Chapter Twenty-Nine
Isabella huffed as she brushed her hair from her face. She'd been cleaning all morning while Tatum went to the shops and David was still in bed. She sank down on the floor beside the bath, trying to hold herself together, whimpering when her hips protested. She tried taking the pressure off by leaning against the bathtub on her arm, fighting back a cry when the bruises on her arm hurt. She sat with her back against the tub, pulling her knees up against her chest as much as she could, fighting back her tears. She didn't want David to hear her.
It was getting so hard to keep him happy enough not to hurt her and keep her bruises hidden from her sister when he did. At least when they lived back in the city, they had the apartment to themselves and she only had to hide her bruises at work, which was easier due to the uniform. Plus, he'd always avoided her face… until now. And now she was lying to her sister for her protection – this was all just too hard. Isabella had no idea what to do about it, just that crying wouldn't help anything, but it was all she could do right now.
In the end, she had no idea how long she'd sat there crying for. It wasn't until she heard Tatum come back from the shops that she tried pulling herself together. Her sister could not know about this; she couldn't face any more arguments and Isabella had to keep her safe. Once she'd stopped crying, she splashed her face with some water and braved the mirror. The bruise on her face was really blooming now and even she was worried for that girl's safety. And she couldn't even promise that girl that everything would be okay, because she didn't know that it would be.
"Izzy, have you had lunch yet?" Tatum called up from the bottom of the stairs.
"No, not yet," the brunette managed to call back with a steady voice.
"Join me?" her sister called again.
"Yeah… sure," Isabella nodded, carefully drying her face and sorting her hair out. She cringed when she heard a bang on the door.
"Quit yelling," David started threateningly, as he gave the door another bang. "Are you almost done in there?" he asked afterwards, jiggling the door knob impatiently.
"One more minute," his girlfriend said, trying to sound as pleasant as she could so he wouldn't have a reason to have a go at her already today.
"Why howdy, Sheriff," Austin heard a few seconds before he felt a pair of hands running their way from his back around his abs to his chest.
"Hi Vivian," he said, sounding a little bored already. There was only one person who would dream of doing that and it was the one person he didn't want to be doing that right now.
"Well don't you sound glum," the brunette said, only taking it as a sign that she should continue. Vivian moved in closer, pressing herself up against him.
"Viv, really… don't," he said, pulling her hands away from his chest and turning around as he stepped away from her.
"Well why not?" she demanded. As a Miller, she was used to getting her way, both in town and with her own family. And when it came to relationships, she was the one who decided when it was on or off. As far as she was concerned, she wanted them to be on again.
"You were the one who broke up with me, if you remember," Austin started, trying to let go of her hands. "But I think I'd like to stay broken up," he added as she held onto him.
"Why?" Vivian asked, honestly not getting what he was saying. "Come on, you know we're good together," she gave him her most alluring smile, moving in closer towards him again.
"Yeah, but…"
"No buts," she smiled, reaching up with one hand to go through his hair and reached up to kiss him, as the second hand firmly grabbed hold of his very firm butt. He tried holding her off, but she pulled him in a little harder as she kissed him now. Vivian always loved how he looked in his sheriff's uniform, making him hard to resist.
"Viv," he tried to object, but she only kissed him harder. All Austin could think about was how he wanted the girl in his arms to be Isabella, but he also knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon. So, he let himself give in and kiss Vivian back, even as he hated himself for it.