Chapter Two

Sleep had all but welcomed Isabelle as soon as her head had hit the pillow the night before, and as the sun crept through the gap in the curtain and landed in a long strip down the centre of the bed and upon her face, she turned her head to the side and opened her eyes. She was facing the door, and wrapped up in the duvet. She realised that she couldn't remember anything about ending up in what she assumed was the bedroom that belonged to her brother. As she was able to regain her senses properly, she was able to see the clothes that were hung on a basic metal clothes trolley. Clothes were scattered here and there and she smirked as she remembered the site he would always leave his bedroom in growing up.

She must've fallen asleep and Foggy must've carried her in. The last thing she remembered was lying on the couch watching a favourite childhood film and feeling better than what she had been feeling for what seemed like forever. She had felt so contented being with her brother, and knowing that he was so near. Life in Las Vegas had been an experience, and one that she wished had stayed the way it used to be. As Foggy left for college, she was falling head over heels in love with a guy she barely knew. She believed it was the right thing to do, the path her life was supposed to go down, but the cracks had become clear quite early on and being the naïve and stubborn teen that she was, she ignored them. She buried her head in the sand and hoped that the days became easier. They didn't, but she wasn't going to admit the biggest mistake she had made in her life. She believed she knew what love was and what love meant but she didn't, not with the man she married too quickly. She knew what love was like, and she had let it go for something that only held an empty promise, and a sour marriage. The main reason as to why she packed her bags and moved to a different state was because of the pain of seeing a man she loved not love her back, and so she threw herself into relationships and that was when she met Phil. Phil had been what she needed at that point in her life, a distraction from the aching heart she so desperately needed to heal.

And now she was back, having run away from the marriage she regretted, with a black eye from the man she was willing to spend the rest of her life with. He was controlling, and she hadn't realised just how much until she moved across the country with him and away from friends and family. Little things that wouldn't bother anyone else bothered him, and he reprimanded her for them. She just put it down to him loving her. He had a mean streak, and one that multiplied with alcohol meant that he was to be avoided at all costs. He had done it before, but it was always in a haze of drunkenness and he always apologised to her in the morning when he saw the state her face and body was in. He would always be shocked, upset and sickened at the thought of him hurting her, but this time was different. There wasn't an ounce of alcohol in his system, and she knew that if she didn't leave soon then she wouldn't make it out alive. It would escalate out of hand and before she knew it, she would be dead. And she couldn't let that happen. Not now that she had something else to protect and live for.

She knew he would try to find her, and even though she pretended to be prepared, she wasn't. She was scared, but she couldn't tell Foggy just how much. If she did, she couldn't imagine what would happen next. The plan she had made in her head was a blurred one, with all the details jumbled up and faded. She would stay with Foggy for a few days, and then she would move on. Phil knew she would either go to her parents' house, or to Foggy's apartment. The fact that he knew where Foggy lived was dangerous, and she didn't want Foggy to be in any danger.

She tenderly laid a hand over her swollen stomach, and felt the lump in her throat. This baby meant the world to her already and she wasn't going to let anything happen to it. She understood that she had to tell Foggy, for this wasn't a secret she could keep for long.

Foggy had left early that morning. He had slept badly, as the worry regarding his sister and the unknown reason as to why she was on his doorstep with a black eye and enough luggage for a couple of months. He had entered the bedroom just as the first traces of sun began to appear in the distance, and had observed his sister in a deep slumber. Her brow was furrowed and she was tangled up in the sheets, but nothing seemed to wake her especially when he tripped over his own feet and nearly crashed into the wall. He had gotten a clean suit, shirt and tie and had closed the bedroom door behind him. He quickly changed, scribbling a note out for Isabelle before leaving for work. A quick text sent from Matt notified him that Matt, too, was on his way to work early.

Foggy had tried to keep everything normal, and he stopped off at the local coffee shop to get the usual. He made his way into work much less chipper than what he usually was. As soon as he entered the office, Matt immediately sensed the brooding mood coming from his best friend.

It was understandable when he was the one person she could talk to about the situation she currently found herself in, and Matt understood that Foggy was taking it hard. All he wanted to do was to help people, and to have one of the closest people to him not be open to him made him sad.

"You okay, buddy?" Matt asked, as Foggy placed the coffee containers onto Matt's desk. Foggy placed his work bag down on the floor next to the chair as he took a seat.

"Yeah…" Foggy began, to which Matt waited for a moment. "No."

"Isabelle?" Matt asked, to which Foggy nodded. He was able to sense the slight vibrations in the air at the movement of Foggy's head nodding to his question.

Foggy cursed under his breath and answered a simple: "Yeah."

Matt smirked at the fact that no matter how many times he told Foggy that he could sense everything happening around him, even when someone nodded or shook their head without vocalising their answer, he was still able to pick it up. It was just the politeness of people who didn't want to offend him that made the whole situation funny to him.

"Were you able to speak with her about any of it?"

"No, she fell asleep on the couch, and I just left it," Foggy said. "You should see her, Matt. She doesn't look like Issy; he's hurt her bad and I don't think this was the first time it's happened. She just shrugged it off like it was no big deal when it's the biggest of deals ever. She's my little sister, and seeing her in that way… it's heart breaking."

"It must be hard for her though, Foggy. She obviously ran away from something she knew she had to, and she probably doesn't want to burden you with it," Matt replied, noting that Foggy's mind was elsewhere.

"I want to fight him," Foggy said. "I want to hurt him like he hurt her."

"Foggy…"

"He hurt my sister, Matt. That's like an automatic pass to big brother beat down," Foggy said, adamant.

"Foggy… listen to me…" Matt said to deaf ears. He clicked his fingers. "Earth to Foggy."

Foggy looked at him then, and Matt knew he had his full attention.

"Remember what I told you yesterday," Matt started. "Just be there for her. If she wants to talk, she'll talk. Give her the time and space she needs because she probably wants to talk but she's scared."

"You're right," Foggy replied. "Would you do me a favour?"

"Sure, what?"

"Visit her in your costume, see what the deal is," Foggy said, worriedly.

"I'm not going to do that when she's…" Matt stopped himself from talking, knowing that Foggy didn't know anything. He didn't know that he had visited them the night before, and had heard it. If Foggy had known, he would've told him immediately knowing that Foggy wouldn't be able to hide a secret as big as that. "…just come here, y'know. She'll probably be scared."

"You're right," Foggy said. "I'm not thinking straight."

"Will you be okay to work today?" Matt wondered. He knew what it was like to work with a brain full of thoughts, and it wasn't easy.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Of course not, I mean you light up the room," Matt smirked.

"Is that sarcasm I'm detecting?"

"From me? What? Definitely not," Matt chuckled. Foggy let out a chuckle. "Okay, let's get some work done because the small amount of work we have isn't going to get done itself."

"Yes sir," Foggy replied, leaving Matt's office.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has followed and favourited Caught on Fire, it means a lot to know that people are enjoying it. And thank you to everyone who has left a review, it means so much to hear your feedback on this. Let me know what you think of this chapter!