Lisa's P.O. V.
Dad: You can't keep ignoring me, Lisa. I am coming for you and your brother full force, unless I hear from you today.
Dad's text had caused me to go pale. Davis was at a doctor's appointment that Carter took him to. I was sitting at Davis' house alone and utterly frightened at the prospect of Dad coming for me. My fingers hovered over my phone, deciding whether to text dad back when the front door opened. I jumped, frightened that it was him and he had found me. My nerves were shot and adrenaline was pumping through me like a raging river, but I was ready to attack whoever crossed the threshold. I met her concerned green eyes as she stepped through, feeling myself slump with exhaustion as the sudden rush of adrenaline caused me to crash.
Izzy sported her hair in a braid similar to her dad's, today. She wore a black crop top with a black choker and smokey eyed makeup. Those pink, full lips of hers frowned as she looked at me further. Her thick leather biker boots thumped against the floor as she slowly made her way towards me. Her hand was held out before her as if she were approaching a frightened animal and wasn't sure if it would attack.
"You okay?" she asked, still slowly making her way towards me with her hand slightly extended.
"I- I thought that you were." I sighed, unable to fully collect my thoughts.
"What?" She cocked her head to the side, pinching her brows together as she watched me carefully.
"I thought you were my dad," I finally blurted.
"Oh," she didn't seem to understand why my father would cause such a reaction. How could she when her father was Davis? The kindest, strongest man around.
"He's not a good guy," I explained.
"I see."
Izzy stared at me a moment longer, probably wondering a lot about me now. "And by not a good guy you mean what exactly?"
"It's a long story."
"I have time." She sprawled herself out on the recliner, looking at me expectantly. I could tell she wasn't going to let this go. She's stubborn like her father.
I sighed, plopping back down on the couch, back in the warm spot I had left. I pulled my legs up, curling up in a ball as I picked at the fringed ends of the blanket I was using. My eyes refused to look away from the white knotted ends of the knitted blanket.
"Well it goes back as early as my childhood," I started. For some reason talking to Izzy was extremely easy. She listened attentively as I told her all about dad, all about me and Lucas and how we grew up. I had to go on to tell her about Chris and what was going on.
"That SOB better pray he never crosses my path, because I won't hesitate to show him how powerful a woman can be."
Izzy was pissed with her lips pressed into a tight line. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her parted knees. She looked tough as hell, not like any 19-year-old I had ever seen.
"Let's go," she said, pushing herself off the recliner, causing it to rock back as her weight left it.
"We're going to visit this Daniel and beat the ever living shit out of him since Dad can't right now."
She looked over her shoulder and for a moment I thought I saw Davis. Her back looked strong, just like his, protective and fierce. She may be young but she was powerful and she knew it. I stood up affected by her intoxicating aura, it was almost contagious. I felt powerful beside her, finding courage I didn't know I had.
"Are you sure?" I asked her, feeling a bit nervous about doing this with Davis' daughter. Would he be mad? We won't have Carter either, or Liv for that matter. She's at work.
"More than sure. Let's go teach him a lesson. It may not be your dad, but it'll certainly make you feel better."
She led the way out of the house towards her mustang. Her hands were fisted beside her as she marched towards her car with her head held high.
She's definitely Davis' daughter.
I felt secure beside her, empowered even. My inner warrior, as Davis called it, was screaming to be released and I was ready to do so as Izzy drove us towards Daniel's house. The mansion came into view about 15 minutes later.
Izzy and I had been blasting music to keep the anger burning in us. We were currently listening to Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit as we pulled up to the enormous mansion at the end of the road. Trees branched over the driveway, providing a beautiful scene as we drove in. I felt ready to rage as we marched side by side up the driveway. I'd never felt so alive before. The gravel kicked behind our feet as we made our way to the large red door. Izzy didn't hesitate to bang on the door like she was ready to break it down.
She stepped back ready to attack the moment that door opened, what we didn't expect was to see a young man behind it. We both stared at one another for a moment, worried we had gone to the wrong house, but as I looked at the man more closely I saw the resemblance. I remembered Chris mentioning he had a younger brother now, the one that stood to inherit
everything if Chris didn't go through with the contract marriage. He looked at us both confused beyond reason, as he should.
"Is Daniel home?" I asked him, trying to keep the sting out of my tone. He hadn't done anything to me, but with a father and brother like his, he can't be too far off.
"Uh, no. Is everything okay?" He asked, looking concerned as he looked between Izzy and I.
"Yeah, it's fine."
"The hell it is," Izzy argued, looking ready to bite this poor guy's head off for no reason. "Where the hell is your sick ass father?"
Chris' brother looked taken aback by Izzy's forwardness. It was like the anger was oozing out of her pores as she locked eyes with him. He seemed shocked for a moment before composing himself.
"What did he do now?"
He sounded exasperated as he asked, like he was so tired of his father and his antics. I was surprised by it, but I didn't let it sway my opinion of him. He's probably just as rotten as the rest of the males in his family.
"He tried to rape her," she pointed at me, causing my eyes to widen at the way she just blurted that out.
I felt embarrassed for some reason, as if the truth was something I should be ashamed of. I am not sure why my body decided to react that way. It wasn't my fault and I shouldn't be ashamed at all, yet I was.
"Are you serious?" He looked at me with such deep sympathy that I could only assume it was genuine. He took a step out of the door, finding himself on the porch with us. "I am so sorry he did that to you. I hate that man like no other. Follow me, I'll take you to him."
I couldn't believe my ears as he walked off the porch towards the side of the house. Izzy and I looked at one another, unsure of his intentions. Izzy shrugged and began to follow him, still determined to punch something. I followed after her, catching up and matching her powerful strides. We approached a large shed to the side of the house, its doors were opened to show the gym that was set up.
Daniel was in the middle of reps when he spotted us. His smirk made my stomach twist, causing bile to rise in my throat. One look from Izzy was all it took to remind me that I shouldn't be frightened. I held my head up high again, letting that inner warrior in me take over more. I pushed my insecurities and worries aside and pulled on my anger and fury until it felt like it was consuming me whole.
"Did you change your mind, Lisa?" He kept that smug smirk on his face as he spoke to me.
"You really think I would sleep with a man as vile as you? You and your son are the scum of this world. A piece of trash stuck to the bottom of my shoe that I can't seem to get rid of. So I'm here to scrap it off by force."
My voice barely sounded like me, it was strong and powerful, filled with anger as I stared him down. I didn't back away or shrink as he stood tall, puffing his chest out as if to try to intimidate me. Izzy laughed at his display, earning her an angry look from him. She didn't care, only laughing harder.
"He thinks he's so big and bad." She clutched her sides as she continued to laugh. She wiped at her eye as she calmed herself.
Daniel was furious, not wasting any time as he approached Izzy. He pulled his hand back, ready to smack her. Three things happened all at the same time. One, I reached for his hand, grabbing his wrist to stop his punch. Two, Chris' younger brother stepped forward, grabbing the same wrist I had gone for. His hands and mine met as we locked eyes, surprised by each other's response. Three, Izzy pulled back her arm, landing a hard punch on his diaphragm.
"You'll find that Lisa and I know how to fight back. We're not some weak girls you can control or toy around with. As my father always says, 'only a coward will place his hands on a woman'. So let me show you what we do to cowards. The coward special."
Izzy grabbed him by the collar of his shirt as he bent over, trying to catch his breath from her last punch. Chris' younger brother and I let go of his wrist, allowing Izzy to pull him close and punch him repeatedly in the face. I joined in, punching his side until we found him on the floor. I kicked his stomach for good measure, feeling a surge of power course through me. There was a high in me that I never wanted to end.
Is this what being strong feels like?
"You guys better go before anyone sees you," Chris' younger brother told us once Daniel was unconscious, bloody and bruised on the ground. I felt no remorse, no guilt, no pity as I stared down at him.
"Thanks for your help. Glad to see at least one Darnell isn't a twisted, sick bastard," I told him, as Izzy and I sprinted away like bats out of hell.
"I'm sorry about my family," he called after me, and for a moment I felt really sorry for him. I don't know him well enough to really know if he's a good guy or not. Time will only tell. For today, he is on my good side.
I felt exhilarated as we entered Izzy's car and she peeled out of the driveway like a racecar driver at the start line.
"Thank you," I told her, really having needed this.