Letters to Isabella

forty six.

Ross' POV

I slowly pulled into our driveway with Isabella sat rather nonchalantly in the passenger seat beside me. I hadn't really said a word to her for the whole journey home besides the odd, 'are you okay?' and 'how did you end up out there anyway?' which she obviously didn't answer. She was far too stubborn and secretive to give me a straight answer just yet, but I'd worm it out of her somehow.

Although I hated to set boundaries, I knew deep down that it was the right thing to do. My daughter wasn't the same little girl that used to sit on my lap whilst I taught her which string was which on an acoustic guitar. She was older now and more defiant against what Laura and I want for her.

In truth, I think that I forget the fact that Isabella is becoming her own little person who will someday be able to make choices of her own that Laura and I may or may not agree with.

I didn't realise how hard it was going to be to raise a pre-teen girl and make her follow my rules. I feel like my father but I have no other choice.

It's either ground rules or possible awful things happening to Isabella down the line. I think I know which one I'd rather choose, even if it does make me the bad guy. I'm sure she'll thank me when she's older for protecting her from trouble.

Laura had always said to me, 'Ross, leave her be. She's growing up and learning new things. She'll mature at her own rate.'

But after receiving a phone call from my terrified twelve year old daughter telling me that she's all the way over on the other side of town was more than enough for me to start changing how our household worked from now on.

No more games. I reminded myself as Isabella walked carefully in front of me back to the comfort of our safe home.

I turned the key in the lock after I'd advised Rocky and Bailey to lock the door behind me when I left and ushered Isabella in to the warmth of our house, kicking the door shut behind me with my right leg. "We're home!" I called out, just loud enough for Rocky and Bailey to hear but not loud enough to disturb Laura from her sleep.

Both Rocky and Bailey emerged from the kitchen with aprons on which appeared to be covered in pancake mixture and ran towards Isabella at full force.

"Bella!" Bailey exclaimed quietly, throwing his arms around her like he hadn't seen her in a thousand years.

Come to think of it, when was the last time Bailey saw her? She'd been gone so often lately that even I barely spoke two words to her, let alone spent time with her.

"I was worried!" Bailey continued, taking a step back from her and eyeing her cautiously up and down.

It was almost as if he couldn't believe that his older sister was finally stood in front of him again. It had obviously been way too long since they'd last hung out which was sad considering how much they used to do everything together before.

Isabella awkwardly tensed her shoulders up and shrugged at him. "I'm okay." She then turned to Rocky and I with wide yet serious eyes. "Really, I am."

I sighed and gestured to the stairs with a weary smile. "Why don't you go and get cleaned up? Then you can come down for food and we can have a chat. How does that sound?"

I wanted to sound as less threatening as I possibly could. Although I knew that I was going to be setting some serious ground rules the second she got herself back downstairs didn't mean that I had to freak her out about that just yet.

Isabella tilted her head slightly, almost like she was toying back and forth with the idea I'd just presented to her before simply nodding her head and turning towards the stairs. "Okay. Sure."