I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In

Two dials before Beth's voice pierced through the receiver; "She's fine, Leland."

He chuckled slightly, "Who says I was calling to check up on her?"

"Do you think I'm dumb, son? You've called four times in the last hour!" Beth laughed, followed by a flurry of children's voices in the background, "She just ran past me now with Abbey and Maddy. They've roped Bonnie into playing tea parties."

"Poor Bonnie," he smiled, "Okay, I'm just heading to pick up Isabelle and then we'll come over. I know she's dying to see Zahli."

"I'll bet. Just remind her that she's in the safest place right now. There's no way Tim will try and take Zahli from here. Your dad would tear him to shreds if he even thought about it."

"I know," Leland sighed, "and so does Isabelle. It's just hard for her to cope with."

"Well, it's a nice day out. Why don't we all go down the beach? Have a nice family day out. I'll ask your dad if he wants to take the boat out. Belle can have a safe day out with Zahli."

Leland nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure she'd like that. We'll see you soon anyway."

Hanging up the phone, Leland looked to the left of him at Isabelle's house. He couldn't believe the lengths they now had to go to to protect both Isabelle and her daughter. Zahli had been staying at Dog and Beth's to keep her safe, in case her deranged father decided to use her as revenge. Isabelle had quickly fallen into a pit of despair at the loss of her daughter. Although it was only temporary, Zahli had been with Isabelle since the day she was born. They had a routine and they had each other. That had been snatched from them, by a man who was supposed to protect and love them both.

The blinds shuffled in the front window, and Leland saw Isabelle's blue eyes peering out. He jumped out of the car, grabbing the coffee cups from the front seat. Walking to the front door, he smiled as Isabelle met him on the stoop, planting a soft kiss on his lips and graciously taking the coffee from Leland's hands.

"Thanks," she smiled, kissing him once more before stepping back inside her home, "I'll just get changed and then we can go and see Zahli?"

"Yeah. Beth asked if we all wanted to go to the beach today? Dad might take the boat out."

"That sounds great," Isabelle nodded, making her way to her bedroom while taking off her loose t-shirt, "I need to get out of this house. These four walls are making me crazy."

Leland moved behind her, kissing her bare shoulder, "It won't be for much longer."

"Tim won't go to jail, Leland. If he does, it won't be for long. Zahli and I are always going to have to hide from him," Isabelle huffed, clearly frustrated with the situation. She grabbed her bikini from a closet drawer and slipped the top on. "It's not like you can live with us forever. I miss my daughter. I don't want her living away from me for as long as it takes her father to forget about us. That could be forever."

"Why can't I live with you forever?" Leland asked, pressing his back against the wall and folding his arms defensively.

Isabelle sighed, throwing a loose singlet over her torso before rummaging through her drawers for a pair of shorts, "We have just started, Leland. If Tim didn't exist, we would have gone on a couple dates by now. You wouldn't be living in my house."

"I don't have to live here. If you want me to leave, all you have to do is say."

"I love having you here, Leland. I'm just saying, relationships aren't supposed to work this way. Have you ever met a woman and moved in with her after a couple of weeks?" Isabelle asked.

"No, bu-"

Isabelle cut him off by kissing him, "I'm not saying it's a bad thing. Honestly, I'm thankful that this has worked out the way it has. I just meant that surely after this debacle is all over, you'll want to move to your own home and act like a normal couple for a little while."

Leland felt the need to protest, however he thought better of the situation. She was right after all. Their relationship had escalated in a matter of days, completely forgoing the coy dating stage. But now that Leland was here, he couldn't imagine being anywhere else. That's what he wanted to tell Isabelle, but he felt it necessary to stay silent on the issue.

"Ready?" He smiled, glancing over at Isabelle who was rummaging at the bottom of her closet again, "It's the beach, Belle. You won't be wearing shoes anyway."

"Shut up you," she laughed, softly throwing a single sandal at him, "I have to match!"

"Let's go," Leland smirked, picking up Isabelle and throwing her over his shoulder. She laughingly protested as he marched her out in to the lounge room, before stepping outside and plonking her in his car, "I'll lock up."

"I only grabbed one sandal. Can you grab me the other one, please?"

Leland rolled his eyes, before a small smile broke out on his defined face, "Show me your shoe." Isabelle lifted her foot up, wriggling it slightly, making Leland laugh.

Isabelle sighed, letting her head rest delicately on the seat. She felt excitement bubbling in her stomach as she thought of seeing her daughter again. It had only been two days, but as any parent would know, that felt like a lifetime. She imagined her daughter's big grin when Isabelle walked through the door; the soft brown curls that adorned her head and her big crystal blue eyes that would widen upon seeing her mother.

A sharp movement from beside the blue car parked in next-doors driveway caused Isabelle to snap out of her thoughts. She focused in on where she saw the movement, but there was nothing there.

"It was probably a cat," she said, looking once more for reassurance. Nothing. "It was just a cat," she repeated, turning to face Leland as he made his way out the front door with her matching sandal.