Isabella Di Maria | 35 | Government Official Iâm here to make your stay at Lake Grimstone is a pleasant one while also enforcing the rules that the government has set up. If you need to talk, have concerns, questions or ideas on how we can make this town home for you then please feel free to come and talk to me, my door is always open. âYour time is limited, so donât waste it living someone elseâs life. Donât be trapped by dogma â which is living with the results of other peopleâs thinking. Donât let the noise of otherâs opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.â
It was hour six into her ten hour shift. She was tired. Her feet hurt. Her head hurt, she really needed caffeine and their coffee machine in the break room decided to break. It was a bad day. Doctor orders got placed in her inbox on her desk and she grabbed the sheets of paper. As a medical assistant with a certification and phlebotomy, it meant she did a lot more in the clinic than most medical assistants did. She gathered the various tubes she needed and her kit before heading to the patientâs exam room listed on the paper. Larissa knocked on the door a couple times before stepping inside, brown hues on the paper before she looked up with a smile. âHiya, Iâm Larissa, I need to draw some blood for lab tests,â she greeted as she pulled up a stool and sat down in front of the patient, âname and date of birth please?â she asked politely.
Going to the doctor had always made Isabella uneasy and this time was not the exception, she was there just for a regular check-up, but that didnât mean that she wasnât a bit nervous. Isa took in a deep breath as she sat in the cold room when the door opened. The government agent smiled at the young woman, her smile was a nervous one, but she tried her best to hide it. âIsabella Di Maria and the date of birth is March 19, 1985. Can we please make this quick? I really, really hate needles and pointy things.â She said nervously.Â
Blake was about to argue with Isabella, until she turned it around at the last moment. âRight? Why is he all up in my diet? I mean, itâs my stomach. I should pick what goes in it.â She shook her head. âAnd he saw me lifting weights, so really, it was dumb of him to ask. Youâre not gonna write me up or take away my privileges, are you? Because he deserved to get punched and I only hit him, like, once.â She paused, recounting the scene in her head. âOkay, more than once, but likeâŚyouâre on my side.â
Isabella tried hard, really hard, not to laugh at Blake admitting that she had hit the guy more than once. Violence was never the answer in Isaâs book, but she too had disagreements with people and had felt the urge to punch them, not that she had gone through with it, but she had wished she had. âBecause you were completely honest about it we can keep this between us. Just donât tell anyone or else theyâll think that as long as they come and tell me after the fact that they wonât be in trouble which will not be the case.â
âIf someone tells me that not eating meat makes me weak, do I have the right to punch the crap out of him?â Blake asked, not that it was really a question. As far as she was concerned, anyone questioning her ability to throw a punch made them potentially fair game to punch. âIf not, I might have accidentally instigated a fight at the gym today.â
âI feel that as a government agent I should tell you that starting a fight is not good, but if they called you weak and you were simply proving them wrong then really what you did was a good thing.â Isa said with a smile. âPeople really should mind their own business, itâs on you what you want or donât want to eat.âÂ
There had been a time when just seeing his mom smile made him happy. But recently, it seemed like nothing could do that. Sure, he had small moments with Wren, but that was about it. It wasnât enough. He felt like he always had to put on a front. Always had to be good and couldnât fuck up like he used to. But that was slipping. Day by day, he could feel it.Â
âForget this moment?â Liam asked, shaking his head back and forth. âI canât just forget things, mom. You know that.â God, he hoped he could. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. He wasnât hungry. All he wanted to do was blow off some steam. But, he hadnât seen his mom in a while. âCan we just do takeout then go to your place? Chinese or something?â
All Isa wanted was to go back to how things were between them back when things were... simpler if you could call them that. But things had never really been simple for them, in fact, when they met it was probably during hard times. She still remembered the first time she walked into that cell and how he had stolen her heart from the very beginning. Isabella loved Liam and there really wasnât anything that she wouldnât do for him.Â
âOkay, not forget, but maybe forgive me for using my power on you since it was unintentional?â She asked. âTakeout sounds good, it will give us time to catch up.â She began to walk towards the restaurant. âHow have you been? I feel like we havenât really talked in a while.â
Liam was a mess mentally. He was on the verge of breaking his sobriety and he could feel it. He was trying to do what he could to stay on top of it, to not let himself get dragged under the water again, but it was so hard. Wren. Katherine. His mom. Lucie. Hunter. Everyone and everything was getting to him and all he could do about it was be quiet and try to make some sort of amends where he could. But now wasnât the time. Now was the time to use his power to go flying. It was one of the only things that helped him relax.Â
He moved to use his power, but then nothing happened. He frowned, let out an aggravated growl and turned around when he heard a familiar voice. âMom, stop.â Liam insisted. âThatâs not fucking fair and you know it.âÂ
Liam, of course. Things between the two were not great but he was and would always be her son and nothing would change that, not even his anger towards her. âI didnât do it on purpose.â She replied offering him a smile and trying her best to shut her power off instead of his.Â
Isa knew that Liam was upset with her, but there was something in the way he spoke that put up red flags for Isa, âHow about we both forget this moment and go for some food? Iâm starving and Iâm sure you could use a burger or something equally delicious.âÂ
Had you told Isabella a year or so ago that she would actually enjoy training, she would have more than likely laughed in your face. But things were different now from how they had been a year ago and now she did enjoy training. The only problem was that she still didnât know how to control her power to the point where she could negate only one power when there were many more were around. And that was exactly what she was doing now, she was focusing on one power however, when she heard someone curse behind her because their power was not cooperating she realized that she had failed.Â
âHmm powers seem to not want to cooperate today.â She said coyly hoping that no one suspected she was behind the power outage.Â
That sentence it was like Isabella had gone into his mind and plucked the words out, Hunter liked being denied what he wanted, he liked the unexpected so if Isa wanted to surprise him, he is more then willing for it to happen â Iâm cerious as to what youâll do.â The light slap she placed on his arm made it easier for him to capture her hand and lead it to the back of his neck âoh really, whatâs the first lesson going to be on?â When she bit her lip Hunter found it hard to resist, he couldnât help but lean down and claim her lips. âI think you underestimate my muggel charm. Or trust me youâll fold before I play my cards.â He winked âthat hurtsâ he faked offence âyou so mean to me.â!
The look on her face said it all, all the extra work to get this place ready had paid off. Hunter had worried that Isabella would find it to cheesy, that she thought it was tacky. But her words were all the reassurance he needed she wanted to make better memories, ones that didnât involve them arguing. Hunter lingered in her kiss making it last longer, kissing her back with one of his own âwell I did set the bar so high last time, Iâm surprised I beat itâ
If someone asked Isa when it was that she began to look at Hunter as more than just her friendâs annoying ex, she wouldnât be able to tell you. Not even she knew when it happened, it wasnât like he had done one big gesture that had made her see him differently. it was more like a bunch of small but significant ones. âThe point is to keep you curious, I donât want you growing tired of this.â She said with a smile on her lips. Isa hummed when his hand caught hers and she happily wrapped her arms around him again. âprobably show you the things I like, itâs always nice to start there. You can also show me what you like.â Before she could say much else his lips were on hers and she smiled into the kiss, god, he was a good kisser. âYouâre so cocky! Youâre lucky I like that.â Isa joked. âSorry, but to be fair, I never claimed to be nice.â She chuckled.Â
âYou did set it quite high, I honestly didnât think you would be able to beat it.â Isa teased. So much had happened between that night and this one, they had both gone through so much and they had both grown closer. Essentially they were the same people that had been there that night, but this time they saw each other in a different light. âI also didnât make things easy for you.â She admitted with an apologetic smile.Â
Hunter was surprised by Isa kiss, he was expecting her to play coy and heâd have to make a move. A surprise smile sprees across his face after her kiss âI could get used to thatâ he plam against her cheek, which slipped behind her head as he gave her a deep kiss. âI just took you for the plane type, but by the sounds of it you might teach me something.â He raised his eyebrow mischievously. âIâll take that as a winâ Hunter teased. âI guess I can only hope youâll fall in love with a muggerl like me then.â He half joked he wanted her to fall for him, he was going to try so hard to woo her. This restaurant had a lot of emotional attachment for Hunter, this is where he met Isabella for the first time, this is where their whirlwind had started. âLucky for us I found a causeâ he said taking her hands and looking deep into her brown eyes âthat hasnât exactly changed though has it?â He laughed âI donât know about you but I want to look at this place and feel warmth.â
Hunter pushed to door open slightly so he could check it was all just the way he left it before going to get Isabella. It was. The floor decorticated with a rose petal pathway that lead to a candle light table in the centre, the room was just illuminated by the candles , Hunter had got over the restaurant speaker a violin and piano playing trying to set a romantic atmosphere. Hunter slowly entered gently pulling Isabella in by the hand afterwards âI want to remember this place with love, will you help me do that?â
There was a side to Isabella that not many people saw, even Hunter had only seen it a few times, but he had seen it and that alone meant a lot. It meant that she trusted him enough to allow him to see that she wasnât some uptight woman that didnât know how to enjoy herself. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him closer to her. âI donât want you to get used to it, I want you to always be surprised and to keep you on your toes,â she teased as she pulled away. âPlain?â She asked faking to be offended by the words, she slapped his arm playfully. âYou have no idea of the things I can teach you.â she bit her bottom lip softly and shook her head in disbelief. âLove is a strong word, muggle. But if you play your cards right...â her words trailed off. âYou are still very annoying, but now itâs a little cute.âÂ
They walked in and her eyes lit up in complete amazement. Had he really done all of this for her? Her smile turned to a grin at his words and she nodded. âYes, I would love to help you do that. I want all the good memories.â She leaned forward and kissed him softly. âYou are already making a better impression than last time.â She joked as she pulled away.Â
âI didnât pick the wrong side.â She hissed at her friend. Ex-friend? Kristen wasnât sure. They hadnât talked in ages and in all honesty, Kristen rarely wanted anything to do with the woman. Every time she saw Isabella, she thought of Hunter. She hated it. âBut Iâm not going to stand here and try to convince you otherwise.â She folded her arms across her chest. âWhat do you want, Isabella?âÂ
âBut you didâ Isa replied dismissively. It really didnât matter what side they had picked, either way, this town was going to end up like this, divided. âBelieve it or not, Iâm here to see how youâre doing, I canât imagine that any of this has been easy for you. So...â she took in a deep breath, âhow are you?â
do you mind that hunter and kristen are out getting drinks together? looks like he will do to you the same thing he did to her.
Why would I mind? Are you under the impression that Iâm so insecure that I will be bothered by the fact that Hunter has drinks with someone that is a part of his life? If you are, then you donât know me at all. As to what he did to her, all Hunter did was be a good person and respect my right to privacy. If youâre trying to start drama you should pick someone else because Iâm not going to play those games.Â