Breaking The Cycle

Chapter 15

Sarah's POV

*Present Day*

    "Stop! No! Please don't kill me Mark! Please! I'll do anything you want, just please let me go! Please, Mark!" I shoot up in bed, heart racing and drenched in sweat. I look around the dark room trying to see where my attacker has moved to, when suddenly a hand lands on my back.My body freezes under the touch of the foreign hand and I stay still, holding my breath, before I hear a soft voice speak up in the silence.

    "Sarah, angel, what's wrong?" the voice asks, shifting slightly in the bed next to me. Fear spreads like a wild fire through my body and I leap from the bed, trying to put a distance between myself and the unfamiliar figure sitting on my bed. 

    "Get the hell out of here! I won't let you kill me! Leave now, you monster!" I scream, watching intently as this figure moves itself to the edge of the bed furthest from me and makes it's way across the room to the bedroom door. It stops and I immediately reach for the lamp on my bedside table. Lifting it above me, ready to throw it at a moment's notice, the figure flips the light switch. Standing in the doorway, I see Austin staring across the room at me, worry and sadness consume his features.

    "Sarah, angel, it's just me. Please, put the lamp down and let me come over there to you." he says softly, trying to calm me with his words. Still unsure if it is really Austin in front of me or if my mind is playing tricks on me, I cautiously set the lamp down, but keep my hand on it just in case. Seeing my uncertainty, he holds his hands up, open in front of himself as he walks slowly across the room to me. "I'm not going to hurt you, baby. I promise." his voice barely a whisper as he gets closer to me. Now standing directly in front of me, he places his hands gently on my sides and I take in a raged breath feeling his warm skin against mine. His intoxicating scent takes over all my senses and I crumble into him, his arms wrapping tightly around me holding me up on my feet. Carefully he picks me up and sits on the bed, pulling me into his lap. I tuck my head into his chest as the tears pour from my eyes, my body shaking uncontrollably from the sobs and his arms only wrap tighter around me. 

    "Shh, my love. It's okay. I'm right here and I'm not going to let you go." he whispers into my ear as he runs his fingers through my hair.

    "He was going to kill me, Austin.." I manage to get out through the sobs. "Mark.. he was sitting on me in my bed, one hand around my throat and the other holding a knife in the air above his head. Austin, he was going to stab me to death and then go after my babies and my family, and.. and.." my sobs pick back up again, images of a dead Austin playing in my head.

    "It's okay, Sarah. He's not going to get to you or anyone you love, not as long as I am alive. I will always protect you and Lizzi and Cameron and the whole family. I can't live in a world that doesn't have you in it and I will fight anyone who tries to take you away from me." he places his hand under my chin, tilting my head up to look him in the eyes and then kisses my forehead. "The only way you're ever gonna get rid of me, is if you kick me out yourself, but even then, I'll fight for you." he laughs softly at the last part and leans in kissing my forehead again.

    A few more moments pass, Austin holding me in his arms still and my sobs and tears have finally slowed and I feel like I can breathe again. I listen to his heartbeat against my ear and begin to match my mine to his allowing my body to finally relax in his arms. My eyes, now puffy, red, and exhausted from all the crying, begin to close as I drift off to sleep.I feel a slight shift in the bed and I am suddenly laying on my pillow alone, but before I can process, I feel Austin's arms wrap around me again and his warmth take over my body.

    "Goodnight beautiful. I love you." his sweet voice is the last thing I hear before I sink into a dreamless sleep. The next thing I know, 2 little bodies are jumping up and down on the bed, a very contagious giggle filling the room as they do.

    "Mommy! Mommy! Wake up! It's pool day! Hurry! Get up!" Lizzi says as she continues to jump. Cameron has a hold of Austin's face, trying to pry his eyes open, but is not having a lot of success. 

    "Okay! Okay! I'm up and I'll get Austin up, but you two need to get dressed. I bought you both a swimsuit and they are laid out on the couch for y'all. Lizzi, you help Cameron with his and then when you are both dressed, I want y'all at the table for breakfast or no water park today." I sit up in the bed and lift them off one by one and send them on their way out the bedroom and to the living room. Looking over at Austin laying next to me, I see that he is still peacefully sleeping, completely unaffected by the kids attacking us. I know I could just wake him normally, but what would be the fun in that? I'd much rather tease him a little to get him moving this morning. I slowly climb on top of him, placing my body just below his waist line and remove my over sized t-shirt leaving me in just a sports bra and a pair of cheeky panties. I lean down on over him and begin to kiss from his shoulder up to his ear ans then down his jawline, gently nipping the skin before grazing my lips over the tender spot. Reaching his mouth, I lightly touch my lips to his, but skip the kiss altogether as I continue down his neck to his chest. The moment my lips hit his chest, I feel his body stir slightly underneath me and immediately I can feel a bulge growing in his boxer shorts. I begin to make my way down his chest to his stomach, only stopping when I reach the waist band of his boxers. I then feel his fingers tangle in my hair as I make my way back up to his mouth. Pausing for only a second, he pulls my face to his and begins to kiss me passionately. As the kiss deepens, my hips move in a rhythmic motion, grinding my v****a into the down fully erect bulge in his boxers. The friction between our bodies causes me to moan into the kiss and I feel my panties become damp. A low growl escapes his lips as he pulls away to catch his breath and his eyes meet mine and I see the fire burning deep in them.

    "If you plan on taking the kids to the water park today, I suggest we put this fun on hold till later." Austin smirks up at me, leaning up and gently kissing my now red and swollen lips.

    "I'll have lots more for you later, handsome." I wink at him and roll off his stomach. Sliding to the edge of the bed and standing up, I walk over to my closet and pull out a loose fitting summer dress and the bag with my new swimsuit in it and head to the bathroom. I close the door behind me and quickly change into a little blue bikini with just enough material to cover all the important stuff. I slide my dress over top and head back out to my bedroom where I slip on my sandals and let Austin know the bathroom is free. I then walk into the kitchen and begin to make breakfast for all of us.

    Just as I am setting down everyone's plate, filled with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and watermelon slices, Austin walks into the kitchen and plops down in a chair calling Lizzi and Cameron to the table to join. With the kids now at the table, I take my seat next to Austin and we say a blessing over the meal before digging in. When we finish, Austin clears the table and cleans up the little bit of mess in the kitchen while I put sandals and sunscreen on Lizzi and Cameron and finish packing our bag for the day.

    It's a Saturday morning and still pretty dang early, so everyone else in the house is still asleep as we load up Austin's truck with an ice chest full of snacks and drinks and a couple bags with all of our towels, dry clothes, and more sunscreen. Lizzi will be starting Kindergarten in a few weeks and I'll be enrolling Cameron in a preschool in town, so we wanted to make the best of the rest of the summer with them. Austin went above and beyond when he bought us a family fun pack for a water park just an hour outside of town and the kids have been over the moon excited about it since they found out. It really does bless my heart how much Austin loves all 3 of us and how much my babies love him. With everything finally loaded and the kids buckled into their seats, we hit the road out of town to a day full of family fun. I shoot my mom a quick text to let her know we have left and that I will text her again when we make it. I know she is sleeping, but I send it anyways so she will see it when she wakes up.

    For most of the drive the kids are giggling in the back and bouncing in their seats, full of excitement, but after about 30 minutes or so, they become anxious and the 'are we there yet?' questions start. Only about 15 minutes left of our drive, Austin tries to find things along the road to get their attention, with little success, until, in the distance, the tops of colorful slides can be seen. Both Lizzi and Cameron become instantly silent, awestruck as the attractions of the park grow in size the closer we get. Since it is still early, Austin is able to find a parking spot right away that is close to the entrance and we quickly grab the kids out and begin to unload the truck, so that we can get inside and get a good cabana. 

    Inside the gates, Austin finds us one of the best cabanas at the park and helps me set all our stuff out and strap the kids life jackets on. Cameron, of course, chooses to hang out with 'Daddy Ausin' all day and I take the opportunity to spend some quality time with Lizzi, agreeing with Austin and Cameron that we will meet back up at lunch to eat as a family and spend the rest of the afternoon together. Going our separate ways, Lizzi and I pick one of the bigger slides to go down first to get used to the water easier.

    One slide after another, I quickly realize that Lizzi is a thrill seeker; a dare devil and nothing scares her, while I on the other hand am terrified of heights and spend most of the morning scream till my chest hurts while she just laughs. The morning flies by and Lizzi and I are starving as we make our way back to the cabana where we find Cameron and Austin already laid out in their chairs eating sandwiches.

    "Well thanks for waiting on us boys." I say sarcastically as we sit in our chairs next to them.

    "Hey now woman, we tried to wait, but I couldn't starve my boy here. He needed some substance after our busy morning." Austin gives me sad puppy dog eyes as he tries to justify what he did.

    "Yea, momma! I tell daddy fee' me 'fore I bus' him up!" Cameron chimes in taking Austin's side.

    "I'll let it slide this time boys.." I say eyeing them both before keeping my gaze on Cameron, "but next time, I'll have to get you with the tickle bug!" I jump from my chair and reach over to Cameron tickling his bare feet as he tosses back and forth on his chair in a fit of laughter. Sitting back down, I grab Lizzi and I each a sandwich and drink from the ice chest laying back and listening to her and Cameron compare stories of 'who did the coolest thing.' We finished up our lunch and cleaned up all our garbage and straightened our cabana back up before heading over to the lazy river to float for a bit before we went down a few more slides.

    Our day ended too quickly for the kids liking, but after nearly 10 hours out at the water park, Austin and I are wore smooth out and ready to go home and get some sleep. We argue with Lizzi and Cameron for a few minutes, before Austin just scoops them up, one under each arm, and carries them out to the truck. I follow behind carrying as much of our stuff as I possibly can and throw it all in the bed of the truck before helping Austin buckling my 2 screaming kids into their seats. After we have them in, he goes back into the park to get the rest of our stuff while I sit with the kids trying to calm them down. Austin throws the last bit of our stuff in the back with the rest and climbs into the driver seat, wasting no time to get on the road back home. Before we've even made it out of the parking lot, both kids are sound asleep, exhausted from a day of fun in the sun.

    "Thank you for today, babe. You really have no idea how much things like this mean to me. I don't even remember the last time I had so much fun." I reach over taking Austin's free hand in mine.

    "I'm just happy I am able to give you 3 all the things you didn't have before. You deserve the world and so much more Sarah and one day you will have it all and Lizzi and Cameron will never have to worry about anything because I will always love and care for them and spoil them too." he smiles over at me, giving my hand a light squeeze.

    "I wish this weekend didn't have to end. It's been absolutely wonderful and I could live in this moment forever." I sigh as I lay my head back on the seat.

    "I will do my best to make everyday form this point on, better than the last, just for you because it is what you deserve my love. But please tell me you didn't forget that I will have to go home tomorrow? Monday is the big meeting for the company transfer and my parents want me to go to their house for a few hours tomorrow to discuss a few things before we officially sign papers." Austin's eyes cut over to me with worry.

    "Yes, I remember babe, that's why I said I don't want the weekend to end. Tomorrow is going to be a long and boring day without you."

    "It will only be for the afternoon and night and I will see you first thing Monday morning and text you a million times between then." he chuckles to himself, focusing his eyes back on the road. I hold tight to his free hand, enjoying the warmth of his touch as we continue down the road back home. After what feels like forever, but is only about an hour, we finally get home and Austin leaves the kids and I in the truck while he unloads everything and then comes back and gets Lizzi out of her seat and carries her in, leaving me to get Cameron and carry him in. Inside, we change them into their pj's and tuck them into their bed, before changing out of our clothes and climbing into bed as well. Austin wraps me tight in his arms, holding my body firmly to his and before I can even tell him goodnight, I hear a soft snoring in my ear. I laugh softly to myself and slowly fall into a deep sleep from the exhaustion of the day, the sound of Austin snoring lulling me to sleep.