Mended

25

Izzy's POV

The sound of my sock-clad feet pacing across the wooden floor traveled rhythmically through my otherwise silent apartment. Every anxious glance I directed towards my quiet phone was greeted with a new wave of disappointment. With every passing second, my trepidation only grew in its intensity.

Alastair was supposed to call.

He'd promised me he would. He'd promised me that he'd find Kaiden when I'd called him in desperation after I'd realized Kaiden had left in Caleb's car.

That had been almost an hour ago and everything was silent on his end. Every text I sent him went unanswered, and I was losing my mind thinking about all the possible scenarios that could be unfolding right now.

Releasing a deep breath, I treaded towards the couch and forced myself to sit. I'd been pacing back and forth for a while now, my nerves not allowing me a moment of peace. I was glad Sydney wasn't home to witness the state I was in.

Closing my eyes, I reminded myself to relax. I practiced the breathing exercises Mariam had taught me how to do when we had been focusing on my panic attacks. I didn't sense one coming, but then again, I never did when it came to those.

My eyes flew open when a loud banging sound echoed through my apartment. When I realized someone was knocking, I scrambled off the couch and rushed towards the door.

Knee-wobbling relief coursed through me as one look through the peep-hole revealed Kaiden and Sophia standing there. I didn't waste a second before I was reaching for the lock.

The door had just barely opened before I was being yanked into a hard chest. Strong arms curled around my back, the familiarity of the iron hold slamming into me all at once.

Kaiden's steel grip told me what I'd feared; they knew.

A lump the size of a baseball formed in my throat as I gingerly wrapped my own arms around his tall frame, pressing my cheek against his chest. The furious beat of his heart ricocheted through my ears, and when he spoke, the rawness in his rough voice felt like a punch to the gut.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured against my temple, his arms squeezing me tighter. "So fucking sorry, sweetheart."

My eyes opened and I met Sophia's pained gaze as she stood beside Kaiden, watching the two of us. When I answered, my voice was small. "Sorry for what?" None of it was their fault.

"For what you tried to keep to yourself," he rumbled, pressing his face into my hair. He clutched me tighter. "For you feeling like you needed to protect us."

My eyes began to burn as I held onto him. "I wanted to tell you," I whispered, my attention flickering towards Sophia again. Her bloodshot gaze was soft as she held mine. "I just didn't know how. I'm sorry."

Kaiden pulled away so he could look down at me. For the first time since he'd arrived, I got to see the devastating agony simmering in his dark grey gaze. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said, his calloused hands rising to cup my face. "Nothing."

Sophia's hand fell onto my back as she stepped closer. "This shouldn't have been your burden to carry in the first place," she admitted hoarsely, her voice gentle. "It should've been one of us."

My throat constricted as a new question wandered into my mind. "Does this mean..." Fear captured my heart. "Does this mean that Elijah and Ethan know too?"

Kaiden and Sophia exchanged a glance. "No," he said quietly, his hands falling away from me. He ran one through his disheveled ebony hair, exhaling deeply. "Not yet."