A/N: Sorry for the wait!! better late than never! There's sensitive scenes in this so be warned, but hopefully all is enjoyed (:

Warnings: swearing, domestic violence.

Isabelle was awakened in the middle of the night by the sounds of stomping feet, slamming doors and raised voices. She hurriedly shoved her phone into her pocket and cracked open her door to see what was going on.

"I'm fucking canned, Marg! They fired me! Three weeks in! Now you can't afford to feed your little girl. She's old enough to get a job and be out on her own!" Rick shouted, and Isabelle crept down the stairs to see Rick holding a bottle of liquor, standing in the front door entrance.

"Isabelle isn't going anywhere, Rick. You got fired, that's your problem not ours! I want you gone!" Isabelle's mother screamed back.

Suddenly Rick lunged for her, slamming her mother against the wall. "I ain't goin' nowhere." He growled, dropping his arm from where he held her.

"Get away from her, you waste of space." Isabelle said in a low voice, her hands trembling as she stepped down the stairs.

"Isabelle, go. It will be best if you go." Came her mother's voice, stronger than Isabelle would have expected.

"I'm not leaving, mom." she replied, now closer to the two of them.

"Oh, you'll leave if I say, girl. Get the fuck out!" Rick screamed into her face, and Isabelle used the opportunity to try to knee him in the groin, but failed when he caught her knee and shoved her backwards, into the coffee table. the glass split off of it and some pieces sliced into Isabelle's arm. She was so filled with fright and adrenaline she never even paid attention to it. She threw herself at the man, her hands wrapping around his throat.

"I swear, you lay another hand on her and I'll break every single one of your limbs!" Isabelle snarled in his face, causing Rick to only laugh. she brought back her fist and smashed it hard against his jaw before being pulled off by her mother.

"Isabelle, go! I'll be okay!" her mother shouted as Rick stepped towards her, about to make another move when Isabelle slipped out from under him, and she grabbed her boots and ran out through the open door and into the night. She ran in her bare feet until she made it off her street, then slid her boots on her feet. Isabelle continued to walk through the night, and it only being three in the morning gave her nowhere to go.

It was only when she ended up in front a familiar trailer Isabelle knew she should have been here all along.

Sweet Pea POV

Bang bang bang*

Sweet Pea groaned as he was pulled out of a deep sleep by the sounds of someone who seemed to be hammering on his front door. He checked his digital clock, three thirty in the morning. With a groan, he pushed himself out of bed and rubbed his eyes, heading for the door.

He switched the lock and pulled the door open, revealing a shaking, bloody Isabelle in only a t-shirt and pyjama pants.

"What the fuck, Iz?" he was immediately more awake as he let Isabelle in, closing and locking the door behind him.

Isabelle didn't say a word, just stared up at him with hurt, sad eyes.

Sweet Pea guided her into the bathroom, staring at her bloody arms. He sat her down on the toilet seat lid, and grabbed his first aid kit that Isabelle had used many a time to patch him up after a fight.

He took a seat on the side of his bathtub, laying her arms in his lap as he used a pair of tweezers and went to work cleaning the glass out of her arms and sterilizing it.

"Was it Rick?" Sweet Pea asked after a few moments, throwing the glass into the garbage and examining the rest of her cuts, before wiping them down and covering both wrists in bandages.

Isabelle nodded, and finally met his eyes. All Sweet Pea could do was busy himself and not go murder her mother's abusive husband with wiping her face with a cold cloth and tucking her into his warm bed.

Sweet Pea lay next to her on his side, his heart filled with worry. His eyes grazed the outlines of her features that he could make out in the dark, from her bright blue eyes to her softly pointed nose, turned up to face the ceiling.

"Are you okay to sleep?" he asked her, and only received a nod. "Wake me if you need anything, Iz, okay?" once again, only a nod. He watched her until her eyes closed and her breath slowed.

Sweet Pea swore to himself that he'd protect her at all costs. It didn't matter if they were together or not, he wasn't going to allow that to happen to her the way it happened to him so long ago.

Isabelle knew, she was told by Sweet Pea about the way his father used to treat Sweet Pea and his mother, knew he reason he wasn't around, and how his father is the reason his mother is the way she is today, driven mad and always with new men, men who treat her like scum. His father is the reason Sweet Pea lived alone.

Eventually, after dwelling on his past, Sweet Pea too fell into a shallow slumber.

The next morning, Sweet Pea was awakened by the sound of rustling, and opened his eyes to find Isabelle pushing herself out of bed, trying to be stealthy but also gentle on her bandaged arms.

"Where are you off to, Iz?" he said groggily, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Home." was all she said, causing Sweet Pea to sit up.

"You're not going home, Isabelle. I can't let you." he replied, memories of last night flooding back through him, and instant anger caused by Isabelle's abuser.

"You can't tell me what to do, Pea. Thanks for taking care of me last night, but I have to go see my mom. She's probably worried about me." Isabelle looked around his room, searching for her sweater.

Sweet Pea was incredulous. "Stay here. Call your mom. Please, stay with me."

"I don't know what we are right now, I can't just stay with you. You kissed me a couple times and now suddenly you want me to move in with you? Do you not remember why we broke up?" Isabelle's face was pink with anger, standing up as straight as she could but still had to arch her neck to meet Sweet Pea's eyes.

"That doesn't matter right now, Iz. Look at your arms. He's just going to keep doing it again!" exclaimed the boy, itching to wrap his arms around her and keep her safe, but he knew he'd never let her. She was too strong for that.

"I'm leaving, Sweet Pea!" Isabelle pulled her sweater over her messy blonde hair, pushing around Sweet Pea and out of his room.

"At least just get your stuff and come back." pleaded Sweet Pea, his large hand enclosing around her much smaller one. "Then we can talk about us."

Isabelle shook her head. "Pea, I agree that we need to talk about us. But not right now. I have to go, please, just let me go!" she pulled her hand out from his and backed towards his front door.

"I still love you, Isabelle! I really fucking love you and I won't let you get hurt again!" He took a step towards her, but she clicked open the front door, pulling it open.

"We'll talk later, Sweet Pea. I'll call you if I need you." and like that, without another word, Isabelle ran out his door and into the dawn, leaving a flustered and broken Sweet Pea standing all alone.