Home is Where the Heart Is (Home #1) (41 page)

His Mum - totally his hero.

Jace checked his phone and noticed it was after nine. Visiting hours ended at eight so she couldn’t be too far away. He was exhausted but really wanted to sort out some support for Kimberley before he let himself pass out.

Maia watched him intently and then, without a word, grabbed his arm and yanked him up the stairs.

“What are you doing?” he asked. “I’m going to wait for Mum in the kitchen.”

Maia ignored his protests, keeping her grip iron tight as she strong armed him into his room. She shoved him so hard he stumbled and fell onto his bed.

“What the hell?” he grumbled, trying to right himself.

“You look terrible,” she told him bluntly. “We’re twins and I don’t even recognise you because you could be an extra on The Walking Dead. Take your smelly hospital clothes off, get some sleep, and then
after
you’ve recharged, you can be the energiser bunny again tomorrow.”

“I need to sort this stuff for Kimberley, Maia. I’ll get some sleep once I’ve spoken to Mum.”

“No,” she replied firmly. “She’s at the hospital now so I’ll call her and let her know that Team Scown is making their next play. Between Mum and I; we will have the ball rolling before you even get up tomorrow.”

“Maia-”

She raised her hand to silence him, her chocolate brown eyes bright as she met his gaze head on.

“No Jace, you can’t fix everything, and you’re sure as hell not doing all of this alone. Isabelle comes home tomorrow and I know you’re not going to want to be a zombie around her when she’s going to need help adjusting. If you really think about it, you’re doing everyone else a favour by getting some sleep.”

He smirked at her affectionately. “You’re a bossy pain in my arse, pip squeak.”

Maia smiled warmly. “I love you too meathead, even though you’re too busy taking care of others instead of yourself.”

Jace would have put up more of a fight but his brat of a sister was right. As soon as he lay down, he was practically out like a light a second later, thoughts of Isabelle following him into his dreams.

CHAPTER 19
ISABELLE

Kimberley lay silently in the hospital bed, bones protruding, and her skin varying shades of purple, blue and yellow. An oxygen mask covered her mouth and nose, an IV drip was bandaged to her left hand, and a couple of other machines that Isabelle did not recognise were hooked up to her. If her stupid throat wasn’t such a mess, a hysterical sob would be bursting through at the utter desperation and helplessness she felt.

With a quivering hand, Isabelle combed through the tangled red mane knotted in massive clumps around Kimberley’s head.

It just all seemed so stupid now, all the drama Isabelle had forced on everyone around her, the self-loathing and pity party she was so engrossed in to the exclusion of everyone else. What Jason had tried to do, his brutal treatment of her was horrendous and damaging, but it was nothing compared to the life Kimberley had been forced to live for so many years.

Kimberley was a cranky bitch for the most part, but Isabelle could recognise that as self-preservation and her only method of survival. Kimberley didn’t even like her, yet she’d tried to help Isabelle. Apart from Tate, she had been the only other person to cut through her bullshit and give it to her straight.

Tears ran silently down Isabelle’s face. She made no attempt to wipe them away or try to halt their flow down her cheeks. Looking at Kimberley’s battered and limp body, she made a promise to herself that she was going to stop living in the past. She was determined to actively work to heal herself and the relationships around her. Kissing Kimberley’s knuckles she promised she would help her find the right way if Kimberley would just wake up.

“Hey, your parents are looking all over for you.”

Isabelle jumped at Tate’s voice, jerking clumsily away from Kimberley.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Isabelle waved his apology away and nodded towards Kimberley, tears still tracking down her face.

Wordlessly, Tate gathered Isabelle in his strong arms, giving her all the comfort and understanding she needed, but without offering any platitudes she wasn’t in the mood to hear. He kept one arm firmly around Isabelle’s shoulders while the other held Kimberley’s hand gently so they were a connected triangle.

After a few moments Tate released Isabelle. His green eyes met her hazel ones with such heartbreaking vulnerability and loss that her knees almost buckled beneath the intensity of his agony.

Every part of her wanted to tell him that everything was going to be OK and he had nothing to worry about, but she wasn’t going to lie to Tate. Instead, she pressed her lips against his cheek and cupped his jaw, trying to convey with her touch that even if things weren’t OK, she had his back and would love him through it all.

“Have you spoken to Jace today?” Tate asked quietly when their moment was over.

Isabelle shook her head.

Tate smiled a little. “His Mum cornered Kimberley’s Mum and made her sign over all parental rights to her, which is why they finally moved her to a decent room. Thank God you stole his heart, Belle bear, otherwise Kimberley would have been his sister-wife.”

Yuck
. Isabelle mouthed at Tate with a sour look on her face.

His return smile was tired but genuine. “He’s not a total douche.”

Isabelle grinned back at him triumphantly, knowing that Tate was finally giving his seal of approval.

With a gentle kiss to Kimberley’s pale lips and a gentle caress to her face, Tate broke Isabelle’s heart a little more.

His eyes were watery when he faced her again but he didn’t let a single tear fall.

“Come on,” he said with an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get you out of here.”

I’ll be back. Stay strong Kimberley.

Isabelle blew a kiss to her frail savior, allowing Tate to lead her out of the room and to the front entrance where her parents were waiting.

*

Discharge papers all signed and dealt with, upcoming appointments booked in, strict after care instructions dealt out, Isabelle was all too happy to get into the car next to Tate. She looked forward to finally making it home so she could sleep in her own bed tonight, and maybe sit out on her balcony and flirt with the cutest boy next door.

“Are you feeling OK, honey?” her Mum asked anxiously from the passenger seat.

Isabelle gave her a thumbs up.

“Have you taken your next round of pain pills? How are your throat and ribs?”

She gave another thumbs up which had her Mum’s face scrunching up in concern, clearly not convinced.

“She looks a little pale,” Mum said to her Dad. “Should they be releasing her so soon? Do you think we should take her back?”

“Sweetheart, I don’t think they would let her go unless they were sure,” Dad reasoned.

“They barely checked her over this morning though! We should get a second opinion before we just throw her back into it all.”

Isabelle grabbed Tate’s arm, gesturing her unhappiness to him in very vivid and very inappropriate signs which had Tate smirking in amusement.

Tell them I’m bruised, not bloody deaf.
She wrote on her board as they continued to argue about her as if she wasn’t sitting in the same car as them.

“Uh, Uncle James, Aunty Cleo?” Tate said after a cough to get their attention. “Isabelle would like me to tell you she can hear you just fine, and that she wants to go home if you could stop arguing before she gets a headache.”

The headache comment was pure genius. Immediately Cleo firmly closed her mouth and stopped fussing and arguing, while James turned his attention back to the road. Of course Isabelle wasn’t even allowed to get out of the car herself; instead Tate lifted her out as her mum fussed around her anxiously. Her Dad strode ahead to open the double front doors to allow Tate to carry her across the front stoop without jugging her bruised body too much.
“You let me know if you need me to help you escape, OK?” Tate whispered cryptically into her ear.

She raised a questioning eyebrow in return, but as they entered her house a chorus of ‘welcome home’ erupted from a room filled with Jace, Maia, Matt, Claire and Tate’s parents. Tate’s comment became very clear.

Tate let her down gently as the group descended on her for tentative hugs and lots of tearful smiles.

“You bitch,” Maia said into her ear. “Only you can wear bruises like a fashion week model.”

That made Isabelle roll her eyes and smile.

You’re ridiculous.
She wrote on her board.

Maia used her finger to wipe off letters until only D- I – C were left.
“Very cute, babe,” Matt said at her side.

Isabelle pasted a plastic smile on her face as she faced Matt, not sure where they stood after all the harsh, hostile words he’d thrown her way like knives.

In turn, Matt looked a little awkward and very sheepish as he pulled a white napkin from his back pocket, waving it in the air in front of her.

“I’m glad you’re OK,” he told her sincerely, offering his hand.

Isabelle accepted his hand and gesture with a smile and a nod, relieved to leave everything in the past.

“Thank you,” Matt said with a smile. “I don’t have to worry any more about Jace killing me in my sleep for upsetting you.”

That made her smile even bigger and she squeezed his hand in reassurance.

“At least not this week,” Jace himself quipped, punching Matt in the arm before turning to Isabelle, dark circles under his eyes, dark hair rumpled, and dressed in blue shorts and a white shirt.

“Hey Angel,” he murmured softly, his eyes drinking her in and making her blush.

Moving forward he gathered her close to him, arms around her waist as his lips pressed to the side of her head tenderly.

“I’m sorry about this,” he whispered into her ear. “Maia wanted to throw you a welcome home party and this was as much as I could do to rein her in.”

She didn’t care about everyone being here even though she was exhausted and injured. She probably would have been angry a couple of months ago, but now - all she could feel was love and an unbelievable amount of gratitude for the people in this room.  She knew they cared for her and had gone out of their way to prove that to her time and time again.

I love that you’re all here to make me feel safe and loved.

After Jace read her words on the board, he wrote underneath.

You’re easy to love.

She blushed, smiling shyly at him from under her lashes until Tate walked over, smacking Jace on the back.

“Simmer down Romeo - we’ve got parents in the room here.”

Jase rolled his eyes at Tate but kept his arm around Isabelle’s waist as everyone moved outside. Tate’s Dad was grilling meat on the BBQ, and her Mum and Claire were setting up plates and cutlery on a table already filled with salads and treats.

Maia, Matt, Tate and Jase lead the way to the chairs on the outdoor deck, Jase settling Isabelle tenderly on his lap, stroking his hands through her hair and down in circles on her back.

“The rumour mill is going crazy at school,” Maia said with a gleam in her eyes.

Isabelle’s heart sank. Great, just great.

“Maia,” Jace warned softly.

“What are they saying?” Tate asked in a hard voice that promised violence.

“That Isabelle caught Kimberley and Jace having sex so she shot them both and then tried to turn a gun on herself,” Maia replied bluntly.

Isabelle’s insides solidified. Well, she was never going back to school now. Looks like she would have to convince her parents to home school her.

“Are you kidding me?” Tate hissed.

Maia shrugged unconcerned. “Yeah, but don’t worry babe. I’ve set everyone straight.”

Isabelle raised a questioning eyebrow and gestured for Maia to continue.

“I explained really subtly that my two sisters were brave, beautiful survivors who demanded respect and they should treat you as such.”

Matt grinned wickedly. “What she means is that she beat the shit out of three girls she heard gossiping about you, then strode into the guys’ change room with scissors, threatening to cut anyone who said a word about either you or Kimberley.”

Silence blanketed the group as everyone stared at Maia with a mixture of fear and awe.

“What?” Maia demanded, shaking her gorgeous black hair off her face.

You’re my hero.

Isabelle flipped the board so Maia could see.

Maia shrugged again like it was nothing. “It’s not a big deal.”

“I hope you’re up for some company for the rest of this week,” Matt said to Isabelle. “Because Maia’s little ‘not a big deal’ stunt cost her suspension for the rest of the week.”

Jace smirked. “Suspension, little sister? I thought I was the family screw up.”

“You are not,” Maia said coldly. “And besides, Mum wasn’t even mad about it. She said she was proud that both of her children were so fiercely loyal to those they cared about.”