Anchor ~ Isaac Lahey

Two

  I pour the boiling water with macaroni in it in the strainer, making sure Isaac isn't in my way, he usually always winds up getting hurt in the kitchen. I pour the shells back in the pot and do the rest of the things I need to do, then I call Isaac in the kitchen. "What movie did you put on?" I ask as we grab our bowls and go to his room.

  I walk in to see that he has put on A Haunted House. I chuckle. "I forgot you only watch stupid movies" I say, sitting on his bed. He sits beside me, pulling the blankets over his legs, causing them to go over mine too. "It's not stupid! It's the best movie ever" He says. "It's a spoof of paranormal activity, it's dumb" I say, taking a bite of my food. "Oh, then what do you want to watch?" He asks. I look at him with a huge smile.

  "No.. you make me watch it all the time.." He says, sadness in his eyes. I laugh and get up, finding the movie and putting it in instead. "If you hated it so much, then why do you still have it?" I ask, sitting back on the bed. I look up and the movie comes on. "For you. Because you hate all of my movies" He says. I look at him and stick my tongue out. "You can be nice sometimes!? Shocker" I say, playfully.

  He elbows my arm, making me get choked on a shell. He laughs and pats my back. Once I'm done choking half do death he asks me if I'm okay, because he could finally stop laughing. "Trying to keep me from getting murdered and you almost kill me with an elbow" (See what I did there?) I say, laughing and hitting play.

  "Team Edward or Jacob?" I ask. "Jacob, he seems cool and doesn't want to kill her" He says, finishing his macaroni.

  I finish my bowl and we watch the rest of the movie. I let out a big yawn, then take the bowls downstairs, rinsing them out. I walk back upstairs to see a blanket folded in the floor with a pillow and another blanket. Isaac starts to lay down in his makeshift bed.

  "What are you doing?" I ask. "Letting you have the bed" He says, laying his head on the pillow. "You're an idiot, I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor, if anything, I will" I say, walking over to him and ripping the blanket off of him. "You're the guest" He says, trying to take the blanket back.

  "Dude, just get in your bed, it can fit both of us" I say, laying down. He stands up and looks at me. "That's my side" He says. I glare at him and scoot over to the other side. He smiles, grabs his pillow and throws it on the bed, then he takes his shirt off. My eyes go wide and I look away. I've seen him shirtless a hundred times, but lately I've been making things awkward. I think I'm starting to like him.

  He lays down and gets under the covers. The breeze from him laying down makes me shiver. He scoots over to me and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. "Are you comfortable?" He asks, rubbing little circles on my hip with his thumb. I nod and scoot even closer to him, embracing his warmth.

  "You're really warm" I say, trying not to be awkward. "I'm glad?" He says almost seeming like a question. I giggle and drift to sleep, comforted by his warmth and him now rubbing up and down my side, I guess trying to make me warmer.

...

  I wake up to the smell of food. I open my eyes and realize we're still in the same position we were in when we fell asleep. "You're finally up" He says, then moves, which allows me to move. I sit up and throw my legs over the side of the bed. He does the same. "How long have you been up?" I ask, walking to the bathroom. "About an hour" He says, when I come back in his room. "You mean to tell me that you've been up for an hour and you didn't move. Why?" I ask. "Who is cooking the food?" I ask. He shakes his head. "Step mom" He says. "No way! Why didn't you tell me!?" I ask. "I wanted to be sure things were going to work out and they did. They're getting married next month" He says, kind of smiling. In my whole life I have never seen that boy smile when talking about his father.

  "So, she's nice? and your dad..?" I say, not wanting to finish the sentence. I've noticed that I don't see bruises on him anymore. I start thinking back to the times he would call me crying, asking if he could come over, because his dad just beat the shit out of him. I look down. "He's great, I've genuinely never seen him happier.. And he doesn't anymore, she's changed him" He says, trying to make me happy.

  "I'm so glad all of that stopped and that everyone is happy" I say, going to him and wrapping my arms around his torso. He puts his hand on my head and hugs me back. "I am too. Thank you for all of those times you got your parents to come get me or you came and got me" He says, pulling me into an even tighter hug this time. "It was no problem, you know you're always able to call me and you're always welcome to my house. That's what friends are for" I say, choking out the friends part.

  He loosens his grip, thinking it was too tight. Then his step mom calls us down for breakfast. "Her food is amazing" He says, then runs down the stairs, pulling me by the hand. I giggle and try to keep up without falling down the stairs. We finally make it to the kitchen in once piece. His step mom looks at us both and smiles.

  "And who is this beautiful girl?" She says, looking at me then back at Isaac. "I'm Isabella, but uhm everyone calls me Ella" I say, going to shake her hand. She smiles and shakes mine. "Are you his girlfriend?" She asks. "No, just childhood friends" I say. "Oh my gosh I'm Sarah by the way. I didn't even introduce myself" She says, facepalming herself. I giggle. "Nice to meet you Sarah" I say. "You too sweetie" She says, then walks past me.

  "I'm going to wake your father, you guys can go ahead and make your plates" She says as she walks toward the stairs. We grab our plates and sit down, waiting for the rest of the family. His dad comes walking down the stairs looking like a zombie. Isaac and I laugh at him. Everyone else gets their plates and sits down and we start eating. "So, how long are you staying?" His dad asks.

  "A few days if that's okay. Her parents are out of town and I don't want her to be alone" Isaac speaks up, knowing I was unsure. "That's fine" He says, eating his last bite of egg. Isaac and I finish our plates and take them to the sink. I quickly wash mine and his dishes. "Do you want to hang out at your house?" He asks. "Sure.. why?" I say, puzzled. "Because we have nothing to do here, you have all kinds of stuff and an empty house" He says.

  "Okay." I say, making my way upstairs and getting my things together.