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ISAAC'S POV
There was an overwhelming emotion swelling in my chest as I stared down at my lit up phone screen, a stream of messages left unanswered. My thumb twitched to type out another text, before quickly heaving out a sigh and discarding my phone to the side.
I'd messed up this time, I knew that much. The look of fear in Venus' eyes as she scrambled across the floor away from the destruction I caused was etched in my mind. And now she wasn't answering my texts, and I knew she was reading them because she'd gone out of her way to switch on reading receipts, so all that was left for me to do was wait. Wait for her to make the decision to respond to me, or wait to find my own urge to go track her down and figure out a way for us to move past this all.
It was the worst anger fit I've had yet, and I don't know how I was meant to prevent it from happening again. Not when Venus still maintained such a strong relationship with Tom. I wasn't an idiot. I could see he had feelings for her, and she had them too, but his numbers didn't match hers, so she was with me. I know that's the only thing stopping her from acting on her feelings. His palm wasn't tattooed with the numbers to her heart, mine was, and that's the advantage I had over him.
If I didn't have these numbers, I would have lost Venus after our first date when I hesitated to kiss her at her doorstep. Because Venus liked someone who was certain of what they wanted, who took initiative, someone who wasn't like me.
"Isaac?" I was brought out of my thoughts at the sound of the voice, the girl stepping further into the room. She was frowning at me as she sunk down on the couch beside me, her arms wrapping around my torso to give me a tight squeeze. "Anything I can do to cheer you up?"
Glanced down at my phone, still no notifications on display, I nodded in response to her question. "I know exactly what you could do." She lifted her head to meet my eyes, rolling her eyes as a smirk tugged at my lips. "Judging by that look, I'm guessing you know what I'm going to ask for?"
She nodded, heaving out a sigh before yelling, "Mom! Isaac wants me to bake him cookies, do you want some too?" With that, my younger sister hopped off the couch and walked to the kitchen with a new purpose.
Settling back into the cushions of the couch, I picked up my phone, not at all surprised to see the lack of notifications on the screen. Instead, I was greeted with a photo of Vee I took not too long ago, her hand reached out trying to swat the camera away, as a laugh left her parted lips. I could feel my heart sink when the screen faded back to black, yet another reminder that I'd never have that Venus again.
"Still nothing?"
I looked up as my mother stepped into the room, a sad smile spread across her lips. "No," I mumbled, lowering my phone again as she stepped further into the room. I watched as she sat beside me, her hand lowering to rest on my hand, gently squeezing it in what I assumed was meant to be comforting.
It was anything but.
The gentle squeeze of my mother's hand brought a rush of memories back to mind, followed by pain. I desperately tried to meet her eyes but found my eyes instead focusing in on the scar on the left side of her lips. Sensing my stare, my mother lowered her hand, a tenseness filling the air.
"He's locked away," she reminded me quietly, hand squeezing mine again.
"I wasn't–"
"I know that look better than anybody, Isaac," she cut me off with a scoff, my features softening when she shot me an exasperated look. "You haven't been the same since that day, I know that, but you need to move on like the rest of us did."
My brows knitted together as I stared at my mother, her words coming out much harsher than expected.
Move on.
She expected me to move on from something that happened for years? Like one day I was just supposed to wake up and suddenly the memory of my father would be gone from my mind completely, and the indents of scars were now replaced with smooth skin. It wasn't possible, and it seemed like nobody understood that in this family.
Pushing away my mother's hand, I squeezed my eyes shut, a shaky sigh slipping past my lips. "You know I-I can't do that, Mom."
"Isaac, sweetie–"
"Mom." She flinched at my raised voice, my fingers curling around the fabric of my pants. "I can't do that."
She opened her mouth to say something else, most likely something that would only further irritate me, but thankfully, those words never came. My sister slipped back into the room, an apron now tied around her waist. Her face fell as she looked between the two of us before a cheery smiled was forced upon her lips. "Cookies are in the oven!"
For the second time, words were cut off as the doorbell rang, all three of us sharing a look of confusion. Seeing neither myself or my mom making an effort to move, my sister decided to do it for us. Assuming it was one of my other sisters making a surprise visit, I picked my phone up again, prepared to send another text to Venus.
Then I heard the voice.
"Is Isaac here?"
My eyes widened and without another thought, I leaped off the couch, and into the foyer. My sister stood at the door with wide eyes, her head turning back to me as I entered the room. Pulling the door open more, the figure was revealed, Venus stood there with a deep frown indented in her lips.
ONE HOUR EARLIER....
VEE'S POV
I watched as another text came through, prompting my phone to light up once again. I knew better than to reach for it now, seeing as it would only be mere seconds before Mandy proceeded to snatch the phone out of my hand.
That's been my life for days now.
After holding me for hours, Mandy and Tom made the decision that I shouldn't be left alone. Not after they found me in a crying state surrounded by shards of a vase in my office. According to them, I was "fragile" and "needed to be surrounded by friends." I don't know whether I appreciated them for smothering me with so much care and affection, or loathed them for not allowing me to wallow in self-pity like I've been doing for ages now.
My eyes were torn away from my phone when my vision was blocked by a hand, Mandy taking the electronic and putting it out of my view. She regarded me with a frown as she held out a plate of food, which I hesitantly accepted, lowering my knees that had previously been curled up to my chest.
"Tom is coming over today."
I frowned, using the fork to poke at a stray piece of pasta. "I don't want him to come over."
"Vee, you can't blame him for–"
"I don't blame him," I cut her off quickly, a huff slipping past my lips as the image of Isaac towering over me flashed in my mind. "It's my fault if anything." My head snapped up when I heard Mandy's intake of breath, and I raised my fork with the pasta still hanging off of it, jutting it in her direction. "And don't you dare say it's not my fault, because it is. I knew how he felt about my friendship with Tom, and I just threw it in his face." Mandy fell silent, a frown tugging at her lips while I directed my attention back to the plate of pasta. "I had it coming."
The couch shifted beneath me, before Mandy's knee was pressed against mine, her arm wrapped around me. "He didn't have any right to lash out on you for having friends," Mandy muttered, a hand delicately stroking my hair. I remained silent, the plate of food on my lap forgotten as I found comfort in Mandy's soft touch. "First it's small arguments, then it's throwing vases. What if he actually hurts you, Vee? Then what? Are you just going to keep defending him?"
My heart sunk as I listened to Mandy speak, my eyes darting down to look at my wrist. The bruise was fading now, but I still knew they were there. I'd never forget they were there. How could I? The pain I felt as he dug his fingers into my wrists was still embedded in my mind, the dark shade his eyes turned as he watched my brows pinch together in pain, the satisfied smirk as I gave in to his demands in a desperate attempt to stop the pain.
Our silence was broken by a pattern of knocks on the door, my brows furrowing at the weird pattern. Knock. Knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock.
Noticing my confusion, Mandy sighed. "That's Tom, I asked him to knock a specific way since Isaac knows where I live."
My frown deepened as Mandy got off the couch and crossed the room to the door. "He isn't a monster," I called to her, making her pause. "You don't have to protect me from him, he isn't some scary monster. He loves me, Mandy."
I watched as her shoulders dropped, a soft sigh leaving her lips. "We don't know that, Vee."
My lips pursed as she turned back around, continuing her walk to the door. Didn't know what? That he wasn't a monster, or that he loves me? She could have meant anything, and I highly doubt she'd be willing to explain her words now that Tom was here. But I guess that's what she wanted. For me to be thinking about what she said, and the truth it holds.
But I knew Isaac wasn't a monster.
Maybe he caused the bruises that tainted my wrist, and the red marks left on my thigh from lunch. And maybe he broke the vase in my office that my brother bought me. But he was no monster. Because looking past all that, he loves me. He held my hand during scary movies, and he fed me food while mockingly telling me to open up for the choo-choo train. He'd randomly stop and pose when I had a camera around my neck, and he'd always ask how my sister's pregnancy was going. Those weren't the act of a monster.
Besides, all his outbursts were prompted by me.
"Hey, Vee." I looked up from the pattern of the rug, immediately locking eyes with the familiar doe eyes of Tom.
And Tom.
Every little thing Isaac and I have gotten into a fight about, Tom has been involved in. Tom thinks my mother and I are this. I hung out here and Tom was there. Tom asked me to lunch before you got here. Tom loves me more than you do.
Maybe he was the root of my problems.
Maybe Isaac would finally be happy if Tom was out of the picture and we could take our relationship farther.
But would that make me happy?
Would I be happy to just cut Tom out of my life? The same guy who'd laugh at all my shitty puns, and would send food to my office if I texted that I was staying late. Just based off those two small things I could easily say I wouldn't. And Tom does so much more than just that.
I need Tom.
I need Tom more than anything else in the world.
Which is the only reason Mandy's question came back to my mind, a rush of emotions hitting me all at once the moment I locked eyes with Tom again.
"How do you know if you love someone?" I found myself blurting, tearing my eyes away from Tom and to Mandy, missing the way his face dropped.
Mandy was stumped for an answer, clearly taken off guard by the abrupt question. "I, uh, I don't kn–"
"What kind of answer are you looking for?" Tom interjected, putting a stop to Mandy's mindless sputtering. My heart sunk when I met his eyes again, his doe eyes lacking the familiar light that I found comfort in. "Because if you check the internet, it's going to say someone you can't stop thinking about or someone you go out of your way to see, but I think that's far from it." I watched with baited breathe as Tom crossed the room, my heart racing faster with each step he took closer. He eventually stopped at the loveseat, sinking down to sit beside me, his eyes remaining locked with mine. "I think...knowing you love someone is not a feeling, but an act. You know when you love someone. Whether it be thinking in their terms or thinking of their needs as your own. You care for them, take care of them. You love even when you're angry, or when you're hurt. Love doesn't just stop whenever it wants, it's love when you love all the time."
I swallowed harshly as Tom's speech came to a stop, his lips parted as he took short breathes. I couldn't dare look away from him at that moment, not when there was such a strong emotion swimming in his eyes. I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but it made me feel warm, feel safe, and I never wanted to look away.
Taking one final moment to memorize that look in his eyes, I looked away, my fidgeting fingers tugging at the hem of my shirt. Looking to Mandy, her lips were parted in surprise, catching sight of the intimate stare Tom and I had locked on one another.
"You guys just–"
"I need to go talk to Isaac," I rushed out, not allowing Mandy to finish her sentence. That seemed to snap her out of her daze, her eyes widening in shock as I snatched my keys off the table and bounded towards the door.
"Wait, Vee–"
Not listening to either of the two, I ran out of the apartment, only one thing on my mind.
Isaac.
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ROSE'S NOTE!
oh it's been awhile hasn't it?
sorry about that!
it's super difficult for me to write this book because it makes me so sad but i did it ! ( pls remember this when i take another month to update again )
this chapter is a huge turning point ( + next chapter ) for vee as a character, and for vee & tom, and vee & mandy as relationships