Chapter 9 Do Us Both A Favor

ISABELLA I stared at Victoria with my mouth slightly open. "Victoria..." "This is my home now, Bella, and I don't want to run away again," Victoria said as she approached me and grabbed my hands. "We don't have to run away." "She's right, Isabella. We shouldn't run away," Jas agreed. But, as easy as it was to say, I couldn't see myself standing up to my parents, specifically my mother. "Victoria, I…I can't. My mother, she…she won't accept it." I looked away from her because I knew what her face would look like. Finally, she reluctantly dropped my hands as she stepped towards the door. "But this," she said, pointing between us, "has nothing to do with your mother, Bella. It's about us and what we want. And what we almost just did only proves we want the same thing. That should matter." "It does, Victoria. I just… I'd rather be with you somewhere, not here. Please understand." Victoria closed the distance between us. "You want me, Bella. I can feel it. Rae can feel it. Our bond could be