Heart of the Pride by Anaya Phoenix (freda ebook reader txt) 📖

He had been in a funk all day after lunch. He hadn’t even laughed when she tripped and damn near busted her ass. He merely helped her right herself and waited for her to start walking. It was starting to piss her off, royally, but she didn’t want to prod at him. She was just about to doze off into a nap during American History when he rose his hand asking to use the bathroom. Ms. Lee, the historian as she liked to call herself, of course let him then threw an expectant look towards Izzy.

“What?” Izzy asked, looking around to see if she was doing something that was affecting those around her.

“You are his buddy, are you not?” Ms. Lee asked, as if she was stupid.

“Uhm… yes?” Izzy answered slowly, not getting the point.

“Escort him to the bathroom miss Mcreery.” Ms. Lee said, then turned to the board to write more notes. Izzy grumbled something unintelligible and got from her seat. Timmy stood at the threshold motioning for her to move faster.

“Hey, if there isn’t a fire and I don’t have to pee, I will take my slow sweet time.” She told him, making a show of dragging her feet.

“I’ll give you a dollar if you speed it up.” That made Izzy stop and cross her arms.

“Make it five and I’ll hurry.” The class tittered, including the historian, and he nodded quickly. She smiled and moved quicker. She waited outside the boys bathroom for him to come out and when he did she grabbed the front of his shirt and spun him into the wall.

“Ok, listen here dude, I don’t do the whole silent treatment thing well. I don’t like the fact that you’re not talking to me, when it isn’t my fault that your upset. I’m being nothing but kind to you, so I would appreciate it if you piped down the anger and aggressiveness towards me and put it into your basketball practice that you, conveniently, forgot to tell me about. Got it?” She told him, letting it all out and holding nothing in. He blinked and nodded, she shook her head and rose a brow.

“Yes, I understand. I’m sorry for being an ass to you.” She let go of his shirt and fixed it for him.

“Apology accepted, now let’s go learn about dead people.”

Izzy stood up for the fifth time in his practice growling and raising her fists in anger.

“C’mon Demaro, get your head from your ass and practice how to pass the ball, that is what you’re here for right? Practice, not showing off your muscle!! What little of them you have!!!” She yelled, making the team stop practicing and fall down laughing. Timmy looked to her and shook his head, his damp hair flying around.

“Sit down Izzy and let me do this!” He yelled to her and she walked down the rest of the bleachers.

“Let you do what? Run this team down into the ground?” She growled and he raised a brow.

“To the ground?”

“Yes to the ground, in a heap of fire and poison.”

“You wanna try this, and see if you’re better?” He asked, crossing his massive arms, careful of his wrist. She shouldn’t have been so hard on him because of his disability, but she had to. How would he get better?

“Hell yeah. I could dunk circles around you and your little team.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves there girlie, my team is pretty capable.” Coach Slumbers said as he neared the pair.

“Pssh. You got a pair of shorts?”

                Izzy dribbled the ball and dodged as one of the team players came toward her. She feigned left, then spun right and threw the ball, hooking her wrist and smiling as the whoosh of the ball going through the hoop hit their ears.

“Twenty to zip. What was that about your team being capable Coach?” Izzy said, panting slightly, her whole body sweating.

“They were good, I don’t know what happened.” The coach said, scratching the back of his greying head.

“Coach!” The team chastised, out of breath, with most of their hands on their hips. She smiled and took off her shirt.

“Girls for the win!!!” She screamed, enjoying the boys quick intake of breath as they  took her in. She had a camisole on under, but it was barely there.

“Isabel!” The coach chastised, moving to try and step in front of her.

“You’ve seen my sister wear far worse coach.” Izzy grumbled as she walked away from him and to the girl’s locker room. She hated getting in trouble for things that her sister would do but wouldn’t get in trouble for. She was sure it was a twin thing, people had to have one person to blame. She shook her head as she walked into the girls locker room and changed. She didn’t put her shirt back on, just put on her jeans and tucked in her camisole. She slung her bookbag around her shoulder and left the locker room. Timmy kicked himself off the wall and said goodbye to his friends, meeting Izzy at the door on the way out. She said nothing as they walked to his car nothing as she drove him to his house, or helped with his homework.

“Look, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings earlier, I just don’t like being told I’m no good at something.” Timmy said, slamming his lead pencil down on his bed. She looked to him and blinked once.

“But to be fair, you did end up kicking my ass.” He told her, trying to lighten the mood but she only blinked.

“What happened to the whole silent treatment thing?” He mumbled, scratching the back of his head with the eraser of his pencil. She blinked again, this time owlishly, moving her book from her lap slowly. She stood and narrowed her eyes on him.

“I’ve got no problem with you thinking you can do something better than me, all boys do it. I’m not gonna hold you, one boy, responsible for the whole male population. I do have a problem getting in trouble for the shit my sister does. My sister wears half of what I’m wearing now, but I get snapped on for wearing a T-shirt. What kind of sense does that make? None. I also don’t like it when people take their anger from my sister out on me, when I’ve done nothing wrong!” She said, barely keeping in her yells so his parents wouldn’t come.

“I get that, well not really. Seeing that I’m an only child, but I would get pissed too. But… just to be sure. You’re not pissed at me, right?” asked Timmy, a playful glimmer in his eyes. She moved closer to him and leaned down, cupping his cheeks so that his lips were poked out like a fish.

“No, I’m not angry at poor little Timmy.” She said in a coddling tone, enjoying how his cheeks heated under her fingers. He looked into her blue eyes and held them, suddenly going very still at the intensity of them. They shared the same air as they studied each other. He pushed her hand away, gently, and leaned forward. She backed away quickly with a disgusted look on her face.

“I’m not my sister, the one you’re with currently. I don’t stoop down to kissing other people’s boyfriends. I don’t know what you thought was going to happen, but whatever it was certainly won’t happen with me. Be ready by the time I’m here tomorrow, or I swear I will not hesitate to end your life. Got it?” Izzy said, picking up her bag and walking out the door. Before she could even blink the door had been slammed in front of her and she was pushed up against it.

“I don’t know what it is about you, but you’re drawing me in. The harder I try to fight it, the harder I get pulled in. I’m gonna ask you this once, and only once. Izzy Mcreery, what the hell are you doing to me?” Isabel narrowed her eyes dangerously and pursed her lips.

“I’m not doing anything to you. Maybe you’re just suffering from Bella withdrawals, so you go to the next best thing. An exact replica of her, me. I’m not gonna let you use me for whatever the hell you do with Bella, so you can just fucking forget-“ To end her incessant ranting he slammed his lips down on hers, silencing anything she was about to say.

                Now, of course, Izzy had been kissed before. But most of those kisses were rough and unwanted, just for show instead of for enjoyment. This kiss was… something. His lips were warm and smooth, not rough like Derek’s or any other jerk she had kissed. This kiss made her want more, which was definitely not Ok. So she raised her hands to push him away, and just as she put her hands on his shoulders she realized something… she didn’t want to push him away. Angry at the thought she fisted her hands in his shirt and kissed him back. It was obvious that she wasn’t going anywhere until her body was done. When they finally broke apart they were breathing hard with their eyes closed, still in after shock from the intensity of that kiss. He was the first one to open his eyes, their green seeming to shine as he looked at her. Her lips were puffy and pink from their kiss and her breathing was starting to even out. That just wouldn’t do. He moved closer to her, as if he could, and put his lips to her ear.

“You’re gonna be the end of me, Izzy Mcreery, I just know it.” She opened her eyes hesitantly, knowing it would probably give her away, and pushed him away with all she had. He budged, a little, but enough for her to be able to breath again.

“Your damn right I’m going to be the end of you. You try that shit again, I will destroy you.”

                She left immediately after that, slamming his door in rage. She stormed down the stairs and ignored his call for her. She looked to the table by the door and smirked. Payback’s a bitch, she thought as she grabbed his keys and left the house. She drove his wonderful, wonderful car home and parked it lopsided in the driveway, hoping her dad or mom would ding it. It wasn’t until she had stormed up into her room and slammed the door that she realized… she’d left her shirt and her bookbag there. Great fucking going Izzy.

                 She didn’t want to get up in the morning, she didn’t want to have to face the dickweed that made her body go crazy. But she had to, for a whole week she’d have to.  So she took her shower, brushed her teeth, put on  her clothes and ate a bowl of fruit. She lingered by the front door, the knob in her hand, and gave herself a mental booth of confidence. This time her body would not go haywire, because this time she wouldn’t allow him any space near her. With her resolve she opened the door and walked calmly to his car. She blasted the radio as she drove to his house, making sure everybody heard it. She pulled up to his house and sighed when she saw that he, once again, was not there. Turning off the car she walked to the back of his