The only job I've ever had before was when I worked at the Starbucks in town with Sharice. It was summer period and I had nothing to do so I impulsively agreed to take the job with Sharice. It was so much fun because of how laid-back it was and I also felt a new purpose in life. But this time things were so different. I had no qualifications to have such a prominent post in this company and I accepted it at a huge cost. Izzie was icing me out and I missed her terribly. Today was my first day at the job and I was a nervous wreck.

"Not much for you to do today. Just admin stuff and I'll introduce you to some people," Mr Stewart said as we both sat down in his office. "What is this job even for?" I asked. "You schedule my meetings, pass me messages, answer work calls, attend to all 500 of our employees," He said and I sighed. "And you want a 16 year old to do all that?" I asked.

"Hey you accepted this job I just offered remember," He said. "I also... have a lot of enemies... to get to the top you can't make friends... you have to deal with them too," He continued and I raised my eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"

"Don't look so scared. There are just some people who are trying to sabotage my company and steal my clients. Just do what I say to prevent it," He told me and I nodded. "You don't seem very excited about this Ms Gardner," He said. "Well yeah... your daughter is still on my mind," I replied. "Alright look, I can't be having you as my assistant if you're gonna keep being distracted. You either resolve this with Izzie or you quit for her and I'll find someone else," He said, getting up.

"Go home Casey. And go talk to her. Don't delay it any further," He ended, leaving the room. I stayed seated on the seat, staring at the empty seat in front of me. I sighed before getting up and decided to walk around his office. I admired the photographs on his table. There was a picture of him, Izzie as a baby and another woman, who I'm guessing is her mother.

They all look so happy... Why would they leave?

I slouched on his seat and looked at my phone, deciding whether or not to call Izzie. My wallpaper was me and her during one of our slurpee nights and I felt my heart get heavy and my lips started to quiver. Right then, a file on Mr Stewart's table caught my attention. It was a brown paper folder sticking out under a pile of papers. I looked out the door to see if anyone was coming before I carefully removed the file from the stack. The big red word "CONFIDENTIAL" was printed on it. I knew it was best for me to put it back where I found it and get out as soon as possible to go see Izzie. But curiosity got the better of me and before I knew it, I was flipping through the file. There were reports with long words on them but the pictures inside were what really caught my attention. I saw Mr Stewart's headshot when he was in prison, the exact same picture Nate showed me at the park that night. There were also pictures of other men in orange jumpsuits. They all looked fairly innocent and it was weird to see them in prison. One photo however had a red cross on it and it seemed like someone had drawn on it.

What the hell does that mean? Is he dead?

At the back, there was a note that was crumpled and there was a pen attached to it as well.

To-Do List
8pm: Pick Casey and Izzie up
10pm: Drop Casey back home
11pm: Carter

Carter?

I squinted my eyes before flipping back to the first page. I took out the photograph that was labelled "Carter" on it. "What the fuck..." I whispered to myself. Was he going to meet this Carter person? But isn't he in jail? Or used to be in jail?

I heard footsteps from outside and I quickly placed the file back under the pile and stood up right when Mr Stewart came back. He looked at me with suspicion. "What are you doing?" He asked. My heart raced as I thought of an excuse. "Um... I just... dropped my phone under your table when I was looking at your photographs," I said and he raised his eyebrows at me. I stood rooted to the ground, praying that he believed me. "Ok then... get out of here I told you to go talk to Izzie," He said. I nodded quickly and gathered all my things before getting out of there.

The picture of Carter's face was implanted in my memory and all kinds of questions filled my head. What business does Mr Stewart have with this man? Could it be one of the enemies he was talking about? Right now, I was in a cab to Izzie's place. I was practising what to say when I saw her but I couldn't find the right words to apologise. Because I can't. There's no way to justify why I did what I did. Maybe I should quit... and go back to how it used to be.

We stopped at a traffic light and I took out my phone to check my notifications. Quinn had sent me a video. When I opened it, jealousy shot through my veins as I locked my jaw. It was a video of the entire track team at some party in someone's mansion. In the back, you could make out Izzie talking to a guy with a drink in her hands and a smile on her face. The message below the video read, "You're missing out on all the fun Gardner! Quit your lame cushy job and come back to the dark side."

I zoomed in on Izzie and the guy and noticed that it was Ryan from our Chemistry lab class. I could always tell that he had the biggest crush on her but that didn't matter to me until now. The light turned green so I threw the phone aside. It felt so lonely right now. Like I had no one to turn to. It's not like I can go to the party and drag Izzie away from the guy. She's allowed to do what she wants. I told the cab driver to go to my place instead.

Everything was falling. And I felt suffocated. It was as if I had relied heavily on Izzie to keep me happy the last two weeks and now without her I simply did not know what to do. I didn't feel sadness or jealousy right now I just felt empty. When we pulled over at my house, I opened the trunk to get my duffel bag and dragged it with me to the front of the house.

Sam, Elsa and Dad were at the table having dinner. "Hey Casey back so soon?" Dad asked and I didn't say a word. I went straight to my room and into the shower. "FUCK!" I screamed, throwing the soap bottle on the floor. "Fuck this," I muttered, banging my fist on the wall. I got another video from Quinn.

Quinn: Come protect your girl!

The video showed the track team sitting down together and having a couple of drinks. Two guys walked to Izzie. "Hey baby girl, your girlfriend not here?" He asked and Izzie rolled her eyes as Penelope pushed them away.

It took everything in me to not go over there and beat those guys up. I know I'm capable of it from the damage I did to Nate's face. But I didn't need another reason to make Izzie mad at me.

"Keep her safe please. And make sure she doesn't go home alone," I replied, before getting into the shower.

Elsa had brought dinner up to my room. She asked me what was wrong and obviously I told her I didn't wanna talk about it. Right now, I was on my laptop, eagerly researching. Along with Izzie, the confidential file on Mr Stewart's table was also on my mind. I had searched Carter on the internet and a million things came out but I couldn't find the one I was looking for. I searched everything that came to my head. "Carter Stewart Constructions", "Carter arrested", "Carter and Devin Stewart" but I got nothing. I was beginning to get frustrated when I saw that it was already midnight. I looked at my phone and saw another message from Quinn.

Quinn: Brought her up to her room and she's already asleep

"Thanks Quinn."

Quinn: No problem. Also it's clear you two are going through a rift right now so y'all better talk it out and fix it before I fix it myself

"I'll talk to her soon I promise. I'm just giving her space right now."

I stayed on the Internet for another 20 minutes or so before giving up, realising that I wasn't going to get any clues. Maybe I'll wait till Monday if I gather the nerve to ask Mr Stewart myself.

Saturday had arrived and I had agreed to meet Evan, Sharice and Zahid at Don's for lunch. I hadn't spent much time with them. I missed them and Newton, the time when I didn't take life so seriously. And then of course I met Izzie and she gave me a whole new purpose. But I just had to fuck that up.

"How's private school been preppy?" Zahid asked, biting on his pizza. "Mmm yeah it's fine. I don't wanna talk about me though, what's up with y'all?" I asked. "Well... I finally decided that I wanna work for NYU!" Evan said and I smiled. "Yeah you look like an NYU person," I said and Sharice laughed. "What about you? What's your plan after Clayton?" He asked. "There's this track scholarship to UCLA that Izzie told me about. So we've been training to try to get there together," I told them. "Oh yeah how is that girl?" Zahid asked and I pursed my lips. How is she? Well I don't know how she's been the last 2 days.

"Yeah she's fine. What about Gretchen? You two still hitting the sheets?" I asked and Sharice snorted. "As a matter of fact we are," Zahid said proudly before sipping on his drink while the three of us looked at each other in disgust. "Oh come on Gardner, you can't tell me that you and Izzie haven't done the deed yet," He said and I shoved him. "Shut up you dork."

"Leave her alone before she slaps you," Sharice laughed and Zahid pushed my hands away. "No but seriously, you guys have right?" Zahid asked and I rolled my eyes. "If you're so curious then yes, we have Zahid," I said, slouching on my seat while Zahid clapped as if I just told him the greatest news ever. "So was it good?" He asked and Sharice and Evan groaned. "Why do I have to explain myself to you?" I asked, biting on the pizza. He continued to look at me as I chewed. I knew he wanted an answer.

"Yes. Yes, it was very good," I said, looking down to hide the uncontrollable blush that was forming on my face. "Ooooo Gardner is in looooveee," Zahid exclaimed, which earned a few stares from the other people in the restaurant. "You are so embarrassing Zahid," Sharice said and he shrugged his shoulders. "All this sex talk made me lose my appetite," Evan said. "Ok virgin let's get out of here then," Sharice said while Zahid and I burst out laughing.

"You're paying!" Evan said, leaving the place first to get the car.

We decided to drive around the neighbourhood and blast music and just talk about our lives because we had so much to catch up on. I got a text from the track team group chat.

Penelope: OMG IZZIE DID RYAN SLIDE INTO YOUR DMS

Quinn: OMG OMG WHAT'S THE TEA

Penelope: Ryan's friend Tyler is in my Math class and he was on the phone with Ryan who was asking him for advice about some girl. So me being a nosy bitch asked Tyler who Ryan was talking about and he said it was Izzie

Quinn: BITCH I don't believe this

Tanya: Izzie get your ass over here right now

Izzie<3: Guys chill I didn't reply him

Quinn: AS YOU SHOULD. CAZZIE FOR LIFE

Tanya: Where is Casey anyways?

The tears that were stinging my eyes fell uncontrollably and I quickly wiped them away with my sleeve.

"I'm here you guys," I replied

Penelope: CASEY beat that bitch up the way you did to Nate

"Who even is Ryan?"

Tanya: WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT HIM

Quinn: It's some guy who talked to Izzie at the party last night

Izzie<3: You guys are so mean he is literally such a nice guy

Wow... that hurt.

"What did he say?"

Tanya: Ooo jealous girlfriend mode activated

Izzie<3: He just asked me how I am. Why do you care anyway?

"Because you're my girlfriend?"

Quinn: Y'all calm your tits

Penelope: Ugh you two petty as hell can y'all TALK.

I turned off my phone and looked over at the three of them who were talking about conspiracy theories. "Well yeah, a mermaid version of you could literally be living deep in the ocean right now," Zahid told Evan. "Who told you that? Gretchen when you gave her those pot brownies?"

"Hey Evan, could you drop me home? There's... sort of an emergency..." I mumbled and their eyes immediately filled with worry. "What happened?" Sharice asked. "I'll tell you guys later I just... really gotta get home," I said and Evan nodded before starting the car.

We drove in silence and thankfully my house was only 5 minutes away. "Hey thank you guys I had a really great time," I said, getting out of the car. "We love you Case. Update us," Zahid said and I gave them a thumbs-up before going into the house.

I was thankful that no one was in the living room. I slid my back down the door before sitting on the floor as I burst into tears. It seemed like every minute, Izzie was being pulled further away from me. I took out my phone to read the new messages on the track chat.

Tanya: Are they both fighting now

Quinn: Y'all be letting some irrelevant guy get in the middle of your relationship??

Penelope: Great they're both not talking now

Tanya: You two better settle your shit or else homophobic Crowley will be winning

It was already 8pm. Sam was probably still at work and I knew Elsa had dinner at her friend's place. Who knew where Dad was?

So I took off. I ran and ran and ran and just kept running. It was cold that night so thank God I had my sweater on. I was wearing shorts but the energy in my legs kept me warm. I thought about Izzie and Ryan, and Izzie and Nate and me and Izzie. I just kept thinking about Izzie. And it made me run faster. The adrenaline high was like a drug that I wanted to keep going back to until I forgot about her completely. I had no idea where I was running as my legs had taken over my brain and I didn't plan on stopping soon. It was dark and secluded and every route that I would usually avoid, I took. I didn't care at that point. There was a floor beneath me and I could run. Then I realised I was not alone.

I felt running footsteps next to me and I turned around. She was clad in her grey trackpants and matching jacket with her hair tied up just the way she was the first time I saw her. She didn't look at me and continued to run and soon was ahead of me. I used all the effort and will left in me to push forward and soon we were head-to-head. This wasn't a race for sure. We just both wanted to be fast. And we both wanted to run. And we both knew why we were here.

Distraction.

Running was our distraction.

I saw the same determined look in her eyes as I always saw during practice and I reminded myself why I fell in love with this girl. It was her willpower and her strength that drew me in so deep and so quickly. This girl has been through so many things in her life and the guilt I felt, knowing that I had added on to that list, was unbearable. It almost felt like an honour running next to her.

So yes, we were both running. But here's the difference. I was running because I was upset about my girlfriend ignoring me. She was running because since young, she has never had anybody to love her or care about her and she spent her entire life trying to build a good name for herself without asking an ounce of help from anyone. I am so damn lucky to be able to have her as a girlfriend to be upset over. And I am so fucking lucky to be running next to her.

And I want to run next to her for the rest of my life.

She stumbled a little after tripping on a rock on the road and I reached out to grab her before pulling her close to me. I didn't even notice that it had started to rain.

But I didn't care. Because all I cared about was her. She looked up into my eyes and I looked down at hers. We didn't say anything for a while. The cold of the rain sent shivers down her body and I held her even closer.

"I'll quit the job," I finally said to her and she didn't move a muscle. "All I want is to be with you."

She slowly moved in before lying her face on my chest. I held her so tightly with my chin on her head. I couldn't see anything because the thunderstorm was blurring my vision. But it felt like heaven. Just like that world with the two of us that I always dream about. I felt her shake her head and I looked down.

"You don't have to quit the job," She muttered. "But I want to. I can't handle you being mad at me anymore," I said.

"We'll get through it Newton. Maybe it really is the only way."

My God how I've missed that nickname.

"But Tuesday and Thursday nights you are all mine do you understand?" She said and I laughed before placing my hand between her cheeks.

I literally have the world in my hands.

"So you and Ryan huh?" I asked and she shoved me away, causing us to both giggle.

"I blocked him," She said, with an adorable proud smile. The rain was now getting less heavy.

"That's my girl," I whispered, putting her loose strand of hair behind her ear before I finally placed my lips on hers. We both sighed into the kiss as we felt all the tension leave our body. It's crazy how one person has that kind of effect on me. When she broke away, I kept my eyes closed until she lifted my chin up to meet her eyes. "My parents aren't home tonight," I said and she laughed. "What are we waiting for then?" She asked as we raced each other back to my house.

When we got inside, Izzie dragged me to the couch and made me sit down on it. "Iz, we're really wet," I said and she laughed. "Gotta take off our clothes anyway," She said, climbing into my lap and pulling me into a kiss. This is what I've been dreaming about the entire day. She broke away to take off her jacket and my mouth went dry as I admired her toned arms. I quickly took off her shirt and noticed the goosebumps on her skin.

"You are so fucking hot," I whispered into her ear, making her laugh which absolutely melted my heart. "I could say the same about you too Newton," She said, putting her lips back on mine as she struggled to take off my sweatshirt as it was stuck to my skin because of the rain. I broke away and tried taking it off but my elbow nudged the TV remote, turning it on. The voice of the news reporter made Izzie jump and we both laughed together.

This was my favourite thing. Laughing with her.

"Babe do you wanna go to my room? Sam may walk in," I told her. "Here's fine. I like the thrill," She said as I completely removed my sweatshirt. She ran her hands down my body and I shuddered at the touch. She used one arm to wrap around my neck and kissed me while her other hand moved dangerously close to my thigh. I started to feel hot and found myself moaning into the kiss, begging her to go faster.

"The body of Carter Denzel was found in the river and is predicted to have been left there the night before."

I immediately broke away from Izzie and she jumped back as I stared at the TV. "Case what's wrong?" She asked and I continued to listen.

"His body was in a garbage bag found in the river and was found during a river clean-up. Autopsy reports say his body was discarded late last night," The news reporter continued. "Geez..." Izzie said.

Mr Stewart rushed off last night.

And that river is super close to Stewart Constructions office building.

"Babe?" Izzie spoke again and I looked at her. "Sorry... I just... got kinda freaked out by that," I said and she smiled. "It's okay. Do you wanna..."

I crawled into her lap and pinned her down, causing her to erupt into giggles. "Where were we?" I asked as I bent down to kiss her.

I spent the rest of the night with Izzie, and thankfully by the time Sam had come home, we had already taken it to the bedroom.

She laid in my arms, softly snoring, her naked body wrapped by the blankets. I looked down at her every once in a while to admire her facial features and it was a breath of fresh air every single time.

But I couldn't sleep that night.

Was it really that Carter that Mr Stewart had written on his to-do list?

Did he kill Carter?

And who the hell is Carter?

Theories clouded my mind the entire night. All that was going through my head was,

What the fuck?

A/N to be very honest i had completely different plans for this book and i wasn't even going to include izzie's dad but this storyline came to me randomly and i just had to write it😭😭😭