Cupid's Daughter

Chapter 19~ Woop There It Is

I could tell from the way my dad scrutinised me that he knew something was up. I'd barely touched any food in the past two days, I'd skipped school and Sam hadn't been over at all, which was the biggest giveaway. Sam usually came over at least two or three times a week and it was weird for both myself and my dad if she didn't. On the other hand, Noah had been coming over every night with movies to watch and tubs full of ice cream for us to share.

As we sat at the dinner table together, my untouched lasagne looking very sad on my plate, the doorbell rang obnoxiously loudly. My dad leapt up to answer it, eager for the chance to escape. I could hear muffled talking and arguing and I stood up curiously to see what was causing such a problem. As I approached the door I almost swore, right there in front of my dad.

And I'd thought that my life couldn't get any worse...

"Isabelle." My mother greeted me, extending her hand for me to shake. I stared at it like she was offering me a plate of Brussel sprouts, my nose turned up in disgust.

I glanced up at my dad, who was watching me apprehensively, and then back towards my mother. "I'm going to my room." I informed them flatly, before scrambling to sit on the stairs and eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Thank you for coming, Courtney." My dad said with a tired sigh. I could hear my mother's heels clicking against the floor, and the soft pff as my parents collapsed onto the sofa.

"You said she was in trouble?" My mother asked.

"Something has been going on with her lately, and I can't figure out what. She won't eat, isn't talking to her friends... or even me, for that matter. She's just not herself." My dad said quietly, and I suddenly felt extremely guilty for causing him so much worry.

"Did something happen between her and Sam?" My mom questioned. Wait... mom knew who Sam was? I was almost certain that she'd never met nor had I ever told my mother about my best friend, so I had no idea how she even knew about her.

"Or with a boy?" She added after a short pause.

"No." I whispered. Yes.

"She has been spending rather a lot of time with the Jones boy." My dad mused, making me cringe away from the wall. Were my parents really trying to analyze my love life, or lack thereof?

"Nathaniel?" My mom asked curiously. "The boy who helped Charles cheat on Amara?"

My father shushed her sharply and then lowered his voice. "No, she's been with the other one- Noah. And he didn't help Charles, Courtney, you know that. He moved away to escape his father's twisted schemes. How could anyone ask of their son what he did?" Disapproval dripped from my father's voice, and I pictured him shaking his head in disgust.

"Even still," my mother warned, "I don't want her hanging around a family like that."

I felt my heart drop into my stomach as my mother's words sunk in. Charles was cheating on Amara?

There was a few moments of silence and I took the time to try and digest everything I had just heard.

I couldn't.

How was I going to tell Noah? Should I even tell him? He needed to know but I highly doubted that I was the right person to tell him... if he even believed me.

Man I wished Sam was here to talk to.

"What about Isabelle?" My father questioned. "What do we do?"

We? Since when had there ever been a 'we'?

"Maybe she needs a break from here, at least for a little while. Some time away from everything might do her some good."

"What are you suggesting Courtney?"

"Why doesn't Isabelle come and finish up her Senior year in New York with me? She'll have a fresh start and there'll be less drama there so she can focus on her studies." My mom suggested, and I felt my throat tighten.

Live with my mom in New York? But what about Sam and Noah and... neither of them cared. Sam was mad at me and Noah was with Sabrina now. Not to mention everyone at school hated me.

Would anyone really care if I left Stratford?

Of course, moving to Stratford also entailed living with my mother, which didn't exactly excite me. We didn't know the first thing about each other, and living under the same roof was going to be awkward.

Not to mention, I was still enraged with her and offering me a place to stay wasn't going to change that.

The only question left to answer was, did I even want to go?

***

2 Weeks Later

"Issy, we're leaving in ten minutes!" My dad yelled from outside as I made my way downstairs with the last of the boxes. I pushed my way out of the front door, unable to see over the stack of my belongings.

And then I hit a wall.

A wall that swore.

I yelped as the boxes started to tilt, but within a second they were back in my hands safely.

"Here let me take that." The boxes lifted from my grasp and I watched as Nate gave me a smile and placed them into the back of the pickup truck my dad had borrowed from his friend Louis.

"You moving house?" Nate asked, wiping his hands on the back of his jeans. I bit my lip and walked over to the truck to start rearranging the boxes in a more orderly fashion.

"Actually I'm moving to New York."

Nate's eyebrows shot up and he shoved his hands inside his pockets, kicking a stone that was laying on the pavement. "Really? Does Noah know about this?"

I stayed quiet for a moment as I continued to organize the boxes in the truck. I glanced over and found that Nate was staring expectantly at me, and I sighed, turning to lean against the side of the car. "No he doesn't." I admitted slowly, tasting the words as they left my mouth. "And I'd like to keep it that way." I shot Nate a look of warning. "He's happy with Sabrina now and I'm pretty sure I've caused way too much drama already." I shrugged.

Nate tensed noticeably at the mention of Sabrina, but he shook his head a second later and sighed. "He told me about the deal you two made. And how everyone gave you a tough time at school for kissing me?"

I looked away, my cheeks flaming red with embarrassment as the memories of my drunken self reappeared. Nate strode forward and placed his warm hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry you feel you need to leave and if you don't want me to tell Noah then I won't. But if it changes anything, I'm almost certain that Noah and Sabrina's relationship isn't the happy family you think it is."

I was just about to ask what he meant when my dad came bustling out of the door, his face bright red from overexertion. "You ready to go?" He asked breathlessly, offering Nate a small nod of acknowledgement.

I shook my head clear and nodded, a smile falling falsely onto my face. "I'll see you around Nate." I said quietly as I hopped into the passenger side of the truck.

"Yeah, see you Issy."

And then we took off to the Big Apple, hoping to escape the ditch I had dug myself into in Stratford.