Matters Of The Heart ✔

Chapter Twelve

Ian took a deep breath before turning his hand on the door knob. Behind that door, he would have to change form. He had to be the Ian everyone expected him to be. He had to act perfect. That's the only way to convince other people that despite everything, he was getting back on his own two feet again and did not need any monitoring.

“Ian!”, Stella screamed excitedly as she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him as soon as he walked through the door. He picked her up and spun her around on one hand, and she giggled before he placed her down again.

“So glad you came”, she said as they broke away from the hug, and she locked their arms together

“I promised I would come, didn't I?”, he said, and she nodded while smiling. Both her and their mother were blowing up his phone every day, begging him to come home to visit them for a few days. He hadn't seen them in months after his father recovered from the accident.

“Let me take that for you”, she took his small traveling bag from him, slinging it onto her shoulder. Her smile widened as she saw the flowers he was holding.

“For me?”, she asked almost jumping up and down

“You wish”, he chuckled falsely as his mother, Ruby Parker came into sight with a welcoming smile on her face

“These are for the most beautiful woman in the universe”, he smiled as he walked towards her. Ruby engulfed her son in a warm hug before kissing his cheek.

“I'm so happy you're home”, she accepted the flowers and thanked him

“It's been a while since I've seen you”, she said pinching his cheeks, titling his head side to side still pinching them

“Mom”, he growled. “I'm too old for this now”, he added in a protest and poured his bottom lip. She smiled before caressing his almost bruised cheeks softly.

“I know. That's what worries me. You grew up so fast “, she said before she looked at the flowers in her hands.

“They are beautiful”, she looked at him once more, her smile reaching her chocolate brown eyes

“I'll just put them in the water. Dinner is almost ready, you can go put your bag upstairs in the meantime”, she said as she turned to walk to the kitchen.

“Mama's Boy”, Stella cooed childishly as she pushed past him to ascend up the staircase. He chuckled before he followed after her, they chatted as they walked to his room.

“Oh I almost forgot”, he said in remembrance as he took out a blue box sealed with a white ribbon from his pockets and waved it in front of her face and her eyes widened in excitement

“Is that? “, she said eyeing the box, seeing the printed logo of her favorite jewelry store on the box

“Yep”, he grinned. “The bracelet you have been nagging me for”, he handed her the box. She quickly dropped his bag on the floor before plopping down the bed.

“I didn't really get you anything for your birthday”, he shrugged

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are still the best brother ever!”, she opened the box hurriedly but quickly frowned.

“But-”, she blinked in disbelief. A laugh threatened to burst from his lips as he looked at her disappointment face. “It's… It's empty”, she said quietly as she noticed there was nothing in the box. Ian started laughing.

“Gotcha”, he said still laughing, and she narrowed her eyes at him as she stood up to punch him on the chest. She winced in pain as she hit his, according to him, very hard chest, cracking him up further.