There's a Place For Us (Complete)

Part 27

I. An Exquisitely Tragic Love Affair

(Part 27)

Isabella remembered the smell of fire and the heat that blew against her face and dried her tears. The stars shined down at her and in her arms she held a pile of her most treasured clothes.

She dangled a purple sweater over the flames and smiled wryly as the flames licked up the cotton. "Isabella..." he whispered in her ear with his silky voice. His hand was on her shoulder and it made her stop what she was doing just so she could focus on the warmth of his touch. "You don't want to do this," he said, peeling the clothes away from her.

She grabbed them back. "Yes I do!" she cried.

"You won't always be trapped," he told her. His eyes pleaded with her and his pain mirrored her own. "I promise."

Isabella took a shaky breathe. "You can't promise anything! You're not even going to be here to know if I get freed or not! You're leaving me!" Her eyes were angry and the flame was reflected in her eye. She started to throw more articles of clothing into the hot flame. "Well I hope you stay there," she said harshly.

He turned her around gently, ignoring her cruel words. She regarded him coldly. "One day, you're going to want to put these clothes back on," he told her quietly. She looked away from his eyes. "You'll reach for a sweater and you'll look at yourself in the mirror after you slip it on. And for the first time, these clothes won't represent your prison... they'll represent your freedom." An angry tear slid down Isabella's face. He was feeding her lies! He was building her hope up knowing that the things he was saying would never happen. He wiped the glistening wetness away. "And you're going to remember this, and thank me," he said with a sad smile.

Isabella turned to him. "You're on crack." She threw the clothes into the dirt, but not in the flames, and ran into the barn that they lived in.

Logan picked them up and brushed the dirt off the clothes Isabella used to love wholeheartedly. He left in the morning, leaving her clothes in a big plastic bag outside her bedroom door.

Isabella found Adam on the ice wearing an orange Rinx jacket. He and another guy around their age playfully taunted a little boy wearing a junior ice hockey uniform. They juggled a puck around even though it was after hours. Isabella smiled, taking in the whole scene. The little boy laughed and lunged at Adam, knocking him down. Adam laughed with him, shoving him off like they were brothers.

When Adam regained his balance, he noticed Isabella on the outskirts of the ice. "There's my girl!" he said, and he skated over to Isabella. He placed a kiss on her lips and Isabella could taste cherry Chapstick. Aww! A boy who cared about his lips. The kiss was long enough for the other employee and the boy to start snickering. They got off the ice with a shove from Adam before he kissed her again. This time getting more intimate since they were now alone.

When they separated, Adam's eyes raked over Isabella. "Starr, you look beautiful," he said in awe. She wore a long gray sweater with a soft silk, off white scarf. Round silver pearled earrings glimmered on her ears and light rose Uggs warmed her feet. She had on cream colored tights that had pink and gray snowflake designs.

She blushed. "Yea. I'm lucky it still fits. I haven't worn it in a few years." Adam smiled at her and got off the ice, heading to a bench. Underneath he pulled out a pair of skates and held them up to Isabella.

"I got something for you," he said smiling slyly. She groaned, knowing there was no way she was getting out of it.

Everyday after that, Isabella no longer wore the frumpy clothes that she had forced herself to wear. She hadn't loved it; all those green sweaters and green skirts. They had just been a defense mechanism when she didn't know what else to do.

Then next day, she showed up to school wearing a thick cream colored sweater with red reindeers and embroidery. She paired it with slim black legging and brown leather combat boots. She wore her silky hair in a messy bun, but it was classy enough to give her the look of a neat school girl and not of her just rolling out of bed. Logan had been right. The clothes now represented her escape, her freedom, and her strength.

That week Isabella got more stares than was welcomed, but she expected it. She had gone from a frumpy freak to actually showing her beauty. She heard whispers of "hot" and "sexy". Those things still made her uncomfortable and so she sticked close to Adam, wanting everyone to know she was still taken and that if they tried to touch her, they'd have to deal with Adam. She found it amazing how just a switch of clothes changed everyone's opinion of her. She was still the same. She didn't wear makeup still and her hair was still the same, but suddenly every guy's eyes raked her body up and down. Some even seemed jealous of Adam; which made Isabella hate every single one of them and like Adam, even more. They were pricks. All of them. They wanted her now because of her accented body. Why hadn't they wanted her before?!? They were disgusting animals.

Adam carried the informational letter in his backpack everyday, and it weighed him down like a piece of lead. It scared him; knowing it was there, knowing what his decision was. He just didn't know what else to do! It was too late to send something in to a college and honesty, there wouldn't be anything about him that would want to make any college accept him. His dad wanted him to go to Harvard just like Jake. He wanted Adam to become a doctor, just like Jake. 'Like Jake. Like Jake'... It drove him insane! He didn't want to be like Jake anymore! He wanted to be his own person. He already knew what he wanted to do after he got out of where he was meant to go. His mind drifted back to that day with Isabella at the Rinx.

"So you really love sports, huh?" she had asked. He'd shrugged.

"Not really sportS," he said, accenting the "s". "Just ice hockey."

Isabella cocked her head to one side. "What about football? You are the captain of the team."

Adam had nodded. "I know. I'm good at it, but I only do it because it's what my dad wants..." He'd hesitated. "My dad wants me to be just like my brother Jake, but if he really knew Jake, he'd be more proud of me. Jake is exactly who I used to be, only difference is that he loves it and doesn't want to change ever."

Isabella had taken his hand in hers. "You should be whoever you are right now. Because he's wonderful." She'd kissed his cheek and rested her head on Adam's shoulder.

'Because he was wonderful...'

Friday afternoon, Adam went home with Isabella. After eating some Chinese takeout they had gotten on the way to Isabella's house, together they collapsed on the couch. Adam lay on his back and Isabella lay above him. She had him trapped, and she loved it as much as he did. She put her lips to his, letting the tenderness send tingles throughout her body. Adam slipped his tongue in her mouth as she tangled her hands in his hair. The act was simple, but enough to excite them both. Adam ran his hands up and down her back letting them slip a little lower than usual. He could feel her smile against him. He broke the kiss and started the suck her moist skin. Adam could feel her hot breathe on his neck and thought there was no better sensation. She started to slowly grind against him. Holy freakin God! She was too much for him! Isabella continued to tease him and she could feel a bulge appear and rapidly increase in size. "Starr, you're too much..." he said breathlessly. She giggled. He started to kiss her again and slowly sat up in an upright position. They ran their hands all over each others' body in a gentle, sweet way. And eventually, Adam pushed Isabella on her back. She was in his hands now and his hands were caring and persistent.

Isabella laid her head in his lap, tucking her hands underneath. They flipped through the channels; Isabella focusing on Adam's fingers massaging up and down her arm, and Adam focusing on her quiet, steady breathing.

Finally, Isabella pushed herself up and headed into the kitchen to put some water on the stove to boil.

When the whistle started to sing, Isabella placed two mugs on her kitchen table. Her and Adam's backpacks rested on it and took up most of the room. She pushed hers back a little to make room for the mugs. Unfortunately, she pushed them back too far and Adam's backpack fell off. Isabella groaned and leaned down to pick up the stuff that had fallen out. She wasn't paying much attention, mostly just throwing the stuff in. But one piece of paper caught her eye. It paralyzed her. Even her heart. She squeezed her eyes shut and reopened them, hoping the paper had been an illusion of some sort, but it was still there. Staring at her like a gun pointed right between her eyes.