Loving the fight

15❦

2

❦𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓮❦

I'm over the moon with excitement, Henry is joining us for dinner tonight and I still can't believe we bumped into each other again.

Ace and Blake went to the gym to train as usual, but I stayed back this time to start on tonight's meal.

It may still be four hours away but I had the brilliant idea to bake a two tier cake. Partly in celebration of our reunion, but mostly because I wasn't able to celebrate Henry's birthday like I promised.

When we were surviving out there on the streets together, he told me about him never really having a birthday party before.

So I promised I'd throw him a proper one. I was going to get him a cake, ice cream and balloons, to make it spectacular. Just like any kid deserves.

Then he was gone before his birthday came around. I celebrated anyway, nothing grand like it would have been if he was there.

I made a promise and it felt wrong not to follow through. But tonight that changes.

I'm not going to wait around for his actual birthday, he's probably had a grand party with his new foster parents by now anyway. But I want to celebrate him like I wished I could have all those years ago.

I take the cake pans out of the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool. I couldn't decide what flavor to bake so I'm making one tier chocolate and one vanilla.

Blake got me a really cool wire rack that has multiple layers. Now I can have several cakes or dozens of cookies cooling without taking the whole kitchen island up.

I'm closing the oven door and nearly jump out of my skin as someone knocks at the door.

I wasn't expecting Henry for a few more hours and Blake has only been gone for an hour. With Ace at the gym as well and Bella out of town the last thing I was expecting was someone knocking on our door.

A few months ago there was a kid on our floor that would ding dong ditch, but her family moved last month. So unless she came back for a surprise visit, I have no clue who else it could be.

I wait in the kitchen, maybe someone knocked on the wrong door? But then they knock again.

I slowly walk to the door and peek through the peephole. A gasp escapes my lips and my jaw drops at the site.

I push away from the door, hands on my chest trying to calm my racing heart. I honestly never expected to see him again, not with how everything went down.

Isaiah stands just a few feet away from me, only the apartment door separating us.

He doesn't look intoxicated, instead he looks like he hasn't slept in days. He knocks again as I contemplate what to do.

My curiosity wins and I open the door just a few inches.

Sometimes my brother would be drunk but he looked sober as can be. Then he would turn into a monster and I'd wake up hours later with bruises all over my body.

Having Isaiah here after everything that he said makes me nervous, especially with Blake being gone.

"Hi." I plant my left foot behind the door so it can't be shoved open easily.

"Hi, is Blake here? I saw his car out front." Isaiah looks different, I've never seen him this disheveled.

"No, he's not." Blake hitched a ride with Ace again so I could have the car in case I decided I wanted to buy more ingredients for dinner.