Sanctuary

I’m engaged and I still can’t believe it; I go from talking about it with my friends on Saturday and on the same day, Alex proposes. I wonder if my friends knew and just wanted to get my thoughts on marriage; that was something I will be sure to ask next time I see them. Come Monday, I wanted to talk to my co-workers if they knew anything about his plan to propose to me Saturday night. I walked into that kitchen the happiest I have ever been and ready to show off my beautiful ring.

“Good morning Abby.” Jayla, a fellow sous chef, asked.

“Good morning.”

“How was your weekend?”

“Good. Alex proposed.” I said nonchalantly.

I showed off my ring.

“Congrats!” she said, hugging me.

“Thank you. Did you know anything about it? Because Christine seemed to know something about it. She was our waitress on Saturday.”

Jayla didn’t work this past weekend.

“I heard Mike say something to her because he and Alex are great friends. How do you think she knew something?”

“She gave him this look and he gave it back after we ordered dessert like they knew something I didn’t.”

She nodded.

“How did he propose?”

“I excused myself to the restroom once we ordered dessert and when I came back, he got out of his chair and kneeled down on one knee. I was shocked, so I had my mouth covered with my right hand.”

“How do you feel?”

“I can’t even put into words how happy I am.”

The rest of the day went without a hitch and I came home at ten in the evening. Alex wasn’t home yet, so I went into our bedroom and changed; I’d probably be asleep before he got home. I got a glass of water and walked back into our room. I heard him walk in close to an hour later as my eyes began to shut.

“Abby?” he whispered, walking toward our bed.

“Mmm...”

My eyes were fighting sleep as I wanted to kiss my fiancée goodnight.

[i]Hurry up and finish changing.[/i]

I heard him finish brushing his teeth, so I moved slightly to keep from falling asleep.

“Come on...” I whispered.

“You awake?” he said, climbing into bed.

“Until you kiss me goodnight.”

“Were you waiting for that?”

“If I wasn’t asleep when you got home, but I expected to be asleep before you got home.”

“Goodnight, Abby.” he said after kissing me.

“Goodnight, Alex.”

The following day, Alex was actually lying beside me which made me smile. I felt his hand on the small of my back as I was sitting up, startling me, but who was I to complain?

“Good morning.”

“Morning.”

He sat up and wrapped his arms around my stomach, pulling me back against his chest.

“Stay.”

He had his head on my shoulder at this point.

“I can’t. I have to work. You know that.”

“Call in sick.”

I laughed. He was adorable.

“Alex, you gotta stop being so fucking cute. You’re making this difficult."

"Maybe I can come with you. I'm friends with Mike. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I was there."

"I'd love for you to come, but... how does this sound? We'll have sex when I get home."

He kissed my cheek.

"Sounds amazing."

I smiled and turned around to kiss him.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Now, I need to get ready for work."

After my shower, I dried off and walked into our bedroom to get dressed. Instead of still being in bed like I thought, he was in the kitchen; I could hear him singing and boy, I fucking love that voice of his. What the man was singing was absolutely beautiful; he was singing [i]Hallelujah[/i] by Leonard Cohen. It was certainly one of the last songs I have ever expected to hear him sing, nor a song All Time Low would ever play. I immediately grabbed my phone and walked toward the kitchen, more specifically the end of the hallway to videotape him. Luckily, he was only seconds into the beautiful song and I got to tape this moment. When he was done singing, I dashed back into the bedroom to get dressed. While I was finishing my hair, I could smell something delicious cooking in the kitchen. As soon as I was done, I traveled to where the wonderful smell was emanating from.

“What’s cookin’, good looking?”

He laughed.

“Scrambled eggs.”

“What kind?”

“Ham and cheese.”

“With lots of cheese?”

“Lots and lots of cheese.”

I squealed.

“You’re the best.”

“I try. I just like for you have to a good meal before heading off to work.”

“Well, I appreciate that. Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

“So, what’ll you be up to today?”

“Some writing, grocery shopping and cleaning.”

“Sounds like a productive day.”

He then served me breakfast.

“This is delicious.”

“Surely, it’s not as good as anything you cook.”

“You’re plenty good, almost as good as your singing voice. Saying almost as good about your voice doesn’t even cover it, I absolutely love it; it’s amazing.”

He blushed.

I finished getting ready in ten minutes and walked into the living room.

“I’ll see you when I get home, be ready.”

“I will be. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

And with that, I was off to work, but not before I got a call from an unknown number. Normally, I wouldn’t answer those kind of calls, but something was telling me to answer.

“Hello?”

“Is this Abby Shaw?”

“Yes, this is her. Who may I ask is calling?”

I got nauseous as I listened to the man speak. He told me that my rapist was going to be put on trial, since he wouldn’t take a deal.

“Thank you very much.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

“Ok.”

I hung up and had to gather my thoughts before I pulled out of the driveway. How I managed to even get to my lunch break, which was at two, was beyond me; I called Alex as soon as I got on my break.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” I said in a worried voice.

“What’s wrong?”

“Before I left, I received a call saying that there’s going to be a trial. He didn’t take a deal.”

“Do we know when?”

“Less than a month. I’m gonna be sick, Alex. I can’t do this. I just can’t.”

I was in tears at this point.

“Yes, you can. I know you can.”

I started to have a panic attack which was something I never had up until today.

“Abby? Abby, are you okay?”

“No. I think I’m having a panic attack. I can’t breathe.”

I’m sure he could hear me crying by now. This is fucking scaring the hell out of me.

“I’m coming.”

“Alex, no. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be there asap. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I sat there in my car trying to relax, but I couldn’t; it was like I was frozen. Alex pulled in the parking lot ten minutes later and he immediately saw my car and got inside.

“Abby?”

I broke out into tears again, further making my headache worse. I looked over at him with blurry eyes as I was taking shallow breaths. I faintly smiled and took his hand.

“I’m such a fucking mess. How can you even deal with this?”

He sighed before he spoke.

“Because I love you. That’s why.”

“Still. I’m gonna be a mess whenever this trial starts.”

“I’ll be with you the entire way. You know that.”

“I get what you’re saying, but it was the worst thing in the world to happen to me. I’d rather just deal with how depressed I was for a year than think once about when I was raped and the fact that I have to see this bastard’s ugly fucking face again and not just one more time, but multiple times.”

I was hysterical and ready to hit something or hell, even break something. Alex stopped me before I could do a single thing and pulled me into a hug. I gripped his shirt and cried into it.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“For making you come the whole way out here. I mean, I’m gonna head back in, of course after I eat. Fuck. I need to go get something to eat.”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

I nodded.

“I’ll go through a drive-thru with you. We can actually have lunch together. You know how rare that is.”

I smiled.

“Sounds good.”

We got out of my car and made our way into his car. By the time we got through a drive-thru, I seemed much calmer and ready to head back to work.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better. You are amazing. I appreciate this. I really do.”

He nodded this time.

"How about about your chicken strips?"

I almost spit out my food.

"Delicious."

I had a smile on my face again as he smiled back at me with ketchup on his face. I busted out laughing; he looked at me with a confused look on his face.

"What?”

"Your face." I said, motioning to the ketchup.

"Oh." he said, grabbing a napkin and wiping his face.

I continued to laugh.

"Better?"

"Almost."

I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Better."

When we got back to the restaurant, I wasn’t really in the mood to head back to work.

“Ugh.” I said with my head against the headrest.

“Don't wanna go back to work?”

“Uh huh. Are you still up for sex when I get home?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, I can get through the rest of the day. I’m using that as motivation.”

“That’s fantastic motivation. So, are you gonna be okay? I’ll be here in a heartbeat.”

“I will be. I love you. I gotta go. I have five minutes to get back in there.”

“Ok. Love you, too.”

We kissed and off I dashed out of his car to walk into the kitchen through the back door. I ended up being fine the rest of the day which I don’t know I would’ve been if Alex hadn’t come to my rescue, but I know he’s not gonna always be there if I need them because of All Time Low being on tour. Seeing as it was nine in the evening, I was actually tired, but I had hormones running crazy; I was ready for him and all that he has to offer. Unlocking the front door, my heart was racing, but this time it was because of a great reason.

“Alex?” I called out for him, taking off my shoes.

The lights were out and the lone lights that were on, just happened to be the hallway lights, I walked down the hallway assuming he was in the bedroom. I saw the dim light of candles throughout our bedroom, but I couldn’t find my beloved anywhere.

“Alex?” I asked as I heard the bathroom door open.

“Hey, Abby.”

“Hey.” I said, setting my purse on the floor.

“How was the rest of your day?” he said walking toward me.

“Wonderful. Yours?”

“Boring. I couldn’t get you off my mind.”

He wrapped his arms around my neck and pressed his lips to mine.

“Clearly, Mr. Romantic. It’s beautiful in here.”

He smiled.

“I try.”

“And you succeed.” I said with my hands on his waistband, fiddling with his jean button.

“Ready for this?”

“Yes.”

I successfully unbuttoned his pants and unzipped his pants allthewhile I looked straight at him; he loved it as he smirked. He did the same to me and pulled them straight down, then I stepped out of them. I couldn’t get his pants off of him quicker along with his shirt. All I wanted to do was run my hands all over his chest, but obviously, I wasn’t able to since my shirt and bra had to be taken off which he did quickly.

“Freedom.” I said.

“Not quite.”

He picked me up and tossed me onto the bed causing me to laugh. That ended when my panties were practically ripped off.

“Take off your briefs.” I commanded.

It was nice to have control; no, it was empowering.

“Yes, ma’am.” he saluted.

Then, I laughed. He took them off and pounced. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted him this much since we’ve been together. We kissed each other hungrily as I flipped us over.

“Plan on going for a ride, cowgirl?”

“Yes, I am, cowboy. Any complaints?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“Absolutely none.”

I maneuvered, so I was in proper position to ride him; I was also thankful to being on birth control because I just wanted him and nothing in between our bodies. He put pressure on my hips once I starting riding him which I was now okay with again; as rough of a life I’ve had, I like it rough in the bedroom. When I was at the point of orgasm, I put pressure on his hips then collapsed into him. I laid my head in the crook of his neck before I spoke again.

“Want me to blow out the candles?”

“I’ll do that. Don’t worry. Don’t ever worry.” he said, stroking my hair.

Notes