Home is Where the Heart Is (Home #1) (6 page)

Isabelle could only stare at the hand extended to her in complete shock. Was she dreaming? Had her mind broken so completely now that she couldn’t exist in reality without some form of dream present?

“Isabelle,” her father said sternly.

Snapping out of it and realising she was being insanely rude, she shook his hand quickly and nodded at all three of them.

“It’s so nice to have a girl join the neighbourhood,” Maia said brightly.

Isabelle could only stare at her. Beautiful would be putting it mildly. This girl belonged on the runway with her long, tanned legs, pin thin body and a face that was both filled with angles and softness. She had incredible eyes like Jace except, instead of blue they were a deep, intense brown.

“It’s mainly just guys in the next couple of neighbourhoods and I am always left out and being picked on,” Maia continued as she pushed her lips out in a pout.

Judging from the looks on the boys’ faces, Isabelle felt it was pretty likely she had them under her thumb.

“Are you in year twelve this year?”

Isabelle turned her attention to the stocky blonde boy who had an interesting face, even if it wasn’t handsome.

“Yes,” she murmured.

“Brilliant. Are you going to Xavier College as well?”

Isabelle could only nod.

“Yay!” Maia crowed, and then turned to Isabelle’s father. “We were just heading out to the beach and thought we’d introduce ourselves. Would it be OK if Isabelle came with us?”

While Isabelle wasn’t exactly thrilled to spend the morning with the beauty twins and their friend, she would do just about anything to get away from her parents’ well-meaning, but bound for disaster, intervention.

“That sounds great,” she blurted out, which had her parents’ gaze snapping onto her with shock.

She gave them a smile as if to say.
See? I’m totally fine. Look at me, making friends and putting myself out there.

“Would you like us to help you unpack some stuff first?” Maia asked politely, still smiling at Isabelle.

“Oh…I…”

“No,” her Dad said slowly, his eyes never leaving Isabelle’s face. “That’s OK, you kids go and have fun. Truth be told, we’ll probably get more work done without Isabelle’s sulking.”

Matt and Maia’s laughter joined her Mum’s strained giggle.

“Should I change?” Isabelle asked, looking down at her shorts and low cut tank top and feeling the first strains of insecurity.

“If you want to help unpack with your mother and I, you can go and visit with your new friends later,” her Dad suggested cheekily.

Absolutely not a chance in this world.

“Now’s good,” Isabelle said quickly, slipping into her thongs and hurrying past her parents. “See you later.”

“You kids have fun!” her Mum called with a cheery smile that didn’t quite touch her eyes.

Jace, Maia and Matt each called their farewells and led Isabelle outside and down the sunny street.

“That was weirdly easy,” Matt said as he slung his arm around Maia’s shoulders. “I thought for sure we would all get roped into unpacking for at least an hour before they let you out.”

“It’s my cookies,” Maia said expertly. “No one can resist.”

“I know,” Matt said and nuzzled her neck.

Isabelle squirmed, the huge show of affection making her uncomfortable.

“Ignore them,” Jace said, touching her shoulder lightly which made her flinch away. “They live to make everyone awkward.”

Maia stuck her tongue out. “Oh, you’re just jealous.”

Jace raised his hand. “Before you go and list why I’m jealous, I’m going to stop you there and remind you that I am your brother and there are some things better left unsaid.”

“Yeah, yeah… Anyway Isabelle, you’re going to love it here. We’ve got the beach and a couple of cute cafés and bars and…and we have a bowling alley.”

Matt laughed. “Great pitch, babe.”

She hit his chest. “You’re making me look like an idiot in front of my new friend.”

Isabelle allowed herself a little smile as the couple began to bicker about how they should be making her feel and how the other was failing to do a good job. It made her feel at ease, how they were just themselves around her; they made it feel effortless for her to blend in with them.

“It’s really not so bad here,” Jace told her quietly, his hand swaying close enough to hers in a clear invitation should she want to reach out and take hold.

The thought frightened her, so she crossed her arms around herself. “Well, I do have a friendly Spiderman to keep me safe.”

His face lit up. “So you didn’t call me in then?”

“Not yet.”

He bowed to her gracefully. “Thank you, pretty lady, for your kindness.”

Isabelle smiled and pushed him away from her slightly. “You’re a bit strange.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

Maia gave Matt a final push and then moved back to Isabelle. “Have you eaten yet?”

“Um…not yet, I only just got up.” She was slightly embarrassed. It was, after all, past eleven.

Maia grinned. “Perfect, there’s the cutest pancake parlour on the beach that’s to die for.”

“Oh, I don’t have any money on me.”

Maia waved her words away. “You can buy me brunch next time.”

Isabelle looked over at Jace for help but he put his hands up in defeat. “I wouldn’t even try arguing with her - she never learnt what ‘no’ means.”

Matt nodded enthusiastically.

Isabelle sighed. “Well, I guess I sort of have to, don’t I?”

Maia beamed and linked her arm through Isabelle’s as she led her away. “That’s the spirit!”

Isabelle turned back to Jace for guidance but he just grinned and gestured her forward. It seemed that whether she wanted to or not, she already had some new friends.

*
The café was a beautiful glass building that sat right on the waterfront, with perfect views of the crystal water and clean sand. Families were building sandcastles together as groups of teenage guys and girls frolicked in the water, played volleyball, or tanned on oversized towels.

It had been an hour since Jace had helped her into her chair like a gentleman, and Maia had begun to speak a mile a minute. So far it hadn’t been nearly as horrible as Isabelle had anticipated.
It was obvious that the three of them had a lot of history and affection for each other and Isabelle sat quietly, content to listen to their playful insults and teasing.

So far she’d heard about Maia forcing the guys in the neighbourhood into a fashion show modelling her clothes, Matt and his endless attempts to woo Maia, and story after story about Jace pulling pranks on the both of them all through their youth. There was a tangible pain in her chest as she forced away thoughts of Tate and the shenanigans they had gotten up to while growing up.

“So, tell me about your life. What’s your story?” Maia asked as she popped a piece of pancake in her mouth.

Clearly the conversation had moved to her. Shit.

Isabelle froze as she remembered rough hands grabbing her, a rough mouth on her skin and the blow of a fist. Was this how she was going to always identify herself now? Beaten and broken?

When she finally came out of her trance, three pairs of eyes stared at her.

Embarrassment heated her cheeks as she struggled to find something interesting to say to fill the silence.

“Maia,” Jace chastised. “Isabelle is an enigma. She can’t just tell you her whole story; that would ruin the whole mysterious beauty thing she has going on.”

Isabelle chanced a look up and found them all smiling at her warmly.

“Oh I’m sorry, I had no idea that was your thing,” Maia said sincerely.

Isabella smiled shyly. “I don’t really have a thing.”

“Don’t mind Maia,
her
thing is exploiting her beauty to get what she wants,” Matt chirped playfully.

Maia glared at Matt, steam practically coming out of her ears.

Matt looked down at his feet and murmured an apology.

Jace chuckled. “You see? She wanted Matt to shut up and he did.”

Maia began to curse rapidly at Jace who just leant back in his chair and didn’t take his eyes off Isabelle.

Isabelle felt her cheeks warming again as his gaze moved over her intensely. She had no idea why this guy was taking such an interest in her, but she liked it. More than that, she liked how she felt when she was around him.

Finally Maia held her hand up at Jace, like he was the one that was causing a scene.

“Jace, that’s enough, we’re in public and you’re getting me off track.” She turned her beautiful eyes to Isabelle. “So, boyfriend?”

Isabelle froze again but managed to shake her head.

Maia looked thrilled. “Well, that’s exciting!”

Out of the corner of her eye Isabelle could see Jace making threatening gestures at her, which Maia either didn’t see or, more likely, ignored.

“Have you had a chance to see what our little town has to offer yet?”

Isabelle felt herself blush. “Um…I only really just got here.”

Maia smacked her hand on the table, making the three of them jump. “Well, you need some sort of indication of what to expect before you start school.”

“Maia,” Jace warned.

Maia held her hand up and continued. “You’re coming to a party with me tonight. The usual gang will be there so this will be a perfect opportunity for you to get your bearings. Oh, and it’s a pool party so you’ll be able to suss out some man candy.”

Isabelle thought frantically of a good enough excuse to get out of going but was coming up blank.

As if sensing her thoughts, Maia crossed her arms and leant back, her eyes sharp. “It’s non-negotiable. I probably should have mentioned that first.”

Isabelle stared into defiant brown eyes and wanted to smack a wall.

“Have you ever
not
gotten what you want?”

“Most people know better than to argue with me.”

“Well, what if I have plans tonight?” Isabelle challenged, knowing full well that she didn’t.

Jace smirked. “Hot date already?”

“There’s been some criminal activity the past few nights and I need to stand guard in my room and make sure my house is safe.”

He gave her a wink. “All the more reason for you to come so I can watch out for you.”

“My parents won’t let me out. I’m meant to be helping around the house.”

“I didn’t realise sulking classified as helping,” Jace replied playfully.

“Shut up, Jace,” she said kicking him under the table.

Maia clapped her hands together in delight. “Oh, finally a girl to challenge him! Listen, leave your parents to me, OK? All you need to worry about is what you’re going to wear.”

Isabelle felt panic press down on her body, crushing her. Half her clothes were still packed in boxes and she had no idea what kind of dress code they followed here. She definitely wasn’t about to risk social suicide her first night out.

“If you’re stuck for clothes, I have some shirts that would look great on you,” Jace told her with a wink.

Maia smacked him across the back of the head. “You’re an idiot and so am I. I’m so sorry, I completely forgot most of your stuff would still be packed away. But don’t panic, OK? I’ve got some really cute things you can borrow. I’ll bring them around later tonight once you’ve showered and cleaned yourself up.”

Isabelle stiffened, embarrassed that she had not showered this morning.

“Maia, remember how Mum talked to you about tact and what it meant?” Jace said pointedly.

Maia rolled her eyes. “Oh, calm down, we dragged her out of bed this morning and its common knowledge girls need to make without giving her the time to make herself beautiful.”

She turned to Isabelle with a winning smile. “I’ll be doing the same, don’t worry, it wasn’t a judgement against you. On the contrary, you look amazing, considering.”

Matt sighed and pulled Maia to her feet. “Come on babe, I’ll get the bill and then why don’t we save some water and shower together?”

Maia raised an eyebrow at him but allowed herself to be pulled away none the less, turning back only once to wave at Isabelle, her eyes filled with warmth.

“I’ll be over at five with some options. Wear your hair down!”

Jace scooted his chair closer so the metal chairs grazed side by side. “Sorry about her. She never learnt boundaries and I’m afraid she’s too far gone now to bother trying to teach her.”

Isabelle smiled tightly as Maia’s words echoed in her head.
You look amazing, considering.

Considering.

She felt horrified as she remembered the bruises still visible on her skin, which she’d forgotten up until this point because no one had paid any attention to them.

She hung her head in shame. What must they think of her?

Cool hands clasped her chin and her face was tilted up until she was staring into the most mesmerising ocean blue eyes.