She looked at her reflection as she pinned her brown hair up. She couldn't remember ever seeing a more miserable sight, some of the bruises on her arms and legs were fading, others were so new they looked almost black; last night had been the first time in two or three weeks that he'd laid his hands on her again. Isabella realised she might as well be looking at her mother, aside from the drinking problem there wasn't much difference between their lives. How had she turned into the one person she'd promised herself she wouldn't end up like?
Her heart stopped when she heard the front door close with a loud bang, and she could smell the alcohol on him before she even saw David enter her bedroom.
"Why're you looking at yourself in that mirror?" he asked as he swayed, slowly making his way toward her. He wrapped his arms around her and she had to remind herself not to look too disgusted by the smell in case he'd pick up on it. "You want a baby too?" he asked as he moved his hands to her stomach, knowing Tatum looked at herself in the mirror almost daily to check on her baby bump.
"What? No," his girlfriend quickly shook her head, unable to hide the horrified look on her face. Too late, she put her expression back to neutral as she grunted while she held his weight.
"I know you want kids. What, suddenly I'm not good enough for you?" he asked, his tone angry as he pulled her towards the bed.
"David, stop, don't be ridiculous," she choked out, her heart racing as she tried to push him away from her. But he only held on tighter in reply. She couldn't remember a time when she didn't want to have kids, but the thought of having them with the man that she called her boyfriend terrified her. She didn't want her kids to live the life she'd had.
"Come on Bella," he hissed, making her breath stop when he used Austin's nickname for her. He gave her a smirk when she swallowed hard, and pushed her onto the bed, watching her cry as if it were a personal victory.
"David stop," she begged, only just rolling aside when he let himself fall on the bed uncontrolled. He reached out for her, but she slapped his hand away, surprising herself as much as she surprised him. Isabella scrambled up and rushed down the stairs into the living room, stifling a scream when he followed her angrily, calling after her that there was nowhere to escape to. He tried to grab her by her arms, but she pushed him away and he stumbled backwards, his eyes widening when he fell. Isabella screamed when his head hit the corner of the coffee table with a loud crack and he lay there motionless. Her hands shook as she wiped her tears away, swearing to herself while she thought of what to do. She reached for the letter opener on the coffee table and pointed it at him, scared David would wake up and assault her; this way she'd at least have something to protect herself. She didn't dare to leave him out of her sight and grabbed her phone from the table as she sank to the floor, not too close to him, but close enough to keep an eye on him. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried to steady her hand, so she could dial the only person she could think of.
Austin frowned when he saw Isabella's number flash on his screen, he immediately felt on edge, knowing she wouldn't call unless something was going on. Especially since he knew she was at home now Tatum had the later shift; he'd checked in at the bar about an hour ago on his way home. The second he pressed his phone to his ear he knew something had gone wrong, he could hear her sobbing before she even spoke.
"I think he's dead," he heard her voice, and he didn't have to ask who she was talking about; it could only be David.
"I'll be right there," he said, getting into his car immediately. "Bella, stay calm, okay? I'll be there in a couple minutes," he promised, stepping on the gas. He hung up even though he really didn't want to, so he could call for an ambulance and some backup as he rushed through Little Grove. However small the town always felt, it felt like it was taking him far too long to get to her. It wasn't until he pulled up on the driveway that he realised he'd forgotten to put the siren on and had raced through red lights and cut unsuspecting citizens off. He took the steps to the front door two at a time and knocked on the door impatiently. He could hear someone move on the other side. "Bella it's me," he called, and the door opened immediately. "Jesus… fuck…" he swore when he found her in her underwear, her entire body covered in bruises and scratches. Anger flared from his chest, making it hard to breathe when he realised David had been hurting her, from the looks of it for a long time. He hated himself for not acting sooner though he'd seen the signs, he hated the man that had put his hands on her even more. His hand rested on his holstered gun, though he wasn't sure if he was hoping to use it or not.
Isabella crossed her arms over her stomach, trying to hide the bruises, but there was no hiding them when they covered all of her. She'd never felt more disgusted with herself than she did now, with Austin standing in the doorway, rooted to the ground as he took her in. She wanted to tell him not to look at her, but all that came out was a single sob.
"Where is he?" he asked, his voice filled with fury as he clenched his teeth. If David wasn't dead, he'd kill him himself. She walked into the living room and he followed her, kneeling down where David was lying on the floor, a little blood trickling down the back of his head into the carpet. He checked for a pulse and found it, feeling relief though he also wished the man dead. Just to be safe, he cuffed his arms behind his back, figuring there wasn't much else he could do now but wait for the ambulance. His attention shifted to Isabella when she started crying again, and he felt like kicking himself in the head for being so focussed on the man on the floor that he'd completely forgotten to think about the one person he did care about. "Shit… Bella, come here," he breathed, standing up and pulling her into his arms. He held her against him tightly as she continued to sob. "He ain't dead, but he ain't touchin' you again," he promised as he pressed his lips against her hair, feeling her sob against him as she buried her face in his chest. Memories of the last time he'd held her flooded back to him and, even though she'd been younger back then, she felt more fragile now. He hadn't realised it with the baggy clothes she always wore, but it was clear she hadn't been able to take care of herself as he couldn't feel more than skin and bones. He held her tighter, making a silent promise to himself to never, ever let anyone hurt her again.
As if he could sense it, David groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He panicked when he tried to reach for the cut on his head and felt his arms were restrained and tried to scramble up when he found the Sheriff holding his girlfriend in his arms.
"The fuck is he doing here? Did you call him?" David sneered at his woman, who in response held on tighter to the man with his arms around her. "I knew you were doing him, you lying slut," the man on the floor snapped at her, dropping all pretence when it was clear the muscular man knew all about what was going on between them now.
Austin had to use all his willpower not to knock the man out again and was glad when he heard sirens nearing the house. He threw his coat over the brunette's shoulders moments before paramedics rushed in with some of his colleagues, knowing she didn't want the whole town to know just how bruised up she really was. He held her close to him as she explained what happened, and he was glad he hadn't gotten as far as asking for her statement, because now he knew what David had been trying to do to her, he was sure he'd have killed him with his bare hands. At least now his colleagues could join the man to the hospital while he stayed and took care of the woman that didn't deserve any of this. He'd taken Isabella into a separate room as they officially arrested David, and still she cowered when he cursed and threatened her on his way out of the house.