Breaking The Cycle

Chapter 12

Sarah's POV

*Present Day*

    After what happened the other day, Austin has been very loving and protective over me. I'm not sure how I should feel about it since no one has ever cared about me even a little. Even the whole year I dated Mark, before he started beating me, he was never this caring. I'm truly enjoying the attention and Austin seems to be enjoying it too. Things still haven't gotten very physical for us besides the frequent heated make out sessions, but that's as far as it gets. To be honest, I'm terrified of giving all of myself to him. Yes, I love him, but s*x is another level and I'm nervous. He says he understands and he's not pushing me into anything I'm not ready for, but I know he has needs and I do to. I want him, all of him, I really do, I just want to make sure it's the right thing.

    My first day at the vet's office is today and I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited. It's been so long since I've worked and I'm finally going to be doing something useful and it feels great. Austin called right after my alarm went off this morning and said he'd be here in 30 minutes with coffee and breakfast and give me a ride to work. Standing in my closet staring at my small selection of clothes, I make a mental note to go shopping for some work clothes with my first paycheck. I pull out my best pair of jeans, the ones that make my butt look good, and a casual, yet dressy yellow v-neck top. I slip on my socks and tennis shoes before going to the bathroom to brush my teeth and fix my hair. Pulling my hair into a tight bun at the top of my head, I debate putting on make-up and going natural. Lost in thought, I suddenly feel hands on my hips and a warm kiss is placed on my neck.

    "You look beautiful baby." Austin whispers in my ear and as if reading my mind, he adds, "No need for make-up, your natural beauty is more than enough to take any mans breath away."

    "Only man I'm worried about is you handsome." I chuckle as I turn to face him, his hands remaining on my hips. "Keep up this sweet talk, Mr, and I'll never make it work." 

    "What did you expect from me when you were jeans like this baby?" he growls quietly and leans in kissing my lips passionately. I kiss him back, slowly wrapping my arms around his neck and tangling my fingers in his short honey blonde hair.

    "Mmm..baby I really need to go to work. It's my fist day." I say breathlessly as I pull away from the kiss, still wrapped around him.

    "Fine angel,  but you owe me a kiss later." he leans in running his lips softly over my jawline causing my breath to catch.

    "I'll give you all the kisses you want as long as you get me to work on time." I untangle myself from him and turn back to the sink and splash my face with water.

    "Well then lets go! I want a million kisses, so we better hurry." he chuckles before heading out of the bathroom and back to the living room to wait for me. I finish getting myself ready, double checking myself in the mirror and go back into my bedroom. I pull the blankets up on Lizzi and Cameron and place a soft kisses on their foreheads and head out to the living room. Austin and I then head out to his truck and he walks straight over the driver side. That's odd, normally he opens my door for me, but that's fine, it's not a big deal. I head over to the passenger side, but Austin calls me and I stop where I am.

    "Come over here angel." he says motioning me to join him where he is. "I want to make today great for you, so to start," he holds out the truck keys to me, "I want you to drive us this morning."

    "You better not be joking with me right now, Austin or I swear to God I'll whoop your ass." I threaten as I hesitantly reach for the keys.

    "I'm not joking angel. I want you to drive. I trust you." he says kissing me softly. "But if I say I'm joking do I still get that ass whoopin you promised? I think I'd like it." he smirks as he pops my ass lightly. 

    "You are such a perv sometimes, you know that?" I roll my eyes laughing. "Now give me those damn keys and let's go." I snatch the keys from his hands and hurry to climb in the driver seat with his assistance. After he gets in the passenger seat and buckles, I start the truck up loving the feel of it rumbling to life under me. I put it in drive and slowly make my way out of the driveway and out on the dirt road. I'm taking it easy as we head closer to the main road, stopping to check for traffic before pulling out. As soon as all 4 tires hit the pavement, I gas it and take off like a bat out of hell.

    "Whoa there, woman! Slow your roll, there's laws you know!" Austin says, panic in his voice as he grabs hold of the handle above the side window. I see his lips moving, talking to himself as I continue to speed down the road.

    "God, this is amazing! I wish I didn't have to go to work or else I'd be driving this baby to all ends of the world." I let out a small squeal before I see the lights in the rear view mirror. "Oh s**t, I'm in trouble." I slow down and pull to the shoulder putting the truck in park after I come to a complete stop.

    "I warned you Sarah. Now you're really gonna be late for work." Austin says, smirking at me with a look of victory on his smug face.

    "Shut the hell up, it's totally worth it." I say smiling proudly at him.

    "Mr. Anderson, I thought we discussed your driving the last 4 times I pulled over. You never learn lessons easy do ya, boy?" the officer says as he walks up the to driver side window staring down at his note pad, writing something. Austin clears his throat and the officer looks up. "Well, look here. Is that you Sarah Jones?"

    "Yes sir, it's me. I'm the guilty one today, Austin told me to slow down, but I'm running late for work and this is the first time he has let me drive and I kinda got carried away." I giggle like a little school girl and my cheeks turn red as I admit why I was driving so recklessly.

    "Looks like your innocent for a change, Mr. Anderson. As for you Sarah, I'm going to let you off with a warning this time. I'm just happy to see you back in town and doing so well. You must have this young man wrapped pretty tight around your finger if he's letting you drive his truck." he says laughing. "You to get on and be careful. Hope to see around more Sarah, tell your momma, officer Sanchez said hi" he smiles before walking back to his car. I put the truck back in drive and slowly pull back onto the main road and continue on my way to work, a bit more carefully this time.

    "I think officer Sanchez may have a thing for you mom." Austin says chuckling.

    "I kinda thought the same thing, but isn't he married?"

    "He was, but about 5 years ago his wife ran off with some guy she met online and left him heartbroken. I don't think he ever really moved on after that, but I remember like a year ago, walking in on my mom and your mom talking about him. Your mom was all red in the face when she saw me walk in and I was definitely suspicious, but my suspicions were confirmed when I saw her and Sanchez out for dinner at the little pizza joint in town. I never said anything because I never saw them out again or heard anything else, so I just figured it didn't work out."

    "Well I think my mom and him are still seeing each other. She's been "working late" a lot and always smiling at her phone. I had a feeling she was seeing someone, but I don't pry. She's a grown woman and as long as she is happy that is all that matters. Sanchez is a good guy and I want the best for my mom." I say as I pull into a parking spot in front of the vet's office. "I guess I better get in there. Thank you for the coffee, breakfast, and for letting me drive. I love you." I lean over kissing Austin before climbing out and heading inside.

    Work flies by and I find myself truly enjoying working with the different animals and their owners. Dr. Evans is an amazing boss and him and the rest of the staff are so fun to work with and before I know it an entire week has passed. Every morning this week, Austin has picked me up with coffee and breakfast and lets me drive his truck to work and every afternoon, he picks me up when I get off. He has been picking Lizzi and Cameron up too so that we can all go get ice cream when I get off before going home. It has really been a great week all the way around and I feel so incredibly blessed with everything I have. I have even started making friends with the ladies I work with, one of them, I actually went to school with and was friends with before. It feels amazing to have friends and a social life, I forgot what it felt like to live somewhat normally.

    Friday has finally rolled around and when I get off, I have an appointment with the divorce lawyer, Lydia, that Austin helped me find. We will be filing the restraining order to protect the kids and I and then working on finalizing the paperwork for divorce. She is pretty confident that everything will go through without any issues since I have an abundance of evidence of the abuse inflicted by Mark and I don't plan on taking anything from him. My demands are simple, sign the divorce papers, sign over your rights to Lizzi and Cameron, and leave us alone. I don't want money or the house, I just want to move on with my life and be happy with my babies.

    4'o clock hits and I gather my things telling the ladies at work goodbye before I head outside to where Austin is waiting for me. I quickly jump into the truck to get out of this blistering Texas heat. July is always a rough month in Texas, it's basically summer year round with like a random month of winter and maybe some spring temperatures thrown in the first part of the year, but usually, it's just hot. Today is definitely no exception, 102 degrees outside with a feel like temperature of 117 and we are only halfway through the month, come August, it'll just get worse. Seeing the sweat droplets that have formed on my forehead in the few steps from the office to the truck, Austin turns the a/c up to help cool me off.

    "Ugh, thank you babe! Why must it be so damn hot outside today? The one day I did my hair and makeup and now I look a mess because the humidity and heat ruined me." I gripe pulling down the visor and using the mirror to attempt to fix myself up.

    "You are beautiful, angel, no matter what you think." he says as he reaches over and turns my face to him and kisses me sweetly. His lips linger on mine for a moment, before he pulls away. "Buckle up, angel, we don't want to be late to the meeting." I quickly buckle and close the visor back laying back in the seat, my nerves taking over as I become anxious about this meeting. I know Lydia said everything will go without any issues, but I can't help but think about the fit of rage this will put Mark in when he is served the papers. Obviously, the kids and I's exact location won't be given to him, but the county we are filing through will be on the paperwork and I'm pretty sure he can out 2 and 2 together and figure out where we are. That's why I will be putting the restraining order in place with the divorce papers, to hopefully protect us. My thoughts and fears are consuming me when I soft masculine voice pulls me back to reality.

    "Sarah, love, what's wrong?" Austin's voice sounds panicked and I see worry in his eyes when I turn to look at him. About that time I feel the hot tears rolling down my cheeks, I did't even know I was crying.

    "I'm okay babe. I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was crying." I try to laugh it off, but he hears the pain in my voice.

    "Talk to me baby. Tell me what's going on?" 

    "I'm scared Austin. What if he finds us? I'm tired of living in fear of that man, but I can't help it. I know what he can do and WILL do.." fresh tears begin falling from my eyes as images of what Mark is capable of flash through my mind.

    Austin's hand reaches across the seat and grabs mine, holding it tight. "He is not going to find y'all sorry and if he even tries to, he will be arrested. There is no way he is going to get to you or Lizzi and Cameron. Y'all are safe, I promise baby and as soon as everything is finalized and you are officially free from him, you, the kids, and I can all run away somewhere far for a little while to get y'all away from everything. I'm gonna take care of y'all, Sarah, for as long as I live."

    Taking a deep breath, I try to calm myself before replying, "Thank you babe. The fear will always be with me in the back of my head no matter what, but I know you will take care of us and keep us safe and I'm thankfully for that. I love you Austin."

    "I love you Sarah." he kisses the back of my hand before turning his full attention back to the road. We ride the rest of the way in silence and when we finally get to Lydia's office, I have pulled myself together a bit and climb out of the truck, my head held high. Coming around to my side of the truck, Austin takes my hand in his, intertwining our fingers as we walk into the office building.

    The meeting with Lydia is quick, thankfully and it seems everything is sorted. When we leave here, she will be dropping off the paperwork for the restraining order at the local police station and it will go into effect immediately. As for the divorce papers, they will be mailed to one of her colleagues near the town where Mark is and then hand delivered to him with a copy of the restraining order. All of this will take a few days, but by Tuesday of next week, Mark should have all the papers and I am just praying everything continues on smoothly.

    Austin and I head out and he takes me straight home after I tell him I tired and I just want to go to bed. At the house, I go in and check on the kids who are with my mom in the living room watching movies. She see's the look on my face and knowing where we are coming from, she lets me know that the kids have already ate and they are going to have a sleepover with her in the living. I nod, and lean over the back of the couch and kiss both my babies on the forehead and tell them I love them before turning and going to my room, Austin following behind.

    "You don't have to stay. I know you're hungry and probably tired, so you can go ahead and go home if you want. I'm just gonna shower and go to sleep." I say to him as he shuts the door to my room.

    "Go on and shower and I'll be right here when you get out. I'm gonna grab some of those cookies your mom made and then be right back, but I'm not going anywhere tonight, unless you want to be alone." He wraps his arms around my waist from behind, kissing my neck.

    "Mmm..no your company tonight will be nice." I lay my head to the side giving him more access to my neck. "I think I saw lasagna on the stove, so make yourself a plate of that. I could tell it was homemade and my momma makes the best homemade lasagna."

    "Damn, that sounds good." he chuckles, his hot breath warming my skin. "Go shower baby and I'm gonna go eat a little of that lasagna." kissing my neck one more time before letting go and heading out to the kitchen. I go to my dresser and pull out a sports bra and matching panties and a pair of cotton shorts before heading to the bathroom. Shutting the bathroom door behind me, I lay my clothes on the counter and walk over to the shower turning only the hot water on. I strip down to nothing and step into the scolding hot water, watching my skin instantly turn red under the heat. I let the water run over my body for a few minutes, before the weight of the day hits me and I sink to the floor bringing my knees to my chest and allowing the tears that are building in my eyes to pour. Sitting like this for a good 10 minutes, I finally decide I should get cleaned up and get out. I stand and quickly wash and condition my hair, scrub my body down, and then wash my face. Cutting the water off, I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around my now very red and hot body. The bathroom is filled with steam and the smell of sweet coconut from my shower gel. Drying off, I slip my clothes on and then wrap the towel around my hair to dry it. I go back into the bedroom and just like he said he would be, Austin is laid across the bed waiting for me. No longer dressed in his clothes from the day, he lays sprawled out across my bed in only his boxer shorts. Seeing me walk in the room, he pats the spot on the bed next to him.

    "Come here beautiful." he says just loud enough for me to hear. I walk over to the bed and crawl in next to him and he wraps his arms around my waist pulling my body to his. My back is pressed against his bare chest and I can feel his heartbeat quicken as he tightens his hold on me. He leans in and whispers into my ear, "I love Sarah Ann."

    "I love you Austin. Thank you for everything you do. I really am blessed to have you." I lay my body back against his getting as close as possible to him. I feel the heat of his lips trailing from my ear, down my neck as my eyes grow heavy. The warmth of his body against mine relaxes me and I slowly drift off to sleep wrapped tight in the arms of the man who truly loves me.