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Dedication: Reachingformorex for the amazing cover! Thank you xx

Recap:

Then it dawned on me. There was someone who told him. Of course.

"Sadie?" the voice asked. "Is that you?"

Slowly, I pivoted, coming face to face with him.

"Hey Isaac."

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"Long time no see," he said quietly, his mossy green eyes, quite similar to his brother's, stared intently into mine.

I nodded slowly, my throat suddenly feeling dry.

"How have you been?" he asked after I only answered him with silence.

"Coping, you know," I shrugged, my eyes feeling moist.

Staring at him made me feel like my heart was about to shatter inside my chest. Which was impossible, because it's already been shattered beyond repair.

His strong jaw line, his sleek skin, his stylishly messy hair. They were all factors of Casey that I adored. And it hurt seeing a younger version of him look at me, when I know that I will never see the other one again.

"I do know," he said softly. "How much longer have you got to go? I was hoping we could go for a walk. Get a coffee or something."

"Probably an hour or so left."

"Let's meet down town, at the bank. We can find somewhere to go from there."

"Sure," I said, my voice hoarse.

I ducked my head, gripping my trash pick too tightly.

"Sadie," he said, after he turned.

I looked up.

"It's nice to see you again."

***

I refused to look at him.

It hurt too much. Instead, I focused on the plate of chocolate cake in front of me.

"Aren't you going to eat?" he asked, with his mouth full of his own cake.

"Not hungry," I muttered, pushing the plate from me.

"Do you eat properly?"

I shrugged. "Why?"

"The Sadie I remember could eat five tacos in about two minutes. You're the thinnest I've ever seen you."

"I must eat enough, I don't pass out."

"Gee, that's good," he rolled his eyes. "What's with the attitude? Not interested in talking to me anymore?"

"This is my attitude all the time," I sighed. "I'll never be the same."

He was silent for a few moments. "I know. Me too."

I reached out and took a sip of my water.

"You know, I've spent a lot of time hating you."

I choked on my water. I slapped my chest roughly as my eyes burned. His face remained impassive as he stared at me. I ignored the stares around us and blinked at him, waiting for him to say the he was joking.

He didn't.

"Why would you hate me?" I asked cautiously, frowning at him.

"You left without a word. We were your family, Sadie. Don't you think losing Casey was hard enough? We couldn't lose you, too."

My stomached tightened uncomfortably. "Sorry I wasn't thinking of hurting your feelings when I was trying not to commit suicide to be with him."

He took a sharp, intake of breath.

"How dare you say that." he growled. "After what Casey put us all through, you wanted to do the same?"

"Look, Isaac," I snapped. "I wanted to end the pain and the suffering. It was so unbearable. I just wanted it to be over. I was in an awful, dark place. And if you're going to sit here and lecture me, like others have, then you can go and fuck off. Because I'm not hearing it."

I stood abruptly, wanting to do something dramatic, like throw my glass of water at him, but decided against it.

"Hey!" he snapped back, standing. "Sit down. I'm not finished."

"Why, you want to lecture me some more? Push me over the edge?"

"I was about to say, before I remembered you were closer to him than I was. And it would have affected you differently. Because you were in love with him."

Blinking back tears, I sat heavily down. "You loved him, too."

"Different kind of love."

"I'm sorry for leaving. But I couldn't stay."

"I understand why you left. Doesn't mean it hurt any less," he murmured softly, a tear slowly falling down his cheek.

I bit my lip, to stop it quivering.

"Can I get you anything else?" a lady asked in a far-too-cheery voice, considering the topic Isaac and I were discussing. She paused, realising something was wrong. "I'll just come back later..."

I bit my fist and glared out the window, attempting to keep myself together.

Finally, when I felt I was stable enough to form a proper sentence, I asked him something I probably shouldn't have.

"Why the hell are you dating a bitch like Amelia?"

I probably could have asked in a nicer way.

He stared at me in surprise. "What is your problem with her?"

"Just the fact that she has bullied me relentlessly and even hit me."

"You hit her first."

"I'm not talking about last week. I'm talking about when she and her two minions cornered me in the bathroom at school and hit me." I barked, my voice icy.

"She what?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Don't act like you don't know. You're dating the wrench."

"I promise I didn't know. Why would she do that?"

"Beats me, I hardly know her."

"Oh," he suddenly said. "Well, I was pretty angry with you. She probably did it because of..."

"Because of what?"

"I kind of went off," he admitted. "I saw a photo of you on the Splendour facebook page, kissing some guy. I got pissed. Said some things I shouldn't have said. Amelia was probably just going after you as some form of payback, for me."

"I was off my face on drugs at Splendour. And this happened before Splendour."

"What?"

"I'd finished class-"

"You took drugs?"

"Oh," I said. "Er- I was just starting to get back on track and I just went out of control again."

"Casey would kill you if he knew what you did."

"I know," I whispered brokenly. "He would never forgive me."

He made a sound at the back of his throat and shook his head. "That's very disappointing, Sadie."

"You don't need to tell me."

"Who was the guy anyway? Amelia says he goes to your school. And you're dating."

I rolled my eyes. "I can never date anyone, ever. But it was just nice to have someone actually pay attention to me for once. I let myself get carried away, thinking I could be a normal person and have normal relationships. Turns out he's just an asshole."

"Like Casey," Isaac said.

"Like Casey," I agreed with a wan smile.

Both of them lead me on.

"He was a dick to string you along like that. For so long." he said, shaking his head.

"He was. But I was so in love with him, I didn't care."

"I wanted to date you so bad," he grinned.

I froze. Not because of what he said. But because that smile was Casey's. And it made me want to scream.

"Really?" I forced out, dropping my gaze.

"Knew I didn't stand a chance. You were hot, into my brother and older."

"And now you're dating someone my age. You've done well."

"Amelia is my age at the moment, she's 18 in October. You had to repeat, remember?"

"Oh," I said softly. "Yeah I forgot."

"Dork."

"You are."

"You were first."

Typical Isaac. He hasn't changed.

"How the hell did you even meet Amelia?" I asked.

"We moved, too," he said. "You would know that if you bothered to communicate to us."

"Thanks for making me feel worse, Isaac. I'm really enjoying it."

"Sorry, I had to," he laughed. "But yeah, turns out we're not that far from you. If you live in town, anyway. I met Amelia at a party. We hooked up, I got her number. We started dating a week later."

"How romantic."

"Bite me."

"I would, but then I would have to get a tetanus shot," I teased.

"Probably already need one from attending Splendour," he pointed out.

"Touche."

"I hear you've made some friends? That's good."

I half-shrugged. "Yeah. They're nice. How about you?"

"Yeah, most of my mates and I lost touch. I went a bit AWOL. That's why we thought moving could be a nice change."

"Yeah, same."

"But we did try to contact you. No social media and you changed your number?"

"Yes and yes. For obvious reasons."

"Still not happy about that, but okay."

"Isaac, I was completely out of control. I was in and out of hospital more times than one should experience in a life time. By the time I felt somewhat okay, it was so much time later, that if I contacted you, I was risking ruining all the progress you had made in getting better. It just turned out this way."

"It's okay, I understand now. I'm just glad we've had a chance to clear the air."

"Me too." I agreed. "Can you tell Amelia to back off now?"

He chuckled. "Sorry about that. She is quite protective of me."

"I'm serious, I won't hesitate to punch her again."

"I don't doubt it. I'll talk to her."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"You know, I have missed you." I sighed. "It hurts to look at you, but I really have missed you."

"I've missed you too, Sadie Bonadie."

"Don't start with that hideous nickname again," I groaned.

"I still think it suits you."

I gave him a deadpan stare.

"Even when you do that," he grinned toothily.

I found myself leaning towards him. I gripped his hand tightly in mine, my heart beating steadily in my chest.

"Let's promise to never leave each other again."

"I promise," he whispered back, smiling at me.

And for the first time, in over a year, I gave him a true, genuine smile back.

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What do you guys think of Isaac?

Do you think it was good for her to see him?

What do you think of Amelia now? Was she in the right to go after Sadie because of how Isaac felt, or do you feel she is still in the wrong?

Please let me know what you think and vote if you liked it! :-)