The Year I Became Isabella Anders (Alternative Edition) (Sunnyvale Alternative Series Book 1)

by Jessica Sorensen

  I tip my chin up to look at him. “When did you come to my house?”

  “After I told my friend you were stalking me.” Remorse fills his eyes. “I wanted to say sorry. I know it wouldn’t have meant much since I wasn’t planning on telling people the truth, but I felt bad.”

  “Why didn’t I know you stopped by?”

  “Probably because Hannah answered the door and I chickened out.”

  The mention of Hannah painfully reminds me of the birth certificate and how she probably put it on my bed for me to find. If she’s trying to get rid of me, then that’s probably the tip of the iceberg. Who knows what other kinds of mean games are waiting for me at home?

  “Stop overthinking and dance.” He grinds his hips against my backside, and I laugh, finding it funnier than I probably should.

  But this is Kai, not some random stranger at a club who Indigo roped into dancing with me. Kai, who used to walk home with me, who secretly shared my love for magic, superheroes, and zombies. Who teases me constantly and pisses me off sometimes.

  He seems pretty adamant about dancing with me, though, upping his moves as he grips my hips and pulls me closer.

  “Okay, I guess we’re doing this, then.” I down the rest of my beer, knowing I’m going to need it, then set the empty bottle down on the floor.

  Giving one final panicked glance at the people around me, I sway my hips and rock to the beat. I don’t move slowly, either. That’s not my style. I may have social anxiety, but give me a drink and some loud music, and I’ll go wild. I’m talking freak out, lose your mind, whip it, shake your groove thang kind of dancing. I blame it on Indigo and the first time we went out clubbing.

  Kai slides his hand around to my waist, his fingers dipping under the hem of my shirt. When his knuckles graze my bare skin right above my hipbone, I have a hard time focusing. And breathing. Suddenly, I no longer think dancing with him is that funny. I find it … well, sexy.

  He traces circles on my skin as he grinds his hips against me, and I fight to keep moving the way I was before all the touching started. I keep spacing out and forgetting how to function.

  His breath caresses my ear as he chuckles. “You seem tense. I thought you said you could dance.”

  He’s so doing this on purpose to distract me.

  “Yep, I sure can,” I say, and then really start dancing, ignoring everything around me like I did when I was overseas.

  I lift my arms, sway my hips, and rock out, matching the beat of the song. Kai lines his body up with mine, and we move together perfectly. Song after song, we keep going, practically having sex with our clothes on. I’d be embarrassed—and maybe I will be come morning. As of right now, I’m having fun.

  I’m not sure how long we dance or how long it would’ve gone on, but Kai ruins the moment by licking the side of my neck.

  I squeal, whirling toward him while I wipe his slobber off my neck.

  He gives me an innocent look. “What? That’s how I thought all the cool kids were greeting each other tonight.”

  I keep my hand cupped over the side of my neck for protection. “First of all, you weren’t trying to greet me. And second of all, it creeped the hell out of me when Bradon did it.”

  His chest shakes as he fights not to laugh at me. “I don’t think I’m as creepy as Bradon.”

  “You know what? You’re right.” Which means I can pay him back.

  I let my arm fall to the side, lean forward, and lick his neck like a dog.

  He jumps back, startled, and then busts up laughing, hunching over as he grasps his side. Unable to help myself, I join in with him.

  After the laughter dies down, we mutually agree not to lick each other anymore and start dancing and drinking again. By the time we stop to get some water, we’re sweaty, hot, and out of breath.

  We wander back into the kitchen where Kai gets a bottle of water from the fridge, taking a sip before handing it to me. I down most of it in just a few gulps then hand the bottle back to him.

  “Now you’ve got me curious,” Kai says after he finishes the rest of the water.

  “Over what?” I ask, wiping my damp forehead with my hand.

  “Who taught you how to dance like that?”

  “That awesomeness can’t be taught. It’s just pure talent.”

  Chuckling, he fixes himself another drink, this time mostly whiskey and a splash of soda. “All right, you own your awesomeness.”

  I smile as he hands me a beer. I open the bottle then trail after him as he glides the sliding glass door open and ducks outside onto the back patio.

  The crisp night air feels great on my sweaty skin as I step outside. I figure the reason Kai came out here was to get some fresh air, but he continues down the steps and heads toward a pool house in the far back corner of the yard.

  Unsure if he wants me to follow him, I lollygag on the patio, keeping my distance from a couple of guys lounging in the lawn chairs, smoking and laughing about something.

  “You coming? Or are you just going to stand there?” Kai hollers when he stops in front of the pool house door, the porch light hitting his face.

  Relieved he isn’t making me stand there by myself, I hurry down the stairs and across the grass to him, gulping down my beer.

  “I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to follow you or not,” I say, picking at the label on the beer bottle.

  “Silly girl, of course I wanted you to follow me,” he replies, his speech starting to slur.

  I laugh at him. “You’re so drunk.”

  “No way,” he insists, stumbling and bumping his elbow on the door. He blinks as he looks inside his cup. “Okay, maybe just a little.”

  He sets his cup down on a rusty patio table, raises his hand, and taps his knuckles against the door.

  “What are we doing out here?” I put the mouth of the bottle to my lips and take another drink.

  A drunkenly droopy grin spreads across his face that makes him so adorably cute it’s ridiculous. “This is my connection.” He pats the door like it’s his best friend.

  I lower the bottle from my mouth. “Connection?”

  He pats the back pocket of his jeans where my birth certificate is tucked away. “This is where my guy is.”

  I stare at the rotting wooden door. “Your guy lives in Bradon’s pool house?”

  “No, he just chills here a lot.”

  “Um, okay.”

  “It’s not as sketchy as it sounds.”

  “Good. Because it sounds pretty damn sketchy.”

  “I would never let anything happen to you.” He drapes his arm around my shoulders, and I get a whiff of his whiskey breath. “Remember the cave?”

  It takes me a moment or two to sort through my beer-laced thoughts and figure out what he’s talking about. Back when we hung out, we found this hollowed out tree we nicknamed “the cave,” where nothing bad could ever happen to us.

  “When I’m in the cave, my sister Hannah and my mom can’t see me,” I said as I slid inside the hollow trunk. “And maybe my dad can.”

  “When I’m in the cave, I get to be me,” Kai said as he ducked in behind me. “No one else, including my mom or dad, can try to make me be anyone else.”

  “And we have to promise never to tell anyone about this place.” I hugged my knees to my chest to make room for his gangly legs.

  He bent awkwardly until he fit inside. “It’s a deal.”

  “Cross your heart.” I traced an X across my heart. “Hope to die. Stick a needle in Hannah’s eye.”

  He laughed at me and sketched an X across his chest. “I promise.”

  “I wonder if the tree’s still there,” I say with a trace of a smile.

  “It is,” Kai assures me, averting his gaze from mine.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I sometimes go there to think.”

  “Really? That’s … kind of nice, I guess.”

  He shrugs, staring at the ground. “You should also know that I sometimes get high the
re, too.”

  I crinkle my nose. “So, you do get high?”

  “Not for a while, but yeah, if we’re totally being honest, I did it a handful of times over the summer.”

  “But you seemed so irritated over people accusing you of doing drugs.”

  “I was irritated.” His jaw clenches. “I know it’s not an excuse, but I was going through some shit, and it was the only way to clear my head.”

  “Are you still going through some shit?” I blame the beer for asking the question.

  He parts his lips to answer when then the door swings open, and relief washes over his face as he turns away from me.

  “Kai, what’s up, man?” A large guy wearing a backward baseball cap, netted shorts, and a stained white shirt stands in the doorway with his fist extended toward Kai.

  Kai bumps knuckles with him.

  “Not much. Just came to see what’s been going on.”

  “Not a whole fucking lot,” the guy replies, leaning against the doorjamb. “Business has been super fucking slow.”

  “That sucks, man,” Kai says. “I might have a little business for you.”

  “Really?” The guy rubs his goatee. “What kind of business are we talking about?”

  Kai glances at me from the corner of his eye, and the guy tracks his gaze. Even with the beer in my system, I still squirm as he scrutinizes me.

  “Who’s your friend?” he asks Kai, giving a chin nod in my direction.

  I shyly wave back.

  “This is Isa.” Kai drags his hand over his head, tugging off his knitted cap. He ruffles his fingers through his hair, causing the strands to go askew. “She’s actually the one who’s in need of your ever-so-awesome services.”

  “Is that so?” he asks thoughtfully.

  I smile warily, unsure what to say. Kai hasn’t even told me who this guy is or what his services are, and it feels like I have a bundle of crazed-out monkeys inside my tummy.

  “She cool?” he asks Kai, straightening his stance.

  “Yep. I’ll even vouch for her,” Kai says, crossing his arms.

  Okay, I don’t care what he says. Kai is so in the mafia.

  The guy mulls it over a second or two then sticks out his hand toward me. “Isa, I’m Big Doug.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Big Doug.” I take his hand and shake it, hoping he doesn’t lick me like Bradon did.

  “My pleasure. My pleasure.” His hand dwarfs mine as he gives it a soft squeeze. Then he pulls away, moves back, and motions for us to come inside. “Welcome to my paradise.”

  Big Doug’s paradise consists of four brick walls, a floor cluttered with boxes, old candy wrappers, soda cans, and a table covered in computer screens, wires, modems, and all sorts of electronic stuff I know I’ve never seen before.

  “Are you a hacker or something?” I don’t mean to say it aloud. I slap my hand over my mouth, worried I’ve crossed a line.

  Luckily, Big Doug seems fine with it.

  “Hacking’s just one of my talents.” He waddles over to the table, kicking trash out of the way. Facing us, he sits down on the edge of the table. “But the question is … what talent do you want? Because I got a lot. All cost money, of course. I take cash or credit, depending on how well I know you.”

  Suddenly, the whole cracking into passcodes thing makes more sense.

  My gaze slides to Kai and he shrugs, like what? I want to ask him so many questions, starting with how he knows a hacker. I’m not about to ask in front of Big Doug, though.

  “Just put it on my tab.” Kai places a hand on the small of my back, trying to reassure me. “You know I’m good for it.”

  Tab? Huh?

  “Oh, okay. I didn’t realize this was your thing.” Big Doug stares at me just long enough to make me squirm. Then he fastens his attention on Kai. “So what’s the job?”

  Kai retrieves my birth certificate from his pocket and hands it over, giving Big Doug a quick explanation of what’s going on.

  “I was hoping you could take a look at the certificate and see if it’s a fake or not,” Kai says when he finishes explaining about my mom. “And if it is, I was hoping you’d have a couple of ideas on how to track her mom down.”

  Big Doug fiddles with the corner of the certificate. “All you know is that her name’s Bella?” he asks, and Kai nods. “And your father’s name is Henry Anders, right?” This time, he directs his question at me.

  I nod, crossing my fingers he’ll do this. This may be illegal, but it still seems way less terrifying than asking my dad.

  “I have one question before I agree to do this,” Big Doug says to me. “Why not just ask your dad who she is?”

  “Because he doesn’t want me to know, for some reason,” I explain. “I didn’t even know about her up until a few months ago.”

  “Are you even sure she’s alive?” he asks, setting the certificate down on the table beside one of the computers.

  I shake my head, folding my arm around my waist as my gut twists into knots. “I don’t know anything other than I lived with her for the first few years of my life before I went to live with my dad. And her name is Bella.”

  He bobs his head up and down. “Okay, give me a couple of weeks, and I’ll see what I can come up with.”

  “Thanks, man,” Kai says, sticking out his fist again.

  The two of them bump knuckles again, and then Kai and I head out the door.

  I don’t say anything else until we reach the back patio. The guys who were there earlier have abandoned the lawn chairs, and the entire area is quiet.

  “Okay, what the hell was that?” I spin around to face Kai, spreading my arms out to the side.

  “What do you mean, what the hell was that?” Kai stares up at the stars. “That was me helping you out.”

  “That was some sketchy stuff. And how do you even know Big Doug?”

  “I met him through Bradon. Did a little work for him a while back.” He’s still transfixed by the stars, so I pinch his arm to get him to look at me. “Ow.” He chuckles, meeting my gaze as he laughs. “What was that for?”

  “I just want to know that you’re not going to get into trouble for that,” I say, putting my hands on my hips.

  “Why would I get in trouble? Big Doug’s the one doing all the work.” He reaches forward and slips his fingers through mine, moving my hand away from my hip. “Now, let’s go inside and celebrate.”

  “Celebrate what?” I stare at our interlaced hands, confused over why he keeps touching me and why I feel comfortable with it.

  “That in a week, you’ll know who your mom is.” He pulls me toward the door.

  I let him steer me back inside, crossing my fingers that he’s right and that Big Doug will be able to find my mom.

  What I really hope is that she’ll be alive when I do find her.

  Chapter 17

  Two shots and a beer later, I’m heading outside to wait for Indigo to come pick mine and Kai’s sorry drunk asses up.

  “You feeling better about going to school now?” Kai asks as we reach the curb. He spent the last three hours introducing me to everyone.

  While I don’t have anyone I’d call my best friend, I do feel better about going to school. And no one brought up the mental institution thing, so I’m guessing they all forgot about that rumor.

  “Yeah. Thanks for introducing me to so many people,” I say through a yawn.

  “I feel bad I didn’t do it sooner.”

  “I don’t blame you. It’s not like I’m the kind of person everyone wants to get to know. I’m too weird, and hardly anyone gets me.”

  “Isa, you’re ridiculously freakin’ awesome. Everyone who gets to know you is lucky.”

  “You’re sweet when you’re drunk,” I tease with a nudge of my elbow.

  “I’m always sweet when I’m around you, baby.” He giggles.

  I giggle, too. “You’re a cheesy drunk.” I yawn again, leaning against Kai, my eyelids feeling heavy. “I shouldn’t have drunk so muc
h.”

  “Just focus on that firefly over there.” He points across the street at a glowing light. “It makes it easier to keep your eyes open.”

  I giggle again. “Kai, that’s not a firefly. That’s a porch light.”

  He leans all of his weight against me, nearly making me topple to the ground. “Hold me up, or I’m going to fall.”

  “You’re a guy,” I whine, digging my feet into the ground to support his weight. “You’re supposed to hold me up.”

  “That’s very sexist of you, Isa.” He tsks, waving his finger at me. “I’m so disappointed.”

  I shake my head, a smile tickling at my lips. “Jesus, you’re a handful.”

  “I know.” He sighs tiredly. “If only I were like Kyler, then life would be so much easier for me and everyone around me.”

  My muscles ravel into knots as I stiffen, sensing a drunken talk coming. You know the kind, when you yammer and pour your heart out with someone then, when you sober up, you have an oh-God-what-have-I-done moment.

  “Kai, you’re a good guy, no matter what you think.”

  “Yeah, tell that to my parents. Or my grandparents. Everyone in the entire Meyers family.”

  “Parents can suck, but that doesn’t mean you have to believe everything they try to stick in your head. You’re free to think whatever you want about yourself. Trust me.”

  “You wouldn’t say that if you knew everything I did. I’m not a good person. I’ve done so much fucked up stuff.”

  “Everyone’s done fucked up stuff,” I say, shutting my eyes, wondering what he’s done. Why he thinks he’s so bad. “It doesn’t make you a bad person. You just need to forgive yourself.”

  “Easier said than done.” He yawns, sinking to the ground and clumsily pulling me with him.

  I trip over his feet, and his fingers delve into my skin as he tries to stop me from falling. Still, we end up going down hard and landing in the grass in a tangle of legs and arms.

  “Kai, you’re the clumsiest drunk ever!” I laugh, trying to push him off me.

  “Don’t lie. I’m the funniest drunk ever.” He laughs—well, more like drunkenly giggles—as he rolls off me and onto his back. “And you’re the cutest drunk ever.”