Sanctuary - Side 2

Two weeks later, Abby was preparing for her rapist's trial and so close to seeing his face again. I couldn't imagine what was going through her mind, but I knew she wasn't looking forward to seeing him. Proper clothing was bought for the both of us by us and I had to try and keep my cool while in the courtroom; I never saw that monster that night and soon I would for the first time.

"How are you?" I asked.

It was the day before the trial started and she took today off and will tomorrow. We were at the courthouse this morning though, discussing how the beginning of this trial will go.

“Ok, I guess. I see him tomorrow, again and you get to see his ugly fucking face for the first time. I know looks don’t matter in this case because of what he did, but boy, he has absolutely nothing on you.”

I laughed.

“Well, that’s good to know.” I said, kissing her cheek and pulling her toward me.

She smiled and laid her head on my shoulder. I knew that all she wanted to do today was to relax as much as possible because she knew how tomorrow was going to be.

“You wanna watch something?” I asked.

“Yeah. Doesn’t matter what.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

A short time later, we ended up taking a nap in our bedroom.

"Well, I'm going to let you go, hun. I'm starving. My stomach won't shut up. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you." Abby said to somebody.

"Love you, too."

I overheard the very end of a conversation and was curious.

"So, who's this other person you love? Should I be jealous?" I asked, smiling.

I came walking into the living room.

"Of course not. It's Miranda."

I nodded.

"I woke up and you weren't there. It made me sad." I said with a puppy dog look.

"Aww..." she said before kissing me.

"Feel better?"

"Much. Thank you." I said kissing her back afterward.

"Wanna eat something?" she asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Food sounds good."

She shook her head.

"Anything in particular?" she asked again.

I shrugged and looked in the fridge while she looked in the cabinets.

"Figured it out."

"What?”

Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit.

"Perfect."

After we made the dough, we let it sit on the warm oven to let it rise while Abby and I went to watch tv.

“Hey, I need to tell you something I asked Miranda.”

“What is it?”

“Well, that morning after the sleepover I had with the girls, she asked me if we had talked about marriage.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“What did you say?”

“I said no, but that it had crossed my mind. No one’s ever cared for me and loved me the way that he has, so that I truly know he’s the one, but that it was a crazy time to talk about it.”

She blushed and I smiled and kissed her.

“That brings us to me asking if she and the girls knew anything about proposing. She told me that you asked them a week before her birthday if it was alright for you to marry me and they had said it was more than alright.”

It was now my turn to blush. I kept a big secret that I had planned to tell her myself but didn't yet.

“I didn’t feel right asking you until I had their approval. Asking your mom was out of the question, so I went right ahead and asked them.”

“They clearly love you, obviously not in the way I do, so that makes me love you and them even more.”

She crawled into my lap and we began kissing; I pulled her further into me as we continued to make out.

“I love you, too.” I said after a few minutes of us kissing.

I laid down and she laid on top of me, burying herself and not wanting to move. Seeing her content was something I wanted for her for as long as possible because who knew what tomorrow would bring. I was about as ready for this to be the beginning of the end of the worst thing to ever happen to her.

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