S A F E
Isabelle
The flashes of orange and green trees pass as we speed down the endless roads back to my family house. It's about an hours drive, enough time to over think every single outcome possible. We're not far off now and the nerves are kicking in. If the window wasn't slightly open, letting the cool breeze in, I would be throwing up right now.
My legs are shaking, anxious. Thomas glances over and then puts his eyes back on the road. His hand softly lands on my thigh.
"What's wrong? You said they sounded excited to hear from you." He rubs his thumb along my leg and gently squeezes.
"What if they have these expectations of me now?" I twist myself around, shaking my hands. "I've not seen them in so long."
"They're still your parents. No matter what, it's obvious they care about you." I let out a long, deep breath. "Tell them what you're comfortable with. If you don't want to be there anymore, excuse yourself and call me. I'll come and get you straight away. But you can do this, Is." I give him a short smile and he subtly winks at me.
After the longest ten minutes of my life, he pulls up outside my old house. The sight of the pale brown house with white windows and a porch, sheltered by a grey roof, makes my heart clench. A cobbled path leads up to a red wooden door, surrounded by perfectly cut grass. I let out a quick breath, preparing myself.
"You've got this." I give him a nervous smile and then a nod. I get out of the car, clenching my sweaty hands as I walk up to the house. I ring the doorbell and adjust my hair.
Glancing back at Thomas, he gives me the thumbs up through the window. The door opens with a click and I look back.
A woman, with watery blue eyes and brown hair that's swept back off of her face stands before me. She instantly bursts into tears and we collide into a tight hug. With my eyes shut, I hear Thomas' engine start up and he drives away.
"God, look at you." She cups my face, her cheeks wet with happy tears. "You look so grown up."
We step inside and I take my shoes off, leaving them beside the door. My Dad comes bouncing down the familiar hallway, his hands speckled with white paint. Even then we still hug but he makes sure not to get any of it on me.
We continue on down, passing all the same photos of us that are still hanging on the wall. We get to the cream living room, decorated with plants that Mom tends to. I politely perch myself on the edge of the leather couch.
"Andrew, go clean yourself up." Mom chuckles, sending him away. "Isabelle, would you like a drink?"
"No, no. I'm fine." I decline. "How are you?"
"We're good. We're both so excited you called." She beams, sitting opposite me. Dad comes back in, resting on the other side of the couch.
"I'm really sorry." I start with a sigh. "I thought you'd be mad and upset with me." I avoid their kind eyes.
"Of course not, honey." Dad tilts his head. "We've been worried. We knew something wasn't right."
"Yeah, so. I'd like to just quickly explain, if that's alright?" They both nod and I dive into the story of the abuse and toxicity of mine and Nate's relationship. They listen, not interrupting me once. They look sorry for me and they look sad for me, which makes me feel even worse about everything.
"I lost contact with all my friends and you guys but it was so gradual that I hadn't really noticed until I was stuck. But now I'm not and that's why I'm here."
"I hate that you had to go through that." Mom sniffs, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "We weren't ever keen on him in the first place."
"I didn't know that." I frown.
"Something about him just didn't sit right with us but you looked really happy." Dad trials off.
"In the beginning, I thought I was." I nod, picking at my nails.
"Well, I'm just glad you're finished with that chapter of your life." Mom brightens with a smile.
The conversation smoothly flows into the next topic. I learn about all the family drama, what everyone's been up to. Mom's opened a flower shop and Dad still loves DIY and doing handy jobs, around the house and for the neighbors, the same amount as I recalled. We talk about college and I fill them in about my job, mentioning Eva and Violet, leaving out the part about their breakup. Eventually, we get onto the topic I'd been anticipating.
"So who was that that dropped you off?" Mom asks, lifting her head to look out the window.
"That was Thomas." I answer with a fond smile on my face.
"Thomas? Who's he?" She leans forward a little, intrigued.
"I've been living with him." I start.
"Is he your new boyfriend?" Dad jumps in and I lightly laugh.
"No, not exactly. We met the day after I left Nate's place and he kindly gave me a room in his apartment."
"Wow, that's nice." Mom smiles slightly, her now dry eyes twinkling. This is the part I'm unsure of how I exactly want to explain it. Thomas has been a huge part of my life in the past few months and I want to make sure I'm saying the right things to convey that.
"We get on really well." I start nodding to both of them. "Eventually we realized that it's more than just a friendship. So we're taking things really slow especially after everything that's happened."
"Of course. That's understandable." Mom speaks, her empathy wrapping around me in a warm hug. With my next thought, I feel my throat clogging up as I start getting flustered, emotional.
"He's been so good to me, when he absolutely didn't need to be... and I'm not used to that kind of interaction, or at least, I haven't been in such a long time." I desperately try to hold back the tears that are swelling up in my eyes. "It panicked me a little. Leaving Nate, I was really scared but Thomas has made me feel so safe. I don't even have the words to describe it."
Dad scoots up next to me, his hand rubbing my back, comfortingly. I place my head on his shoulder.
"Well then, whatever happens, he has our approval." He smiles gently.
**
Thomas
I drive around the little suburban streets, listening to whatever music is playing on the radio. It's not long before I park up at the side of the road somewhere. I sit in the car, scrolling through my phone for a while until a text message pops up.
It's from Isabelle, saying she's ready to come back now. A wave of worry runs through me, wondering if she's alright. I park outside the house again and jog up to the door. I anxiously knock.
I've never met a girl's parents before. I have no idea how to do this. I'm definitely not the ideal person a father would want to turn up on the doorstep. But I'm here now.
My palms are slick with sweat so I quickly wipe them off on my jeans. The wooden door swings open and Isabelle beams up at me. Her eyes are a little red, she's most definitely been crying but she's smiling.
"Are you alright?" I question.
"Yeah, I'm good." She moves to the side, letting him in the hall. Her parents squeeze through the narrow hallway, both of them seeming happy to see me. Her Dad is shorter than her Mom, his grey hair neatly shaved close to his head. He's got Isabelle's gentle brown eyes. Her Mom is a pretty brunette who is positively glowing with happiness.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm Thomas." I introduce myself while Isabelle's Mom briefly hugs me.
"God, you're a big guy, aren't you?" Her Dad remarks while shaking my hand.
"Andrew!" She smacks his arm and I let out a laugh. "Hi. I'm Julie."
Isabelle bends down, cramming her feet back in her shoes. They talk to her about something related to her family so I glance around at all the photos of her as a kid. Her adorable face is etched with the biggest grin in every single one of them.
"So, I'll see you again soon." Isabelle jumps up.
"You can always come and visit the apartment, if you'd like." I offer. Isabelle steps forward, giving them both a last hug. While with her Dad, her Mom tightly embraces me.
"Thank you." She whispers into my ear with a squeeze. I pull back, the pair of us smiling.
**
Back in the car, she's dancing around in her seat, over the moon. She's gone over every single detail of what happened while I drive us back home. I haven't stopped smiling because she hasn't.
"So we spoke about pretty much everything. I told them about Nate and my new job. I even said a little bit about you." She finally gets to the bit I was patiently waiting for.
"Yeah? What did you say?" I raise an eyebrow.
"I can't tell you." She shies away, blushing.
"Why not?" I laugh, encouraging her. "Come onnnn."
"No. No. I really can't." She corners herself up against the passenger door. "It's embarrassing."
"It can't be that bad!" I press on but she shakes her head. "Really?" She curls up into herself even more.
"I'll tell you one day."
"Fine." I drop it, with a chuckle, placing my free hand on her warm thigh again.
**
We're lounging around on the couch, binging on the food that we picked up on the way home. It's like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders, even the way she moves around looks lighter. She's changed since getting back, skipping around in shorts and a cropped top. She lands on the couch, a tub of ice cream in her arms, her hand holding one spoon.
"Hey? Where's mine?" I question, offended.
"We can share." She nestles into my side, curling her feet up next to her. I loop my arm around her shoulders. She digs in, holding the spoon in front of me every few mouthfuls. She teases, moving it out of my reach. We get through several episodes of Rick and Morty after having to explain the basic plot to her.
"So." I speak at the end of an episode. "Are you ever going to tell me what was said about me?" She rolls her eyes, putting the ice cream down.
"You really want to know?" She tilts her head.
"Of course I want to know." She lets out a long breath, trying to find the words.
"I told them about how we first met. I said that we live together and that we were friends and now we're progressing things really slowly."
"Okay. What did they say about me?" I cock an eyebrow.
"Nothing in particular." She shrugs. That's not exactly what I was hoping to hear. "They don't really know enough about you to say anything. But overall it was good because of my raving review." I nod with a smile. "They said they'd approve."
Jackpot. That's more like it.
"Approve of what?" I tilt my head at her, teasingly. She narrows her eyes.
"You know what." She sighs as he lifts herself to straddle over the top of my lap. Her hands rest on the shoulders and I stroke her bare thighs. "Thank you for driving me today and for making me believe I could do it."
"Of course. You knew you could do it, I just had to bring it out of you a little more." I find her waist as she cups my face, leaning down to give me a kiss. "You seem to kiss me a lot considering we're supposed to be taking things really slow." I mock her from earlier.
"Are you complaining?" She lightly back hands my chest.
"No!" I laugh and she tilts her head.
"Then stop talking." I smirk into another one of her soft kisses.
Neither of us can keep our lips off of each other. I cradle her face in my huge hands and her breathe falters as I sweetly invade her mouth. My touch falls, travelling down the length of her body all the way to her hips, bidding her as close as possible.
She wraps her arms around me and I press a line of gentle kisses along her jaw. A breathy sigh escapes from her and she brings my face up, capturing my lips again. I leisurely slide my hands up underneath her shirt, along her sides.
Before we get any further, a voice rings through the apartment.
"Hello!" It's Sam. She pulls her delicious lips off of mine, sitting up on my lap. We look to the side as Sam skids to a stop.
"Oh is this a bad time?" He winces.
"Yes-." I start.
"No. It's fine." She interrupts me and shifts her weight off of me, standing up. "I need to go and finish off some work anyways so he's all yours." She smiles politely as he takes a few more steps in. She skulks off into her room and I wait until she's gone before throwing my head back in complaint.
"I'm sorry, man." He apologizes.
"It's alright." I brush it off. It's not actually alright. I've just been massively cock blocked.
"I just swung by because of the new Battleland video game has been released." He pulls the game out of his bag, along with two beers.
**
After Sam leaves, I stretch in front of the mirror, brushing teeth. Cupping my hands underneath the taps, I splash water over my face before getting changed.
Quietly, I slip into Isabelle's room where she's reading, already dressed to go to sleep in her underwear and a tank top. I sit myself beside her and she eagerly slots her legs underneath mine. I check my phone for the last time of the day.
"Is it weird for you?" She suddenly asks, collapsing her book onto her lap.
"What do you mean?" I leave my phone on the side with a frown.
"Is it weird having someone that likes you not just because they want to have sex with you?" She shuffles around, awaiting an answer from me. I think on it for a moment.
"Kind of but it feels good." I smile. She makes a happy buzzing noise and beckons me closer with her puckered lips. I give her a long and slow peck. "You know, I've only slept with one person since I met yo-."
"Thomas. It's none of my business." She cuts me off.
"No, but I want you to know. It was on the first night you were here."
"God, I remember." She cringes. "Please stop. I don't want to have to think about that." We laugh.
"I saw you later on that night with the bruises." I gesture to her arm and we both look to where her skin is now tanned, smooth and clear. "And when I saw you in and after the club, things changed for me. Everything kind of clicked."
"What do you mean?" She puts her book on the side.
"It's like my future fell into place right in front of me." She's grinning ear to ear with every word. I lower my voice into a whisper. "I've never been in a relationship before. The idea used to be really fucking scary to me but for some reason, it doesn't feel that bad anymore, not with you."
"You really know how to talk me up, don't you?" She swoons, nestling closer to me.
"No. I'm just always this charming." I return jokingly.
"Hmm, let's agree to disagree." She narrows her eyes.
"I charmed you, didn't I?"
"Nope. It was definitely the other way around." We chuckle. After the laughter fades out, I gaze down at her sparkling brown eyes.
"I don't care how we got here." I hush. "I'm just glad we are."
"Same." She shifts herself around to press her lips against mine. "Thank you for today, Thomas."
Her warm hand affectionately holds my face and she starting kissing me again. She rolls until her body is more or less over mine. Her mouth is soft and smooth as she catches my bottom lip, gently tugging on it.
Fuck.
"You're playing dirty." I groan, wriggling underneath her.
She warmly kisses me again with a chuckle. I wrap my arms around her back, bringing her further on top of me. Her fingers skate down the naked skin of my abs until she can hold me. I flinch as she lowers herself, slithering kisses down the middle line of my stomach. She hooks her fingers under the waistband of my Calvins, shimmying them off.
"Is? Are you sur-?" I'm cut off as she licks up my already aching length and goes down on me.
Her mouth is hot, soft and wet. With a sigh, I push my head back into the pillows, clenching my jaw so tight my teeth could shatter. I don't bother touching the back of her head to guide her.
She knows exactly what she's doing.
"Holy- fuck." I moan, barely able to speak.
I look down my body at the divine sight of her. She locks her eyes with mine as she comes up for air. She flicks her hair over one of her shoulders, spitting on me before taking me back into her mouth.
I drop my head back, tingling all the way through my body to my toes. She feels just as good as she looks – fucking incredible.
It's not long until she's able to bring me to the brink of ecstasy and then I come crashing back down as she falls against the mattress.
"Jesus Christ." I pant.
****
- Frankie Kate