Chasing Second Chances: Finn & Sawyer

Sawyer The tears were staining my cheeks as I walked into my bedroom and collapsed on the floor, trying to be as quiet as I could be so the kids wouldn’t hear. My chest hurt, my breathing was out of control and I honestly thought I was going to have a heart attack. No, I didn’t think it, I’m sure it was happening right now. My hands were shaking along with the rest of my body, unsure of what to do next. Everything around me was fuzzy due to the massive amount of tears in my eyes. How can this happen? How could I let this happen? Why me, why us? What did I do to deserve this from him? I have been nothing but supportive even when I didn’t want to be, even when everyone was telling me to just leave it. We were supposed to love one another and treat each other with respect. I always tried my best with him, but my best was never enough, I was never good enough and he made it certain to let me know every chance he got. This was the last straw. I couldn’t take it anymore. I took out my phone, ignoring the increasing pains in my chest and my body and typed out a message to Aiden as my hands were shaking. He would know what to do. He would help me. Me: Crossdale, Texas. Can you make it happen? If it’s one person I know for sure I can count on, it’s him. He has been my support since I was fifteen and he always came through for me no matter the circumstances and if he couldn’t physically be there, he made sure someone he trusted was, and nine times out of ten, that person was Ava. My body felt like it was full of concrete. I couldn’t move from the spot but I knew I needed to, I had to. Ivy needs me and so does Miles. I need to do whatever I can to protect them. While struggling to pull myself off the floor, there was a knock on my bedroom door and my head snapped to it. My anxiety went from one hundred to one thousand in an instant as fear washed over my entire body. He couldn’t be here. He didn’t know where I lived. There was no way this was happening. I went to open my phone, trying to reach the keypad to dial 911 but I kept dropping the phone or putting in the wrong password. It was like body didn’t want to cooperate. “Sawyer…it’s me. Please, open up.” Aiden called from the other side, frantic. He was worried, you can hear it in his voice. He jiggled the door handle, trying to pry the door open, “Please, let me in and let me help you.” He said softly, trying not to startle me. With all the strength I had, I made my way to the door and unlocked it for him. Once unlocked, I rolled to the side so my back was against the wall next to it, breathing heavily, trying to push through the pain in my ribs and stomach. After I said softly, ‘okay’, he opened the door carefully and he looked around the room, finally spotting me on the floor. My chest was heaving in and out and it hurt, everything hurts. “Sawyer, what happened?” He asked me as he picked me up bridal style and brought me to my bed. He gently laid me down as I winced from the pain. I let it out, the tears that I tried so hard to keep at bay just flooded everywhere, “Talk to me please. I can’t fix it if you don’t talk to me. What happened?” “He did it again…” I cried and I felt his body go tense while his hands started to tremble. “I thought he stopped. He said he would go and leave me alone, leave us alone, he agreed to let us walk away with no strings attached but he did it again.” “Where?” he asked sternly. I shook my head no, not wanting him to see. He gently cupped my cheek in his hand and made me look at him. Tears were streaming down his face, knowing that he feels guilty because he was unable to protect me from him, “Sawyer, show me. Where the hell did he touch you?” I let out a heavy breath that I was holding and pulled off my shirt, leaving me in my tank top. I couldn’t look at his face knowing that it would turn red, but I looked anyways just as I saw his eyes go black with anger, but nowhere near as bad as it’s going to be when he sees the other bruises, “That son of a bitch.” He said through gritted teeth, “I’m going to kill him.” “No please don’t. You have too much to lose and we can’t lose you too. I just want out. I need to get out of here.” I begged, “Can you make it happen and will you come with me? I need to get out of Buffalo and I can’t do this without you.” I pleaded. “It’s already in motion, Dove. I started it two weeks ago when I came home.” He sighed out and brought me to his chest. His back was now to the headboard and he just held me while the tears started to slow down. The pain from breathing just kept reminding me of what happened. “How did you know?” I asked softly as he played with my hair. “Ava.” He smiled and kissed the top of my head as he held me in his arms a bit tighter, but not too tight, “Ava kept me in the loop with what you were telling her and helped me get in touch with one of the generals down there. They have been communicating with mine up here, trying to figure something out, but in the end transferring so we can stay together if I don’t retire. Since I’m not leaving for my next tour for a bit, I can at least go with you for now. Your message just confirmed things for me. It's time.” “But…what about.” And he cut me off. “Ava is taking care of a lot of the details. We are going to try to make this happen as soon as possible, but until then, you are to not be alone. I am to know where you are at all times even when we get to Texas, I need to know where you are.” “You have my location.” I smiled up at him. “And you will also text me where you are and where you are going if you need to go somewhere and when I go overseas we will talk at least once a week, mandatory, if not more.” He held me tighter in his arms in the middle of the night, "Let’s get you in the shower and tell me what happened.” He wasn’t asking, he was telling. I froze a bit, afraid of getting in the shower. It wasn’t unusual for him to do this. I mean, I never got naked in front of him, that would be plain weird. I always wore my bra and underwear because he was the one that helped clean off the blood and tended to my bruises, so this was nothing out of the norm. It’s what we do. We take care of one another, but I know for sure when he sees what’s under my shirt, he’s going to flip. I’ve gone to the cops before and they have given restraining orders. He’s been arrested numerous times before and recently, he signed what I wanted him to sign willingly. But I guess even this will never stop him. Nothing will stop him. We got into the bathroom and he started the water for me so I started explaining what happened, “I was visiting mom and dad. I needed a heart to heart with them because of everything that has been going on. I felt someone looking at me, but every time I turned, no one was there. But I was scared so I started to go towards the car and get the kids from daycare. He was waiting for me at the car and he grabbed me and slammed me into the mirror. He started screaming at me about keeping Ivy away and how I had no right to do what I did. I fought him as much as I could and finally was able to get into the car and drive away.” I took off my tank top and I heard his breath hitch. I turned to look at him, face fallen, shamed. “Is that where the bruises came from?” he asked softly while his hands traced over the bruises on my ribs and stomach. I shook my head yes, “Some of them. The ones on my upper arms and lower back.” “Then what happened?” “I called the sitter and asked her to meet me at the house and go through the back door in case he showed up or followed me. Good thing I did because he followed me and when I got out of the car, he grabbed me by my ribs and slammed me face down on the hood of the car. He was saying how he was going to ruin me and make me regret everything that happened.” He helped me in the shower and took the hose and started to spray down my hair so we could wash it. Every time this happens, I feel ashamed. I shouldn’t need him to be doing this but I know he would in a heartbeat. That’s one of the reasons why we lived together. “He won’t. Because he won’t be able to find you. If it’s the last thing I do, he won’t find you.” “How…how is that going to happen.” We finished my shower and he wrapped me in a towel and helped me slip on my pajamas and got me to bed, wincing every time I moved. “Because…you’re going to disappear and he won’t know where to find you. No one is going to think about looking at Texas.” “But he knows Ava…” “He knows of Ava. She moved before you two got serious so for all he knows she was just someone you knew and don’t have that connection with anymore. Do you have all the paperwork from the lawyer? That is your key to making it out without him following.” I slid off the bed and went into the closet and pulled out my safe. Once opened, I took out the manilla folder that held all the paperwork that we needed to make this happen. “Don’t be scared Sawyer, the law is on our side with this. He can’t do anything. You can leave with Ivy and he can’t stop you and he’s violating all of the orders of protection you two have.” He sat up on the bed at attention with his hands folded in front of him, “We will make this happen. Miles and I will be with you both the entire time. But don’t worry about him, before we leave I will take care of it.” “When do you leave?” I asked him, scared. Every time he leaves it’s always a stab and it’s the consistent worry that I have. “And how are you going to take care of it?” “I’m not sure right now. I’m still waiting for orders but I know. But thinking about it, we should go as soon as possible and worry about the details later. We will figure it out on our way. The sooner you get away from here, the better and I love you and I would do anything to make sure you’re safe. And with your other question, I’ll make the necessary calls and make sure he’s locked away” “Thank you. But you said that we wouldn’t move until after you leave for the tour…I’m confused.” “Summer, it’s time. I know what I said but that was dumb. I’ll figure things out with Ava and get it sorted but you need to get you and the kids packed.” “When do we leave?” “Tomorrow. We will leave tomorrow.” “I don’t know if I can do this…” He grabbed my face and made me look at him, his eyes full of anger, but seriousness at the same time. “Sawyer, you are going to do this. We are going to do this. You are strong, stronger than you know. You will be okay. I promise. “Strong…” “Remember what mom used to say, you are powerful, not because you’re not scared but because you went on strongly…despite your fear. Don’t let this fear stop you. You got this. We got this.” I nodded my head while closing my eyes, remembering what my mom used to tell me. I needed to be strong, not only for Ivy and Miles, but for myself. I can’t live in this fear and if going away and starting over will help, then I’ll do everything I can to live peacefully.