Rayston Point Road || Editing

Chapter Thirty-Seven

At some point in the mid-afternoon, I had fallen asleep on Isaac's bed. After our conversation, Isaac had cautiously asked me what I wanted to do next, his brown eyes lidded and warm as they swept over my face while he waited for an answer. When I had told him I wasn't ready to go home, he had offered to let me stay with him, not a moment of hesitation in his words or the soft look in his eyes. He had put on movie on his laptop, an old comedy I had never seen but had shown up as a recommendation on his account, settling the laptop on his thighs as he leaned back into a couple of pillows propped up behind him. I had taken another pillow and folded it in half, tucking it underneath my head by his torso. The movie was completely ridiculous, but I found myself chuckling occasionally before closing my eyes once against the bright screen, falling asleep shortly after.

When I woke, Isaac's laptop was closed by my legs, and the side of the bed he had been on was empty. I stood slowly, walking to his door and poking my head out into the hallway. The sound of distant voices floated up through the massive stairwell and wide hall, Isaac's recognizable, while it took me a moment to recognize his father's. Not wanting to eavesdrop, I dipped back into the bedroom, using the bathroom with the assumption that Isaac's father already knew I was here and there was nothing I needed to hide, before climbing back onto his bed. I sat at the center, crossing my legs in front of me as I scrolled through the dozens of missed calls and messages that I had. Most of them were from Leighton and Dan, although a few odd ones stuck out from Lyla and Lena bout their impending visit, as well as a couple new ones from my mother. I deleted most of them, ignoring the rest as Isaac appeared in the doorway. In one hand, he balanced a pizza box with some napkins on top, two water bottles tucked under his arm. In his other hand, he held a pint of mint cookie ice cream and two spoons.

"Plain cheese," he held the box up slightly higher, "Just the way you horrendously like it." I narrowed my eyes at him as he grinned, amusing himself. "And another one of your questionable food habits." He lowered the pizza and held up the ice cream. I couldn't help the small smile pulling at my lips, but still rolled my eyes and shook my head as Isaac walked over to me. When he neared, I moved over to the side to give him room as he placed the food in front of me and then dropped himself heavily onto the bed beside me, jostling the mattress enough that I bounced slightly.

I reached for a piece as he settled on the bed, offering one to him before taking one for myself.

"What did your dad want?" Isaac raised an eyebrow as he stared at me, chewing a large mouthful of pizza. "He came to check in on us, right? Or me, at least." It was a safe assumption to make. I knew that ignoring Leighton's messages would drive her to confirm my location some other way, and it wasn't too crazy of an idea to assume she would convince Dan to check in with Isaac's dad about whether or not I was hiding out here. For a brief moment, I had worried that she would be just crazy enough to send Dan out here to drag me bag, but I knew Dan's perspective as somebody who married into the Lancaster family would allow him to understand that what we really needed from each other was space. For tonight, at least, I was safe.

"To know that you were okay. And if you were staying."

"Does he mind?"

Isaac shrugged, finishing his first slice in the time it had taken me to eat half of mine. He reached for another slide and his phone simultaneously, as it began to chime repeatedly in his pocket. I watched him as he fished it out, his eyes swiping over the screens changing underneath the touch of his thumb, the digit taping short responses to whatever incoming texts he was getting. The corners of her mouth started to twitch as he finished typing out his message.

"How would you feel about a little baseball? Lewis is challenging us to a rematch tonight. One hour." Isaac's entire face lit up, a mischievous and excited smile on his lips, reaching into his eyes. I frowned a little, my eyes narrowing slightly.