if we just had time.

chapter twenty-three

Isabella Evergreen

Isabella has been kissed by two guys in her life.

The first guy was by a kid named Michael Gordon. He was the person who used to get cigarettes for her. His mum didn't give a shit about what he does. He was sixteen at the time and Isabella was fourteen. He kissed her out of nowhere. Isabella pulled away out of shock. He tried to kiss her again but she walked away immediately.

She didn't like him that way. Or at all even. She just wanted cigarettes from him and he was two years older than her for crying out loud. At the time he was way too old for her. And she never saw him again.

Her second kiss was theodore. She liked him. She guessed that he liked her. She liked the kiss and she liked the way he made her feel.

But she didn't know what to do after a kiss. She didn't want to sleep with him. She wasn't ready, not after what Glen did to her.

It's been a few weeks since the kiss. Theodore and Isabella have been hanging out all the time. She was getting to

know him more each day, and he was getting to know her. She found out that he has a younger sister, named Elisabeth.

They also hung out with Lucas and Katherine once and awhile. He hasn't talked to Cole and his friends since the party. Katherine is still a bit pissed that she hangs out but she is happy that Isabella is getting better.

It's true. She is getting better. She's going to Theodore every time she has the urge to cut when she's not doing okay. Some days are harder than the others, yes, but Theodore was always there. She was actually happy about that. For the first time in what feels like forever, she's happy. She's happy with him.

"I have to see my mum this weekend." Theodore says, looking at his phone. "She's in Scotland, apparently."

They were working on the project that professor Collins told them to work on. They were almost done with the project.

"Everything okay?" Isabella asked, looking up at him from her sheet paper.

He looked at her. "No, yeah. Everythings okay, she's just looking for a house."

Oh my. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked. She didn't think he should go through that alone.

"I don't think you should. If your dad finds out you left school-" he said, shaking his head. He didn't like the idea. If Glen had found out, he would have hit her. Of course he

would. The minute he finds out that she left school, he would send her out of this school for good. And she didn't want that. Why would she?

"I'll tell him I was at my mums." she said, cutting him off. "He'll believe me." She lied.

"Liar." he gave her a serious look.

Why can't I lie to him? "Fine. alright. I'm lying, but I'd tell mum, if my father asks her, to tell him I was there. She would, really." she raised a brow.

He looked at her for a moment and sighed. "Fine." he took in a big huff. "But if your dad finds out you-"

"He won't. Promise." she smiles.

She was excited to get out of school. Have a few days off with theodore.

She continued to write with a smile. "Besides." she said. "I'm quite excited to see your mum for the first time" he looked at him with a smile. He smiled at her and they started working again.