabelle could make it more than a few steps she was tackled from behind, winded as his weight landed on her heavily and roughly.

“Stupid girl,” he hissed into her ear, smacking her face into the broken glass on the floor. Isabelle actually felt the moment her nose broke and the blood began gushing onto the filthy carpet and down her face. So preoccupied with the pain and blood, she wasn’t even aware that he’d moved away until she felt his boot connect with her ribs, and she curled into a ball, howling in agony.

He crawled on top again, pinning her writhing body under his grotesque build, making it impossible for her to do anything but lie there, powerless. It was sickeningly familiar - except this time it hurt so much more than what she experienced with Jason. Isabelle ceased to struggle against him, even as his hands enclosed her neck and began to tighten.
Locked with fear - her mind broke, and she fell back into the memory that haunted her every living moment.

Black eyes merciless as they stared at her, a hard body pressing her down into the floor, rough long fingers penetrating her most delicate area and hurting her carelessly.

She thought Jason had loved her. She had ignored every warning and doubt because he had a beautiful face and told her pretty things. She had known he was a player, had witnessed firsthand the destruction he had created with his previous conquests, but she had wanted to be loved so badly.  She had willingly placed her heart in his hands, only to be betrayed by the actions of one idiotic boy. The truth was - she had not wanted to speak to anyone about what he had done to her because, on some level, she had been utterly convinced that she deserved what had happened, that it was karma for being so wilfully ignorant.

Isabelle’s airflow was starting to cut off, and her eyes bulged, the desperate need to breathe bringing her back into the moment, struggling futilely against the brutish man.

She closed her eyes and just prayed it would be over soon, but then Jace’s face appeared in her mind and she mustered the little strength remaining.

Kimberley had been right; she
was
pathetic. Here she was in another situation where she was going to allow herself to be the victim, instead of finding the courage to be her own hero. She didn’t want to die, not before she had a chance to make things right with everyone. Not before she could let go of the past and most importantly; forgive herself.

No more cowering, no more hiding; no more being a victim.

Consciousness was fading but Isabelle wasn’t going to go without a fight. A blood vessel popped in one of her eyes as the pressure around her neck increased but Isabelle pushed it away, focused on finding something - anything to help. Her hands flapped aimlessly around on the floor until a jolt of pain coursed through her right hand.

Her vision starting to fade, Isabelle resolutely grabbed a piece of broken glass tightly in her fist and, with the last of her strength, jammed it into the monster’s neck before succumbing to the darkness. 

Chapter 16
Jace

He didn’t have the nightmare last night. For the first time in years, Jace wasn’t tossing and turning as his mind was locked into a house of horrors from which he could not escape. He had no idea what time it was now as he lay with his eyes closed, sun warming his face and chest, and the smell of bacon wafting through his room. But he knew he couldn’t stay in bed all day when he had to man up and face school today.

“Breakfast time!”

He winced as Maia’s shrill voice boomed against his ears, so loud that he was sure dogs from several neighbourhoods away could hear, and her body barrelled against him.

“Jesus Christ, Maia!” Jace grumbled, lightly pushing her away from him.

Her pixie face was alight with joy as she looked down at him. “Mum’s made breakfast for the whole family! She even made your favourite chocolate chip pancakes! Why couldn’t you have gotten yourself grounded sooner? Best. Week. Ever!”

Pressing a swift kiss to his cheek she raced out of his room down the stairs with the grace of a stampeding elephant.

Annoying as hell she may be, but her joy and bright smile - bigger than he had seen in years, were infectious. She was right - the last couple of days had been beyond amazing. So far, being grounded had meant mowing the lawn, going to Bunnings to pick out pot plants with his Mum, talking with her and Maia at lengths about everything they should have told each other years ago, and booking their first family counselling session.

He wasn’t allowed to go to parties, couldn’t have any friends besides Matt over, and had to hand his phone to his Mum before he went to bed each night. But, having an active parent in his life was worth any small punishment she thought up for him. He hadn’t touched alcohol, cigarettes or any type of drug since that night. Although two days didn’t seem like much to anyone else, for someone who had relied on some kind of chemical escape for years; it was a huge step.

“Jace!”

He winced at Maia’s scream and pulled himself out of bed, trudging downstairs in his boxers.

Maia was sitting at the kitchen bench, while his Mum served up three heaping plates of food on the other bench.

As soon as they felt his presence they looked over, Maia with a roll of her eyes as she took in his attire, and his Mum with a warm smile that took at least five years off her face.

“Good morning. Sit down and eat up, and then go and get ready for school. You don’t want to be late today. I’ve called the office and set up a meeting with the Principal so we can work out how far you may be behind and what we can do to catch you up.”

Jace opened his mouth but she cut him off. “No, don’t say anything, don’t argue with me. You are so brilliantly intelligent and I’ve been a terrible Mother for letting you throw a future away because I was too ashamed to face you. You’ve lost a lot because of my neglect, but you’re not going to lose a bright future in which you can be anything you want to be. It’s non-negotiable.”

Her fierce tone, coupled with her bright eyes filled with love, twisted at his chest and he felt like he had to blink away the moisture in his eyes so he wouldn’t do something stupid like cry.

“I was going to ask if being grounded means you’re taking my car or could I still drive to school?”

It hurt when her shoulders slumped in relief and she eyed him in disbelief, obviously expecting him to fight her and totally unsure of how to react when he didn’t.

Moving forward slowly, he tentatively wrapped his arms around her thin shoulders and pulled her into a hug, patting her back awkwardly. The fluffy material of her robe was oddly soothing as his hands ran over it. There was stiffness in both of their limbs as they embraced each other. It was like roller skating again for the first time in years; you knew what to do, you remembered what needed to be done, but your body was stiff and awkward as it struggled to ease into unpracticed moves.

“Wow…that’s super awkward. Totally adorable, but so awkward,” Maia said, breaking their moment.

Jace released his Mum and glared over at Maia, but it wasn’t heart felt because truthfully it
was
awkward as fuck. Maia’s upfront comment had eased some of the tension - his Mum’s furrowed brow was smooth again and a small smile tugged at her lips.

“You’re such a brat,” Jace snapped.

Maia smirked for a moment before glaring back. “Mum! Jace is being rude again!”

He caught Maia’s small smile and knew what she was doing, so he played along.

“Stop being such a sook for once.”

“Mum, are you hearing this!”

Their Mum was just standing still, watching them with wet eyes and soft affection all over her face. It was totally messed up that this little domestic scene, familiar in households everywhere around the world, was something they were all holding tight to at the moment. It was the first bit of normalcy they had experienced together in so long.

Pulling out of her thoughts, Jace’s mother pointed the spatula at them threateningly.

“That’s enough both of you! If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.”

Her words were typical parental exasperation, but her eyes were alight with love, and they caught the grin on her face before she could turn and hide.

*

“OK, so go out and learn lots and whatnot,” Claire called to Jace and Maia.

They rolled their eyes at her but smiled and waved.

“Jace, you’re still grounded so you come straight home, OK?”

He gave her a chin lift to acknowledge her words and a wink. “You got it, Boss.”

She chuckled and waved again before heading back into the house.

The smile was still on his face as he parked and headed into the school. He was acting like a total pansy, but he didn’t give a damn what they thought about him when he was a fuck up, so he wasn’t going to start giving a damn now that things were starting to look up.

“Hey there smiley, are you actually heading to class?” Giselle asked, walking in step with him.

He slung an arm around her shoulders lazily. “Yeah, got some catching up to do.”

Her small lips tipped into a smile and she elbowed his ribs lightly. “Then you know we have Math and you’re going in the wrong direction?”

Maths? Shit, he thought he had Woodwork. When was the last time he had even turned up to a Maths class anyway?

Giselle giggled at his confusion and redirected them. “You know, you’re kind of hot when you’re confused. Too bad you’re like a gay brother to me.”

Jace rolled his eyes, tugging up the white sleeve of her shirt where it had slipped down her shoulder.

“Too bad you can’t seem to find clothes to fit properly.”

Giselle giggled softly and nudged him again. “Ben’s having another party this weekend, you going to come?”

Jace released her and shook his head. “Can’t, I’m grounded.”

Giselle raised an eyebrow. “You look like you just won the lottery. You know what grounded means, right?”

Jace tugged on her brown locks and ushered her into their class. “Yup.”

Giselle settled into her seat and made a cross with her two index fingers.

“You’re in such a good mood. I swear you’ve been possessed.”

“Shut up, brat,” Jace told her with a grin before settling himself in for the lesson.

Jace 2.0 started right now.

*

The novelty of being grounded, sober and a regular teenager was wearing off by the time Jace walked out of the gates after school.

He’d endured whispers, strange looks and outright scoffs of disbelief from students and teachers alike when he made it clear he was there to stay, and going to make up the work so he could graduate with everyone else.

His history teacher didn’t even know who he was, and his lunch break was spent with the guidance counsellor talking about his issues and making a game plan for the rest of the year. He hated being the hottest gossip topic, he hated seeing Tyler’s face was starting to heal but most of all he hated that he’d seen Isabelle without anything to numb his intense emotions. She hadn’t seen him, thank God because as soon as he’d glimpsed her, he ran into an empty classroom and hid. Because clearly he was a child that couldn’t handle his emotions.

She hadn’t looked great. She was still beautiful of course, but her shoulders were slumped and she’d looked dull, like a photo that had been put through the wash.
More than anything he wanted to be able to wrap her up in a protective cocoon until she relaxed into his warmth.

He didn’t though. Couldn’t ever again because she was terrified of him and he was terrified of becoming anything like his Dad. He knew he would never intentionally hurt her – or any woman for that matter, but there was no denying he had anger issues and his feelings for Isabelle were a trigger.

Fuck, so much drama and they were never officially together.

“Jace?”

He turned towards his sister’s voice, startled that she’d crept up so silently.

“Hey, what’s up?”

She rung her hands in front of herself in a clear sign of nerves.

“Did you speak to Isabelle today?”

He winced at her name again but made an effort to keep his face blank. “Why would I?”

“Jace…I know she hurt you, but don’t you think you’re both suffering more being apart than you did together?”

“We weren’t together.”

Maia threw her hands up in exasperation. “Why is it so hard for you both to just admit you messed up and things didn’t go according to plan but you care enough to want to start fresh? I think you’re
both
being idiots about this whole thing but I’m done being in the middle, sort your own shit out.”

She stalked off leaving Jace irritated, so when his phone started buzzing with a call from Tate – his patience snapped.

“Not a good time to piss me off, dude,” Jace said as answer.