Izzy's POV
Checking out of the hospital after two days was a relief, but having to run away upstate and wait out this shit storm was haunting me. It was already hard enough to hear my parents bailed on me, but now we had to go stay in Lorenzo's cabin a few hours away. Lorenzo wasn't sure if they knew where our apartment was or not, but he told us to stay with Brett for the night after packing a couple bags.
They told us to leave today, but I guess Mike and Ash called Calum and told him everything. He booked the next flight out here and was landing at 5, so while they picked him up from the airport Luke and I went with Brett to our apartment. Luke was even able to call the delivery guys who were going to bring our couches and have them come tonight. While I finished showering and packing up as much as I could, he and Brett helped them bring them inside. They even went back to Walmart and got my car so they could bring everything we got in.
It was the worst feeling in the world knowing that we were finally getting somewhere with this place and now had to leave for a few weeks. I ran downstairs right as they unwrapped the last piece, and it was finally starting to look like a home. Brett rushed us out as soon as he knew we had everything, and I reluctantly took one last look at the place. This was supposed to be a new chapter for us, and instead it's just going to sit here and wait for us while we ran away from murderous drug lords.
"I'm having it painted as soon as I can, and I'll see about getting new license plates. You might have to call for that yourself, but I'll see how far I can get." Brett said, helping us throw our bags into Luke's car.
"I can go online tonight and see if there's a link for that kind of request." I told him. He nodded and hopped into his own car as Luke and I went into his.
We drove the half hour to Brett's, following close behind his car. Luke was on edge the whole time, and he kept checking his rear view and looking over his shoulders. I knew he wasn't meaning to, but he was freaking me out more than anything. Ash texted the group chat right as we pulled up to tell us they were on their way with Calum, so I told them we were at Brett's whenever they got here.
Last night we decided that we were all going to go up to the cabin, and maybe treat it as a vacation rather than a prison. None of them had better things to do, so if Luke and I were going to isolate hours away, they figured they could join. It also helped me feel better knowing that Ash, Calum, and Mike were laying low with us, since they were all jumped with Luke in the first place.
I hadn't really eaten in three days, but when the three of us walked into the house Vanessa was sitting at the island with a cake in front of her and balloons in one hand. I laughed at the fact that she set up a little welcome home celebration, even if it was just her sitting there alone. I went and hugged her, and when I pulled back I saw the dining room table filled with food.
"You're too much." I giggled, leaning over to see that she even had the cake piped on to say 'Welcome home Izzy!'. "Thank you." I pulled her into another hug and turned to see Luke and Brett lugging all our bags upstairs for the night.
"Do you feel okay? You look like you're walking with a chip on your shoulder after drinking the Kool-Aid." She chuckled, and I rolled my eyes. I guess it did feel pretty bad ass to survive that kind of thing, but I wouldn't look at it as something to be proud of.
"Jim Jones is rolling in his grave." I smirked, and I got a laugh out of her for it. "I'm fine, though. I honestly don't remember any of it which probably helps."
"Damn, my next question was going to be what it felt like to have a seizure." She joked. I wasn't offended by how humorous she was making this. I was just glad someone wasn't walking on eggshells with me finally.
"I guess we'll never know." I said, taking a seat at the island right as the guys came back downstairs.
"The doctor didn't give you meds, did he?" Brett asked, walking to the fridge and grabbing himself a beer.
"No, he just said to take it easy for a couple days." I told him, and once he heard it he pulled out another beer for me.
"Give it a couple days before you start drinking, too." Luke interrupted, snatching the beer away as it was being slid across the counter. I didn't mind not drinking, so I let him win that argument. He cracked it open and took a sip as he sat on the other side of the island with Brett.
"How far is this cabin, again?" I asked the two of them.
"Only three hours. Enzo said the drive was beautiful, though." Brett said, trying to get me at least a little excited for it.
"Are they almost here?" Luke asked, pulling his phone out to check for himself before I could even answer. "They're parking." He jumped up and went to open the front door right as they were unloading Sophie's car. They left the hospital before I was even discharged so Sophie, Ashton, and Mike could go get bags from their houses, so I bet they were just itching to get out of that car.
"Hey, mate." I heard Luke say, and when I turned he was hugging Calum. When they pulled away, Calum turned to me and raced over to pull me into a hug.
"I'm sorry I wasn't at the hospital. I'm just glad you're okay." He said, kissing the top of my head.
"You're here now. Thank you for coming back on such short notice." I told him as we pulled away.
"Are you kidding? We get to spend a few weeks at a multi-million-dollar mountain lodge, I wouldn't miss that shit for anything." He laughed. I rolled my eyes at him, but the way that he just worded it actually didn't sound too bad. Maybe this would be somewhat fun.
"Ohhh, okay. So, if it weren't for the vacation you'd still be at home. I get it, it's fine." I said sarcastically, making him laugh even more and hug me again.
"It's an added bonus, shithead." He joked. I smiled at him as the others made their way into the kitchen.
"Can we eat, now?" Vanessa asked after introducing herself to Sophie. We all raced into the dining room and took our seats, waiting for the go ahead to dig in.
"Let's make a toast to Izzy. We're just happy to see you home and healthy." Brett said from the end of the table. They all raised their glasses, and I reluctantly did the same. They all hooted and hollered, but the second the glasses were down we jumped into the food.
It was a good final meal before we disappeared off the face of the Earth for a while, and Vanessa out did herself on literally everything. We sat around the table even after we finished eating, and we talked until Vanessa remembered we still had a cake. She cut into it after everyone clapped like children, and we ate our slices. It was an amazing night, and saying anything less would be a complete lie. I was just happy that we were all together and safe.
We all helped Vanessa clean up and do the dishes after, regardless of the fight she put up. It took less than a half hour to get it all done with this many people helping, so we sat around in the living room and switched off playing Fortnite after. Vanessa said her good byes and left to go home, so Sophie and I sat together and talked while we watched the guys fighting.
"It was so surreal when Luke called me. And when I got to the hospital he was in tears, I've never seen him like that before." Sophie said quietly, staring off at the guys.
"He was crying?" I asked. I guess it wasn't a surprise considering I almost died, but he even said a few weeks ago he never cried.
"He was a hot mess, Izz." She finally turned to me and gave me a sad look. I took a second to look at him as he fought with Calum for the controller, and I was just glad I didn't have to see him like that. He was laughing and smiling now, and I wanted him to stay that way.
"We were finally in a good place. Finally moving in together. It's all shot to shit because of this and I can't help but feel like if I had just gotten a drink at Walmart it all would've been fine." I vented, and she just shook her head.
"You're still in a good place. He loves you so much, dude. Even Ashton can't believe how much he's changed. Last summer he was a completely different person." She said, still quiet enough for only the two of us to hear.
"Something just feels off now. I don't know how to explain it." She furrowed her eyebrows at me, but I really didn't know how to elaborate more.
"Did he say something?" She asked, still confused about what I was picking up on.
"No, it's just... I don't know Soph, I feel like he hasn't really been present since we left the hospital." I explained, not sure if it even made sense.
"He barely slept the last two days. Just give him one good night's sleep and he'll be back to his usual self." I wanted to trust her on that, but there were still things that I wasn't sure about.
"He's acting fine with them." I turned to look at Luke again, watching as he played and joked with Calum. He was his usual self with them, but this entire day he's been distant with me. He hasn't even kissed me after all of this, and today he barely really talked to me.
"You're reading too much into it. He just went through a trauma, too." There was no way she could feel what I was feeling, so I let it go and agreed.
There was just something off about Luke, and I couldn't tell if it was just exhaustion or something more. You can tell when there's something wrong with someone you're that close to, and I felt like I knew him like the back of my hand now. Something was wrong, and if it wasn't about me in particular, it was something else. The fact that he was only acting this way toward me was what had me worried, though.
Soon enough, I got so lost in my head that four more games passed. I broke away from my stare down with the TV to see Luke was asleep with the couch reclined at his spot. Ashton and Mike were still playing while Calum was on the floor wrapped up in a blanket, completely knocked out. Even Sophie was starting to doze off, and Brett said good night to us and went up to his room.
I got up and grabbed the biggest blanket I could find, and I brought it back and reclined the loveseat Sophie and I were laying on so I could put it over us. She was finally out cold, and when I draped it over her she didn't even move. I didn't even know what time it was, but when I woke up at almost noon the next day I knew it must have been late by the time I fell asleep.
Everyone was still asleep, so I quietly got up and went to the guest room where they brought my bags. I felt so disgusting after laying in that hospital bed for two days that I grabbed what I needed to shower. There was no better feeling than slipping on clean clothes and combing my hair out, and when I left the bathroom all that was missing was coffee.
I heard that some of them were awake downstairs, so I quietly made my way down. Once I got closer I heard that it was Luke and Calum, and they were in the kitchen around the corner so they couldn't see me. I was about to reach the bottom of the stairs when I actually started to hear what they were talking about. My name was thrown out, and I paused as I unintentionally eavesdropped.
"Izzy's fine, mate. You can't blame yourself for this." Calum said, but by the tone of his voice it sounded like they were almost arguing.
"I do blame myself. She's not safe with me, and I can't keep putting her in these situations. One of these days something's going to happen that I can't fix." Luke was distraught, and I could hear his footsteps as he paced.
"So, what are you gonna do? Leave her? You know you can't do that!" Calum tried to keep his voice down, but the frustration was evident still.
"I can't be the reason she gets hurt again, Cal, I just can't. I fought this hard to be with her and the fact that I can even think about throwing it all away?" I took a seat on the steps after hearing him say that. I knew I wasn't overreacting last night, something was wrong and I had no idea it would be this.
"If you push her away you're not getting another chance. You already put her through hell, she's not going to sit through it again." Calum was right, though. I wasn't going to give him another shot at this if he threw it all away just to 'keep me safe'. That was bullshit, and we both would know it.
"I can't just sit back and watch her be collateral every time I fuck up."
"Then stop fucking up."
"Izzy." Brett called out from the top of the stairs, scaring the shit out of me as I dropped my phone down the last step. I scrambled to my feet and grabbed my phone, turning to see him walking down the stairs.
"Hey, I-" My train of thought was cut off when I heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. I whipped my head to see Luke stopping at the corner, Calum not far behind. He just looked at me, opening and closing his mouth while he tried to figure out how much I heard. Calum just stood behind him looking between us.
"I'm just gonna make some coffee." I said quietly, brushing past them to go into the kitchen.
I put a pot on and sat at the island, the three of them joining me right after. Everyone was waking up in the living room, so the attention shifted to a different conversation while I sat there silently deliberating everything I just heard. Luke leaned on the counter on the other side of the kitchen, and every time I looked up at him he'd look away. We were back to an obvious discomfort, and I couldn't stand it.