So...hope you like it. This is the first story I've really thrown myself completely into, read and review :]
As Marshall pulled away in his truck, all he could do was keep from getting home as quickly as possible because he considered the fact that Mary may be there waiting for him. He couldn't believe Mary would ever imply that she didn't trust him after everything they had been through together, but didn't underestimate the fact that she'd been hurt enough to keep at least a little piece of herself where no one could possibly reach, or give up trying. There was no one he trusted more than her, and somehow that realization struck him as ironic in the most tragic sense. He always was that one person she could count on when the rest of society was trying to tell her to be different, and it was like a bullet in the heart to know that she dumped him into a category with all of the men she has slept with and tossed away when she felt like it. I am not one of them, so why the hell do I feel like I've done something to betray her trust or make her doubt me? And with that thought, it hit him like a ton of bricks; Raph. He had to be the reason Mary was so against men today, but what did Raph do that made him the target of her vicious assault? He was always there for her and instead she turned on him like an animal killing another before they get eaten alive. Maybe she's trying to save herself, but what makes her think that she has to save herself from me? And with that last thought, Marshall considered that an hour was enough time to be driving around and headed to the comfort and safety of his home, or at least, that was the plan until he pulled up and noticed Mary's Probe sitting in his driveway. Oh that's great, it's pick up Marshall's heart and jump up and down on it day. Fun. He sat in his car and stared straight ahead for a good ten minutes before putting his head against the steering wheel and wondered if she would notice if he put the truck in reverse and made a quick getaway. No way, with my luck she shoots and flattens all my tires, then drags me inside. He gathers his nerves and slowly climbs out of the car, knowing that the absence of Mary sitting on his porch meant that she had used her key and made herself at home. Knowing that sooner or later he had to face Hurricane Mary, he took a deep breath and opened his door.
What he found inside wasn't what he had expected at all. He expected fire, explosions, a bomb for all he knew, but what he came in to find was Mary to be nowhere in sight. He wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing, but didn't hear any movement to suggest he worry. Instead, he wearily put his things down and headed for his bedroom, peeling off his jacket as he went and starting to unbutton his shirt when he walked into his room and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight. There, on his bed, was Mary sitting cross legged with his favorite pizza to her right and every Star Wars movie there was on her left. He almost smiled at her thoughtfulness, but remembered that she only did this because she knew he was hurt. Seeing the conflicting emotions on his face, she stopped him before he got ahead of himself;
"Hey" she said softly, "Don't go there. Take this at face value and we'll move from there. Ok?" she asked hesitantly. Noticing that she was trying to make this about him, he decided that he loved this woman too much to deny her anything. He nodded, and sat next to her on the bed, moving the pizza and leaned back against the headboard staring at the ceiling as if it had a manual on how to understand a Shannon woman. After an uncomfortable amount of time, Mary decided to take the plunge and try to begin to fix things between them.
"Look, I didn't mean what I said…"
"Yeah you did, or you wouldn't have said it. Somewhere in your subconscious it meant something, so please don't lie to me because all it's doing is adding insult to injury" he said in a monotone as he interrupted her. He still hadn't removed his eyes from the ceiling, and it was starting to unnerve her.
"You wanna try to look at me or what Doofus? This is ridiculous"
"If it's so ridiculous, then you can leave. I've taken enough of a beating from you Mary, I don't think I'll be able to handle you doing this to me in my house" he said sternly, and that alone brought tears to her eyes. She refused to let them fall, but now she was just starting to realize just how much she had messed up with Marshall.
"I'm not here to fight with you Marshall; I just want to fix this".
"What is there to fix? You don't trust me obviously, so why should I stick around when I obviously have no chance" he said, then bitterly added, "It's just pathetic".
The words sliced through Mary and she decided that she'd had enough of Marshall acting like this. If he wanted a fight, then she'll fight.
"Alright, you wanna keep doing this? Fine by me"
"I'm not the one that chewed your head off first thing this morning Mare, I didn't deserve that" he said to her as they both sat opposite each other on the bed, pizza and movies forgotten, and looking at each other for the first time in hours.
"Did you think I deserved to have my fiancé this morning screw my sister in my kitchen in my house! Yeah Marshall, this morning was all about things no one deserved but got anyway" she said bitterly and let a few of the tears that she had been holding back finally fall. He had seen Mary deal with the whole Raph screwing Brandi once before, so he wondered why it mattered so much this time.
"Why is it that different from the last time he did that?" he asked, and she jumped off the bed and began pacing as her voice rose with every new piece of information.
"Oh, I don't know Marshall, maybe it was the fact that: A) we're engaged, B) he said that Brandi was what he's wanted all along, or my all time favorite, C) I didn't deserve him because I'm just a heartless bitch that no one could ever really love anyway" she finished, and leaned against his wall for support before sliding down it and breaking down into heart wrenching sobs that made his eyes tear up as well. He got off the bed and went to her, and for once she let him hold her as she let him experience the most intimate moment she's ever had with a man. Her tears soaked through his shirt, but he continued to hold her head and rub her back soothingly, all the while letting his tears fall silently. He cried for him, for her, and for what may or may not be when they finally sort this entire mess out. No matter how much he loved her, he wondered just how much of her didn't trust him, and that scared him more than anything.
As her breath steadied, he decided to ask what he needed to ask before he lost the nerve and did something that he may end up regretting.
"Mare…" he whispered into her ear.
She put one hand on her stomach and wrapped the other one around her as she inched away from Marshall. It wasn't that she didn't need him there for her, it was just the fact that being so close to him made everything else dangerously fade away. She looked up at him to see a mix of hurt and anger in his eyes before he took a breath and continued on as if she didn't just pull away from him.
"Why are you doing this to me? Why aren't you at home tearing Raph apart or picking apart Brandi's life? Why did you think it was important to attack the only one that has ever put your needs before their own?" he asked, and with each word he grew quieter, which had her leaning into him trying to catch his words. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she let out exasperatedly;
"Geez Marshall, you're acting as if I wanted to make you miserable. That wasn't what I wanted, but you always being there for me made me angry because I wondered; Why can't I have someone that loves me treat me that way. Why is it that I never seem good enough..." she said and felt the tears collect behind her eyes.
He pulled her closer once again, but this time he felt her surrender and that made him more angry than almost anything else that she's done to him. He grabbed her chin firmly but gently, and tilted her head back so her eyes could meet his, and he whispered in a voice that made her stomach do flips that they really shouldn't.
"Who said that someone that loves you doesn't treat you that way?" he asked in a raspy voice, sending shivers down her spine that made her breath just a little more shallow and slightly more panicked and tried to explain away the double meaning in his question.
"But Raph doesn't, he never has..." she said hurriedly as she felt Marshall shift closer to her and found that her body welcomed all the comfort he had to give. He shook her chin slightly and made her focus on his words.
"Mare..." he said lowly, and something made her eyes transfixed to his lips as she noticed he started to lean in, and she couldn't help but wonder how soft his lips were. Just as his breath started to mingle with hers, he bypassed her mouth to whisper in her ear, leaving her disappointed, yet humming with excitement at Marshall being so close to her.
"Who's the only one that's always been there for you?" he asked, and felt more than heard her sharp intake of breath. They stayed that way for a second, neither breathing because they didn't want to break the spell that they had cast over one another. Mary leaned into him and rested her head in the crook of his neck, and drew strength from his body as she breathed out her next words...
It really did have to be a cliff hanger, sorry! Review so I know where you're mind is going lol.