Just Us

Twenty-Two

Chapter twenty-two
Isla

The drive back home's quiet. Isaiah and I were beat from helping with the clean-up, the faint buzz from my phone filling the silence. I didn't mind the exhaustion since it helped Corey and I was grateful that Isaiah didn't mind it as well.

My phone buzzes again with a text and I don't have to look to know that it's Ricky. I made the mistake of exchanging numbers with him as we left the party. He said it was Corey's idea but deep down I know he was lying.

I didn't mind getting to know his friends though. After he apologised for getting off on the wrong foot, I thought it'd be fine being familiar with him. I wanted to be involved in Corey's life and would have to make nice with his friends eventually. But I wouldn't have given him my number if I would've known he was going to send me a message every few seconds.

He'd drop in a few pictures of Corey too so it wasn't that bad. I could see how Ricky genuinely cared for him.

I turn my phone off because I can't take anymore socialising. It was a little past midnight as we drove into our street, the only sources of light being the streetlights. As we approach our house, there's a sudden flicker of light and Isaiah stops the car.

It flickers again and it's from the inside our house. There's an uneasiness that churns deep in my stomach. "Are Papa and Momma back?" I look at Isaiah and his expression answers my question before he shakes his head no, eyes fixed on the house.

The light turns on in the living room and in a second, Isaiah's out of the car. "Stay in the car." He says as he walks over our front lawn.

"What?" I gasp as the door shuts. "No! Isaiah, get back here!" I whisper shout his way, popping my head out of the window but he doesn't listen. I step out of the car and start trailing him. I slip out my phone from my pocket and prepare to call the police.

"Isla!" He hisses at me the moment he realises I'm not in the car. Then there's another snap inside the house and the window to my room lights up and I see a shadow.

"We should call the police." I tug onto Isaiah's arm, wanting to be a safe distance from the house but like the stubborn man that he is, Isaiah lunged forward. "They might have weapons, Isaiah!" I grip onto his hand that was close to slipping away from me and it's like I finally broke through to him and his eyes snap to meet mine.

"You're right, we should–" and then the front door swings open and Isaiah throws himself in front of me, ready to pounce at whatever's coming our way but a voice gets us to lower our defences.

"Kids!" The familiar guttural voice reverberates through us and I can tell he's pissed.

"Papa?" Isaiah speaks out as we see our father before us, worry lines across his forehead. "You guys are back?"

"Where have the both of you been? Your mother and I came to the house empty and it's the middle of the night." Now that's an exaggeration. It was barely 1 but still, he had a point. We did not tell them about the party, so this was on us.

I'm ready to come clean and get whatever punishment comes my way. They wouldn't do much to Isaiah since he was 22. They wouldn't do much to me either. Maybe a grounding at most but I was home most of the time anyway.

"I was showing Isla the place I got," Isaiah says before I have a chance to confess and my head snaps towards him. "The landlord gave me the keys a little late but I couldn't wait so I had to show her."