[Currently being rewritten and updated chapter by chapter]
Book One in the "Hard Love" series.
It's hard being knocked down. And it's even harder getting back up.
Thalia Carter grew up on the south side of Chicago with a dead-beat dad and never real...
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"Are you hungry? I can do omelets, although you guys are seriously low on veggies. I'll tell Laura to pick some up."
"No."
"Do you want to try studying again, just so you're prepared for tomorrow?"
"No."
"Do you want to try showering again? I can get Hadley if you don't want–"
"Isaac, no," I grit out, glaring at him on the other side of the counter. "Just stop."
It's been almost a week since I got home from the hospital and Isaac is still scared to go into the next room without me. Don't get me wrong, I love that he cares. But if he keeps treating me like I have no arms and legs to do things for myself, I'm going to strangle him with my perfectly good hands just to prove how capable I am.
Surprise colors his features. He pauses from stirring sugar into his coffee. The bastard has made himself perfectly at home the last handful of days. Zoe even dropped off a bag of his stuff. I was grateful to see her, though, and begged her to bring Fallon over for a girls night after she and Zoe get out of school so I could get a reprieve from Isaac's overprotectiveness for a few hours.
Girls night turned into Nate and Oliver coming, too, so Isaac and I have the morning alone while Laura disappeared on some mysterious errand and Hadley sleeps till noon after closing down the bar last night.
"I'm just trying to help," he says softly, sliding me my own cup of coffee. Despite wanting to prove that I can do things for myself, I take it gratefully, letting the warmth of the mug spread over my hands.
"I think maybe you're helping a bit too much." I wince as I say it, realizing how ungrateful and bratty I'm coming off as. "Not that I don't appreciate it. I do. But I'm a big girl. Yes, I got hurt–"
"Thalia, don't do that," he snaps, his eyes darkening as they narrow at me. Now I'm the one who's shocked. I didn't expect him to get worked up so easily, but we've both been tiptoeing around a lot during our time off school.
Well, sort of time off. Isaac's made sure we don't fall behind, having Fallon bring us any assignments or materials we might need and forcing me to sit through an hour of studying a day. Stupid nerd.
"Do what?"
"Downplay what happened to you." He walks around the counter to stand by me where I'm seated in a barstool on the other side. Nudging my legs apart with his own, he weasels his way in, resting his large hands on the tops of my thighs. "That was scary as fuck," he admits, staring me down. "You didn't just get hurt. You almost died. I have every right to be scared."
I take a loud gulp of air. "Yes, I know. I'm just trying to say that you don't need to be breathing down my neck so much–" I cut myself off at the same time as he releases a humorless laugh.
