Forty-Six

At her sister's request, Tatum helped fold away and pack up David's things the next morning. The redhead was a little suspicious about the circumstances under which he'd decided to leave and not come back, as it definitely didn't sound like him at all. But Isabella refused to say, just that he'd left word with her that he'd decided to no longer bother her. She'd even asked Austin after getting his number from Sean, but he couldn't help her either; as far as he'd seen, David had been fully intent on going back to the house and making sure she took him back.

Once she'd finished that and asked her sister to take the next bumpdate picture, she headed over to the bar. She'd agreed with Sue that she would do the early afternoon shift and take a break before taking the late shift; the blonde bartender would cover the bit in the middle and stay for most of the evening. It meant Isabella didn't have to worry about coming back yet but give her a much-needed break in the afternoon. Sean was going to pick her up for lunch and drop her off at home, so she could take a nap before her evening shift. This time he'd prepared them a picnic, which they could have just outside of town; it would give them privacy and space, but not take too long for Tatum to still get back home.

The picnic, she wasn't sure if she could or should call it a date, started so well; Sean had brought a fresh French stick with lots of nice things to have with it. Tatum almost said she wasn't allowed to have brie when he offered, but quickly fibbed she just didn't like the smell of it. Rather than use that opportunity to tell him she was expecting a baby, she focused on creating the best sandwich she could with all her other favourite things. "That looks disgusting, and I eat pretty much anything," he'd said with a similar tone to what Isabella had used when she saw her craving concoctions. Begrudgingly, the redhead had cut him off a piece to try and tucked into her monster sandwich. She got about halfway through when she came across her first pickle. She swallowed her bite and paused as she put her sandwich down on her plate, surprised at feeling her stomach turn. "You okay?" he asked when he noticed she looked off. Tatum barely gave a shake of her head, not wanting the motion to upset her stomach. She took a shallow breath, thinking momentarily that that had helped.

"It was the…" she started to explain, when her stomach heaved. "I'm gonna be sick," Tatum managed to tell him as she jumped up and made it a little way over to someone's bin before being sick. Sean couldn't help grimace at the sound before picking up a couple of napkins and her bottle of water, wordlessly holding them out towards her. "I'm sorry," she said, sounding a little pathetic as she took a couple of the napkins to wipe her mouth.

"Don't worry about it. I just hope you're not getting that stomach bug again," he said, giving her a concerned, sweet smile and it made her feel so guilty for not telling him. "Do you want to go home?" he asked, seeing her nod. He held out his arm for her to hold onto if she wanted and helped her back to his truck. Sean quickly tidied up the picnic, especially her sandwich, and got in the truck with her.

Since seeing David again, Isabella could feel the familiar fear seeping into her bones. She knew he'd said he'd leave, as Aaron had threatened him, but having been in close proximity with him again had left her very aware of what he was capable of. She'd tried leaving him before after all, and he'd followed her to Little Grove. It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that he'd left to make Aaron think he'd won, only to come back and hurt her again. So, that night she'd slipped back into a familiar routine of staying up all night, worrying about every single noise in the house, and falling asleep on the sofa during the day.

Even on the sofa she wasn't spared from her nightmares. Isabella dreamt that she was trying to run again, hearing him bang doors as he looked for her. It didn't take long before he was gaining, the banging getting louder, her breathing growing shallow and fast as she hid in the kitchen, her back flat against the wall, her attention on the hallway and front door. She screamed and leapt up, almost throwing herself off the sofa when a pair of hands grabbed her shoulder.

"Isabella, wake up, it's okay," she suddenly realised that someone was actually holding her and instinctively she started flailing her arms to keep them as far from her as possible. "Isabella, don't… you're okay. Ouch!" her hand connected with someone's jaw. When they pulled their hand back to get out of the reach of her arms, she realised that it couldn't be David; he would've grabbed her hands hard and slapped her by now.

"Aaron!" she exclaimed surprised when she finally dared to open her eyes, sinking back into the sofa away from him. "Why…?" the brunette couldn't finish her question, which was pretty much the same thing she'd asked when he'd stopped by yesterday.

"I knocked," the Miller assured her, tenderly feeling his jaw. He was glad she hadn't actually punched him, but it still hurt where she'd caught him with the knuckles on the back of her hand. "I was about to leave when I heard you screamin'," he explained why he'd come in.

"Yeah… bad dream," Isabella admitted, rubbing her face and going through her hair. She looked at him, sitting back on his haunches to keep his distance. "Sorry," she said, feeling a little bit bad for hitting him. But for the most part he deserved that, and a lot more, for the years of torment he'd put her family through. "What are those?" she asked slowly, when she saw a bunch of flowers on the floor beside him.

"Oh," Aaron said a little embarrassed, "they're for you." He picked them up and held them out towards her with a sheepish look.

Wordlessly she took them from him, feeling thoroughly confused. This behaviour of caring whether she was okay and giving her flowers went completely against his usual derision and malice towards her and her sister. "Eh… thank you? Why-?"

"Well, you know… I… I still feel I should've believed Austin when he said he didn't trust David," he admitted, going through his hair as he avoided her look. "Anyway, I guess I'd better go," he said, feeling suitably awkward now and got up quickly to head towards the front door. He hadn't thought this through properly.

"Aaron, thank you," Isabella said quickly as she followed him. She wasn't sure what else to say or if she should believe his motivation was genuine, but she would appreciate the gesture in front of her in this moment.

He stopped in the door opening and turned back towards her with a hesitant smile. "You're welcome," he said. "Hope you're okay," he added, feeling a little lame even as he said it. She just gave him an awkward shrug in response. Aaron gave her another nod and headed down the porch. He looked up to see Tatum walking up the drive, looking at him thoroughly confused and slightly apprehensive; the last thing her sister needed was grief from the town's bully. He didn't acknowledge her as he passed her, but she sped up a little to see if Isabella was okay.

"Izzy, y'alright? What the hell was he doin' here?" he heard the redhead ask. He hesitated in his steps, wanting to hear the response, but Isabella must have just shrugged or spoken in a softer tone than her sister. "Seriously, I don't trust him as far as I can throw him," Tatum responded before she closed the door behind her and the rest of their conversation became muted to him. Aaron cracked his knuckles before he continued on his way; that Tatum really was a bug up his ass and it was time to put her straight.