In the Absence of Light

49

Isaac

I look away from the steering wheel, glancing over at Ivy. She's staring out the window, eyeing the house and the messy yard before her.

"You don't have to do this, you know," I say. "It's not too late to back out."

She shakes her head, but I already knew she would. For whatever reason, she wants this. She's made up her mind, even if it means meeting a bunch of new people in an unfamiliar place.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" she asks me. "I'm sure they'll understand if you're not ready."

"It's fine," I shrug. "I'd rather gouge my eyes out than go in there, but I can't–."

"Isaac!" she scolds. "Don't say that!"

"I'm just exaggerating," I laugh.

"If you're not ready, we can just leave."

"Nah, it's cool."

"I don't want you to get upset or angry, or anything."

"It's okay, baby," I give her a reassuring smile, reaching over to take her hand. "There's no point in putting it off."

"And you're sure you want me with you?"

"Definitely," I nod. I asked her to come. There's no way I can do this shit without her.

"Do you promise you won't leave me alone with them?" she asks. "If you have to pee, you have to suck it up or find a way to take me with you."

"I know, Princess," I press a gentle kiss on the top of her hand. I can't wait to kiss her all over her body, but I'm not going to push her limits. "If it's too much and you're ready to go, just tell me and we'll leave."

"It's okay," she smiles. "I'm nervous to meet your family, but I'm also excited to learn more about you."

"Don't be excited," I scoff. There's a 90% chance she'll leave here never wanting to see me again. She'll realise how fucked up my family is and know she deserves better—something stable and less explosive.

"How would you feel about meeting my family?"

"Shit," I blurt. I'd like to postpone that for a long ass time. The only reason she's meeting my family is that I can't deal with this shit without her. But her family's up in New York, in some fancy gated community with huge-ass mansions and marble water features, and probably a bunch of security guards ready to kick me out the second her dad finds out I'm a dropkick stoner with absolutely no career path.

Can't fucking wait.

"You'll get along great with my brother," she says. "Diego's been arrested a couple of times. He's never been to prison, but he'd be intrigued to hear about it."

"What did he get arrested for?"

"Destruction of property, assaulting an officer, possession of an illegal substance, possession of an unregistered firearm... I don't know, a bunch of other stuff."

"Fuck," I didn't expect that. "And he never went to prison?"

"Nope," she shakes her head. "Nobody wants to charge a Ferrari, and if they did, we have great lawyers on retainer."

"But they weren't good enough to send those fucking frat boys to prison?"

"Isaac..." she sighs, glancing away from me. "It wasn't just about the lawyers. There was way more at play, you know... the chance of winning a case like that is so slim, and the media would get involved, and the whole process of a trial is so much."