Burning Desire

~Chapter Twenty Eight~

Isabelle's POV

"Have you heard from mum yet?" Aiden asked, grabbing something from the fridge.

"No," I answered. "She hasn't tried to contact me since I went off at her the other day"

"You leave in a couple days Iz, you can't go across the world and leave things how they are now" he said.

"We're all mad at her too, but we've also just accepted it," Jackson added.

"I get that guys, I really do. It's just..." I let out a breath. "I saw the look in her eyes when she knew that I found out about him. The extra panic when I mentioned that you guys know as well. You'd think that with the amount of guilt that was present in her eyes that she would've done something"

"Moving on in life is scary Isabelle," Lucy responded, sitting down next to me. "When my parents split, I also hoped that they'd get back together and we'd continue being one big happy family. But they both moved on and found someone knew, which made me really upset"

"What did you do about it?" I asked, turning my attention towards her.

"It took me ages to actually agree to meeting one of their partners, but when I did, I realised how happy they made them" she smiled softly.

"Greg is never going to replace our father Isabelle," Aiden said. "And if he does, he's got something wrong with him"

"We should organise a day where we go and meet Greg," Jackson said. "Just us, him and mum"

"I don't know," I said, fiddling with my fingers.

"Hey, at least it'll give you some form of comfort when you leave," Lucy agreed.

"Fine," I sighed. "But you guys are organising it. AND. If I want to leave at all during this little meet and greet then I can"

"Deal" Aiden nodded and headed towards his phone.

* ✷ ⊹ * ˚

"My heart is racing so badly right now" I said, standing in front of the door at my mum's house.

"Take a deep breath Isabelle, and try to calm your thoughts," Aiden said.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Ok, let's get this over and done with"

Jackson knocked on the door and a couple seconds later our mother was standing on the other side with a nervous smile on her face. She didn't say anything, she just let the three of us inside and shut the door behind us.

We walked into the kitchen and saw Greg sitting on one of the chairs at the table. I looked at Jackson and he gave me a nod of approval, so we all walked over together and sat down at the table as well.

Mum joined us a couple seconds later and gave us all a nervous smile, clearing his throat. "So guys, as you may know this is Greg. Greg, these are my children Isabelle, Jackson and Aiden"

"It's really nice to meet you," Aiden said awkwardly with a smile.

"It's great to put names to the faces" Greg replied.

"How long have you guys been together?" I asked.

"Isabelle, that was very quick don't you think?" my mum questioned.

"I came here to meet Greg and have some of my questions answered. Now, how long have you guys been together?" I repeated, folding my arms across my chest.

"Six months" my mum answered, and looked at the ground to avoid eye contact.

I felt a small sting in my heart. I always thought that my mum and I were quite close now, considering how much she wanted to get close to me after my father died. But now, I don't know what to think. The person that I've trusted for a long time in my life, has kept a massive secret from me.