Beth

I don't dare look at Isaac. There's no way I can keep up the pretense that I still like Peter if I do, especially in the wake of Sophie's shocking news. I can barely wrap my mind around it. Sophie and Cole together? I would have never have guessed my innocent request to visit her in the hospital would have led to this. And yet, despite the differences between them, there's something that feels right about it.

For my part, I feel an overwhelming sense of relief. It's incredible to think Isaac and I don't have anyone standing between us anymore!

No one except Peter, since I have to pretend to like him. He has his arm wrapped around me and I am completely creeped out knowing how deeply he betrayed me. I don't understand how he can pretend he wants to be with me after everything he's done. I glance over at Selena discreetly and notice she's watching Peter and me with a smug expression. It won't last. When she tries to install the virus again, we'll catch her on video and she will be kicked out of the competition.

David's secretary, Claire, brings in a big sheet cake that reads "Welcome Home, Sophie" in loopy, red letters on the top. I ask Peter to bring me a slice of cake and at last, he removes his heavy arm from my shoulders.

Now that Peter's gone, I finally dare look for Isaac. I scan the Fishbowl, but I don't see him anywhere.

My phone beeps. It's a text from Isaac, and it's long.

I can't stand it anymore. Why are you with Peter when I'm standing right here? Why won't you look my way? Did our kiss mean nothing to you? It meant everything to me. I am burning to be with you. I know I have been thoughtless in my love at times, that I have caused you pain that I will always regret. Please, let me make it right. Let me prove myself. I offer myself to you with a heart more deeply yours than ever. You and I belong together. There is no one else that can be to us what we are to each other. These past ten years, I have suffered without you by my side. Tell me it's not too late, that you still have feelings for me, that I still have a chance to win your heart. That, or give me the final word that we are finished, and I swear I'll never bother you again.

I am astonished by what I read, overwhelmed by my emotions, agitated in one moment, thrilled in the next. I'd been so focused on deceiving Peter, I didn't even think about how guilty my actions must look to Isaac! Clearly he sees me accepting Peter's attention as a betrayal. Of course he would! Who wouldn't?

"Here's your cake," Peter says.

"I need to go. I'll see you later, okay?" I say as I rush toward the stairs, leaving him with my cake in his hand.

Where is Isaac? I must find him! Explain things to him.

I can't lose him over a misunderstanding like this!

Running to the break room, I throw open the door. No one's there.

Where could he be? Maybe David's office? I run to the office. I peer in through the glass door in the window. A man is facing David. Is it Isaac? The man turns slightly, and I can tell from his profile it's not him. David sees me now and is starting to stand up. I shake my head and wave.

He's not in the break room. Not in David's office. Not in the Fishbowl. That leaves, the conference room? I run down the hall and fling the door open, but it's empty too!

Panic is setting in and I feel frustrated tears forming in my eyes. I can't lose Isaac, not now! I can't let him leave not knowing how I long for him. How much I love him!

Maybe he's in the restroom? I briefly consider asking David to check for me, but even as crazed and desperate as I feel, I can't bring myself to do it. I wrack my brains for where else he could be in the building, and then the thought occurs to me that maybe he's not in the building at all.

I run toward the entrance of the building and push the doors open. I see Isaac up ahead. He is straddling his bike, ready to put his helmet on. He will take off any moment. If I don't stop him, he will leave without knowing what happened.

"Wait! Isaac, wait!" I call out to him.

He turns. I see the fear in his eyes. He's afraid this is it. I can tell he thinks this might be the end of us.

"Isaac, it isn't what you think! I need to explain."

He gazes at me for a long moment, then says, "Go on."

"Selena sabotaged my tablet. That's why I had all those glitches in the app. Peter figured it out and was going to tell me, but then Selena blackmailed him. Heidi overheard it and now I have to pretend to like Peter even though he betrayed me. He's buying Malcolm Estate so he can sell it to my neighbor who wants to tear it down. I couldn't let Peter know what I know because Selena might not sabotage me again and we won't catch her and stop her."

By now, my heart is really thumping inside. I take a deep breath and finally admit to myself, and to Isaac, the truth that I have buried so long.

"It's you I want. It's always been you," I say.

Isaac blinks a couple of times, trying to process what I'm telling him.

"You have to believe me. I—"

Isaac stops my babbling by leaning over and pressing his lips to mine, and finally, I relax. I am in heaven. Everything about this moment feels right. His lips are as amazing as they were last night, no better. Now that he's no longer with Sophie, his lips belong completely to me. I am so happy, deep down, achingly happy that we can finally openly share our affection.

"Ride with me?" Isaac asks a minute later as he holds me against him possessively.

"Gladly," I say. He hands me a helmet. I slip it over my head and sit behind him on the SilentHawk. I wrap my arms tightly around him, feeling his strong muscles beneath his jacket. The heady aroma of cologne and leather are overwhelming my senses.

We ride until we come to a familiar spot.

Walking, hand in hand, we arrive at our grassy little patch where I opened Isaac's Harvard letter and about gave him a heart attack.

"I haven't been here in ages," I say. "It was our spot, and it didn't feel right to be here alone."

"Makes sense," he says as he kisses me again on the forehead.

"I could get used to this," I said.

"Me too. So I have a question that I've been wondering about all these years," Isaac says. "After we sold Solaire, I sent you a letter. Why didn't you ever write back?"

"You sent me a letter?" I say, startled.

"You didn't get it?" Isaac asks.

I close my eyes, trying to calm my emotions. Isaac wrote to me all those years ago? It's not difficult to imagine what happened to that letter. Someone in my family got to it first.

"What did it say?" I ask.

"I asked for another chance at a relationship," Isaac says.

I groan.

"If only I had known you reached out! So many wasted years!" I say.

"It never occurred to me that your family might have hid it from you. Tell me, Beth, if I had come to you after we sold the business, if I would have proposed to you again, would you have accepted?"

"Would I?" I breathe.

Isaac groans and hold me close to his heart.

"I've been such a fool. I will make it up to you, Beth, I promise."

"We'll both make it up to each other."

"At least we have each other now," I say.

"I hope so," Isaac says.

"Of course so," I say firmly.

His gaze flicks sideways, then back. He hesitates, then goes on.

"Remember prom night all those years ago when I told you there were things about me that you wouldn't like? There are things I would have told you if we had stayed engaged. Things you ought to know if we're going to try this again."

"I meant it then, and I mean it now. You can tell me anything, Isaac," I say.

He pauses. I squeeze his hand to lend him courage. The pained expression on his face tells me it difficult for him to even think about it, let alone voice it.

"This is so hard. Polly had this boyfriend, this big old greasy douchebag who lounged around the house in a wifebeater drinking beer and watching TV while she worked long hours."

I suspect I know where this is going, and I'm feeling queasy.

"He was a piece of work. Usually got his kicks from knocking me around. This one day when I got home from school, he had different ideas in mind. He took me to the bedroom. Yes, Beth. It was the worst you can imagine."

I think I'm going to throw up. My hand tightens around his.

I am his lifeline, as he has been mine.

"I tried to tell Polly what he did to me, but she just laughed. Told me there's no way he'd be interested in a boy when she was giving him plenty of action. Told me to shut up and quit imagining things. It's like—" He pauses.

"Isaac, you don't have to go on if it's too hard."

He shakes his head.

"Yes, I do. You need to know it all, because your aunt is right. I've been through hell, and it's not pretty. Your aunt doesn't have to tell me I'm not worthy of you. I knew that the moment I laid eyes on you. You were so innocent, so pure. Sometimes I question if it is right to pull you into this mess, to have your name linked in any way to me, because of Polly. I want to shelter you from me and all the ugly things I've been through, but I guess I'm too selfish. I want you too bad to give you up.

"Thank God for Gran! If I hadn't come to live with her, I don't think I would be alive today. You probably didn't know this, but when I moved in with her, I was suicidal."

I thought back to the boy with the smile. How could I have missed the pain behind his dancing eyes? He now stands before me with tears in his eyes.

"It was like I was split into two different people. There was the public Isaac that acted the part I was supposed to play, but when I was alone, I couldn't hold back the other part of me, the part that felt ashamed and dirty and unworthy of being loved. That Isaac explored some dark places, until he almost tried to cut himself from the world permanently.

"Gran saved me, you know. She would listen, and ask little questions until I felt I could trust her enough to tell her everything. When I finally spilled my secrets, she became very determined. She asked around and found a good therapist who was actually helpful.

"This therapist helped me to see that it wasn't my fault and connected me to a support group. I talked it out with other boys who had been abused. It helped, knowing I wasn't alone."

The tears are flowing freely now. I brush the tears from his eyes and kiss his forehead, reveling in the freedom to do so without fear of hurting Sophie.

"I've only allowed you to see the one side of me, but if you want to be with me, you're going to get both, and you have to be okay with that. I still go to a dark place sometimes. Are you sure you still want me?"

I stare deeply into Isaac's beautiful, tormented eyes and raise my hands to his cheeks.

"You were a child," I say firmly. "A child who was powerless to stop what was happening to him. You may still feel broken, but do you want to know what I see when I look in your eyes? I see a boy who isn't broken anymore. I see a boy that has grown into a strong man, the kind of man I can admire and be proud to call mine."

Isaac pulls me close, burying his face in my shoulder. His body shudders as he weeps, releasing years of pain and sorrow. My heart aches for him. I wonder why some people go through such hellish lives. It makes no sense. All I know is that I will forever protect him and give him the love and support he needs to continue to heal.

"That's why you do this, isn't it?" I whisper. "Travel the world helping kids. Every time you save a child, you save yourself."

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Aw, the feels. Hit that star and support this story please :)

So how do we all feel about this latest development? I felt like this song by The Killers captured Isaac and Beth pretty well. And here are a few images - Beth catching Isaac just before he takes off on his bike and their kiss.

I have been thoroughly enjoying my time in the Boston area. I will share pics soon. 

Dedication goes out to The_Write_Place. Thanks for featuring me in the Summer Writer Conference. For all those who are interested, I shared my Wattpad story there of how I was able to find success on Wattpad. Link is below, so check it out! :)