Page 66 of Chase

Theo tries to grab my hand, but I jump out of reach. Just like that, I can’t bear to be touched again. Everything we just shared has been brought crashing down by yet more lies. Everything about me is a lie, all of it.

“I wanted to help you, Izzy, and I needed to know if we still had something. Please believe me, I love you!” he begs as I shake my head almost violently, holding up my hands to keep them from getting to me.

“So, you both got together and thought ‘Hey, you know that sad sap, Izzy, the one we abandoned, the one we left to rot, well, let’s help her out by dangling some money in front of her so we can pat ourselves on the back for a job well done.’ Is that how it went down?”

“No, Izzy, it wasn’t like that,” Theo begs as he tries to edge closer, but I push away from him. Without thought, I grab my keys so I can do what I do best. I bolt before they can say anything else.

Stella is barking and whimpering, but my bike calls for me to hightail it out of here as fast as I possibly can.

Theo

“Shit, shit, fucking shit!”

I angrily pace around my grandmother’s dated front room after the epic fuckup that just went down with the woman I’m so damn in love with. The dog is barking incessantly, Grandma is looking deathly pale, and I’m coming up with squat while trying to figure out a way to get my girl back. All I do know is that whatever just happened, it is not going to be a reason for her to run away from me. This is real between us, and she can’t just give up.

“Theo, calm down, she just needs space; you know, Izzy,” she says, trying to smile but failing miserably.

“No! That’s the last thing she needs. She needs to trust somebody and between the two of us, we’ve deprived her once again!”

I look at her sad, withdrawn face and know that I’ve just delivered a gut-wrenching blow. I feel guilty, incredibly guilty, but I’m also mad at her. The trouble is, she doesn’t know what I do. If she did, she might not have stayed so quiet for all these years. I’m afraid to do what I’m about to because I know how frail she is, but it feels right to show her Izzy’s letter. With a heavy sigh, I crouch down in front of her small body and clasp hold of her hands, being careful not to crush her small and bony fingers. She looks at me with confusion as I place the crumpled paper inside of her hands.

“Read it,” I tell her firmly, my teeth clenching over the memory of having read it for the first time myself. I then walk over to the window and look at the sleepy village, all the while listening out for the sharp intake of breath.

“Go,” she finally says, “go and find her…please!”

She doesn’t need to tell me twice.

_____

Izzy

“Candy is dandy,

But liquor is quicker.

Candy is dandy,

But liquor is quicker.”

Ogden Nash’s words keep me from losing my mind in amongst the deafening noise and mass of bodies in the club I’m sitting in. The same one in which I danced with Theo, where we kissed, where he had begun to awaken my emotions against my will.

I’ve lost count of the number of drinks I’ve consumed; suffice to say, it’s far more than my two-drink rule. I swirl the copper-colored liquid around and around inside my glass as I lean my scantily clad body against the bar. I must look like the perfect drunk, aka, the perfect bait for someone looking for a good time. Maybe I should let them, let them numb the anger and hurt drowning my insides.

“Hey, gorgeous, fancy another?”

Oh, look at that. Right on cue!

I’m leaning one side of my face into my hand that’s resting on top of the sticky bar as I turn to look at the fuzzy male figure in front of me. A faceless man of fair hair and skin. I can just about make out him licking his lips as his head bobs up and down my body.

“No, thank you,” I slur before ordering another drink for myself. The faceless guy moves in closer and places his hand on the small of my back, making me shiver and my hair stand on end.

“Do you mind?” I swing round to face him, angry and ready to kill in a matter of moments.

“Not at all,” he whispers before running his finger along my bottom lip. “You look troubled, and I thought I could help you. You look like the kind of girl who needs a man’s help.”

I laugh hysterically, tipping my head back over this sleazy, ridiculous man.

“Fuck off!” I bark out bluntly before taking a burning gulp of my drink.