"Spare me!" Exclaimed a disgusted Weston and strode away towards his room. For some odd reason, he didn't feel good seeing her tears. 'Who likes seeing fake waterworks?' He reasoned to himself as he stood near the door trying to listen to what was going on in the next room. He didn't want her to leave and just hoped that Hudson was able to change her mind.
After Weston left, Hudson tried his best to calm Isabella down. "You're not going anywhere, do you understand? Don't mind Wes, he's a little immature. He'll come around. Give him a little time, pumpkin," he said, wiping her tears away. He felt bad for the young girl who was still a child and needed a loving home to grow up, not this sort of stress. It must be so difficult for her to cope up with the loss of her parents and then try to adjust amongst strangers.
"I don't want to impose, " said Isabella, wiping her tears away.
"You're not imposing at all. Mom always wanted a daughter and aunt Gloria was her childhood friend, they were very close. I saw how much she likes you and so does dad," comforted Hudson. Isabella felt much better and smiled at him. Hudson ruffled her hair and went out of her room to his. He wanted to talk to his twin before he left for soccer practice. Quickly getting ready, he walked towards Weston's room.
He saw Weston packing up a duffel bag. "What are you up to, Wes?" He asked. Weston scowled at him.
"I'm out of here. I cannot live in the same house as her," he continued stubbornly, throwing his stuff into his duffel bag. The truth was that he didn't want her to leave. It was better that he stayed away from her till she settled down here.
"Stop this, Wes. She has no one in the world. Dad's legally adopting her and she'll live here forever," said Hudson, taking the clothes from Weston's hand and placing them back into his closet.
"And you're okay with it?" Asked Weston with disbelief. Hudson nodded. He liked Isabella, she was a sweet little girl.
"She's just a kid. Just treat her like a little sister. What's the big deal, man?" Asked Hudson with a shrug. Weston gaped at Hudson like he had lost his mind.
"She isn't my little sister and will never be. She is an outsider and will always be whether dad adopts her or not," said Weston. Hudson looked suspiciously at him.
"I hope you're not thinking of hitting at her, Wes. Mom specifically warned us that she's off the limits for us. We're her foster brothers," pointed out Hudson. Weston's mouth hung open at his words but he quickly recovered and shrugged.
"Are you nuts? She's ugly and a dwarf. I hate the sight of her," said Weston, glaring at him with disbelief for even thinking of such a thing. Hudson sighed.
"I'll ensure that she stays away from you, Wes. You don't need to leave home for her," said Hudson, walking out of his room.
"Thanks. That would be a big favor, " Weston yelled after him but inwardly Hudson's words kept repeating in his head.
'She's off the limits for us. We're her foster brothers.'
'I'm not her brother', he repeated again and again in his mind.
Isabella kept hidden in her room just like Hudson had instructed her to do before leaving. She was scared of Weston and didn't want to anger him any further. Weston went downstairs to watch some live soccer match but kept looking up at her door not understanding how she could stay locked away in her room. Later his dad too joined him to watch the match.
His mom sat folding the laundry and doing things around the house. "Where's Isa? She hasn't come down even once. I hope she's well," said Henrietta Gray to her husband when Weston went to the washroom.
"Don't talk of her in front of your dear son. He'll leave home," said David Gray. She nodded in agreement. She went to make dinner while Weston sat in the living room watching the match with his dad.
Hudson too came home from practice. He took a shower and joined his mom in the kitchen. "What are you making, Hud?" Asked his mom indulgently. He always made little treats for them to munch on.
"Tuna salad topped crackers," he beamed at her.
"Delicious, " agreed his mom making him happier. He placed the crackers topped with his delicious tuna salad and took them to the coffee table in the living room. His mom too followed him out.
"Grand, I was just waiting for your treat of the day," said his dad, devouring a piece. Weston too grinned and wolved down two. Hudson had one while his mom too had one.
He picked up two pieces and got up to go. "Where are you off to with two, man?" Asked Weston, eyeing the food.
"I'll just come back in a minute," he said, going up the stairs to Isabella's room. He found her sitting on the window sill, lost in her own thoughts.
"Hey, pumpkin, see what I made for you?" Asked Hudson, going to sit beside her on the window sill.
"You're back? I missed you," she said, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him. Hudson smiled and handed the treats to her. She hungrily ate them up.
"You make delicious food, Hudson," she told him. Hudson smiled happily at the compliment.
"You liked it?" He asked and she nodded.
"Come down with me," he told her but she shook her head vehemently.
"I'm fine here, Hudson. Please don't force me," she said, her eyes going wide with apprehension.
"You can't hide forever, pumpkin, " he told her.
"I don't want him to leave home because of me, " she whispered. Hudson understood that she was talking of Weston. He left it at that.
"When dinner is made, I'll come to get you, okay?" He said and Isabella nodded. Hudson went to his room and she went back to looking at the Las Vegas evening sky, trying to locate her parents amongst the few visible stars shining above.
Weston burned with jealousy when Hudson took the treats to the girl. What did Hudson have that he didn't? He couldn't concentrate on his favorite match even for a minute ever since Hudson went upstairs to her room. He wanted to see what they were up to, he wanted to hear what they were discussing. Were they discussing him? Was it about how horrid he was? He wanted to be the one to be able to make treats and take it up to her but he hated cooking. To date, he hadn't even made his own coffee.
"Mom, why did you teach Hudson to cook and not me?" He asked his mom angrily. His mom's jaws dropped to the floor and she glanced at her husband who too had the same effect as her.
"He was interested to learn, Wes. If you want to learn, I'll teach you too," she told him not understanding how this miracle happened.
"Yes, I want to learn, teach me," said Weston. His mom groaned. She had just finished making dinner.
"Not right now. I already made dinner. Tomorrow morning when I make breakfast, you can come down and learn," she told him.
"Tomorrow is a long way off. I want to learn now," said Weston, impatiently.
"Wes, you can't learn to cook in a day. Hudson took a month to get a hang of it," she explained.
"Well, I'm not Hudson. I'll pick up in a day," he said. His mom shrugged. It was useless to argue with him.
Weston looked up every two minutes at her door expecting her to come down but she didn't. Was she still crying? He wanted to go and find out but suddenly remembered that he actually hated her. 'Why should you go? You hate her, remember?' His inner voice reminded him.
His mom got up to lay the table and serve dinner. "Go and call Hudson. I'm serving dinner," said his mom. Weston nodded and went upstairs. He found it strange that his mom didn't once mention the girl in front of him. He shrugged and peeped into Hudson's room.
"Hud, dinner's served, coming?" He asked. Hudson looked up from his books.
"Yeah, in a minute," he told him. After Weston left, he went towards Isabella's room.
"Pumpkin, come down to dinner," he told her. She got up from the window sill and followed Hudson meekly down the stairs like a scared kitten, every now and then glancing at Weston who sat at the table watching her like a hawk.
"Come, Isa, sit down," said David Gray. Isabella quietly sat down beside him without looking up at Weston.
Everyone started eating, serving themselves spoonfuls of food, heaping their plates. Isabella felt like an outsider. She just took a little of the chicken stew and sat quietly eating it.
"Isa, you're not eating anything, dear. Are you unwell?" Asked Henrietta Gray with concern.
"I'm fine, thank you, aunt Henrietta, " she said quietly.
They didn't press her further. After dinner, she escaped to her room. She had decided that she wouldn't live here any longer. She would go away to a foster home. She would talk to uncle David tomorrow.
The door to her room creaked open. She turned to look, expecting to see Hudson. However, to her horror, there stood Weston with a grim look on his face.
Weston strode into her room looking quite displeased as always. Isabella who was sitting at her favorite place by her window was instantly on alert. She knew instinctively that he wouldn't ever come into her room to do small talk. He was rude and would remain so till she left his house."Why are you behaving like I'm the bl**dy villain here? Do you want sympathy from my parents so badly? You have already sneaked into our house, into their hearts. What more do you want?" He growled at her."I don't know what you're talking about. You don't want me around so I'm staying away," she mumbled, feeling a bit hurt by his allegations."Of course I don't want you in this house but what was the need to put up an act at the dinner table? I don't give a sh*t if you starve yourself to death but my parents would land up in prison if you do," he hissed, angrily. Isabella felt her eyes prick with tears."I just wasn't hung
Isabella couldn't move an inch with apprehension as Weston came to a halt right in front of her. He stared at her with disbelief."You can stay here but remember that I'll never like you. You can never be a sister or family to me. You'll forever be an outsider, a temporary and unwanted houseguest in my eyes," he stated in a tone devoid of any emotions.Isabella felt hurt by his words. "Why do you hate me so much?" She asked with her voice choked and hurting.Weston looked at her, his eyes clouding with confusion. Why does he hate her so much? He himself didn't know. She made him feel extremes of everything, hatred, jealousy, possessiveness, concern, worry, everything and he had no idea why. He ignored her question. He didn't know why she made him behave this way. He didn't want her to call him bro jus
The first thing Isabella felt was his intoxicating smell which made her snuggle more into him. Strangely she didn't feel anything brother-like in him just like she felt with Hudson. The feel of his rough, tanned fingers on her hair felt so magical that she immediately calmed down, acutely aware of his muscular arms wrapped around her. She could stay like this forever!"I'm okay," she said softly into his chest when he kept holding her close.Weston was so lost in the young girl that he had lost his senses for a few minutes. Her soft body melted in his arms and he felt so good that he wanted to protect her and keep her in his arms forever. Her voice suddenly brought him to his senses and he quickly released her as if scalded. What the heck was that? He had never hugged girls before then why the f*ck did he hug this girl who was his enemy? 'To save my a*s from getting punished, why else?' reasoned Weston in his hea
Weston felt a strange sense of satisfaction seeing the tears in her eyes hearing his announcement. "Why do you need to leave home now when you're just months away from your graduation?" Asked his dad sternly."I'll study with Cody, dad. I can't concentrate here," he shrugged."Fine but if I hear one complaint against you or if you land up in any trouble, I won't save you. You'll be responsible for your own actions. Am I clear?" Said his dad in a very solemn tone. Weston nodded."Yes, dad. Don't worry. I'm just going to study with Cody, " he told them."You're letting him go, David? Won't you stop him?" Said his mom with disbelief and a feeling of helplessness. His dad shrugged."He's made up his mind, honey. Let him go," said his dad."I'll keep coming and going. Why are you guys behaving like I'm leaving forever?" He asked, looking disappointed."Okay, go
It was Monday and Isabella was ready to go to school with Hudson. He drove her to his school, discussing the rules and regulations on the way. From what he told her, she could understand that Hudson was the star quarterback of his school's soccer team and as such he was very popular.He parked his car and led her towards the huge school building. Isabella was acutely aware of all the strange looks that she'd been getting from everyone. Each and every student stopped short in their tracks and stared at them."Why are they all staring at us, bro?" She whispered to Hudson. He just waved her question off."Let them," he told her. He led her towards the administrative office to collect her stuff and then took her towards the lockers. "Here, this one's yours, " he said. Again Isabella was acutely aware of everyone stopping to gape at them. She found it very weird. It seemed as if no one had any other work to do than gape at her.After she was
"Hop on. I'll drop you home, " he ordered gruffly, giving her a displeased look. The girl standing next to her looked up from her mobile with frightened eyes. She fled from the scene after seeing Weston."No, thanks. I'll wait for Hudson, " Isabella said stubbornly, making no move to climb onto his motorcycle. Weston gave her a more pissed-off look."Hudson has extended practice for his upcoming match. He wouldn't be available before six in the evening," informed Weston with a sneer."I'll wait till six for him," she told him, bravely. What was wrong with him? He asked her to not acknowledge him at school and when she was doing exactly that, why was he forcing himself upon her? Weston gave her a disgusted look as if he was done being nice to her."Fine then. Stand here for five hours. I didn't want dad after my a*s so I was just doing my duty," he shrugged, riding away without giving her a second glance. I
The next morning an apologetic Hudson drove Isabella to school. "I'll have practice today too. So I'll arrange for someone to drop you home. Okay?" He told her. Isabella nodded, praying in her mind that whoever it was, it shouldn't be Weston. Images of him kissing that girl was still fresh in her mind and it didn't cause her any happiness. It made her jealous and restless as she declined Hudson's offer to walk her to her class."I'm not a baby, bro. I can go to my class on my own," she told him with a grumpy face."I know you're all grown up but please let me walk you to your class today. From tomorrow onwards you're on your own," he said, walking alongside with her.They found Weston sitting at the same spot with the same friends. He watched her with interest while ignoring Hudson completely. Hudson rolled his eyes at him. Weston stared at her for her reaction. Last evening he had seen her sitting at her window watching h
Isabella was embarrassed beyond words. She was just twelve and he was six years older and saw through her so easily. She walked slowly back to where Anna Sophia was waiting for her."What happened? Why do you look like a tomato?" Asked Anna Sophia curiously. Isabella just kept pouring a bottle of water down her throat instead of answering. Anna Sophia noticed that Weston was sitting with his friends but his eyes were upon them. "Never mind. You don't need to tell me. I don't want Weston to catch us discussing him again. I wonder how you're still alive, how he didn't throttle you?" She asked, deep in thought."I think I know why. He likes you," said Anna Sophia after much thought. The water sputtered out of Isabella's mouth at her friend's controversial statement. She coughed and coughed trying to calm herself."Shut up, Anna. Don't say such things, please. He hates me and so do I, " she pointed out, quickly finishing her f