Chapter 12 – Can't Hold Back
Silence was all that was left on the 10th floor corridor, mixed with a sprinkling of tension. Stephen ran a hand over his face and walked back into his apartment, not looking at Cas or Cody. Cas knew the reason behind Izzys behaviour, and it was a lot deeper than not receiving a phone call from Stephen.
"Do you think we should see if he's okay?" Cas asked Cody who was stood looking bewildered.
"He'll be fine. What about Izzy?" Cas sighed, she knew if she went to talk to Izzy she would pretend like everything was okay, put up a front and tell her to go get some goddamn ice cream.
"I will let her cool down and take her some ice cream later." She smiled at Cody, "Come on, we have a lot to see." She grabbed his arm, excitedly dragging him down the corridor for a day of sightseeing.
Meanwhile, Izzy stood in the middle of her apartment. She felt like she just had an out of body experience, even when she wanted to be mad at Stephen she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to touch him. She didn't know what to do with herself, she picked up her blackberry; 3.18pm. It was too early to start drinking, but never too early to eat an entire tub of Ben and Jerry's. She walked into the kitchen, over to the fridge and placed her hand on the door of the freezer; maybe 1000 calories of goodness wasn't what she needed right now. Instead of eating her troubles away, she would run them away; she changed into her sweats and tank top and left the apartment. No music, just the sound of the New York traffic, her breathing and heavy steps on the ground. Izzy came to stop in front the Lake in Central Park; she sat down on the lush green grass staring out at the happy couples rowing across the water.
"Izzy?" The voice caused Izzy to freeze, maybe if she closed her eyes she would be back in her apartment when she opened them again. "Izzy Reynolds?" the man asked again. She turned to look over her shoulder, she almost smiled when she saw Sean stood behind her; he must have put on at least 30 pounds since she last saw him. She stood up, just in case she needed to run again; "Hey." Her tone was impolite, hoping he would get the hint.
"How have you been?" he stepped towards her and she took a step back, the thought of him coming any closer made her feel sick.
"Good. I really have to go." She took a step towards the path, wanting to make a quick exit. He reached out and wrapped his hand around her forearm before she could leave.
"That's it? No nice to see you kiss, or a how have you been hug?" His grip tightened on her arm as she tried to pry his fingers off.
"I hate you." She spat at him, she made her hand into a fist; ready to punch him in the face if it came to that. She did have a lot of built up frustration; taking it out on Sean's face could only help. His fingers were burning her skin as he dug them deeper into her arm. "Let go." She spoke through gritted teeth; he laughed and tried to pull her closer to him. All the emotions Izzy had felt throughout the past week came pouring out; she swung her arm back and aimed at his face. A stream of pain ran through her hand as her first connected with his face, small drops of blood spattered her top as blood streamed down from his nose. He stumbled back, hands automatically reaching up to clutch his face. Izzy ran in the direction of her apartment, her hand was throbbing and her emotions were in overdrive. Her eyes were stinging from the mascara now running down her cheeks; funny looks were being thrown in her direction as she weaved her way through the busy evening rush of commuters. She didn't care though; she just wanted to be home.
She stood in the elevator looking into the mirrors that surrounded her, trying to rub off the mascara on her cheeks with her left hand; she stopped and looked at the bruise forming on her left forearm, then her right hand. She took a deep breath; the adrenaline running through her body was subsiding. The elevator stopped on her floor and she stepped off, turning to walk down to her apartment. She froze on the spot, the sight in front of her made her heart break. Stephen stood with his hands leant against her apartment door; staring at the floor. She didn't want to face him, not after what she had said to him; she took a step backwards, his head shot up as he sensed her movements. His eyes widened when he saw the state she was in, he immediately rushed forward.
"What the hell happened?" she couldn't look at him, instead she moved around him to the door; her eyes locked onto the floor. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she flinched; "Izzy talk to me." His voice was soft and needy; it made her heart break even more.
"Now you want to talk to me?" Her voice was shaky as she was straining to sound like there was nothing wrong, "Contrary to the impression I may have given off over the last few weeks, I'm not an idiot; and I'm definitely not that arrogant to think you don't have a busy, time constraining job. But that doesn't give you the right to play with people's feelings."
His eyes caught sight of the bruise forming on her hand, then the clearly visible finger marks on her arm; he took her top in his hands to get a closer look, dried blood still clearly visible. He looked up straight into her blue eyes, she looked scared and vulnerable. He pulled her into his body and placed a kiss on top of her head as tears started to fall from her eyes. Izzy couldn't hold back anymore, all she could hear were the soothing words coming from Stephen as he led her back down the corridor and up to his apartment. She clung onto him like he was a life support, "I'm going to get yeh some ice for yer hand." He left her sat on the edge of his huge bed, staring at the wall opposite.
Stephen returned to the bedroom and knelt down in front of Izzy, "I don't think I've ever done so many stupid things in such a small space of time." She couldn't help but laugh at herself; she had gone from a successful, confident woman in the city; to a crazy, self-conscious lunatic who attacked any man that crossed her path.
"This might hurt, but it will stop the swelling." Izzy bit her lip as Stephen took her smaller hand in his and pressed the ice against her skin. She continued to stare at the wall opposite, not making eye contact with Stephen.
"I'm sorry I didn't call yeh," Izzy scoffed at his attempt to apologise, but she was soon hushed as he placed his thumb over her lips, "And I'll explain why, as soon as you've told me what happened."
Izzy sighed, she might as well get it over with; nothing she could say would shock this man anymore. She started to tell him about going for a run, then running into her ex; Sean. Stephens jaw was clenched; his hand slipped to the back of her neck and he rubbed slightly. He honestly didn't know what to say, anger and shock were battling for supremacy in his mind; he was actually glad she had stood up to the jerk. Anger had won. He placed a kiss on her lips, then rested his forehead against hers; "Tell me where the jackass lives."
Izzy shook her head; she wanted to pretend like nothing happened. And although seeing Stephen beat the crap out of Sean wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, she really didn't want the situation to escalate anymore. "I can't," Izzy's voice was still shaky; "What's done is done, and I'm fine!" Stephen looked at the mark left on her arm, he needed to let out some of this anger; the gym would let him do that. He would have to wait until later to go though; he didn't want to leave Izzy on her own.
Stephen sighed, "What do yeh want me to do?"
Izzy brushed Stephens hand off hers and stood up, "You don't have to do anything, you're not my boyfriend. In fact, I have no clue who you are to me." Izzy's attempt to leave was soon halted by Stephen standing up and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"I'm someone who wants yeh in my life; I've thought about yeh a lot." Izzy placed both of her hands on his biceps, which was a bad idea. As soon as she felt the muscles beneath his shirt, her resolve began to crumble.
"Why?" He sighed; he knew what she was asking.
"I've never come 'home' to anyone waiting for me, not since I was back in Ireland anyway. I don't want to make promises I can't keep, yer the last person I want to hurt." Stephens' explanation was enough for Izzy. She pushed against his arms; only for him to tighten his grip around her. He placed a kiss on her cheek then spoke against her ear, "I'm sorry, let me make it up to yeh." Izzy sighed then wrapped her arms around his neck in response. She had cracked; but she heard the sincerity laced within his words; his words which she could never say no to.
A/N – Thank you miamitravel, LivHardy and Jose (LY) for the reviews. You are amazing! :D
