The drive to my house was so thrilling and I felt my heart beat a million times faster. Izzie gave me gentle but dominant touches here and there and it was so damn inviting. "Newton, you look so beautiful today," She whispered, twirling my hair between her fingers. "Goddamnit, can this thing go any faster," I said and she laughed. When we turned the corner, my house was in sight and I got excited. Then, I saw Elsa in the garden. "No, no, no, no..." I muttered. "Casey, I told you we'll be quiet," She giggled and I turned to look at her. "Both you and I know that ain't happening," I said and she blushed. "Come on, let's just go to your house," I whined. "But my house is so boring," She argued and I rolled my eyes. "Fine.." She groaned.

We reached Izzie's not too long later and the moment I put the car in park she leaned over and pulled me in for a kiss. When she broke away, she stared deep into my eyes and I did the same. "You're so beautiful," She whispered, carassing my cheek. I kissed her palm before we both got out of the car. I took her hand in mine as we both walked towards her house. She had me against the front door and I looked down at her as she fumbled in her pockets to find her keys. Her frustration at not being able to take them out of her pocket made me laugh. "What Newton?" She asked rolling her eyes. "Nothing, you're just adorable," I said and I saw a small smile form on her face. She finally got her keys out and she started to kiss me with more passion as she unlocked the door.

The moment we entered, we heard a bunch of unfamiliar voices which made us break away. We turned around in shock to see a bunch of men in suits and they were all gathered in different areas of the house. Izzie turned around to me in confusion and I shrugged my shoulders. "Ummm... what is this?" Izzie spoke and everyone looked up, realising that we were there. "Izzie!" A man exclaimed, walking towards us. He wrapped Izzie in a hug and closed his eyes. The moment I saw his face my heart dropped and I felt like the world around me was crashing. When he let go of her, she looked at him in confusion as he still had his hands on her shoulders. "Ummm... do we know each other?" She asked and all I could do was stand there and watch everything unfold. "It's me sweetheart. Your dad," He finally said, hugging her again. I saw Izzie's entire being tense up in an instant.

"D..dad?" She mumbled and he nodded. "I'm sorry I haven't been around. But look at you, you're all grown up!" He said. "Grown up? You haven't seen me since I was 4!" She yelled back. I wanted to go towards Izzie and hold her hand and maybe bring her somewhere far, far away but right now I stayed rooted to the ground. "And who the hell are these people? Why are they in my house?" She asked. "They're my lawyers darling. I... I spent some time in jail..." He mumbled. "Jail?! For what?!"

"Does that matter sweetheart? I'm here right now aren't I? We can finally be together," He said walking closer to hug her and she stepped back. "I am not your sweetheart. Don't contact me ever again. Get out of my house!" She yelled. "And who is this young lady here?" He asked, turning his attention to me. Before I could open my mouth, Izzie thankfully cut me off. "Don't answer him."

"Why do you care who she is? It's not like you care about my life anyways," She scoffed. "Baby please I can explain everything," He begged and before I knew it Izzie was taking my hand and dragging me out of the house. "Iz, where are we going?" I asked and she didn't say a word. Soon, we ended up across the road at her bakery. She dragged me up the stairs and we ended up on what I'm guessing was the rooftop. "Izzie, please. Just talk to me," I said, breaking away from her grip. "Talk to you?! Didn't you just see what happened?" She yelled and I stood there, unable to move and unable to go towards her and hug her and tell her that everything was going to be ok. Because quite frankly, I didn't think everything was going to be ok either. It all became so real now. When I saw him hug her and the way they resemble each other so closely. It felt like such a dream... or a nightmare. My entire relationship with Izzie just took a huge turn.

She ran her hands through her hair and looked out into the horizon, as the sun started to set. "He didn't need to come back... I don't need him..." She mumbled. "Hey... you can stay at mine tonight okay?" I told her and she turned around. "I can't be staying at yours for the rest of my life, can I? I don't have a choice. He's going to be my sole caretaker now," She choked on her tears. "We don't have to think about the future right now. Let's just get through tonight," I told her, taking her hand. Her face softened for a second but she yanked her hand away to my surprise. "It's all becoming real now huh? You're finally seeing how broken I am..." She chuckled lifelessly. "Izzie Stewart, I already told you. I'm in it for every high and every low. As long as I'm with you..." I whispered, bringing her close to me. I felt her tears soak my shirt but I did not mind one bit. "This is so sudden. I had no warning," She mumbled and my heart instantly started to sting with guilt. My mind raced back to my conversation with Nate.

"Izzie?" I whispered and she looked up at me. "I... I have something to tell you..." I said and she let go of me but still had my hands in hers. "Okay, what's up?" She asked, wiping her tears. I looked at the floor and fumbled with my fingers. "Newton?" She said and I looked down, nearly forgetting that she was standing there. "I... I kinda knew that..." My voice broke as I felt tears roll down my cheeks. This time she looked at me with more concern.

"Tell me," She mumbled and I looked at her. "I... I kinda knew that... your dad was coming back and... I just... I didn't know how to tell you," I said, sniffling as the tears started to come in like the tide. I didn't dare look at her but she didn't say anything. I knew she wanted an explanation. "That night... when we were at the drive-thru I got a text... from Nate... he asked me to meet him at the park so I did that's why I was being super weird during the phone call and I didn't stay at your place longer... when I got there he told me he knew about your dad's release because his dad is your dad's lawyer and..." I fell to my knees and broke down.

"Izzie he's probably going to take you out of Clayton. And he's definitely not going to approve of me," I said. "So? I don't need his approval," She yelled. When I heard the anger and pain in her voice I cried harder to the point that it was hard to breathe. "You weren't going to tell me?" She asked and I stayed quiet. "What happened to being a team huh? What happened to me being your favourite person? Is this why you were being so fucking awkward this entire day?" She spewed out questions. I knew she wanted answers but to be honest, I didn't even know the answers myself.

"I really don't know what came over me... Izzie I swear I would have told you it's just... if I did it would be so real. What if I never see you again?" I cried. Her posture softened for a second. She turned away from me and walked to the edge of the rooftop, laying her hands on the edge. "Izzie please just say something. Anything. Don't do this to me," I begged and she turned back around. She was crying again.

"Ok, let's say he does take me out of Clayton and he doesn't let you see me anymore. Then what?" She questioned me. "I'm going to fight for you," I replied and she nodded. "Exactly, you're going to fight for me so why are you so fucking scared?" She asked and now her face was inches away from mine. "Because what if that's not enough!" I yelled startling her. "What if I don't fight hard enough?" I asked her. "He doesn't need to be in my life Casey."

"But he is. We have to accept that," I said and she bent her head down, pursing her lips together. "Please Iz, just stay at my place tonight."

That night, we went back to my place together. I had messaged Elsa to not bring up anything about why Izzie seemed so upset so when we walked in, Elsa said a simple hello and let us go into my room. When Izzie walked in she stared at my bed for a while and she seemed unsure of what to do. I rummaged through my closet and found her favourite hoodie of mine and tossed it to her. "Change into something comfortable," I said and she held the hoodie close to her chest. I jumped into the shower and allowed myself to be engulfed in my own thought as the water ran down my body. I closed my eyes and imagined Izzie and then her dad and then the thought of her dad taking her from me.

When I got out of the shower, I saw Izzie lying on my bed, her back facing me. She was curled up and I couldn't tell if she was asleep. "Izzie? You want something to eat?" I called out, hoping she would be awake but there was no response. I sighed and went back downstairs to the kitchen to find some food I could eat. Thankfully, Elsa and Sam were already in bed so I didn't need to deal with any questions about why Izzie and I walked into the house with lifeless expressions on our faces. I heard my phone ring and I picked it up, seeing that it was a FaceTime from Sharice. "Hey girl!" She greeted and I forced a smile. "I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever," She said. "Yeah, Clayton's really been taking up all my time," I replied and she nodded. "You okay? You seem a little upset," She said. Sharice always knows when something's wrong. "Nope. I'm good, just really tired. I spent the whole day studying for a stupid test tomorrow," I said, trying to lie my way out of this. "Aw okay. Anyways we should really hang out soon. Bring Izzie too! She's so much fun," Sharice said and I had to purse my lips to control myself from crying. "I will," I replied and waved bye to her before ending the call. I found some leftovers from dinner which I stuffed into my mouth before heading back upstairs.

Izzie was still in the same position and I leaned against my door frame to stare at her. There was no way she was sleeping. I got into the bed and crawled next to her. I laid down next to her, and wrapped her in a hug with my face between her cheek and her shoulder. She started crying again. My grip around her hands tightened and I felt like I was holding her from falling. So I held on tight. She turned around and clutched on the collar of my hoodie, bringing me closer to her so that she could cry. "What does this mean for us Newton?" She whispered and I thought about it for a while. "I don't know. What I do know though is that you're mine. Even if you're not with me physically," I replied and I felt her arms wrap around my neck. "This hoodie smells like you," She said, giggling at the end through her tears. I saw her laugh for the first time today and my heart immediately melted.

"I love you Izzie Stewart."

"I love you too Casey Gardner."