I Would Have

Washington Lilacs

Song for this chapter is:

Washington Lilacs- Zach Bryan

"So babe, just pack your things
And I swear that we won't come back
You're about as pretty as those Washington Lilacs"

*Isadora*

When Isadora wakes, her face is buried into a chest. Bean is in the bend of her knees, and she's warm. So comfortably warm. Her bladder is bursting at the seams, however. Screaming to be emptied. Sitting up, she stretches and groans. Bean slides to the floor in a dramatic fashion, copying her owner and stretching with a low groan.

"You're two going on ninety, huh Beanie?" She teases the dog lovingly. "Such a rough life you have." She heads for the bathroom, washing her hands when she's done. When she comes out, Ryot is still sound asleep on the sofa. One arm tucked under his head, the other wrapped around his waist.

Carefully and quietly, she covers him with the throw draped over the back of the sofa. He doesn't wake, instead he burrows into the fabric and sighs, a soft smile on his lips.

"Come on." She says to her dogs. She lets them outside to do their business, standing in the doorway, making sure they're safe. Their daily routine. They obediently come back to the door when they're done, going to the kitchen for their treats. Isadora obliges, rewarding them, before grabbing the hamper from her bedroom and collecting all of her laundry in the floor.

Her normal routine on her off time, except today there was a man sleeping on her sofa.

She quietly started the washer, before doubling back to her bedroom to grab her charger. Her phone was fine, it was still over half charged. Gently, she plugs his phone in and sets it back on the coffee table. The least she could do.

"What do you say? Lazy day?" She asks her dogs. Peaches grumbles and crawls back into the dog bed. Bean huffs, and lays in the floor beside her.

"Yeah. I agree. A shower first though." She says to the chocolatey pup beside her. Peach doesn't move off the bed. Her eyes remain trained on the man on the couch. 

"Be nice if he wakes up Peach. He saved us." Isadora tells the spotted demon. Bean stands in the doorway of the bathroom as the girl turns on the water, opting for a hot shower. Stepping in, she allows the water to relax her tensed and sore muscles. The water felt heavenly on her tired body.

She's just finished rinsing and combing out the conditioner when Bean growls. A warning. And then, "Can I p-ss?" She cracks the curtain to see Ryot standing there, waiting for her to give permission to Bean for him to pass.

"Sicher."
Safe.

Bean moves into the hallway with a grumble. The girl finishes her shower in the time it takes him to use the bathroom, cutting the water off as he flushed.

"Shit, sorry. I didn't even think before I-" She wraps her hair in a towel, wrapping a second around her body and opens the curtain.

"Shh, stop. You're okay. I was done anyway." Isadora reassures him. He nods, and glances at her. She's lost a lot of weight. At least a hundred pounds, from when she got married. She was even smaller now than when they worked together. Her collar bones were prominent and her arms thin. Cheek bones were sharp, every ounce of baby weight leftover from childhood was gone. Around her throat was a deepening bruise, hand shaped.
Just further proof of what she'd been through.

"You're more than welcome to look around." She finally says. "There isn't much. This is the dogs' room. This is mine." She disappears into her room and closes the door halfway to change.

A pair of boyshorts. Leggings. A sports bra. She gets dressed quickly, leaving her towels by the door. Ryot is leaned against the door frame, watching her rake something from a green bottle through her hair. Leave in conditioner, he thinks. She scrunches her curls, flipping her hair back and ruffling it.

"Sorry." She apologizes. "If I don't, it'll get snarled and frizzy." She brushes past him, and his hand instinctively goes to her midsection. Hot skin meets hot skin, and she freezes, eyes trained on the floor. Avoidant of contact, he notes.
"You don't have to apologize." He says. She doesn't look up, but nods and grabs her towels, beelining for the laundry room, where she adds the towels to her half full hamper and grabs her hoodie off the dryer.

Stupid, she thought, not having a shirt.

"The dogs have nicer beds than you do." He comments, leaning over the bar. Not meeting his gaze, she starts to make coffee.
"Yeah. Their comfort comes first. Most of the time I'm too tired to make it to my bed. I sleep on the sofa. That's why there's a blanket there. Bean is my pillow. Peach keeps my feet warm." She explains nonchalantly.

"Coffee?" He nods, moving to take a mug. She dumps a tablespoon of sugar in hers, stirring it into the coffee before adding in ice cubes. He watches, before dumping sugar in his and adding a bit of creamer.

Isadora moves to the sofa and sits, Bean climbing onto her lap while she sips her drink. He joins her, hands wrapped around his mug. His large hands made the mug look small. The same mug that looked huge in hers, the very reason she couldn't use it.

Peach hops up beside him, and curls against his leg. "They like you." The girl says simply. He hums, nodding in agreement.

"Why do they know German?" He asks her, taking a long sip.

She shrugs. "So he couldn't command them, order them around. Treat them like shit. You know..."

Like he did me. The unspoken comment lingers in the air. Ryot had an idea of what she left out.

He stiffens at her remark. "Are we going to talk about last night?"
It's her turn to stiffen. She freezes, swallows.
"What do you want to know?"

"What do you feel like telling me?" It's innocent and loaded at the same time. A trap. Her heart sinks. Sh-t.

"I will lose my sh-t if I speak of it sober" she answers carefully. Her past was a loaded gun. Bean pushes her nose into the girl's stomach. An alert.

"Let me grab something to drink, and I'll answer your questions later."

In four gulps, Isadora finishes her coffee and sets her mug on the table in front of them. "I actually have to go grocery shopping." She says. "And pay a few bills." Bean doesn't move. The girl hefts her into her arms and stands, balancing the dog on one hip. The sight is comical. The dog is easily the same size as the small woman.

She fumbles for a faded blue, black, white, and green backpack in the floor, finally slinging it over a shoulder.
"You can stay as long as you like. Just lock the door behind you and don't answer it for anyone please." She grabs the leashes, and Peach doesn't move. The spotted dog cuddles closer into his side.
"Okay. And uhm, Peach in her kennel too please. She knows which one." Is all she says before stepping outside and closing the door behind her.

Ryot drains his coffee, stroking the spotted dog beside him. In the other room, he hears the washer ding. Not wanting to overstay his welcome, he grabs both empty mugs and stands, stretching his neck.

Mugs in the dishwasher, Ryot loads the rest of the few dishes into it and starts it. He switches her laundry over, too, before unplugging his phone and looking at the dog.

"Uhm, kennel? Crate? Bed?" He tries. She groans, not moving.

"Zwinger." He tries again. Kennel. She hops off the sofa and pads down the hall, waiting at the door for him. When he opens it, the dog goes to the smaller of the two kennels and curls up on the bed.

"You two are awfully lazy, you know that? But thank you for keeping her safe." He tells the dog with a final scratch behind her ears. Latching the door, Ryot grabs his truck keys off the table and heads outside, double checking the patio door and making sure he locked the front.

His phone was blown up with messages. He'd sacrificed a day of work to make sure she was okay. Not that he minded, really. She was more important.