Mended

21

Ethan's POV

I stepped away from the window as I spotted Alastair and Izzy making their way back, the former's arm wrapped around the latter. My jaw clenched as I spun around and stalked back towards the living room, my mind racing as I tried to figure out what that whole thing could've been about.

My attention found Caleb's face as I settled back against my previous spot, taking notice of his pale skin and slightly red-rimmed eyes. His gaze lifted to meet mine and I instantly looked away, schooling my features.

Something was wrong.

At first, when they'd entered the apartment initially I'd figured therapy had been difficult today and that was the reason behind their defeated demeanors. But Izzy leaving with Alastair had confirmed that something else had happened.

"Ethan."

Realizing I'd zoned out, I directed my attention to Kaiden when I noticed he was calling me.

"Get me a beer," he ordered.

"Me too," Sophia added casually as she reclined back against the couch, mindlessly playing with a strand of her long dark hair as she watched TV.

I scoffed. "No."

"Please," Sophia pleaded.

"Fuck off."

Kaiden started to speak, but I tuned him out as the front door opened. I straightened and immediately caught Izzy's eye as she returned. When her gaze met mine, I instantly knew that she'd been crying. Her usually smoke grey eyes were glassy and bloodshot, and her skin was drained of all color.

Alastair walked in behind her. He was better at masking it, but his own features still looked grim. I noticed how his attention drifted over to Sophia. His eyes bore into the side of her face until she felt the weight of his stare, and twisted her head over to meet it.

A look that I couldn't decipher passed between the two of them, and for a brief moment, I was distracted by wondering how close they truly were.

The thought quickly vanished when Alastair's head subtly flickered towards Izzy, who was oblivious as she claimed the seat between Kaiden and Caleb. Alastair held Sophia's concerned gaze for one more moment, before he stalked off, claiming he needed to take a phone call. Sophia's brows furrowed as she watched him leave.

"I'll be right back," she muttered quietly, before she stood up and followed in the direction Alastair had gone.

A few seconds later, Caleb stood up. "I'm gonna go shower," he murmured, not making eye contact with any of us as he practically fled the room.

Izzy's eyes trailed Caleb's back until he completely disappeared.

"How was it?" Kaiden asked izzy, throwing his tattooed arm around her shoulders as he questioned her about the motorcycle ride that I knew hadn't happened. I watched her every move carefully, all the bones and muscles in my body feeling like they were on edge.

"How was what?" She murmured hoarsely, resting her head against Kaiden's chest as she curled up against him.

Kaiden's gaze narrowed as he glanced down at her, before it lifted to meet my gaze. We shared a brief moment of eye contact before he looked down at Izzy again.

"You tell me," he said, his voice suddenly hard as it was obvious that he was now suspicious of something too. I wasn't surprised. His instincts were just as good as mine, except he was more of a master at hiding what he observed than I was. While I had a tendency to explode, Kaiden was always silent with what he saw.