Chapter 70 LXX.

Chapter 70 LXX.
Isadora's POV.

Trisha was standing by my car, waiting for me just as I had asked her to. She looked deeply worried, and I sighed when I saw the anxious look on her face. I knew she must be finding it difficult to cope with the fact that her new friend and her best friend didn't get along. But leaving aside the fact that George's anger was technically justified, he was still kind of a jerk.

Trisha turned to face me the moment I joined her by the car. "What happened with you and George? He didn't say anything mean to you, did he?"

I scoffed bitterly. "Every single word he had to say to me was mean. He really doesn't like me."

She bit her bottom lip and fidgeted nervously with the hem of her oversized sweater. "He just misunderstood you, Izzy. I'll talk to him."

I shook my head, offering her a weak smile. "I think it's best if you don't, Trish. Honestly, talking to him would probably only make the situation worse. Just let him hate me for all I care. I don't really know him anyway."

Trisha pouted, looking so genuinely sad and cute that I almost wanted to pinch her cheeks. "But you two are my friends now. I want you both to get along."

I chuckled, gently patting the top of her head. "I'm sure we will eventually, but for the time being, I'm pretty sure it's impossible."

Her cheeks flushed bright red. She looked up at me for a second before staring back down at her sneakers shyly. "Okay. I just hope you do."

I shook my head and dropped my hand. Even after years of being friends, she was still so painfully shy whenever I patted her head or hugged her.

"Well, I guess it's time to go home," I said casually.

Her shoulders visibly slumped, and I knew exactly why. She didn't like going home. She had a father who was always out drinking and a mother who barely ever came back to the house. She was always left alone, and I knew she hated the crushing isolation of her own house.

I grinned widely as I opened the passenger door for her. "Or... would you like to hang out at my place before I take you home?"

She nodded rapidly, almost like an excited puppy, and I couldn't help but laugh. This was exactly why I could never stop being friends with Trisha. She was so pure and genuine.

I got in after her, and soon we were driving through the neighborhood, making our way toward the Ricci mansion.

When we walked through the front doors, I could already hear Dad and Daddy arguing before we even stepped into the living room. It sounded like one of those arguments that usually led to a sudden make-out session. Trisha didn't even look worried. She had been over here so many times that she was completely accustomed to their madness.

"Alessandro, I already told you that we should ask Isa to come back," Dad was saying, pacing the floor. "I miss our other little princess, and she needs to be on this business trip we're taking this weekend."

"Rowan, I've talked to her a million times, but she doesn't want to come with us," Daddy replied in exasperation. "You know that girl. She likes to live her life the way she wants, and we should just let her be."

Dad pouted, looking genuinely sad. "But she's missing out on so many family activities, and that's not good for her."

Daddy stepped closer to Dad and wrapped his large, heavily tattooed arms around him. "Yes, love, but what matters is that she's happy. I think it's best we don't force her to do what she doesn't want to."

Dad gave Daddy a wary look. "Should we ask Alessandra to talk to her?"

Daddy sighed, resting his chin on top of Dad's head. "Just let it be, Rowan. When she's ready, I'm sure she will come home."

We stepped fully into the living room, making our presence known. "Hi, Dads."

They both turned to look at us.

"Hey little princess." Daddy greeted with a grin.

"Hi, sweetie. How was school?" Dad asked with a warm smile, though he made absolutely no move to leave Daddy's embrace.

"It was good. Trisha came over, too."

"Hi, Mr. Alessandro and Mr. Rowan," Trisha mumbled shyly from beside me.

Dad smiled warmly at her. He had always been incredibly fond of my best friend. "Hello, Trisha! It's always so wonderful to have you here. Are you girls hungry? I can warm up some food for you."

"No thanks, Dad, we're just going to go upstairs and hang out in my room," I said, grabbing Trisha's hand to pull her toward the stairs.

"Alright, but leave the bedroom door open!" Dad called after us in a soft, warning tone.

Daddy let out a booming laugh. "Rowan, relax! They are both girls, and they've been friends since they were kids. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"I'm just establishing healthy boundaries, Alessandro! Even girls might be naughty and would want to experiment." Dad argued back.

I rolled my eyes dramatically. "God, my parents are so embarrassing," I complained to Trisha as I led her into my bedroom and shut the door behind us.

Trisha sat down on the edge of my plush pink bed, watching me quietly as I moved around the room. But the moment I reached for the hem of my shirt and started pulling it off to get ready for a shower, Trisha gasped, her face turning crimson, and quickly looked away.

I laughed out loud, tossing my shirt into the hamper. "Trish, we're both girls! There's literally nothing to be shy about."

"I... I'm just not used to seeing someone elses naked body." She replied, staying completely turned away and blushing madly. I just shook my head, finding her incredibly cute, and grabbed a towel before heading into the en-suite bathroom.

After a quick, refreshing shower, I stepped back into the bedroom, already wearing a set of comfortable lounge clothes. "Do you want to take a bath, too?" I asked her. "You can borrow some of my clothes."

She nodded eagerly. "Yes, please."

While she was in the bathroom, I picked out a cute, casual outfit for her. One of my pink shirt, that would look very cute on her, and black shorts. She's definitely going to be comfortable in them. A little while later, the bathroom door clicked open, and Trisha stepped out, clutching one of my fluffy white towels tightly around her body.

I paused, actually studying her for a second. Without her bulky, oversized sweaters hiding her frame, it was obvious that she had a really great figure. She would even make a better cheerleader than Raine.

"You know, Trish," I said thoughtfully as I stood up from my bed to stand in front of her. She stared up at me with her blue eyes that looks even more beautiful. "If you ever let me style your hair and change up your wardrobe, you would really look hot like a cheerleader." I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear to reveal more of her round face.

Her entire face turned beet red at the compliment, "um... I'll...I'll go get dressed in the bathroom" and she practically snatched the clothes from my hands and sprinted back into the bathroom to get dressed. I shook my head and laughed at her cuteness before returning to sit on my bed.

Once she was finally in her borrowed clothes, she walked back out of the bathroom, and damn she really looked good in the clothes.

The shorts were longer than intended, but it still showed off her long beautiful creamy legs. Trisha almost never wears such revealing clothes, but it honestly looks really good on her.

I smiled brightly at her, and my heart literally melted as she refused to look me in the eye and kept pulling at the hem of her shorts.

"Come here you cute thing." She grinned and crawled into my large bed my large bed to join me, lying beside me and getting comfortable. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close so we could cuddle. "Is this okay?" I asked softly. We rarely do this and I was scared she might not be comfortable.

She nodded, resting her head against my chest. "Y-yes, its fine." We lay in comfortable silence for a few minutes, and I was almost falling asleep before Trisha spoke again. "Izzy, can I ask a question?

"Go on," I replied with a yawn.

"Why doesn't your sister like coming home?"

I sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "I don't know either, but t's not that Isabella doesn't like home. She just really enjoys her freedom. She's not like me. I like staying here, following the rules, and trying to make my parents proud. She prefers doing whatever she wants, whenever she wants."

Trisha tilted her head up to look at me, her blue eyes soft with comfort. "You can be free too, you know, if you ever want to be. I dont think your parent will stop you."

I smiled down at her, pulling her a little closer. "Maybe. But I'd rather just stay right here with my family... and with you."

Trisha immediately blushed again, hiding her face against my shoulder, which made me laugh. Why is it so easy to make her blush.

"Besides," I added, my tone turning slightly more serious. "She's actually coming back to California soon anyway. Maybe this time, she'll decide to stay for good."

Trisha hummed at the thought. "That'll be nice. I can't wait to see just how different your personalities are because you guys literally have the same face."

"Believe me Trish, we are very different."

As I lay there, staring into space, a heavy knot formed in my stomach. Isabella was coming back right in the middle of all this drama with George, Trisha and my friends, And knowing my twin sister... I was terrified she was going to ruin absolutely everything.