Chapter 36

He withdrew a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. Going inside, he pulled a chain on a lamp, and the room was filled with a soft light. A twin mattress was on the floor, a couple of pillows and a sheet on top of it. It barely fit beside the water heater and the furnace.

"Isn't this a fire hazard?" She blurted.

Marcus smiled. "It's been here almost a year. No fires yet." He pulled his shirt and pants off and stood before her in his boxers.

Even given every creepy thing he'd done, Katie couldn't help but admire his good looks. She carefully bit her bottom lip.

Marcus ran one hand down his chest and onto the bulge in his shorts. "Your turn," he said, and gave himself a squeeze.

Katie's nerves got the better of her. She stammered and couldn't manage to get any words out. He stepped in closer and caught her lips in a heated kiss.

Katie pulled her mouth from his, but his grip on her elbows kept her close to him. "Marcus, don't!"

"You said you wanted it, Katie. You said!" He tried to kiss her again, but she turned her face to the side. Marcus tightened his grip even more.

"You're hurting me!" she cried.

"You're fucking with me," he said, his voice menacing. "I brought you here because you said you wanted to do it."

"Is this where you did Brenda, too?" Katie finally said, hatred dripping from her voice. "And who else, Marcus? How many girls have you screwed in here?"

"You're jealous," he said.

She tried to pull away, but he still held her fast. Katie started to panic. "I'm not jealous, you idiot. I'm trying to tell you I know what a sleeze bag you are. I'm trying to tell you that you and that miserable excuse for a bed over there are crawling with disease, and I don't want it. Neither does the next girl who comes along, Marcus." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm surprised you haven't gotten anybody pregnant."

He scoffed. "Brenda was the one with the STD, not me," he insisted. "And I'm not an idiot, Katie, I know when to pull out."

She glanced down at the sheet, wondering how disgusting it really was. He pulled her close again, mashing his groin against hers and grinding a circle against her. "You can't say no, Katie. You're the reason we're down here."

"I can always say no!" She shouted, and finally managed to get out of his grip. She turned and yanked the door open, and he tackled her, causing her cheek to smack against the edge of it.

As he spun her to face him again, she raised her left fist and landed one hard against his jaw.

"Ah!" he cried, letting go of her to grab his face.

Katie kicked him hard in the groin and watched him drop like a stone and curl into the fetal position. She ran from the room.

Katie was sleeping in. Bobby had gotten an early morning call-out to prepare for his undercover assignment, leaving Alex to get Katie moving and ready for school.

"Katie?" Alex knocked on her door. "Katie, you've overslept. You better get moving, you'll be late for school."

The ice pack had fallen off and slipped behind the bed while she was asleep. Katie reached up, setting her fingers against the sore place on her cheek. "Okay, Mom!" She said firmly as she scrambled to get to a mirror. Once she saw herself, she was frozen. She had a bruise.

"Five minutes, Katie. If you're not in the shower in 5 minutes, I'm coming in there."

"Okay, Mom!" she called again. As her brain considered what she was seeing, she suddenly pushed the sleeve of her pajamas up and found, to her dismay, more bruises. She checked both arms and found more. Katie threw her head back and sighed. She covered herself with her robe and grabbed school clothes, carefully choosing a long sleeved shirt to go with her tan slacks. With another glance in the mirror, she felt her chest tighten. She had no way to hide that one.

Katie slipped out of her bedroom and jogged to the safety of the bathroom. She turned the shower on and stepped in.

They'd been in the kitchen together for several minutes when Alex finally looked Katie straight in the face. "Oh, my God! What happened to you?" She asked, grabbing her daughter's chin to look at the bruise.

"I ran into the door… w-when I got up to go to the bathroom last night."

"Oh, Katie! That's awful! Did you put ice on it?"

"Yeah, I did, but it bruised anyway."

Alex winced, looking at the bruise again. She shook her head, "Katie…"

"I guess I need to wake up a little more before I sprint to the bathroom," Katie said with a smile. She turned to pick up her plate. Alex reached out and grabbed her by the elbow, wanting to tell her one more thing.

Katie couldn't hide her wince, or the look of fear that crossed her face. Her mom had found her out.

Alex's jaw set. "Take your shirt off," she told her.

"But, Daddy—"

"Your Dad's at work. Take your shirt off."

Slowly, Katie unbuttoned her shirt and slipped it down. Alex stood in front of her daughter and put her hands in the air just above each bruise, matching the finger marks exactly. Finally, she dropped her hands back to her sides. "How did it happen, Katie? The truth, this time."

Katie slipped her shirt back on and flopped into the chair while she buttoned it back up. "I'll be late to school," she said weakly, in protest.

"You're not going to school." After another long silence, Alex changed tactics. "Where's your phone?"

Katie's eyes drifted to her bedroom before she realized why her Mom wanted it. She looked up at Alex, who went swiftly to the girl's room. She came back, phone in hand, and pulled up the text messages.

"Marcus?! You went to meet Marcus?! My God, Katie! How could you be so…?!" Alex sat down and stared at her. "And he did this to you?!"

Katie looked terrified. Tears filled her eyes. "It's my fault, Mom, I told him…"

"No." She gestured to the ugly bruise on Katie's face. "This… is not your fault."

"But I—"

"Just tell me why. Why did you want to see him?"

The tears fell from her eyes. "I wanted to… to tell him I knew… that everybody knows… what a sleeze he is!"

Alex wanted to scream Why? But her daughter was crying and bruised and she needed to know the details. Alex took a deep breath. "I need to know the whole story, Katie."