Chapter 10
Ravati changed into a pair of black cargo pants, chains hanging from them, her normal outfit with the black tank top, but she swapped it at the last minute for a red one that had Devil Child written in black lettering over the front. It showed off a part of her stomach, revealing her Devil Child tattoo and she put on her wristbands and necklaces, but not as many. She was still keeping her same outfit, just downsizing it a bit. She did her make up, keeping it simple with just thin black eyeliner, but couldn't stop herself from putting on the black lipstick. She slipped on her black steeled toed boots and left her hair down, forgetting her bandana, and walked out, ready to hit the local Wal-Mart.
Mark froze when he seen the black lipstick, shaking his head. "Sorry Vati, but ya gotta take it off." He said gently, but firmly. "Yer a beautiful woman, ya don't need to be hidin' behind that god awful lipstick shit, especially in that color." He crossed his arms over his chest, not about to go anywhere with her looking like that. The outfit he could deal with, the lipstick, no.
Gritting her teeth, Ravati turned around and stalked back upstairs, grabbing some tissue paper, and wiped it off, not believing she was actually being forced to do it. She gripped the sink, knowing she had to calm down, and took a few deep breaths before finally walking out. She walked downstairs, crossing her arms in front of her chest, and glared at him. "Better?" She asked heatedly, wanting to call him an asshole, prick, something, but nothing was registering in her mind at the moment, which pissed her off even more.
"Actually yeah, now ya look like a real woman." Mark replied, knowing she was restraining herself from going off at him, mildly impressed with her, and lead the way outside. Shooting a longing look at the garage where he kept his motorcycle and sighed, knowing they'd have to take the truck for the feed he was buying. Once they were on the road, he glanced over at her and asked, "You done poutin', Vati?"
"I'm not pouting. I'm pissed off." She corrected him, resting her head on her hand, and sighed heavily. She didn't want to talk to him for fear of her saying something she'd regret later. She didn't want to ruin the progress they'd made over the past three weeks. He was trying to change her appearance though and that just royally ticked her off. Shouldn't a person like someone for WHO they are on the INSIDE instead of the OUTSIDE? Apparently not.
Mark sighed, rolling his eyes, and focused on the road, not about to get into it with her. Not when they'd seemed to cover so much ground. He gritted his teeth, wondering if she'd ever be able to remove the mask. Ravati was a beautiful woman on the inside and outside. He just couldn't understand why she felt like she had to hide herself like some grotesque cabaret doll or something. Mark shook his head, flicking on the radio, the silence almost overwhelming. Knowing he'd say something to fill the void if he didn't turn it on.
The ride to Wal-Mart was made in silence and when they stopped, Ravati didn't say a word to him, just got out, shutting the door behind her. She followed him into the store, shoving her hands in her front pockets, and sighed heavily when he grabbed a cart. She kept her head lowered, her black hair framing most of it, but it didn't hide her like she wanted. She hated going out in public without her mask on and hated Mark for forcing her to come out without it. Her make up was a huge part of who Ravati was and she couldn't wait to be rid of him so she could do whatever she wanted again. When she wanted to do it.
Frowning, Mark glanced back at her before pulling her up with him, pinning her between him and the cart. "Yer beautiful, darlin'." He murmured in her ear, sensing she was feeling awkward without her face paint. He halted at the farm and home section, talking to a clerk and placing an order for what he would need for animal feed, leaving her to her own devices at the moment, but aware of her presence. Definitely aware.
Ravati didn't believe him that she was beautiful, not without her mask. She shook her head and walked over to look at something, immediately narrowing her midnight blue eyes upon seeing the motherfucker responsible for her being in this predicament in the first place. "Yo, Jason!" She called out, stalking over to him, and planted her feet right in front of him, her fists clenched at her sides, her eyes shooting fire at him. She felt sick seeing him after what he did to her, but pushed that firmly aside, too pissed at the moment.
Jason's eyes widened when he seen her, looking around like he didn't want to be caught around her. "What the FUCK are you doing here?" He demanded in a low, harsh tone. "I thought you were doing time or something?" He didn't look happy to see her though he did take in her appearance, a little smirk on his lips.
"You're lucky I don't fucking pound your ass into the ground for what you did to me, you motherfucker!" She hissed back at him dangerously, cracking her knuckles, that look of fighting instinct coming over her midnight blue eyes as they darkened with rage. "You won't EVER do that to me again, you understand me? I'll kill you first before it fucking happens again, you dickweed!"
"Do what you fucking psycho bitch?" Jason demanded, looking righteously angry, shooting a look around. "Fucking lower your goddamn tone you little slut." He hissed. "You fucking wanted it and we both know it."
That was all Ravati could take as she hauled off, punching him right in the nose, and tackled him the ground, not caring if they were in a store. "YOU FUCKING PRICK!" She shrieked, punching him relentlessly in the face with both of her fists, tears swelling in her eyes, and wished she had her brass knuckles she always used to carry on her. "I FUCKING HATE YOU!" She could see nothing, but red right now and didn't care about the consequences at the moment. Just messing this boy's face up for what he did to her.
"RAVATI!" Mark appeared out of nowhere, pulling her away, grunting when he started getting kicked and hit. "Calm down, calm down!" He ordered, wondering what the Hell had happened.
"YOU FUCKING CRAZY WHORE!" Jason shrieked, shakily getting to his feet, feeling his nose, and groaned. It was gushing blood. "YOU STUPID BITCH!"
"FUCK YOU, JASON! YOU WON'T EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!" She screamed back at him, fighting off Mark to get to him, tears streaming down her face. Not caring about anything at the moment, but ripping his heart out of his chest and crushing it in her hands. "LET ME GO RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" She screamed at Mark, clawing at his arms with her nails. The rage inside of her exploding, though she felt a grim satisfaction when she seen the blood gushing out of his nose.
"RAVATI!" Mark roared, not amused when he felt her clawing the Hell out of his arms. "Stop it!"
Jason was moaning in pain, trying to stem the blood flow. "Stupid fucking whore!" He spat viciously. "Quit running your goddamn lying, little cock sucking mouth!"
Mark's green eyes narrowed, not having a damned clue what was going on, but not liking how this punk was talking to Ravati, tempted to unleash her.
Her entire face went pale at that moment, causing Ravati to start physically trembling in his arms, and broke out of Mark's grasp as she took off out of the store. She almost got ran over by a car, but she didn't care, needing to get as far away from that prick as possible. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she finally collapsed on the ground on her knees, wrapping her arms around herself, and stood up as she walked the rest of the way back to the truck. She knew she was going to get reprimanded for this and honestly didn't care at the moment. Visions of what had happened flowed through her mind as she screamed and dropped to her knees by the truck, beginning to punch the asphalt with her fist, the anger pouring out of her. Not caring if her fist busted open and blood was covering it.
Mark had dropped everything to chase after her, ignoring the people who stared, shoving some out of his way. He frowned, surveying the parking lot before making his way to the truck. He seen her on the ground and rushed to her, grabbing her to stop her from hurting herself further. "Vati, stop! What's wrong? What happened?" He pulled her up against him, concern and worry evident in his tone.
"GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!" She screamed out, shoving him away from her, and wrapped her arms around herself as she hit the side of the truck harshly. Nobody would believe her and she wasn't about to open up to Mark, knowing he was going to punish her worse for this. For lashing out when she had every right in the world, but yet, nobody knew about it. Nobody knew the real story and that just pissed her off even more. She didn't care as she flexed her fist, not bothered that it was probably broken. She'd punched the asphalt a good twenty times or so as she raked a hand through her hair with her good one, gripping it tightly.
Mark growled, snatching her up and almost literally tossing her into the truck. He had been trying to help her, not maul or hurt her. He locked the doors and windows, not about to risk her jumping and peeled out of there, heading for home. "What the fuck was that all about?" He demanded gruffly, not looking at her.
"None of your fucking business!" She shouted, wiping her tears away along with her eyeliner, refusing to look at him as she kept her eyes glued on the window. She was going to pay for this, but it was worth it. It was worth seeing that bastard bleed for what he did to her. For what she was going through right now with Mark. What her body was going through and how much pain she'd been in both physically and mentally.
"None of my business? You just fuckin' jumped a guy, broke his damned nose and it's none of my business?" Mark snarled, his upper lip curling in anger. He gunned it home, speeding along the dirt road. "Don't give me that shit, Ravati."
"I had my reasons, alright?" She stated heatedly, raking a hand through her hair, not caring if her hand was dripping blood or not. Her blood was boiling and her anger was taking over every other emotion in her body at the moment. She had her reasons because the guy hurt her and forced her into this predicament. She wasn't going to tell Mark or anyone what happened, knowing the sheriff would never believe a word that came out of her mouth. Nobody would, Ravati wasn't that stupid or naïve.
Mark remained silent even after they reached the ranch, dragging her inside and shoving her down on the couch, pissed beyond belief at the moment. He retrieved the first aid kit. The damned thing had seen more use in the time she'd been here then in the past year he'd owned it! "Hold still…" He growled, kneeling in front of her, gently wiping the blood with a wet washcloth before using a pair of tweezers to pick out the gravel.
She just sat there, her arm crossed in front of her chest, while her other one was extended. She was silent, anger still coursing throughout her body at the moment, and when he went for the alcohol, she jumped off the couch, hiding her hand behind her back. "No, I'm not going through it again, Mark! I've been through fucking enough with you as it is!" She ran up to her room and slammed the door shut when he went to pour it, locking the door, and then ran into the bathroom, locking that door too. She immediately ran the scalding hot water over it, crying out in pain.
Mark followed her, going double time when he heard her cry out in pain and broke down the bedroom door when he found it locked. "Vati?" He tried the bathroom and growled, shaking his head before ramming his shoulder against the door, catching himself when it gave way. "What the-NO!" He lunged at her, pulling her hand out from under the scalding water. "Yer gonna make it worse!"
She ripped her hand out of his grasp, tears of pain and anguish flowing down her cheeks, and held her hand tightly to her as she started crying harshly. "Please don't do it…Please Mark…" She couldn't deal with the alcohol again, the last time had almost killed her. She knew this time it probably would as she coughed out, sniffling, her midnight blue eyes pooling with tears. She'd just ran it over the scalding hot water for a second before he busted the door down.
Mark seen the tears in her eyes and nodded, swallowing hard, looking down at her hand. "I won't alright? Just come down and let me tend to that, Vati." He said softly, reaching out for her. "Come on, darlin'…I promise I won't use liquor on it, okay?" His tone was soft and pleading, asking her to trust him.
Ravati nodded as she slowly stood up from the floor, holding her hand to her chest, and walked with him back downstairs. She raked a hand through her black hair as she plopped down on the couch and held it out, letting him tend to it, tears of pain streaming down her face since all of her anger had deteriorated. "Fuck!" She hissed out when she accidentally flexed it and leaned back against the couch, sweat pouring down her neck. She sucked in a sharp breath when he began plucking the remaining asphalt pieces out of her hand. "Damn!"
Mark winced, using the rag to clean her fist again. "Well…you flexin' it is a good sign." He murmured, gently guiding her into splaying her hand out, flinching when she hissed in pain again, and studied the damage. Swollen, bruising, still bleeding, skin torn…yeah, she'd done a number on herself. Mark sighed, placing a towel under her hand before pouring peroxide over it, bending down to blow on it when he seen it bubbling.
"Christ!" She hissed out in pain, leaning back against the couch, though him blowing on it made it feel a little better, not much though. She'd done a number on it and was shocked she hadn't broken it with how hard she'd punched the asphalt. She sighed heavily, tears still in her eyes, and licked her lips as she leaned her elbow on her leg. Pressing her good hand over her forehead and bent her head down, shaking it back and forth. She didn't regret decking Jason, but she did regret messing her hand up.
Mark was quiet while he put Neosporin on the wounds, wrapping her fist in gauze before taping it in place, leaning back on his heels to stare at her. "I'm not askin ya again, Vati." He said finally. "If you ever wanna talk bout what happened today, I'm here fer ya, no questions asked." He reached out to cup her chin, gently making her look into his green eyes.
"I know I'm in trouble so just tell me what to do and I'll do it, Mark." She replied, staring back into his eyes. She felt a single tear fall down her cheek before slowly standing up, holding her hand at her side as she raked a hand through her hair. "I'll go change." She whispered and started up the stairs, knowing he was going to push her to her limits for what she pulled at the store.