Give Me Courage (Give Me Series #4)

36 - Last Night

"Morning," Isaac's kind voice greeted me from inside the kitchen's walls.

My eyes averted from the new message sent from Stiles displayed across my phone screen to my brother roughly three feet away. His body casually leaned against the counter with his legs crossed at the ankles. A bowl of off-brand cereal was grasped in the palm of his left hand with a silver spoon held in his other hand, pinched between his fingers.

A jolt of surprise flashed through my body when I saw he ditched his usual gray sweatpants for light wash denim pants, along with the olive green sweater I bought him three years ago at Christmas over a plain t-shirt.

Dad refused to celebrate Christmas after Mom died. The only reason he even bothered to put the tree up in the living room was to convince the neighbors all was fine amongst our family by strategically placing it in front of the large window. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to grow suspicious of what happened behind the walls of our home.

A secret tradition grew between Isaac and I the day after the popular holiday where we would gather in his bedroom to exchange a few small gifts. I managed to save up enough cash to buy the sweater along with a few of his favorite snacks Dad refused to keep in the house. Christmas was never extravagant, but it was perfect for the two of us.

"Morning," I repeated back to him. "Nice sweater," I softly added with a small smile before it felt from my lips.

My forefinger pressed against the side of my phone until the screen clicked off. I slid the device into the back pocket of my denim shorts as I approached the refrigerator to the right of my brother. There was only a matter of time before Stiles pulled the jeep into our driveway, which barely gave me enough time to grab a quick breakfast on my way out.

Isaac's gaze followed my small actions as I grabbed a pre-made smoothie from the top shelf. The right side of my hip bumped against the door to close it.

"Okay, what is it?" I demanded after a minute of his silent gaze. My body whirled around to face him with the palm of my right hand in the process of twisting the plastic cap off the bottle.

My brother glimpsed down at his nearly empty bowl before he looked back to me. "So, uh..." He nervously shifted on his feet. "What was last night about?"

Blood drained from my face as I sharply inhaled through my nose at the question. The grip around the plastic bottle subconsciously tightened until my knuckles turned white. A deep warmth resembling molten lava spread throughout my veins.

The events of last night left me bewildered. Malia's actions didn't take sense in my mind. She never showed interest in anyone— let alone me. There was a feeling of dread built beneath my skin where I worried I led my friend on without meaning to. Malia didn't deserve this.

"You were listening?" I tentatively asked with my eyes lowered to the floor, voice shaking.

"Thought Stiles was trying to avoid Aiden and me by sneaking into your room, so I figured I'd give him a good scare," Isaac began with a small, careless shrug of his shoulders. He readjusted his position against the counter.

Flashbacks of last night resurfaced in my head like a flood that washed everything else away until I could only focus on the kiss and Malia storming out without saying a word. Would she even talk about what happened? Malia wasn't one to talk about how she was feeling— or known to be so blunt you're shocked by her words.

"When I peeked into your room around the door frame, I saw you two kissing—"

"No, no!" I loudly interjected with my left hand held out in the air in front of my body, cheeks reddened. "She kissed me. I did not kiss her."