The night wasn't supposed to turn out like this. I tried my best to pay all my attention to Izzie but it was hard because Nate's text was the only thing on my mind. It was around 11.30 when we had reached Izzie's house and midnight was coming closer which meant that I had to get to the park to meet Nate soon. I brought her all the way to the front porch and she turned around to look at me. "Thank you Newton, I had a lot of fun. Can't remember the last time Nate did something nice for me," She said, ending off with a laugh. I felt guilt sting my heart. I so badly wanted to tell her but I figured it was best if I hear what Nate had to say first. After all, Izzie would definitely not let me go if she found out I was meeting him. I bent down and placed my lips on hers and she pulled me in deeper. She pulled me closer into her body until she was pushed against her door and she had her hands running down my jacket. I was eager to experience whatever was going to happen next but the thought of Nate suddenly came back into my mind. I hesitantly pulled away, leaving Izzie disappointed and I sighed.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked, noticing my clear distressed state. "Yeah... Yeah Iz I just... my mum wants me home soon so..." I muttered, looking down. I could tell that she didn't completely buy it but she simply nodded, not wanting to press further. "Text me later if you're up?" She said, and I nodded with a smile. When she walked into the house, I ran my hands down my face in disappointment. I dragged my feet back to the car and slammed the door harder than I had intended. "Fuck..." I muttered. I was on the brink of having our first time together and fucking Nate had to ruin everything. Just then, I got another text from him.

Unknown: Where are you?
"Chill I'll be there in 10 min."

On the way there, I got a FaceTime call from Izzie and I felt my heart drop again. I wanted to ignore it but I didn't want her to suspect anything. "Hey Newton," She giggled and I nearly choked when I saw Izzie in just her bra and her shorts. "Well, hello there," I said in a deeper voice and she covered her face that was red in embarrassment. "You're still driving? Shouldn't you have already reached home?" She asked. My eyes widened as I desperately tried to think of an excuse. "Oh Elsa wanted me to pick up some stuff from the store," I said. "Hey Newton? I'm sorry if I took things too far just now... you know... just really attracted to you," She nervously laughed. It seriously sucked that this girl thought I didn't continue because of her. "Iz it really wasn't you okay? I just really had to get home before it got too late. I mean look at you... if I had the chance I would be all over you right now," I said. When I got closer to the park I saw Nate sitting down on one of the benches. "Hey I'll see you at school tomorrow okay?" I said, looking at Nate who was staring straight at me. "Alright, get home safe," She said, putting down the call.

I slowly got out of the car. I admit I was quite nervous. Nate didn't scare me one bit but it was definitely creepy that he wanted to meet alone so late at night. "Thank you for coming," He said. "Get to the point," I told him, sitting on the bench. "Alright Casey listen, what I'm about to say I'm only saying it because I have your best interest and heart," He started and I scoffed. "You don't even like me," I said, and he took out his phone. He showed me a picture of a man's head shot. He was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and for some weird reason, looked very similar to Izzie. "What is this?" I asked. "Looks like Izzie huh?" He said and I looked at him in confusion. "That's her father," He said and I felt my heart drop. Her dad is in prison? I didn't know what to say so Nate just continued the conversation.

"My dad is his lawyer. He got out of prison this morning," He explained. "What did he do?" I asked. "All kinds of things. Drug abuse, robbery... got his ass in jail for 10 years."

I asked the question that I was most concerned about. "So... what does that mean for Izzie?" He looked down for a while. "Gardner look, I'm getting all this from a phone call my dad made that I overhead," He said, turning his body to face me.

"You have to break it off with Izzie."

I shook my head and laughed. "Why? So you can get back together with her?" I asked. "Goddamnit, do you not understand? He's going to come back and try to change Izzie's entire life. He's not going to approve of someone dating his daughter, let alone a girl. He's definitely going to make Izzie stop track and make her leave Clayton. I'm just sparing you the heart break and I'm trying to save her from getting in trouble with her dad."

"Where the fuck was he her entire life? He and her mum just left her to grow up by herself. What kind of parent does that to their kid? And now, you're telling me to sacrifice both mine and her happiness for a guy who's just going to fuck up her life even more?" At this point, tears were rolling down my cheeks. I was so frustrated and angry that what Nate said actually made sense.

"Casey, Izzie's life is going to get more complicated. Trust me you don't want any part of it," He said. "I'm in love with her. Even through every fucked up part of her life. Clearly you didn't," I said and he sighed. "Well guess what Gardner? Not everything can be fixed. You'll never understand the complication of this situation so you have to let her go. Just fucking think about it," He said, getting off the bench and walking towards his car.

I felt the tears trickle down my cheek even though I desperately wanted to hold them back. Why was the world doing this to me and Izzie. I got up from the bench and stormed towards the car. Izzie had messaged me with a picture of her laptop screen.

Izzie<3: I'm watching that show you recommended!

I threw my phone, not caring where it landed and properly broke down. I crashed my head onto the steering wheel in frustration and jumped because of the loud honk. I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes before picking up my phone.

"Go to sleep idiot" I replied.

I drove back home and the ride seemed long and lonely. My mind was clouded and I didn't know what to do. Her dad deserves to rot in jail. If he really cared about her, he would have been around when she was younger. He can't just take her from me. It's so unfair. I didn't want to go home. I made a sudden right turn.

I knocked on the door in front of me and crossed my arms. I pulled my jacket sleeves further down to cover my exposed hands. It was getting cold. After what seemed like forever, I was relieved when the door opened. "Casey?" Paige asked, rubbing her eyes. "Damn sorry, did I wake you up?" I asked. "Don't worry about it. Come in," She said and I walked in. I never thought a situation like this would happen in a million years. I liked Paige. She complemented Sam well. But I was never close to her. But she was the one person I needed to see right now. I needed advice from someone who wouldn't be biased.

She handed me a cup of tea which I eagerly accepted. "Alright what's up?" She asked. I sighed in relief after drinking the tea and I set the cup down. I told her everything that happened.

"Wow," She mumbled. I had finally finished telling the story which took about 10 minutes. "So you and Izzie are dating?" She asked and I nodded. "Why is her dad suddenly back though?" She asked and I got up. "That's the thing I don't fucking know. Goddamnit it's so fucking frustrating."

"Casey, you love this girl. And I know how that feels like. I am so in love with your brother. He is everything I ever want in a man. So gentle and calm and funny and-"

"Alright I get it. So what do I do?" I cut her off. "This seems really complicated. I mean, you'll never know, her dad might actually be chill and we can all live happily ever after. I highly doubt so though..."

I felt like Izzie was slipping between my fingers so soon. I actually felt my heart aching. Physical pain. Paige came to sit next to me and gently rested her hand on my shoulder. At this point I was sobbing. I leaned back onto the backrest and cried my heart out. "I can't lose her..." I mumbled. "I've only known this girl for like a week. And she's already my person. She's already my happiness. And I've never felt like that with anyone before."

I turned around to look at Paige but my vision was blurred with tears. "I'm fucking crazy huh?" I asked, nervously laughing. "You're not crazy. Just in love."

The next thing I knew, Paige engulfed me in a hug and I hugged back, crying on her shoulder. "Listen I love your brother so that means I love you too. You're like a sister to me. I think you should take it with a pinch of salt for now. Wait until her dad comes home. Then we'll see what to do. But... don't tell Izzie about her dad just yet."

That seemed like good advice.

The next morning, I woke up with my eyes red from crying. I desperately wanted to skip school today but there was a stupid Bio test. Izzie had messaged me her usual good morning text and I told her I would pick her up soon. When she got into the car she leaned over to give me a kiss. I felt my tension go away for a split second but it returned not long after. "You okay? Your eyes are so red," She said, stroking my cheek. "Yeah babe. I'm fine," I said, holding her hand and smiling. When we got to school, I made a beeline for the Bio class. Usually, I would take my time to wander in the halls and have completely meaningless conversations with Izzie but right now it was painful to look at her. I could tell she was disturbed about my sudden change in attitude but I didn't want to talk about it.

The rest of the day, Izzie tried getting my attention in the most subtle ways possible but I ignored her completely. During recess, she grazed her finger on mine under the table and I pulled away immediately. I knew I was hurting this girl but if I looked at her or tried to kiss her one more time I was going to break down. During last period Geography, I walked to my desk and avoided all eye contact with Nate. "So what are you going to do?" He asked. "Look I'm trying to focus," I said. "I saw her in the toilet. She seemed upset. Did you tell her anything?" He asked and I whipped my head around.

"Because of your fucking annoying ass and her stupid fucking dad I've been ignoring that girl because I know she's gonna be taken from me soon," I said, slamming my pencil on the table which got a few stares. Nate cleared his throat and went back to his work.

Training was surprisingly the easiest part of the day. Since Crowley had basically banned me from interacting with Izzie during training, it was way easier to ignore her. When training was over, I went over to the benches to pack my bag and cool down. The rest of the team had left but a familiar figure came to sit next to me. "Are you going to talk to me or no?" Izzie asked and I continued packing, not knowing what to say. "Casey Gardner." She said firmly, and I slowly turned my head to look at her. "Something's up with you. Did I do something?" She asked and I shook my head no. "Obviously I did if not you wouldn't have ignored me the entire day," Izzie said and I sat down next to her. "Is it because I took things too far with you when you dropped me off yesterday?" She asked.

"I already told you. I'm not mad about yesterday," I said and she looked at me before sighing. "I can't read you Newton. Let me in. What's going on in that head of yours?" She asked. Something overtook me and I leaned forward immediately to kiss her. She was taken aback and her head jerked back as I pushed her lips deeper into mine. She broke away hesitantly and my lips were still grazing hers. "You don't wanna talk so you just kiss me?" She asked and I placed my lips back on hers. I felt her slowly bite down on my lip as her hands found their way to my track uniform sleeve, pulling me in closer. I heard her sigh in please as I tilted my head slightly and brought her closer. Right now, my mind was in a complete daze and I forgot everything that I was upset about. My hands slowly moved to her hips and then to the edge of her uniform before I tried to take it off and she broke away. "Newton we're literally in the middle of the field," She said, breathing heavily. "Do I care? There's no one here," I said and she laughed before moving her lips to my ear.

"Take me to your place," She whispered, sending chills down my spine. "My parents are home," I told her. "Then I guess we'll just have to be quiet," She said, kissing my neck, making me shudder in ecstasy. In a swift motion, I got up, taking her by the hand and we walked towards the car.