Chapter 9: Girl Like You

Marks POV

As we approached my old house I laced my fingers with Rachael's, my hands clammy. Memories flooded me: walking back after my first dance, coming home after getting drunk my first time with Collins before he had moved to White Plains, after I had sent in my college applications, all the memories I had tried to escape were hitting me with such force. I didn't want to be here, but there was a look of excitement on Rachael's face, I didn't understand it, but I had to do this for her.

She came closer, holding my tight, "You look like you've seen a ghost Mark."

I gulped, "I'll be fine."

I reached out and knocked on the door. Rachael was going back and forth on her feet, even with a bright smile on her face, I could tell she was a little nervous too.

I heard footsteps and my mother's voice could be heard, "I wonder who it is at this time of night. Probably one of the neighbors next door, crazy people if you ask-"

The door opened and Mom stood shocked, "You came!!" She gave me a huge hug, holding me so tightly that I had trouble breathing.

"H-hi M-mom. C-could you l-let go?" I wheezed. Rachael looked as though she was trying not to giggle. I glared as Mom finally let go.

She pulled away, her hands on my shoulders, "Sorry Mark. Ohh I just knew you would come. Its been so long. We missed you." Her eyes were glittering with happiness, a feeling I couldn't reciprocate.

She saw Rachael beside me and smiled knowingly, "You must be Marky's little girlfriend." I blushed about ten different shades red as she said 'little girlfriend."

"Mother…"I moaned.

Rachael giggled at us, "Yes, I'm Rachael. Nice to meet you Mrs. Cohen."

Mom's eyes widened when she heard her accent, "You can call me Lisa. We're so glad you could come." She opened the door for us.

The carpet was still the same disgusting color of red, with the stain in the corner where Cindy had thrown up once trying to sneak in drunk. Most of the same photos were up on the wall, some had been put of Cindy's wedding and her baby boy. I looked at the living room, which resulted in only chills. I could still remember the day I told them I was dropping out of Brown after only one year. Rachael seemed to sense my discomfort and took my hand in hers, sending me her heart warming smile. Having her was helping keep the demons at bay, she had something calming about her.

Mom called into the kitchen, "Everyone, Mark is here!!!!" Dad came out first, followed by Cindy and her husband who was holding their baby boy Evan.

"Mark, its good to see you son." Dad said, his deep voice still condescending after all these years.

"Hey Dad." I said quietly.

Cindy frowned when she saw Rachael, "I guess it's a good thing Nanette couldn't make it."

Rachael squeezed my hand tightly, "Hello, I'm Rachael."

Dad shook her hand, as did David, Cindy's husband. I saw him give her a little look down, causing me to stare angrily at him and pull closer to her.

Mom clasped her hands together, not noticing the tension, "Dinner?"

Cindy walked next to Rachael as sat down at the dining room table, "How long have you been dating?"

Rachael turned a little pink and smiled, "A little over a month now."

Cindy nodded, a frown still plastered to her face. She a piece of her bright blond hair behind her eyes before whispering, her eyes dancing mischievously, "Remind me to show his baby pictures later."

Rachael giggled as I stared down at my plate, this was going to a long night.

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True to her word she pulled out the photo albums after dinner.

"Cindy no!!!!" I begged.

She just continued to open them, "Mark, just deal with it. It's my job to embarrass you, remember?"

I crossed my arms, sitting down next to Rachael on the couch as they laughed at my pictures. Rachael scooted closer to me and whispered, "Its ok love, I promise to only look at a couple."

I sighed and nodded. She was more understanding than I was sometimes, something I really appreciated about her.

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Rachael's POV

I could tell how unhappy he was being here. Had I been selfish in coming here? I looked over at him, his eyes were glazed over with boredom. When we had walked in, he had looked around with such hatred. I wondered why he was so upset with them, they hadn't been cruel to me one bit. I could see some tension between his father and him though.

I stared at the picture on the wall, it was of Mark when he was a young boy at the park, holding his camera proudly, his blond hair spiked, and his beautiful blue eyes sparkling. I smiled, and touched the picture softly. I felt his arms wrap around me from behind. He kissed my neck softly before whispering, "Whatcha looking at?"

The feeling of his arms around my waist made my skin tingle and I smiled, "This picture of you. You were such a cute little boy." I turned around in his arms and whispered, "This is why I wanted to come, I just wanted to see where you get your blond hair, your eyes, and where you grew up. I only wanted to know more about you." I hope he understood. I looked into his eyes.

He put his forehead to mine and said with a tiny smile, "Okay."

As his Mom approached, he pulled away and stood nearly half a meter away from me. She didn't seem to mind though, "Now, Mark, you'll stay in your room and Rachael can be in the guest room, is that alright dear?"

I nodded as Mark blushed slightly. His mom either really didn't trust him or didn't know anything about him.

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I looked at the clock: 1:00 am. I turned my pillow over to the cold side. I couldn't get to sleep. I've adjusted my pillow so many times but nothing was working. I carefully pulled off the covers and got out of bed. I shut the door as quietly as I could, my footsteps light. I opened what I assumed was Mark's door, he was lying on his bed and looking at some his old things. His room was a cream color, with the same color carpet. The room was very tidy, his childlike blue covers still made up on the bed. He looked over in surprise, "Hey…"

"I couldn't sleep." I said quietly.

"Me neither." He said, but I had a feeling he had a different reason. I laid down next to him and snuggled close to him. I immediately felt better, my heart now calm.

"I'm so used to falling asleep next to you." I whispered as he pulled the covers over us, "I needed to have you here." I laid my head on his chest, hearing his heart beat, as a tiny yawn escaping me.

He gave me a small kiss on the forehead, his eyelids falling too. "I love you." He said

"I love you too." I said before letting sleep finally take over.

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Sunlight poured in through the nearest window. I rubbed my eyes adjusting the sudden bright light. Mark's small blue digital clock read 8:00 am. I gave him a small tiny kiss on the cheek before getting out of his bed. It was probably best that his parents didn't find me in here. I went back to the guest room to mess up the bed abit before brushing my teeth in the nearest bathroom. Cindy came in, her toiletries in hand.

"You two sure are quiet." She said smirking.

"Pardon?" I asked, not sure I understood.

She gave me a look down, her eyes full of scrutiny. "You surely didn't stay in your room last night."

"I couldn't sleep," I explained, my voice quiet, "I wouldn't do that in your parents house."

She rolled her eyes, "Sure." She turned to me, her hands on her hips, "Look Rachael, as Mark's sister, its my job to tell you the truth. You two aren't good for each other."

I stepped back, shocked and offended. When was it decided that it was her place to tell me what to do?

"A girl like you," She shook her head, almost as though she was trying not to laugh, "You're surely going to distract him. The more of a distraction the more he's going to forget what he wants in life. Which isn't you. He has always wanted to be a filmmaker and he's never gonna get there if he's worried about you getting knocked up. If I were you, I'd just go back to England before he gets hurt."

My heart was beating so fast I almost couldn't feel it, I ran back to the guest room, tears falling fast. How dare she? She was wrong, he films all the time. I'm not hurting him. As much as I assured myself she was wrong I couldn't help but feel a flicker of doubt. A gulped, I couldn't let myself dwell on it though. I would prove her wrong, I had to.

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Collins gave me one of his legendary bear hugs, "Hey Rach. How are you?"

He had just gotten back from another teacher conference upstate. It was really good to see him, we hadn't seen him for a week or so.

"I'm ok. How was your conference?" I asked, as I set his bag in his room.

"It was ok, kinda boring though as usual." He said with a chuckle, his deep voice resonating around the loft. "I hear you two visited the Cohen's that must've been interesting."

I nodded, and went into the kitchen to get something to drink to avoid anymore thought about last weekend.

"Ok you have to tell me more than that." He said, following me. "Was it that bad?"

Cindy's words were still in my head, ringing over and over, "His parents were nice, I could tell his dad and him had a falling out though."

Collins nodded with a frown. "Was Cindy there?"

Her piercing eyes glared at me still, "Yes." I took a sip of my water, "Do you want a drink?"

He shook his head, looking me straight in the eye, "What is it? I've known you long enough to know you are withholding information my friend."

"She doesn't like me." I said briefly, but he gestured for me to continue, so I told him about the bathroom incident.

"Rachael, she's just being a bitch, don't let her bother you. You've made Mark's life better, not worse. Trust me, he hasn't been this happy in a long time."

"You sure?" I asked quietly, still unsure.

He nodded, "I'm sure, don't worry about it."