The Isaac Effect | My Life With The Walter Boys

Chapter 5 - His Hoodie

Ten minutes seems like ten hours when you think you're about to be killed, but suddenly I see a boy with floppy dark hair sprinting in my direction. For a split second I think it's a serial killer coming to kill me, but the rational part of my brain shuts this idea down.

It's Isaac. The video game boy. That's why there were blasting noises coming from the living room, he must have been up late gaming.

He's sprinting towards me, his hair flopping with every bop of his head.

"Luna?! Luna, is that you?" He yells once noticing me.

I rub away my tears, suddenly feeling embarrassed for thinking I was gonna die to a moose. "Yeah it's me." I say, once he comes close to me. He puts his hands on his knees, obviously exhausted. Did he run the whole way here to find me? "Are you okay? You seem exhausted."

"Am I okay?! You're the one who decided to go skating out in the unknown countryside in the middle of the night! Are you crazy? Don't you New York City folks know anything about getting lost in unknown places?" Isaac exclaims, arms flailing

"I actually knew New York City like the back of my palm, so getting lost wasn't really an issue."

"Well you don't know Colorado. My mom would have died if she knew you got lost." Isaac lets out, his breathing returning back to normal. "Come on let's go back, we don't want anyone to figure out we were out in the middle of the night."

I crouch down to grab my skateboard and follow him, silently filling the space between us. I don't blame him, he must think I'm crazy. I would too honestly. Orphaned girl goes crazy and runs away into the unknown countryside, now that's a New York Times headline.

He must have noticed the awkwardness too, and decided to fill the silence. "So why were you out skating anyways?"

Shit. Not that question, anything but that question. "It just calms me down, that's all." I mutter, he would think I'm crazy if I explain the full reason.

"Calm you down? Why would you need to calm down?" Isaac says, turning to me with a confused face. Is this kid dense?

"My parents and sister just fuckign died. My life is anything but calm right now." I explain, evidently irritated. He definitely notices my anger, and decides to shut up and look forward. We walk a few more feet before I begin to feel bad, it's not his fault my parents died.

"Sorry, this is all new to me. I still don't know how to react when people talk about the subject." I mumble, looking down at my shoes, which are now dirty from the dirt road.

"My brother, Lee, loves skateboarding. My dad taught him, before he got deployed." Isaac says, looking down at his feet too.

"Is that why you stay with Katherine and George? Deployment?" I ask, looking at him.

"Yeah, we talk to him over the phone sometimes, but it's hard to get in touch with him." He says, looking up at me.

Now I really feel bad, wake up Luna. You aren't the only one with problems in life. "Oh I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, I've gotten used to it." Isaac explains, his eyes drifting away from mine and focusing onto the pebble he's kicking as he walks.

"I don't think I ever will." I say, looking back up at the stars. I like to think that my parents and Lucy are up there, watching Jackie and I, possibly even helping us. I wonder why they thought sending us here was the best idea.

I'm so lost in thought that I don't even realize I'm shivering until Isaac points it out, "Are you cold? You're shivering."

I look down at my arms and see that they're covered in goosebumps. "Yeah, I guess so, I didn't even realize."

"You should have said something!" He says, stopping and taking his hoodie off. For a second, I see a sliver of his stomach as he takes the hoodie off, his shirt sticking to the hoodie, and my heart skips a beat. He holds it out to me, and I pause before taking it.

"Oh, I can't." I say, waving my hand as a sign of no. He shakes his head, pushing the hoodie close to me.

"Take it, seriously. It's no big deal."

I pause for a second, the cold wind making my goosebumps only more evident. I sigh and put on the hoodie, taking in the warmth from it. It smells like him, and my heart only beats faster. "Thanks." I quietly say, hoping it's dark enough that he can't see the pinkness in my cheeks.

"Good, my mom would have a heart attack if you got a cold." He explains, crossing his arms and continuing the walk back to the house, which we can now.

My heart slows down out of disappointment. Stupid Luna.

He gave you his hoodie because of his mom, you're nothing more than a roommate. Don't let your brain get clouded by romantic fantasies.

The rest of the walk is normal. Me talking about my favorite parts of the city, and him talking about his favorite video games.

As we enter the house part of me wants to give him back his hoodie, but another half of me hopes he has forgotten about me wearing it. The latter wins, since he tells me goodnight and heads to his bedroom, leaving me alone in the kitchen.

I give myself a few minutes before following him up, processing what just happened.

Maybe Colorado is as interesting as New York.