Chapter Six
A week went by and there was no sign of Jack.
Joe called back to inform them that Marc’s Harley would be ready soon and asked if she’d received any more trouble from ‘slimy’ individuals. Lauren said no, but it felt like a lie. She was missing work and watching every step she took because she was terrified of her ex-husband showing up behind her. She worried every time she lost sight of Emma on the beach, even for just a second. She felt a shiver run down her spine when she left the bedroom in the middle of the night to grab a glass of water, sure that Jack would be right there when she turned around and she wouldn’t even have time to scream.
The only person that made her feel safe was Marc. The only thing that calmed her was being in the circle of his arms. The only comfort she had was that he was right by her side through all of this. He was her rock and she had no idea what she would do if she was doing this on her own. She probably would have given up a long time ago.
She tried to hide this fear as the days went on. She tried to believe that Jack wasn’t really going to show up. That the person Joe had talked to was just a fluke; a way to get information. If nobody in town gave her up, then maybe she was still safe. After all, it was a small town and people were often distrustful of strangers who came around asking questions about one of their own. It was hard—trusting those she’d only known a few years—but Lauren could think of nothing else to lift her spirits.
Nothing but sex and Marc Kelly.
She had accepted the fact that she was in love with him. She had accepted the fact that she felt alive only when he was the one holding her. She had accepted that, soon, he would out of her life forever. Nothing but obligation. Nothing but a debt owed. Nothing but lust.
But it was enough. It was more than enough.
Because every night he laid her down on the bed and pushed himself between her thighs. Every night, he kissed her lips and whispered her name and whispered dirty things in her ears. Every night, he alternated between pounding into her with every ounce of strength he possessed and moving in her so slowly and gently that she could almost allow herself to believe that what they were doing could be called ‘making love,’ that he felt everything she felt and that he would never be gone from her life. Each time, she felt that coil tighten deep in her belly and then break, sending shudders of carnal pleasure through her entire body, leaving her too exhausted to move.
But still she lay awake, waiting for the tell-tale creak of her floorboards or the turn of her doorknob. She waited for Jack’s appearance in her life; for death or freedom. She was prepared for both, with Marc now at her side.
But another week went by and there was still no sign of him. Marc continued to stay with her. Joe called to let them know that his bike had been fixed and that he could come get it whenever, but Lauren asked Joe to take care of it for a while.
“Are you okay, Doc?” Joe asked. “That punk didn’t run off, did he? He owes me money.”
Lauren couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “No,” she said. “Marc is still here, Joe. Don’t worry. We’re just…we’re busy with something right now. We’ll be by as soon as possible to get the bike, okay?”
She didn’t wait for his response, clicking ‘End Call’ as she collapsed back on the couch, pressing herself into Marc’s side as they watched television. They rarely did anything that normal these days. It was nice.
Domestic, her mind supplied. That’s what it was. Almost like they were an old married couple. Like they were normal.
But nothing about their situation was normal. Lauren feared nothing ever would be.
When another week passed, Lauren considered going back to work. She asked herself, if Jack were planning something, wouldn’t he have done it already? She didn’t feel completely safe without Marc around, but she’d gotten several calls from Shondra and her patients, asking when she planned to return. Her co-workers were starting to get worried and she felt the need to show them that she was okay. It was Marc that convinced her to stay home.
“It’ll be any day now,” he whispered into her ear as they lay in bed, their bodies cooling from the activities they’d gotten up to just ten minutes earlier. “I can feel it.”
Lauren had shivered and pressed herself more firmly against him, delighting in the bulk of Marc’s arms as they wrapped around her waist. “You’re sure?” she asked, her voice so low he almost couldn’t hear her. They were face to face in the dark, their noses brushing. His hair was tangled with hers on the pillow they shared. Their limbs intertwined.
“I’m positive,” he husked back. “Be patient.”
She snorted at that. Patience. As if she wanted Jack to come back. As if she wanted her life to be in danger for the second time. As if she wanted to remember everything that he did to her; everything that she tried so hard to rid herself of. Everything that she vowed she’d never have to go through again. As if she wanted any of it.
All she honestly wanted right now was to stay in this bed, in this moment, where she could be wrapped up in Marc’s embrace, centimeters away from his lips, her leg hooked around his, safe from the world. She didn’t want to have to deal with Jack. She didn’t want to go back to work, where her patients were kind and caring, friendly people, but whose lives were never in the type of danger she was actually trained to save them from.
It was an empty existence, she realized. The one she’d been living. Where she hadn’t stepped foot into an operating room in years. Where she hadn’t held a scalpel or cracked a chest or even so much as thrown a single stitch. She hadn’t been doing what she loved to do, no matter how much she tried to convince herself that it was the ‘saving lives’ part of it she loved, not the surgery. That was phoney and she knew it. She had always known it. But, until now, she’d just been pretending; trying to make the best out of a bad situation.
That part of her life was over, she decided. As soon as all this was over, she was going back to New York. Or maybe she’d find another city; another place where she could practice surgery the way she had trained so hard for. The way she had fallen in love with so many years ago. And Marc could come back with her or he could go elsewhere. She couldn’t honestly say that she wouldn’t care which he chose, but she was not going to be the kind of woman who gave ultimatums to a man.
No matter how much she loved him.
She could get along without Marc. She was sure of it. She could convince herself of it.
Lauren looked over at the man who now shared her bed, his eyes closed in slumber—or so it seemed. His heartbeat wasn’t steady enough for him to actually be sleeping. She could feel it against her own chest. But, for whatever reason, he pretended to sleep. He had her wrapped up in his arms and his lips so close that she could kiss him and she was certain that he would kiss her back. It was like he was pretending, too. Like he was trying to stay in this moment for as long as he could make it last.
The longer she stared at him, the less confident she became. She was certain that she could get along without Marc Kelly—100% positive.
But that didn’t mean that she wanted to.
*****