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- 11/14/2014
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Thwarted - 42. Chapter Forty-Two
“You bastard!” Mark pushed past Jackie and threw himself at his dad. He followed David down to the floor and started swinging, using the weight of his body to keep his dad on the floor.
“Daddy!” Mark barely heard Jackie’s screech, but he sure as hell felt her weight landing on his back.
He ignored her as he landed punch after punch. His father struggled beneath him but couldn’t evade his fists and Mark felt a vague sense of satisfaction as blood spurted from the man’s nose.
Jackie’s weight on his back disappeared but he couldn’t stop. Every derogatory comment his dad ever made flooded his mind.
“Mark!” He tried to tune out Gary’s voice, but he couldn’t ignore the hands grabbing him and pulling him back. He struggled against Gary’s grip. “Enough!”
He didn’t know how, but Gary managed to pull him away. He looked over and saw Brent holding a struggling and cursing Jackie. Brent let go and Jackie scrambled over and fell to her knees beside their father.
“That’s enough, Mark. He’s not worth it; let’s go back to the hotel.” Gary continued to drag him towards the door. “You need to call Trey.”
The fight drained out of him. He couldn’t believe he’d actually attacked his father. He took one final look at his dad and Jackie and turned, walking out the door with Gary and Diane trailing behind him. He’d just about reached the SUV when Brent called out to him.
“Mark, hold up a sec.” Brent jogged down the walkway and grabbed his arm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
Mark pulled free of his hold and waved Gary on when he looked like he was going to interfere. “Go ahead, I’ll be right there.” He watched Gary escort Diane to the car and help her in, but Gary didn’t follow her in. He leaned against the driver’s door…waiting.
“About what?” Mark turned to face him. “About Jackie hating me or about them cremating Mom before I could get here?”
“Either.” Jackie started yelling for Brent from within the house. His brother-in-law glanced over his shoulder before looking at him again. “I have to take care of a couple of things, but then can we talk? I’ll come to your hotel.”
“You sure you want to do that?” Mark looked past Brent briefly. He’d expected his sister to already come after her husband. “Are you sure she’ll even let you?”
“I’m sure.” Brent met his gaze. “She’s not really going to have a say.”
“Then you know where to find me.” He wasn’t surprised to hear a scream and look over to see Jackie storming towards them. “Good luck.”
“Go, I’ll see you in a little bit.”
Mark didn’t need to be told twice and headed for the safety of the car. The last thing he wanted was another showdown with Jackie, but he felt kind of bad leaving Brent to deal with her. He glanced back briefly before climbing in and cringed. Brent had intercepted his sister and Mark didn’t know what he said to her, but it was enough for Jackie to reach up and slap him. She didn’t seem to care if anyone saw her.
Mark frowned and climbed in the car. Brent had told him to go, and he was right. Staying wouldn’t help his brother-in-law; in fact, it would probably just make things worse. He refused to look out the window again as Gary pulled away from the curb and headed, he presumed, for the hotel.
“Are you okay, Mark?” Diane reached back between the seats and rested her hand on his knee.
Mark thought about it. Was he? His mom was gone. His sister apparently hated him enough to out him to their father. Hated him so much she didn’t even have the decency to let him know about his mom’s cremation. That was the hardest part to handle. He’d thought he was going to have the chance to see his mom one last time and say good-bye and it had been stolen from him. By his so called family.
“Mark?”
“Huh?” Mark shook his head and looked at Diane. “Sorry, I was trying to think how to answer.” He glanced down at his hands. “I honestly don’t know.”
“Why don’t you go ahead and call Trey?” Diane smiled at him. “I’m sure talking to him will help.”
Mark pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared at it. Did he want to call Trey with Gary and Diane right there, able to hear his side of the conversation? He probably should, even if to check in briefly and then call back once he was alone in his room. He actually should have called Trey as soon as they arrived. He thumbed the lock off and pulled the recent contacts up, quickly hitting Trey’s picture before he could change his mind.
“Mark! Are you okay? Mom said it wasn’t going good.”
“Hey, sorry I didn’t call earlier, I wasn’t thinking.” Mark sank back into the seat. Poor Trey sounded panicked.
“It’s okay, we can talk about that later; I’m more worried about you right now. Are you okay?”
Was he? Mark looked out the window. He hated to worry Trey, but he couldn’t lie to him either. He also didn’t know exactly what Diane had already told him.
”Mark!”
“Sorry. I’m…doing. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but it’s worse than I expected.” That was a bit of an understatement, but he’d tell him the rest later. He figured he could be forgiven if he left out the part about Jackie claiming not to have told him about the cremation because he put Trey before family.
“What happened?”
“They had her cremated.” Mark swallowed past the lump in his throat. He wouldn’t lose it, he couldn’t. All he’d succeed in doing was make Trey feel bad he wasn’t with him.
“At least you got to say good-bye.”
“Actually, I didn’t.” Mark closed his eyes and dropped his head in shame. He didn’t want to see if Gary or Diane were looking at him. “She was cremated first thing this morning, before I got here.”
“What the fuck! Does your Dad really hate you that much?”
The anger in Trey’s voice jerked his head up and he opened his eyes.
“Apparently so does Jackie.” Mark cleared his throat. “She knew about it and didn’t tell me.”
“Oh god, Mark. I should be there with you.”
“I know you would be if you could.” He looked at Trey’s parents. “You’re parents stayed with me through all of it. Your Dad was actually quite impressive.”
“I told you they would love you.”
“I know.” Mark could see the hotel up ahead. “We’re about at the hotel; can I call you back once I’m in my room?”
“Yeah. Get settled in and make sure you call me back though.”
“I will.”
“And Mark?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Mark hung up and rested his head against the glass as Gary pulled into the hotel parking. Now he just had to make sense of everything that had happened. Trey would have questions, and so far, Mark didn’t have many answers.
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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