Trust? What's That?
As promised, Mark stayed with me all the way up until it was time for me to leave the hospital. The only issue I had was…not knowing where I was going to go.
"I can't go back home. My uncle will hurt me for sure." I said.
He smirked as he helped me into the wheelchair, "Don't worry, I've got it all taken care of already."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Like I said, don't worry about it. It'll all make sense to you once I get you out of here."
I wasn't sure why Mark didn't make me nervous. I mean the man was taller and more muscular than my uncle or his goonies and he spoke with such an edge in his voice. I swear most people would have trembled to be around him but not me. There was something about him that made me feel somewhat…invincible?
He rolled me out to the back of the hospital where his truck was parked. Once he placed my crutches in the trunk, he helped me into the front passenger seat and then shut the door. I fastened my seatbelt while he got into the driver's side.
"Alright Mark, what's going on?" I asked. "You can't just take me anywhere without some answers."
He looked at me through those dark sunglasses. "Listen Angel. I need you to trust me alright?"
I chuckled, "Sorry, but I don't really trust any man right now."
"Well you better start trusting someone. Remember I'm the one that has you protected right now. Your uncle or those other guys have no clue of your whereabouts."
I sighed and laid my head back against the seat. He turned himself around so he could face me, "I'm sorry this is happening to you Angel, but trust me when I say that I know a lot more about your family than you think. You need to be with me or these guys will track you down and possibly kill you."
"Kill me? Why would they do that?" I asked.
He sighed and started up the truck. "Look, I can't really tell you much until I'm certain you trust me…hey,"
I looked at him seeing the sincerity in his eyes.
"…I'm here to help you Angel. I promise."
I nodded and then looked out of the window as he drove us out of the parking lot.
"Are you hungry?" he asked me.
I was about to say no when my stomach growled. I glanced at him as he laughed.
"Well I guess you are. Do you like anything in particular?" he asked.
I thought about it for a moment. It had been a real long time since I last went out to eat. My uncle had stopped taking me after opening up the club. I sure missed those times…
"How about we get some fast food?" he asked. "We've got a flight to catch anyway."
I looked at him questioningly, "A flight?"
"Yep. I'm taking you out of the state. You'll be safer there."
"Where are we going?" I asked.
He smirked to himself, "It's a surprise. Just trust me on this one."
I nodded as he pulled into the drive-thru of Burger King. While we were placing our orders, I spotted Dave and Ric standing by a truck in a parking lot not far from us. I gasped and sank down in my seat.
"What's the matter?" Mark asked.
I pointed in their direction and he looked out the window.
"Oh…I see. Don't worry we'll be out of here shortly." He said as he pulled around to the next window so we could get our food. I stayed down in my seat until Mark gave me the go ahead to get up.
"Man that was close." I said. "I so can't wait to get out of this town."
He chuckled, "I'm glad to hear that. I've been waiting to get out of here myself."
"Really?" I asked as I pulled out his food and gave it to him. "How come?"
He didn't answer me at first which really irritated me, so I started eating my food.
"I was only in this town to find someone." He said. "Once I found that person, I was supposed to take care of that person for my buddy, but it didn't happen that way."
I finished chewing my sandwich before responding, "What happened to your buddy?"
He glanced at me for a slip second and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "He…he uh…he died."
I gasped, "Oh I'm so sorry…"
"No it's fine. It happened a long time ago." He said.
I looked away suddenly feeling awful for asking him anything. Then again…this was a curious story unfolding right? I mean I wondered how much he actually knew about me…
I was silent all the way to the airport. Once we got there, he helped me out of the truck and onto my crutches.
"Where are your bags?" I asked him noticing that we both were missing bags.
"They are at my other place, which is where we're going." He said.
I sighed, "Yea but what about me? All of my stuff is at my uncle's."
"Don't worry…I've got it." He said as he helped me into the building. Once we got our tickets, he grabbed us a few snacks and we headed for the plane. I was able to get myself at least halfway up the steps before falling back onto him. I tensed up when he caught me. His arm wrapped around my waist, holding me firmly against him. I looked back at him but his face was blank.
"Sorry…I'm feeling really weak." I told him.
He nodded and asked one of the airplane attendants to carry on our snack bag and the crutches. Once she took them, he lifted me into his arms and took me unto the plane. He seated me next to the window at first but I quickly moved into the other seat.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
I sighed, "I'm afraid of heights."
He took off his sunglasses and stared at me. "Are you kidding me?"
"If I were kidding I would have sat there…"
He sighed and pulled down the blind over the window. "Better?"
I nodded and move back over. He took off his long black trench coat and then sat down next to me. "You're not going to become a pain in my ass are you?" he asked.
I giggled, "I'll try not to…"
"Why don't you tell me more about yourself." He said. "We've got a long flight ahead of us."
"Ok. What do you want to know?" I asked.
He shrugged, "Well you told me your age….how about you tell me how you became a dancer."
I smiled softly and looked away. "My uncle forced me into the business. After graduation I planned on leaving for college in Arizona, but he wouldn't let me leave."
He sighed, "Damn. I'm real sorry you had to go through that."
"It's alright. The entire process made me stronger anyways…if only my parents were still here."
"What happened to them?" he asked.
I closed my eyes and covered my face. "They were murdered….I would have been next but the police got there in time."
"Did they ever say who did it?" he asked, suddenly sounding interested.
I shook my head, "No. They called it a cold case and left it at that…but for some reason I feel like I know who the murders are."
"What do you mean?" he asked as he handed me some pills to take and a juice box.
"I mean….I think the murders were some people who were close to us…someone we trusted." I said.
He smiled slightly, "Well whoever they were, they didn't have the right to take them from us."
"Us?"
He shook his head and cleared his throat, "I meant you. Sorry I haven't gotten any sleep since I took you to the hospital."
I nodded, "Well you'll have plenty of time to sleep on this flight."
"True, take your medicine. I don't want you in any pain or anything."
"Ok." I said before taking them. A few moments after that, the plane took off heading somewhere that I still had no knowledge of.
