All Chapters of CRAVING MY BULLY STEPBROTHER : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

ISABELLE Tyler's text came at eight fifteen. *Seven fifteen Friday, at Corner of Birch and Maine, I found a good place for after if you're up for it.* I typed back yes and put my phone face down. Then I picked it up again and stared at the yes for a moment like it was a word I needed to verify I had actually sent. This time when I woke up, Lucas was already in front of my door. Which had become a pattern I had stopped pretending to be surprised by. I ignored him and went to the kitchen to grab a cereal. He waited at the counter with a different posture. I went to the refrigerator to grab some milk when he cleared his throat. "Tyler texted me," he said. I stopped with my hand on the refrigerator door. "Last night from your contact I assume since I don't have his number." I turned around slowly to face Lucas. "He said she deserves someone who shows up." Lucas looked at his coffee. "He meant it as a dig, I told him to stay away from you." *What the hell, Lucas?*

IsabelleThe sound itself seemed to linger in the very quiet night even long after the impact was over. Tyler had stumbled backward into the railing, his hand gripping the metal to steady himself while a thin line of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. Lucas remained exactly where he was on the floor, his fist still clenched, his breathing uneven, and his eyes fixed entirely on Tyler as though the rest of the world had ceased to exist.It should have shocked me. The strange thing was that it didn't.Because if there was one thing Lucas had always been consistent about, it was his ability to turn every situation into a disaster.Tyler slowly touched his split lip before looking down at the blood on his fingers."You know," he said, shaking his head, "I had a lot of predictions about how tonight might end, but getting punched by my teammate wasn't one of them."Lucas said nothing as Tyler addressed the situation, I just stood there, ready to leave."What exactly was your plan he

ISABELLE*Yes,* I wrote.A smile formed on Tyler's face. "I'll sort out the details, and text you by Saturday," he said. He walked ahead to hold the door and I followed him in and told myself the tight feeling in my chest was just nervousness.Saturday came clear and cold. I got dressed without thinking too hard about it. Jeans, a cream knit, boots I could actually walk in. I looked at myself once in the mirror and left before I could start overthinking.Lucas's door was closed when I passed it.I went downstairs and Lily was at the counter. "Where are you off to?"*Out with Tyler.* I wrote with a smile.She smiled with warmth she reserved for evidence that I was functioning like a normal person. "Have fun, and I mean it Izzy."I nodded and went to the door, even though I couldn't stop wondering why she winked and emphasized on the fun.Tyler was already at the corner when I got there, hands in his pockets, breath visible in the cold. He saw me and raised one hand in a half wave that

ISABELLEI just stared dumbfounded. What was happening? I thought to myself. I had never been asked out on a date before. I looked at him for a long moment.Then I wrote. *I don't know what to say or do,*“Just say yes or no,” *Yes, Tyler.* Tyler read it, a smile expressed across his face. "Yeah?" he said.*Yes,* I mouthed and nodded so there was no ambiguity.He exhaled once, like he had been holding something for a while and had finally put it down."Okay…okay good. I am sorry I'm just really nervous."I shook my head at the ceiling. *You planned that whole speech and okay good is the follow up.*"I used everything in the speech, I had nothing left. Give me a minute to calm down from this raging excitement."I gave him the look, he smiled properly. He stepped forward and put his arms around me, then I let myself lean in slightly because it was cold and he was warm and I was tired of holding everything at arm's length.Things spread at a campus where everyone's business was every

ISABELLE“You matter to me, you know that right?” Tyler walked up to me and said. I hadn't been with him all afternoon, so I stared at him."Right?" he said.I nodded slowly.The week moved differently with Tyler in it officially.He walked me to the first period everyday while we held hands. He remembered that I didn't like the coffee from the east building machine and brought one from the place on the corner instead. When Ms. Carver asked the class a question and looked in my direction. He casually answered and gave me exactly the right amount of time before the attention moved elsewhere.Small things, the kind that accumulated without making noise.After the class, we sat outside on the steps behind the arts building because the weather had turned unexpectedly mild and neither of us wanted to be inside. He had his notes, I had my reading. We worked in a comfortable parallel without filling the silence with anything it didn't need.At some point he looked up."Can I ask you somethin