Growing up, Seth wouldn't call himself a wild child per se. Sure he had snuck in the bleachers with a girl or two during high school. He had also put a frog in Mrs. Perkins, his history teacher's bag in middle school and when he got caught and questioned for it, he faked having an epilepsy attack. He raided the school's cafeteria once and removed the principal's wig during an announcement at the assembly. Okay, maybe he had been pretty wild. There was the time he tried smoking too. The coughing had been crazy and he could see why it would be addicting, but he hated losing things he couldn't replace. Like his life for example. And his dignity, he thought solemnly as he walked out of the women's bathroom hearing screams and shouts behind him as he closed the door. His green eyes were wide with shock as he had seen so many unseeable things. Like a woman shaving her legs. In the most revolting way possible. Who even shaved legs in public bathrooms?! Dammit, when he finally found Isab
"She's not picking up," Seth said, an edge to his voice. There had been a few moments of panic in Seth's life before. The earliest he could remember was when he had to wear a cardigan by himself for the first time. When he was six. It had been a long torturous process and in the end, he had screamed for his mom while wiggling around with a knitted black cardigan stuck on his head. The darkness that surrounded him had been terrifying and very suffocating. When he had been caught for putting a frog in Mrs Perkins' bag, the epilepsy display he had done to save his ass was mostly half panic and half acting. The worst of all was when he heard the most awful news that shattered his life and broke his mother as well. It was when the doctors had come out of the operating theater, telling him and his mom they couldn't save his father. It took a long time to understand that the bottomless dreadful feeling that pooled in his stomach was panic. And that same feeling settled in him as he d
"Isabella!" Seth bellowed, kicking at a locked door furiously. He had toured the entire hall and there was no sign of his black-haired, cat-eyed, feline queen. There were so many possibilities and that in itself drove him crazy. She could be lost, kidnapped, raped, murdered... He shuddered at the last thought and silently prayed that nothing like that had happened to her. Or maybe she left. The thought dropped into his mind and he took a break from kicking the locked door. Why would she leave? He had simply stepped out for a while to talk with Mr Goldman who by the way had refused to listen to him and suddenly she was gone. Seth tried hard to think about what he must have done to hurt her or something that must have happened within that period but his brain came up blank. Frustrated, he whipped out his phone to call his mum when suddenly a voice behind them spoke up in amusement. "Well isn't this just appalling? The great Seth Allen, all frantic about a woman, never thought I
Seth stared at the cellular device in his hand in disbelief, his heartbeat raced faster. Around him, murmurings grew, enveloping him in a cocoon of shame, anger and pain."No," he whispered, staring at the video that played across his screen. Isabella was getting into a man's car. And it wasn't just any man's car, it was her boss's car. The wack-ass man who had offered Isabella the job that almost took her away from him. He didn't care if anyone thought he was crazy for thinking that, but he was certain that Dave was trying to steal Isabella from him. And he hadn't been wrong. Dear God, for the first time in his entire life, Seth had wanted to be wrong. His hands trembled as he watched the clip over and over again, unable to believe the things his eyes saw, his hand reached to his face and wiped at his eyes then he stared at the screen again."It's not true." He told himself after a few minutes of internal conflict and pocketed his phone. When he raised his head, he realized that t
"What the hell are you talking about, Mom?" Seth thundered, sleep fleeing from him as he struggled to sit upright in the back. He must have heard wrong. Yeah, it was either that or his mom was saying Isabella had run off with one of his children!"I woke up to Vicky's cries and thought maybe she needed her mom. I went to Isabella's room. She's not there, Seth! She's not there and her stuff is gone! What did you do to her?!" His mother cried. "I thought things were fine between you two!"Seth laughed harshly. "That makes two of us! You're asking what I did to her?! How about what she did to me?! I spent hours looking for her like fucking wimp while she went off with some fuc-""Relax, man!" Nate called from the driver's seat and Seth flipped him the finger."Don't you fucking tell me to relax! I would have died for Isabella and she fucking stabbed me in the back!" He bellowed."What exactly is going on?!" His mom screamed over the phone,
Growing up, Isabella had always had people whispering about her. Her father was a nut job who took pleasure in beating his wife and daughters and loved the sick satisfaction he got from the public watching him do so. Walking down the hallways in middle school had been a chore. People would glance at her and whisper, whisper, and whisper away. It didn't matter that she was innocent. That she was just a child, a victim of an unstable home. All she got in the place of sympathy were whispers. And to survive, Isabella and her elder sister, Irene Victoria, had to develop thick skin. A skin immune to the whispering and mocking of middle school students determined to make a sport of them. She hadn't enjoyed it, however. She had counted the days until they absconded from the bastard's hold and she loved every minute of freedom that came after. But she had to admit, it came in handy. The whispering around her increased as she poured vodka into the shot glasses before her and grinned up at t
"She's not picking up," Seth slurred and belched. The phone clattered as it fell from his hands to hit the bar counter. The two bartenders, a woman who looked like she would have a future in the acting industry, and a young guy in his early twenties, exchanged glances. "We're sorry about that, sir." The woman said, eyeing him awkwardly. Seth nodded, waving his hand. He was drunk and addled and was ready to spill his problems out like a leaky tank. "Oh, it's alright. I just wanted to give it one last try. Just one." He hiccuped and bit his lip. "To see,... To see if she at all feels bad about it all." The bartenders exchanged looks again and the woman promptly raised her hands at the man. "He's your problem, not mine."The young man arched his brow. "Really? You're going to do this now?" They had both watched Seth Allen, the talk of the town in the past few days, walked into the bar with a permanent frown on his fac
"Bella..." Seth moaned softly at the feel of her skin against his. Her lips pressed against his and he sighed, sinking deeper into her embrace. She was here. Isabella. Warm, plush, deliriously sweet Isabella. With a groan of hunger, he slipped his tongue between her lips, entangling hers with his. She tasted just like he remembered. Sweet. And a bit tangy. "Bella!" He groaned, pulling away to rest his forehead on hers, panting heavily. Her brown eyes were hooded and her lips were wet from his kisses. She looked every bit as enticing as he had imagined. Sprawled on a bed, beneath him, her breaths coming out in puffs. Glancing down, he saw she was still wearing the dress she had worn to the ball and smiled. "For me?" She giggled, wrapping her hands around his neck. Her skin soft and smooth burned hotly against his and a frenzied desire gripped him fiercely. "Always," she whispered, kneading his neck and rising to me