Love Bound (Stolen Hearts #2)

When I wake up this morning, I’m not surprised when I don’t feel the usual heaviness in my chest. The weight that always accompanies the moment I open my eyes seems to be alleviated just by the very thought of being able to see Isabel for longer than three minutes.

I’m on my feet within a couple of seconds. There is a new hope unfurling in my chest. I cannot explain the reason behind it. But I feel it there – just a tiny feeling at first, but it seems to grow larger as the minutes pass by during my morning routine.

The house is silent because I’ve woken up really early. I began a practice of exercising around more than a month ago – it was the only activity that helped me forget the pain and the longing that inundated me when I remembered that I could no longer just go across the street and knock on Isabel’s door, expecting to see her. There was a terrible side of me that seemed to almost get into a rage each time I saw Brandon show up at her door. I knew they were friends, but I really hated how close they seemed to be.

I knew that the anger I felt was more from the fact that I was afraid Isabel might like him back and I’d lose her forever. I just couldn’t let that happen.

It couldn’t. God wouldn’t be so cruel to me. I loved her. I couldn’t imagine a life without her.

And He had to give me another chance to fix things. There was no other option. Isabel didn’t have a choice of falling for someone else.

She was mine. She would always be mine.

As I stretch a little before I begin the circuit workout I’ve been doing this week – I glance over at Isabel’s home. The sun has just begun to rise and outside, it’s still a little dark, the rays of light just starting to creep in through my window. I take a deep breath, feeling a sense of anticipation rise in me at the thought of seeing the girl I love in just a few hours.

My workout flies by faster than I thought it would and I’m sweating even though it’s been just bodyweight repetitions for me so far. I had a lot of catching up to do in the fitness department – but I was glad I got started – better now than never.

As I get ready in the next fifteen minutes, I hear my parents wake up and the murmur of their voices sounds outside my bedroom as they talk sleepily, making their way down to the kitchen. My mom loves her morning coffee and it’s the first thing she prepares as soon as she is ready. I smile, thinking about the fact that I need to leave soon, in a day.

A few nights ago, my dad had sat me down and asked me if both me and Mandy would be okay to come with them to Mississippi for around four weeks to spend some time with my grandfather who wasn’t keeping well since over six months now. We weren’t very close to him but we’d visited them a few times over the past few years. My grandfather loved to travel and was rarely at home long enough for the family to go visit him. He had taken up this kind of lifestyle after my grandmother died, mostly because he couldn’t live in the house they had built together without remembering her every moment of every day.

I felt really bad for him. Me and Mandy had agreed to go with our parents, as my grandfather has specifically asked about us – his desire was to spend more time with the family. And after I saw the worried look on my dad’s face, I knew his illness had to be serious – they just weren’t telling us that yet. So I’d said yes without hesitation, even though a part of me wondered if it was the right thing to do. I’d miss an entire month of having the chance to see Isabel.

But I knew this had to be done. I had to figure out something else.

The morning passes by in a hurry. Once my mom learns I’m awake, we spend some time talking about the graduation ceremony and she’s really excited for it. We’ll be taking pictures and Mandy is way too excited about it than I thought she would be. She keeps giving me random hugs as we pass each other in the house and it makes me laugh. While my sister can be annoying sometimes, she’s equally adorable, if not more.

As the time approaches for us to leave for school, I can feel the nervousness I had last night begin to return. It was less than an hour now before I saw Isabel.

When we reach school, as I expected the gymnasium is crowded with students and teachers and the excitement in the room is a loud buzz. Everyone is sporting smiles and clicking pictures as people mingle a little before the ceremony begins. I say hi to a few of my friends, choosing to ignore Claire when she waves at me, trying to get my attention. I ignore her without a thought.

One thing I did learn about her was she was utterly shameless. And the last thing I wanted was for Isabel to see me talking to someone I didn’t even want to be within hearing distance of.

I’m really disappointed when I don’t catch sight of Isabel as I look around. Soon, we’re all in our seats, with the instructions of our teachers and the ceremony begins. I try not to fidget too much, trying to check if Isabel was anywhere near me. I know she’s supposed to be way in the front as we’re seated according to our last names. But with the caps and gowns and the chatter of few of my classmates around me, I’m distracted each time I try to crane my neck to see if I can spot her.

Thankfully, I don’t have to wait long.

As our names are called out and students begin walking across the stage, I finally see her in the line. My heart stops at the sight of her familiar red hair. I have to swallow hard when I see it’s left down – just the way I love it. When Isabel walks up and across the stage, it takes everything in me to stand still and not follow her every move as she walks off the platform.

The next few minutes pass by in a blur. After the main event is done, we all get the opportunity to hang around and I go in the direction I think I might find Isabel. Jackson, a guy I shared a few classes with, stops me and we chat for a bit. As we do, I notice Isabel come to stand a few feet away from me.

My heart stops again and then goes crazy when I see that Brandon is right next to her. A flash of anger and irritation rise up in me and I feel my entire body tense.

“Mississippi, huh? Won’t you be a little bored, though? I was thinking of maybe visiting my cousin in Chicago, seeing that I’ll be studying there in the Fall.. I thought it would be good to go see the campus in person.”

I’m barely listening as Jackson tells me a little more about his plans. My chest begins to get even more tight when I see the way Brandon looks at her when she’s looking away. My jaw clenches hard and I have to ball my fist to keep my emotions in check.

Suddenly, Isabel turns around and her eyes unerringly meet mine.

I feel like someone just sucker punched me.

She looks like an angel. She’s wearing a dark green dress that reached her knees and simple ballet flats. My mouth goes dry when I see her eyes widen a little when she realizes it’s me. I don’t even have the sense to smile at her.

Too soon, she looks away when that jerk asks her something and I swear I want to kill him.

I’m walking toward her before I know it.

I’m a couple of feet away when the unthinkable happens. Brandon reaches out and tucks her hair behind her ear. I almost falter in my steps, feeling like somebody just hit me right in my gut.

A moment later, I’m behind Isabel. My chest feels unbelievably tight and I’m not sure what to do.

She saying something to Brandon but I don’t hear it.

“Isabel?” I’m surprised when my voice comes out strong.

She turns around and I only feel slightly better when she gives me a small smile, looking equally surprised to see me, “Hey, Roman.”

Unable to be rude even though I desperately wanted to punch that sucker in his face, I give Brandon a slight nod and look away. “Hey,” I say again, fumbling a little for words.

“I’m heading over to Wendy, do you want to join us?”

“C-can I speak to you for a quick minute? I was hoping to ask you something.” I try to be as polite as possible. I want to punch someone right now.

She turns to Brandon, “I’ll be with you guys in a couple of minutes?”

That prick gives her a smile telling her he’ll wait for her.

Isabel walks ahead of me and we move to the corner of the gym, a little away from the crowd.

I cannot stand the silence between us so I tell her what I’ve been thinking since I saw her today, “You look beautiful.”

I see the flush creep to her cheeks and my pants feel tight. “Thanks,” she says, “you look great too.”

I chuckle, “Right. Thanks.”

I take a step closer to her, “Isabel, if I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth?”

She raises her eyebrows. “What question?”

My jaw clenches hard again. “I need to know first.”

She was too beautiful to be mine. She was too good to be mi-

Cursing myself mentally, I shut up that voice.

She frowns, “Sure.”

I can’t help but swallow hard, “Are you dating Brandon?” The words feel like poison in my mouth. I hate them.

Isabel goes still, confusion on her features. “Why are you asking me this?”

An ugly voice in my head tells me she’s avoiding the truth. I feel my control slipping. What was I going to do if she told me she was dating him? Could I even let her go? Was I even capable of doing that?

I feel sick to my stomach. I grind my teeth together to keep from pulling her into my arms.

“So you’re dating him?” I bite out, needing to get this out of the way, needing to hear the truth.

Isabel takes a breath and my heart stops. Then her words spill out, “No, I’m not dating him. But even if I was-“

I don’t wait to hear the rest.

I cannot wait to hear the rest.

I take one step forward, grab her face and kiss her.

Guys!!!!! I’m SO EXCITED to share the sequel to Isabel and Roman’s story with you all!

PLEASE vote, comment and leave a review as you read this story! Your engagement is so appreciated!

I look forward to hearing from you! What do you think of this chapter from Roman’s perspective?

xoxo Rose