Life with: Kiana and Sawyer Ep. 14

"Where are the other two?" She asked.

"They were released about an hour ago." Not only was he sitting in jail but he was sitting by himself. She heartbeat quickened.

"Released?" The woman mumbled a sound of agreement. "So why wasn't he released, too?" Kiana's voice was morphing into something shrill and once that ball of panic started rolling, there was no real way for her to slow it down. She tried to take a breath.

"Sawyer has been charged with trespassing and three counts of assault—one count being assault of an officer." Of fucking course. As if he couldn't make this situation any worse for himself, he'd found a way. "His bail is set at $30,000."

Thirty thousand dollars. She expected at most five grand—maybe ten but thirty thousand dollars was a huge chunk of their savings. It put sweat on her brow to think about moving it.

Nevertheless, it needed to be done.

*

Kiana waited at the door for Sawyer to be released.

She took the twins over to Janelle's until she was done; she'd been nice enough to take in two infants at 11pm. Kiana had spent the last few hours on the phone with their bank warning them of the huge withdrawal and then a few more hours at the bail bond service. It took her over an hour to drive there because it was the only one open late enough into the night. But she got it paid and now he was being released.

Sawyer rounded the corner wearing the same filthy clothes he'd been wearing at 6am that morning. However, he still had a languid, sensual stroll that screamed 'nonchalant' and that enraged Kiana. She crossed her arms over her chest while he signed a sheet at the desk and collected the belongings they had taken from him when he first came in. When he was finished, Kiana didn't even spare him a glance but just turned on her heel and stalked out of the door.

The woman at the desk had told her that both Declan and Xavier decided to press charges against Sawyer—obviously out of spite. The double counts of assault had weighed heavily on the bail but the assault of an officer had been what tipped the scale.

Kiana walked to the driver's side door and attempted to open it. She pulled at the handle and got the door an inch from the frame but a force had pulled it back shut. She ground her teeth and took a deep breath in from her nose.

"Key," He whispered from behind. Kiana was statuesque.

"Move." It came out as a hiss. He made no effort to get out of her way.

"I—" He started and her frustration escalated.

"I want to go home and go to bed! Get the fuck out of the way!" She boomed loud enough to intrigue the woman officer at the front desk. She came out the doorway a few feet ahead of them. Kiana gave her a strained smile and a wave as to signal that everything was fine, despite the shrieking she'd just heard. When she lingered around a little bit longer, Sawyer finally removed his palm from the door and let her sit inside.

*

Kiana kicked off her shoes and carried the twins up the steps. They were deep asleep and she would do anything to maintain that state. She expertly put them in bed without the need of any light. She turned on their monitors and lightly cracked their bedroom doors.

When she turned around, Sawyer was directly in her face. He'd taken off his shirt and jeans and was now only clad in his boxer briefs. Kiana looked at him expectantly—wondering if he really thought he was getting anything sexual from her after this day.

"After I shower, I think we should talk." Kiana shook her head.

They needed to talk, of course. They had a lot to talk about; he may be going to prison if got convicted of anything he'd been charged with, they were missing close to $40,000 from their joint savings account and five grand of it were fees they wouldn't be getting back, he'd humiliated her in front of his brothers and he continuously made choices that left his family paying the price.

They had a lot to talk about.

But, "I'm not ready to talk to you. I'm sorry." She replied quietly. She stared him head on. "I'm sleeping in the guest room." She tried to sidestep him but he mirrored her.

"You know I can't sleep without you." She knew that very well.

She once went to a conference a state away while 8 months pregnant and Sawyer claimed he'd only slept three to four hours of the night at a time. When she returned, he slept through the night and late into the morning.

Kiana replied by abruptly cutting for the guestroom and quickly locking the door. Sawyer tried to twist the knob.

"You said we'd never go to bed like this." She sighed against the frame of the door. That was true. They said they'd never go a day without discussing what needed to be said. But this was a lot different. She was exhausted and more than anything, she was disappointed by Sawyer. She didn't think she was in the right place to talk about it now.

"Go shower and go to bed, Sawyer." She replied exasperatedly. She turned and set her sights on the deep sleep she desperately needed.

*

Kiana woke up abruptly. She looked out the window and the sun was incredibly bright; she must have overslept. She looked at the baby monitor and found the girls weren't in their cribs. She languidly brushed her teeth and washed her face. She grabbed her robe from the bathroom hook and unlocked the guest room door. She could hear Sydney and Savannah cooing from the kitchen a floor below. Sizzling was also heard.

Kiana rolled her eyes and padded down the staircase.

Sawyer was cooking breakfast while the twins watched from their highchairs. The small television in the kitchen played morning baby cartoons and the radio in the corner played low, smooth blues. Sawyer had already made bacon, sausage and cheese grits. He was working on the pancakes. A pile of orange peels signaled that he'd used the juicer machine—something he hated to use but knew Kiana loved. He turned around to grab his spatula off the island counter and they caught each other's eyes.

He looked her over, unconsciously sticking his pink tongue out to run over his bottom lip just before he sucked it into his mouth entirely. He took in her soft, short and see-through teddy with a deep neckline and her open silk robe. Her pert nipples pushed through the material and a drop of milk created a spot on the left breast. The curve of her thighs teased the pads of his fingers. Kiana instantly folded the robe's opening over her chest and tied it shut. Sawyer smiled lightly to himself but turned around to finish cooking.

Kiana turned her attention to the twins.

"Hi babies." He greeted sweetly from behind them. She found it the cutest thing when they craned their necks to see their favorite woman. When they spotted her, they smiled a smile full of gums. She bent over the highchair's table and kissed each of them a few times on both cheeks.

She stopped when she felt a palm along the curve of her backside. She leaned up and looked Sawyer in his face. He was fighting hard for her attention.

"Stop touching me." She said through thin lips. His eye was entirely blackened. His lip was purple and he had bruises all over his chest, back and shoulders. He looked horrible.

"Then talk to me." He replied. Once he knew he wasn't getting a reply right away, he huffed out a defeated breath. "Go sit down." He commanded. She hesitated; remembering what Xavier said about Sawyer treating her like his daughter more than a wife. He'd always been domineering but it seemed different now. She couldn't stomach it anymore.

"Don't make any demands to me." She said. He turned around and looked at her incredulously. "If you want me to do something, you need to ask."

"For what?" He asked, slowly making his way over to her. "Kiana, don't let this shit get to you like that—you know I respect you."

"Do I know that?" She asked the rhetorical question. "Because I feel really disrespected by you right now." Sawyer sighed and rested both of his hands on the counter. His hair hung in his eyes while he sat in deep thought. She caught a good look at all the scratches, bruises and marks on his back.

"Can you please sit down, baby?" He asked her quietly. She turned and took a seat at the island counter beside the twins. He'd placed her orange just at her seat beside her napkin and utensils.

Sawyer turned back to the food and made her plate. He'd placed two pieces of bacon, two sausage links, two pancakes with butter and a bowl of grits in front of her. He placed a plate of broken food on each of the twin's tables. She thanked him dully.

He sat beside her. Kiana faced her food but Sawyer put his feet on either side of her stool. He moved himself close to her until she was practically between his legs. His mouth was right beside her right ear. Kiana kept her attention directly on her food.

"When I'm upset, I don't think well." He admitted something she already knew. She continued to eat. "I'm sorry I made that comment—you know you're one of the most powerful women I know. I don't know why I said that to you." He tried his luck and outstretched an arm for her waist.

She was about to object but his voice cut through first.

"Please don't let this change how we are with each other." He whispered his plea. "We have a very special relationship and a lot of people don't understand how it works. They just think it lacks respect but you know I think highly of you. You are an amazing woman and I would never want to make you feel any differently." Kiana put her fork down.

"Sawyer, why did you have to put us through all of this?" She turned to face him. "You could go to jail. Plus, Allison hates me and now I don't think Xavier will ever look me in the face again." Sawyer put his elbow on the counter and rubbed his palm over his face.

"I—I don't know. I saw black. Nothing really made sense until I saw you in handcuffs." Kiana groaned. "I'm sorry, Key." He gathered her into a deep hug. She reluctantly wrapped her arms around his neck while he placed kisses down her collar.

She looked at her twins from over his shoulder. Her last chance at an extended family for her daughters had been ruined.