Chapter Twenty-Six

Isabella woke up with a start but was unable to say what woke her. It could've been anything to be fair; her dreams had been anything but pleasant for a long time now and, even asleep, she was wary of any big movements David made beside her. She took a deep breath to try to settle herself, knowing it would still be too early to get up. As she tried to make herself comfortable again, her hips felt like they burst into flames, with last night's memories flooding back to her. Remembering her encounter with the countertop, her right hip started throbbing. She gently put her hand to what she was sure was a massive bruise, pulling her leg in slightly to curl up. Her memories continued last night's horror show without her permission; his threats towards her sister; having to choose something to wear to seduce David with; to have to go through the motions and pretend to enjoy what he was doing to her. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually, genuinely enjoyed having sex with him, but last night Isabella had felt the lowest she ever had. And now the disgust with herself, letting him put her through all of this, threatened to make her sick. She took a couple of deep breaths, hoping to settle her nausea, but it only made it worse and she had to jump out of bed and run to the bathroom to throw up. Once her stomach contents started coming up, she felt like she'd never stop. Her stomach kept heaving, but there was nothing left to get rid of, except for the shame, fear, and disgust.

Eventually her body gave up and she curled up against the toilet, the cool porcelain against her forehead.

She lost track of how long she'd lain there, until a soft knock on the door woke her.

"Izzy, you okay?" she heard her sister's concerned voice. Isabella got up painstakingly, her whole body now protesting, and opened the door. "Oh geez, Izzy," Tatum couldn't help reacting. "You look rougher than I've been feelin'. Is everythin' alright?" she asked, putting her hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Oh yeah, I must've eaten somethin' off last night," the brunette said, trying to get her hair out of her face again, but it was sticking to her slightly damp forehead and neck.

"And you're definitely not..." the redhead started to ask, but her sister cut her off with a solemn shake of the head.

"Definitely not pregnant," Isabella assured her. There was no way she would risk bringing a baby into her toxic relationship, like both their mothers had done to them. She had been on the pill for the past couple of years in case David was too drunk or vicious to remember putting on a condom. Tatum reached out to help her with her ponytail.

"Can I get you anythin'?" she offered as they started down to the living room together. The brunette shook her head, sinking down on the sofa, trying not to flinch when she felt her hips again. "Izzy, are you sure you're okay?" her sister asked, noticing the brief moment and wondering again what she was trying to keep secret.

"Uh huh," Isabella nodded, not looking her sister in the eye. It was easier to not give in and tell her everything if she didn't look her in the eye.

"Has it got something to do with David?" the redhead lowered her voice to a whisper, not believing the shake of the head she got in response. "Izzy, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Tatum implored now.

"I know. There's nothing to tell," her sister responded. "And don't worry about the house, David's assured me he'll try better," Isabella added, even though she would be the one cleaning up as much as she could on her boyfriend's behalf. She hoped it would mean that there would no longer be a reason for Tatum to keep a close eye on David. She really didn't want to consider what he might do to 'deal with her himself'.

"Okay," the redhead nodded, sitting back a little annoyed with her sister's response to all of this. She tried not to huff as she turned to watch the sky change colour through the window.

"How come you're awake?" Isabella asked now, hoping to distract her a bit.

"Strugglin' to sleep," her sister answered, lowering her hand to her belly without realising. She wasn't sure if it was the hormones, the heart burn or if she was just imagining symptoms, but she kept waking up throughout the night until she finally gave up when she heard Isabella head to the bathroom.

"Sorry to hear that," the brunette said a little awkwardly.

Tatum just gave a shrug as she continued staring. There were now so many thoughts and theories crashing through her mind that she didn't know what to say anyway. Some were more far-fetched than others and therefore less likely to be true, but there was one thing she did know for sure: her sister's relationship with David was not the fairy tale that they'd portrayed it to be when David first showed up.

Tatum decided to take the earlier shift that day, to give her sister a little more time to settle herself after this morning. It also meant she had to spend less time in the house with David trying to decide what his deal was. He definitely didn't seem sorry or more likely to help out around the house like her sister had promised.

Isabella ended up taking a long hot bath in the morning, to keep off her feet for as long as she could while getting some comforting heat into her hips and sore body. David cut it short by demanding she made him breakfast but, as he didn't repeat last night's threats, she didn't mind too much. Once she'd made his breakfast, she cleaned up the house as much as she could so that the only mess left for Tatum to find would be what he used in the meantime. She hoped that he'd head out for the day, to minimise even that. "Have you got anything planned for today?" Isabella asked as she picked at her lunch, trying to sound as pleasant as possible so he couldn't accuse her of goading or judging him.

"Aaron asked if I wanted to hang out," David answered, seeing the annoyed look that she'd tried to fight. "What? Can I not have friends in this god forsaken town?" he snapped, slamming his fist on the table.

She was a little surprised that he was on such a short fuse after last night – normally having sex would buy her a day or two grace period. "Of course, you can," Isabella answered with the best smile she could give him. "It's just... a little awkward that you're friends with Aaron Miller of all people," she explained as tactfully as she could, keeping her gaze on the table in front of her.

"Oh, come on, this feud is such a load of nonsense. He's not out to get you," David defended his friend. In comparison to former feuds that he'd heard of, this was barely a feud. Which was easy for him to say of course because it hadn't impacted on the whole of his life like it had on that of his girlfriend, her sister and their mothers.

"But..."

"No buts! I will not have you keep me shut in this house by denying me a friend," he cut her off harshly, for the first time sounding a little childish in his accusations. Before she could figure out why or what to do with it, the pondering expression on her face annoyed him and it got the better of him, again. The back of his hand had struck her face hard before she'd even seen it coming, her left cheek exploding in pain. It was already coming up warm and throbbing as she raised her hand to it, tears stinging her left eye that was already starting to swell. "See what you made me do?" David said, almost sounding sorry. Isabella tried not to let it affect her as she tried to straighten up, but the fact that he'd struck her face really ate at her; he would normally try to avoid leaving any easily visible marks.

"It's okay," she said numbly, feeling another stab of pain when she saw an almost disgusted look on his face as he looked at her.

"Put some ice on that," he instructed her, grabbing her neck a little forcefully to take a proper look. "It goes without saying that you tripped or walked into a door, doesn't it?" She nodded the best she could without pulling away from him. "That's my girl," David said, sounding a little sad, before he kissed her right cheek. "I'm going to meet Aaron now. Make sure this is all tidied up," he told her, giving her one last kiss before heading out, slamming the door shut behind him.