Don't Give Up On Me ✔

Chapter 28 ~ Ouch! Why the hell did you hit me

Isla's POV

How could Chelsea do this? How the hell did she find out? I don't understand what I ever did to her to make her hate me. Yes, she liked Lucas, but I turned him down when he asked me out because I knew she liked him. I was trying to be a good friend, yet it still turned around and bit me on the ass. The funny thing is, if I had known Lucas was Luke, I wouldn't have turned him down.

I refuse to let her hurt my friends because of me. I love my friends more than any one of them will ever know, but Chelsea will stop at nothing to get her way. To make matters worse, she now has Kaira on her side. Chelsea probably thinks she has even more power now because of Kaira's money. Money can buy power. I don't want to lose my friends, but I don't see any other way to protect them.

I finally made it to my house after running the entire way home. Dirt was stuck to my face where the tear had fallen down my cheeks. Why did I run when I have a vehicle? I collapsed on my couch after calling Mrs. Ford asking her if she would bring Isabelle and Isaac home for me. I really must get her a nice gift for Christmas. She has been a lifesaver when it comes to the twins since my parents died.

I fall into a restless slumber on my couch with Chelsea plaguing my dreams. Why does she keep poking my cheek? It's so annoying. I'm obviously dreaming, because she would be doing a lot worse in real life. Well if I'm dreaming, I might as well let dream Isla hit dream Chelsea.

Poke. Poke. Poke. SMACK. "Ouch! Why the hell did you hit me?" Chelsea cries in my dream. Wait. When did Chelsea get a deep voice like a guy? I open my eyes slowly to face Nick with a red handprint across his face. My handprint.

I scream in fear, causing myself to fall off my couch. Suddenly, the room is full of laughter. As I look around, I see my five friends laughing their butts off at me. I glare at all of them until I notice a little girl hiding slightly behind Killian. That must be his little sister. She's cute.

I blush, feeling embarrassed about falling off the couch and slapping Nick on the face. Hayden offers me his hand to help me off the floor. "W-What are y'all doing h-here?" I ask. Gosh, I'm stupid. I know why they're here.

Hayden smiles, "Well, Nick and I live here, plus, we are supposed to be having a slumber party."

"No, Hayden. It's not fair for y'all to face Chelsea's wrath because of me." I frown. "I'll pay for you and Nick to live somewhere else. I don't care how much it costs. It's the least I can do."

Hayden rolls his eyes, "Yeah, not happening. I already told you that you are stuck with me forever."

Nick then squeezes me into a hug. "And since you slapped me, the only way I will forgive you is by you letting us stay here. Plus, I've already bought the paint for my bedroom, and there was a no return policy." He grins. "By the way, why did you slap me?"

I blush. "I might have maybe thought I was hitting Chelsea."

"Seriously?" I nod. Nick bursts into a gut-wrenching laugh, causing him to roll around on the floor. "That's great, Isla."

"How is that great?" I huff.

"Well maybe one day instead of dreaming about hitting her, you'll actually hit her." He laughs.

I scoff. "You know I would never hit her or anyone else for that matter. You just happened to disturb me while I was dreaming. I have no control over what I do when I'm dreaming."

Luke pulls me into a hug, leans down and whispers into my ear, "Sunshine, I love you. There is nothing that Chelsea or anyone else can do to make me leave you. You said you would never give up on me, and I'm not giving up on you or us." I hug Luke back tightly. This is the Luke I remember.