Just like that, Isis’s second year of high school was finished. It was strange. Some moments seemed to crawl so slowly. Then others, she could hardly believe how fast everything was flying by.
Isis spent the first couple weeks of summer break helping her mom set up the new nursery for the twins. Trella was having a girl and a boy, but rather than use pink and blue, they decided on yellow for the room’s theme. The two of them went shopping for wallpaper, cute rugs, and little decorations to make the room cozy.
As she spent time with her mom, they started talking more like old times. She was slowly opening up to her parents, and it was nice. As she watched her mom’s belly slowly grow, Isis was filled with such a feeling of awe. Her problems seemed insignificant when she realized how lucky she was to have loving parents and two future siblings.
She was also spending more time playing the piano, which she had been neglecting for a while. She started writing more lyrics and singing, thanks to Jayson’s comment in Strangerville. It was funny how her parents had complimented her voice for as long as she could remember, but it took a new friend to get her truly motivated. She decided she was definitely taking Music Theater next year.
Since it was summer break, she was also able to stream a lot more and she was making great money from it! Jayson had become a lively member in her chat. Between he and Jackie, somebody was always keeping things entertaining.
Isis realized that her life had slowed down because Jackie was so busy. Spending more time alone brought her back to herself, and it felt good. She loved Jackie to death, but she was always so fast-paced and had a very different lifestyle than Isis was used to.
“Riley Red” was preoccupied with webcamming almost every night. While Jackie was busy sketching and painting more often, for her fashion blog. Isis was happy she had one wholesome hobby. When Jackie wasn’t camming or blogging, she was spending more time with her now-boyfriend, Austin.
She was overjoyed that Austin and Jackie were official. He had slowly grown on her, despite being the one who got Jackie into webcamming. Maybe being in a relationship would give Jackie some stability. She wondered if he knew about Jackie’s stepdad abusing her.
Isis had also been talking to Roman.
Well, texting with him. Their conversations were pleasant and light at first. Then slowly, gradually, without her realizing it… their conversations grew deeper. As did her feelings.
They had plans to meet for lunch tomorrow and Isis had so many nervous butterflies just thinking about it. She really wanted to tell Jackie. She still needed her best friend and wanted to confide in her. She was about to text but knew Jackie would call her immediately anyways, so she picked up her phone and called.
After telling Jackie about their run-in at the park and their texting over the last couple of weeks, Jackie obviously wasn’t thrilled. She said she was only worried for Isis and wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to get hurt. Isis assured her that she felt calm and clear-minded about everything. She was firm when she told Jackie she was ready to see him again, and Jackie had no choice but to accept Isis’s decision. Thankfully they didn’t bicker about it.
When she hung up, she felt relieved! She expected more sass from Jackie but maybe Austin was a good influence on her after all.
The next morning, Isis had checked her reflection in the mirror ten times already but she glanced at herself one more time, finally deciding she was happy with the summer dress she had on. She tucked her black hair behind her ear and headed out.
She took the bus to the restaurant her and Roman agreed on for lunch and when she stepped off, she looked around. She didn’t see him waiting outside so she walked into the restaurant. She checked in with the hostess who told her he hadn’t arrived yet, so she sat in the lobby area. She did her best not to fidget too much but her fingers kept toying with the hem of her dress.
She saw him walking up to the doors and she stood up, telling her heart to act normal. He beamed at her when he saw her and she instantly melted, like she always did at the sight of his smile. As he approached they both realized they didn’t know if they should hug, or?…
Isis wanted a hug more than anything. She was the one who opened her arms and stepped forward.
Leave a Reply