Chapter 35

Jasina's eyes turned to Mark with a sweet smile on her face, loving the look that adorned her ex's face. It was priceless. She was almost tempted to bring a camera. What surprised her most was how respectful Gary was being toward Mark's feelings.

Given the fact that she would graduate before she even turned eighteen, Mark thought his question was quite reasonable. Gary, however, had knocked him for a loop and he knew it openly showed on his face. "I would prefer ya to wait until she's graduated." When he seen Arielle opening her mouth, he held up a hand. "Arie, you have over six months before yer an adult, three until you graduate; I don't think it's unfair of me to ask ya to wait at least that long. And, the ki- Gary, is right, it'll take you awhile to find a suitable apartment." He arched an eyebrow down at Jasina. "What do you think about all of this?"

"It doesn't matter what I think, this is YOUR meeting. I'm just here for moral support, nothing more." Jasina smirked when he glared at her, enjoying this thoroughly and folded her arms in front of her chest, amusement shining in her teal eyes.

"That sounds very reasonable, baby doll." Gary knew it would take some persuading, but he would get Arielle to understand her father's view, already accepting it. "He wants you to wait until you graduate, then we'll wait. You got a lot to worry about as it is with graduation and everything, not to mention we still have to start saving money like we talked about." He watched her frown and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you, sir."

Jasina was beaming she was so proud of Gary, already thinking of him as a son.

Asking Jasina's opinion as one parent to another had been thrown back right in his face and Mark fought the urge to point out this wasn't his meeting. This was her pulling strings because when he had tried setting terms she had gone into her 'I call the shots' routine. Mark felt the returning urge to strangle her again and let out a sigh before turning back to Arielle, smiling at the look on her face.

"Three months ain't going to kill you, kiddo." He chided gently, reaching out to chuck her beneath the chin.

Considering this had gone better than she had thought it would, Arielle wiped away the pout and nodded, her eyes sparkling. She could wait three months and then no more separate rooms.

"Do you really want my feelings on it or were you just asking to play the nice Daddy roll?" Jasina asked bluntly, folding her hands on the table with that same smile on her face, knowing she was now getting under his skin. 'How does it feel asshole?' She thought bitter sweetly, tilting her head when he simply glared at her. "Since you so KINDLY asked, I think it's a great idea because I like Gary and trust him with Arielle. They're both working, they're both more responsible and they're more grown up than a lot of seventeen and twenty-one year olds out there." There, he wanted to know so badly so she told him, turning her attention to Arielle. "So, are you going to stay with me or your father during the last three months of your schooling?"

"I can bounce back and forth, providin' Gary can come with me on his days off." Arielle beamed brightly, refusing to choose between her parents.

"Separate rooms..." Mark said slowly, knowing from the gleam in his daughter's eyes that she was well aware she held a lot of cards in her hand since they had JUST finally reconciled. Ignoring Jasina was easier than sitting there and take the provocation without snapping back, not about to ruin this with Arie because of his ex. "Separate floors..." He added.

Gary was trying not to smile.

"Sounds good to me." This had gone better than Jasina ever thought possible and she was actually proud of Mark, though she would never admit that, knowing Randy would be thrilled to hear everything went down smoothly without another explosion. "Judging by the bag you two brought, I'm going to safely assume you're staying here tonight?"

"Well...Mom..."

"It's fine sweetheart. I'm happy that you and your father are talking again." Jasina accepted Arielle's embrace, kissing her forehead. "I really am." Having the apartment alone for the night, Jasina could walk around naked if she wanted to and hugged Gary next. "If you get uncomfortable, you have a key." She whispered in his ear to where only he could hear her, feeling him nod and pulled back.

Except he had no ride back into town, he had ridden with her. Gary swallowed hard as he looked at Mark, wondering if the older man would chop him up into a million tiny pieces while Arielle slept and feed him to hogs, then tell Arie he had run off. Mark returned the stare, wondering what the hell the boy was thinking to make him look pale suddenly.

"He's probably thinking you're going to hurt him while Arielle is sleeping tonight." Jasina said deadpan, staring back at Gary when his eyes widened.

"N-No...I wasn't..."

"If it makes you feel better, there are locks on all the doors in here."

That did relax him a little, though Gary was still somewhat pale, keeping close to Arielle. "Daddy wouldn't dare hurt me again." Arielle stated with a sweet smile, standing up to get something to drink out of the fridge, knowing guilt tripping was going to work wonders. "Right Daddy?"

Jasina smirked when Mark nodded while swallowing hard, paling himself a little.

He had messed up, not only had he driven a wedge between him and Arielle, but in doing so, Mark had pushed her into her mother's arms and now she was acting like her mother! Mark just realized that he was going to be living in his own personal hell for quite some time to come. Gary felt a bit more relaxed when he seen Mark was the same shade of white he was. It was reassuring to know the man could also be scared shitless, which is what Arielle had just done with her guilt trip and made him realize what he had to lose permanently this time around.

Jasina did not blame Arielle for guilt tripping her father and wouldn't reprimand her for it either. He deserved everything he had to live with and more. "Arielle, come by tomorrow to get your SUV, alright?"

When she nodded while chomping on a carrot, Jasina knew it was time to leave. Arielle could inform her father on everything that was currently going on, heading out of the kitchen and down the hallway with an extra bounce in her step. She couldn't wait to see Randy, sending him a text on her phone to let him know the meeting went great and she was ready for those drinks.

Gary felt really out of place, hoping his lifeline hadn't just left.

Mark just let out a sigh of relief, feeling a momentary urge to watch The Wizard of Oz, just to watch the wicked witch melt.

When Randy received the text saying everything had gone well, he smiled and felt his own surge of relief, glad that no one had blown up or gotten hurt. He texted Jasina back, letting her know he had to swing by his apartment to change and would meet her there.

Mark stepped out onto the porch, seeing she was standing by her car texting and sighed, knowing if he was going to have any chance of totally getting Arielle to trust him again, he had to start with Jasina first.

Jasina smiled when Randy texted her back and closed her phone, looking up when the screen door shut, seeing Mark standing there. What the hell did he want? She wasn't letting anyone destroy her mood, looking great and feeling fabulous. Jasina didn't want to be anywhere near Mark, surprised when no butterflies erupted in her stomach, no wave of heat rushing through her. She didn't feel anything for him, their only connection being Arielle and it felt foreign to say the least

"Did Arielle forget something?" Jasina asked politely, having opened her car door and raised an eyebrow when he walked down the porch steps toward her.

Mark shook his head; Arielle had been on her way up to her bedroom to make sure it was still intact and had dragged Gary with her, probably to keep them from being alone in the same room together. It felt wonderful to be such a trusted parent. "No, I wanted to talk to you." The look on her face said she clearly didn't want to talk to him but he ignored it. "Look, eventually, we're goin' to have to stop tormentin' each other, darlin'." He raked a hand through his hair, which had finally grown past his shoulder blades, and sighed heavily. "Before we drive each other insane or hurt Arielle anymore than she's already been hurt."

"Well maybe if one of us didn't assume things that are not going on, we would be getting along a lot better." Jasina retorted swiftly, tossing her cell phone into the car and shut the door, folding her arms in front of her chest. "You're not driving me insane, you've hurt me more than anything and I'm done with it. Arielle understands we don't like each other and I'm not going to make her choose between us. I hope you won't either. We don't have to talk to each other because she's practically an adult. Graduations are about the only thing we have to tolerate each other and let's keep it that way." She knew her words were cold, but after everything Mark said to her, Jasina couldn't get away from him fast enough, refusing to let the tears swell in her eyes that had stung the back of them. "That about covers it, yes?"

Mark nodded stiffly. "Yeah, it does."

He wasn't even going to bother with arguing because he was tired of her attitude and already knew he was a dick. Mark had said and done a lot of hurtful things to her and wasn't about to ask her to forgive him because he knew that wasn't happening nor did he deserve it. He knew from experience that pointing out things she had done was pointless; the woman was oblivious to her flaws.

"Thanks for bringin' them out, I'll bring 'em in town tomorrow to get her SUV. She got her license then?" Steve had hit him the other day upside his head and he was going to assume something wrong in his brain had been fixed because he was discovering it quite easy to be civil.

"Not yet, she hasn't finished her driving lessons." Randy had tried to finish them with Arielle, but they'd been busy with the interning, something Jasina definitely understood. She could see the resignation in Mark's eyes and felt her heart ache just a little because she hadn't been kind to him. "I'm sorry for what's happened between us." Jasina couldn't look at him or Jasina was afraid she'd break down, instead staring at the ground. "I know I have flaws and I said some cruel things to you. We tried and failed, I can be civil as long as you're civil back. That means no more phone calls yelling at me about Randy. That means no more phone calls calling me a bitch and whatever else you said. That means letting the past completely go and having a clean slate. We both made mistakes, we both said terrible things and now we both need to get over it and move on with our lives." Jasina had to take a deep shaky breath, slowly looking up at him until teal eyes met emerald green. "So I'm sorry for everything I said to you that was rude and vicious and I'm sorry I kept the truth about Gary from you. It was wrong, no matter if Arielle asked me to do it, I should've trusted that you would've been more civil about it. You should've been prepared, Mark. I had no right bringing him into your home without your consent, under your nose. You deserve to know who is in your house and after I thought about it, I would've been pissed if the tables were turned."

Mark nodded, surprised she had actually apologized and didn't know what to say or do now. It was clear they weren't friends. They probably never would be because too much hurt had happened between them, caused by them both, but some kind of even ground would have to do.

"Thanks, darlin'." Mark rumbled, offering a red bandana from his back pocket when it looked like she might cry. "I'll finish up her permit loggin' and take her into get her license. Did Randy kept track of her hours so I know how much time she needs to clock?" Mark had even said 'Randy' and not growled, impressing himself.

"Yes, I have it at my place. You can pick it up tomorrow." She didn't take the bandana and blinked her tears away, feeling like the biggest weight had been lifted from her shoulders. World War III had finally come to an end and Jasina was definitely ready for those drinks with Randy. "Go spend time with her. She's missed you and don't forget to pick the SUV up tomorrow. I should be home around five as usual."

When Mark nodded, Jasina turned and opened her car door, slipping behind the wheel, driving down the road. Jasina thought she might cry, but instead all she could do was sigh in relief and smile. Hoping Randy would eventually make a move because she was in dire need of some intimate attention.

Mark headed back inside, hearing Arielle laughing from upstairs and took a minute to compose himself before heading up. Leaning in her doorway with an arched brow, he watched Gary tickling her mercilessly. Saying something about 'take it back', it looked like the poor boy had her tiara from prom on his head.

"What the hell?"

Arielle didn't jump though Gary did, looking up from her spot on the bed and giggled shamelessly. "He said the tiara was gaudy so..."

"Bad move son, her mama picked that out for her. Purple ain't yer color."

Flushing, Gary pulled it off really quick, looking down at an amused Arielle.