Austin peeked into the guest bedroom for what must have been the hundredth time within the six hours she had been in his house.

The tiny female hadn't moved an inch since Austin had brought her back to his house from the hospital and she had plopped down on his California King bed. He didn't even have the heart to tell her she had wandered into his bedroom instead of the guest bedroom; Ava just simply looked too comfortable in Austin's bed, practically drowning in the comforter. It was weird knowing there was another human being in his own house, but it made him feel less lonely somehow. Austin had watched her carefully discard her wet top and jeans before she got into his bed, but his eyes had immediately been drawn to her bandaged rib cage and the colourful ink that could barely be seen above the white bandages. The doctor at the hospital had done a great job at treating all of her injuries, especially with the now stitched gash on her forehead.

Though he had initially been excited when Ava called him, Austin felt horrible that it had to be under such terrible circumstances.

Austin stared at the long sleeved shirt and boxer shorts that were folded neatly in his hands and cautiously stepped into his bedroom, placing the clothes at the foot of the bed. He wanted to give her something warm to wear since it seemed like she was always shaking; whether it was from the cold or just out of fear, Austin had no clue.

"His name is Zack."

Austin jumped even though her voice was hushed and sure enough when he turned around Ava was staring at him with tired eyes.

"The person who did this to you?"

She rubs her eyes then sits up and leans against the headboard, "Yes."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

She stares at her left hand, and that's when Austin notices the flashy engagement ring on her finger, "Oh."

"Yeah," She says unsteadily, "He's my fiancée."

"How long have you been with him?"

"Five years," She answers with a shrug, "I guess it's that type of story where the guy seems like such a sweetheart and then after a while he starts to become more and more violent. He didn't start hitting me until about two years into our relationship, and by then I thought I loved him and he was the perfect one for me. Then the beatings got worse and I convinced myself that I deserved it, that everything is my fault and he hits me to teach me a lesson. By the time I realized that none of it was my fault and he was hitting me just because he's an angry human being... it was too late. He had already proposed, of course I said yes, and I was too stupid to realize he was using me."

"Using you for what?"

"A punching bag I suppose," Her lips curl into a sad smile, "If I knew what I know now, I would have never even given him the time of day. I really am a stupid girl for not breaking up with him when he started to get violent."

"You're not stupid Ava," Austin said softly, "You thought you were in love."

She sighs and drops her head, "That day you found me on the bridge... he had forced me into having sex with him again and I just broke. I don't know why, it's not like it's the first time he's done it, but something inside me just snapped. I'm an awful swimmer, I always have to stay in the shallow end of the pool so I figured if I survived that drop into the river I wouldn't be able to survive those currents."

"I'm kind of glad I didn't do it though," Ava whispers more to herself, "I don't really have anyone I can go to, my own parents hate me and I don't have any siblings or friends, but... at least I have you, right? I know it's only one person, but it's better than feeling so alone all the time."

Austin couldn't help it, his eyes filled with tears as he nodded.

"It's nice knowing that there's at least one person who would care if I killed myself."

Austin covered his face with his hands and tried to calm himself down; he didn't want to start crying in front of Ava. It meant the world that this woman had so much faith in Austin when he didn't even have faith in himself most of the time.

He couldn't begin to imagine how alone and lost this woman must have felt for that past few years. She peered up at him, her grey eyes were glossy and the rims of her lower eyelids were swollen and red; she was trying her hardest not to cry. Austin just wanted to scoop her up in his arms and protect her from the world and all of her demons.

"You can't break it off with him?" Austin asked, trying not to think of Ava being hurt over and over again because of this asshole. Though Austin couldn't stand his ex wife, he couldn't even begin to imagine laying a hand on her, let alone beating her up every single day. How can any man hit a woman and go to sleep with a clean conscious?

Ava shrugs again and stares at the ceiling, "He definitely wouldn't be happy."

"I don't give a shit if he's not happy," Austin scoffs, "I'll give him a taste of his own medicine if I have to."

"He'd probably be scared of you anyways," She murmurs and sinks back down onto the mattress, resting her arms above her head before staring up at the ceiling.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you're a tall tattooed man who sings in some metalcore band. I'm not going to lie, you're kind of intimidating at first."

"I'm not intimidating!"

She raises her eyebrows, "You were to me."

"Well, that's because you're tiny."

"Maybe you're just huge, did you ever think about that?"

"I'm not even that tall, I'm average!"

Her eyebrows shot up, "What are you... 6'3, maybe 6'4? That is definitely not average."

Austin grows quiet as he tries to think of a comeback.

She merely smiles at him and Austin's resolve immediately deteriorates when he sees those pretty little dimples. Austin smiled back at her before remembering why he had even entered the his bedroom in the first place.

"Here," He handed her the clothes, "Put these on, you look cold."

She tugged the white shirt over her head and managed to slide the boxers on without even getting out of bed, "Thank you Austin, I appreciate everything you've done for me."

Austin rubbed the back of his neck and smiled even bigger, "It's no problem, really. I like having you here anyways, it gets lonely in this big house sometimes."

Her eyelids drooped and Austin knew she was tired, "I'll leave now so you can get some sleep."

"Austin," She grabbed his wrist as he went to stand up, "Y-You can stay if you want."

Ava suddenly seemed so vulnerable, and when Austin looked into her grey eyes he knew she was begging him to stay with her. She wanted the comfort and affection of another human being and Austin was willing to give her that and more if she wanted. She scooted over as Austin pulled his shirt over his head and replaced his skinny jeans with mesh shorts. By the time Austin slid into the bed and pulled the comforter over his lower half, Ava was almost asleep.

She turned onto her side so she was facing him and gazed lethargically at the scar on his chest.

"You can touch it if you want, it doesn't hurt anymore," Austin said softly, it was mainly just an excuse to be touched by the beautiful woman.

"Are you sure?" She asked shyly, peeking up at him through her long eyelashes.

He couldn't speak when she looked at him like that, so he just nodded his head.

Ava bit her lip as she reached out and touched the tip of his scar, her index finger trailed down the opalescent flesh. She imagined him lying on one of those cold operating tables with his vacant chest cut open and all these doctors surrounding his lifeless body. She pictured a bloody heart on a metal tray next to his body and she cringed at the gruesome imagery.

She quickly pulled her hand away as tears trickled down her cheek, "Sorry."

Austin gave her a reassuring smile, "It's okay, I bet you have more scars than I do anyways. The pain I felt is nowhere near the pain you've gone through so don't feel bad for me."

His thumb skimmed across her cheek and Ava noticed his eyes flash towards the stitched up wound on her forehead. Ava thought about all the disgusting scars on her body and it only made her want to cry harder.

"Shh," He cooed when Ava couldn't suppress a whimper, "You're okay, I'll keep you safe here with me."

She nodded and scooted closer to him, craving the warmth and comfort that he had to offer. Austin carefully pulled her closer to his body and let Ava rest her head on his chest, right above his heart.

Ava remained perfectly still as she listened to Austin's steady heartbeat; his chest was hard and not the most comfortable, but he was so warm and she couldn't stop herself from burrowing her cheek against the hot flesh. She closed her eyes as Austin started to hum a familiar tune; it was nostalgic but she couldn't recall what it was from.

"Go back to sleep Ava," Austin said softly when he noticed the petite woman trying to keep her heavy eyelids from closing.

She wanted to tell him that she couldn't because she was afraid of her nightmares, but she couldn't find the strength. Ava was exhausted emotionally and physically; every muscle in her body ached and screamed in protest as she draped her arm over Austin's boney abdomen.

Austin tightened his embrace, being mindful of her ribs.

"I'll be right here when you wake up," He reassured her, his fingertips slid across her forehead and brushed a few locks of hair out of her face.

"Goodnight Austin," She mumbled, wondering if she actually said that out loud or if she was just dreaming.

"Goodnight Ava."

Right as she drifted off into a deep sleep, Austin kissed the top of her head affectionately.

Notes

Chapter title is from Crown the Empire's song, Memories of a Broken heart. It's pretty fucking awesome so go check it out! :)

Glad you guys are enjoying this so far! <3