Laura was exhausted. Her and Mark had spent the last 4 hours shopping. She looked at the clock on the dashboard of Marks truck. 10:00 pm. Damn it was late. She didn't realize how much stuff she would need. She had got new shoes, jeans, panties, socks and shirts. Not to mention tons of personal items. Plus Mark had picked up a ton of supplies for school for her. She had told Mark he was getting to much stuff, but he started giving her that look, so she had just shut up. She had never had so much stuff in her life, she doubted she would ever have a chance to wear all the clothes Mark had got her there was just too many. She yawned and laid her head back on the seat. "Tired Baby Girl?" Mark asked. "I'm okay" she said. Mark looked over at her a few minutes later and seen she was fast asleep. Poor kid he thought. She had been going all day.
Mark pulled in to the driveway and shut off the motor. He hated to wake her up she looked so peaceful. Mark got out and went over to the passenger side. He picked Laura up and took her up to her room. She was so tired she didn't even stir. She was as light as a feather, she really needed to put some weight on, he thought. Mark laid her gently on the bed. He pulled her jeans off and pulled the covers up over her. Laura turned over and mumbled in her sleep. "Shh Baby, go back to sleep" Mark said. He bent down and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. Laura fell back into a deep sleep. Mark went back out to the truck and got her stuff and set it in the hallway. He headed down to the kitchen for a beer. He sat at the kitchen table drinking his beer and trying to figure out why he was so touched by this kid. All he knew is one smile from her and it make his heart skip a beat. He smiled as he thought of the way she would look at him with those beautiful eyes and it made him want to hand her the world just to keep that beautiful smile on her face. He sighed, he didn't know exactly what he was feeling for her right now, but he wasn't going to figure it out to night. He headed up to bed and checked on her one more time; she was sound asleep, curled up in a little ball. He smiled at how cute she was and headed off to bed.
Laura sat in Mr. Hendricks office waiting for the results of her tests. Mark's friend was really nice and had explained to her more about the school and about the tests she had to take. He said the School ran on different shifts since it was an adult high school. He told her she could go from 4 to 8 hours a day depending on which grade level she was at and how fast she wanted to finish. She had been really nervous this morning before they had left. In fact she had dropped a whole glass of milk and busted the glass. She had stood there in horror sure Mark was going to slap her. But he had picked her up and sat her on the counter so she wouldn't cut her feet and cleaned it up himself. She had just looked at him in shock. "I'm Sorry Mark." Mark had come over to stand right in front of her. He lifted her head up and looked at her. "It's just a glass Laura, not the end of the world" He set her down from the counter and told her to go get dressed. Laura couldn't believe how nice Mark was. She should be down her knees thanking God she had meet him. She sure didn't deserve somebody so wonderful.
Mark was in the next room talking to Jamie Hendricks. They had been friends since high school. "Laura test results came back great, I don't know how long it's been since she's been in school but she is on 12 grade level." "Her reading level is off the charts, her math is great. Her IQ test is high, I'm talking genius level." Mark wasn't surprised; Laura had struck him as a bright person. "How long to finish up with her High school?" Mark asked. "Well I could give her the SAT and she would probably pass now, But if I were you I'd let her brush up for a couple months, so she can think about colleges." Jamie said. Mark nodded in agreement. "One more thing, she needs to have a physical before she can start school. I can't find any medical records on her and we need something." Mark shook his head, "somehow I don't think she's going to like this." He said. "She's going to have to go Mark, so she can start school" Jamie said. "I know, I'll get her to go" Mark said. "its Wednesday now, we will put her down to start Monday ,going to our morning sessions from 8:00 to 12:00."
Laura looked up as the door opened. Mark and Mr. Hendricks walked in. "How did I do?" she asked. "You did great Laura" Mr. Hendricks said. "A couple of months of school and you can take your SAT's and graduate" "Great" she said. Mark could see by the smile on her face she was relieved. She had been a nervous wreck this morning. "We got you down to start Monday. You'll be taking morning sessions from 8:00 to 12:00." "Okay that will be fine" Laura said. "Great Ill see you Monday." Mark shook Jamie's hand, "Thanks Jamie" he said. "No problem" Jamie said. "Mr. Hendricks, it was nice to meet you", Laura said and shook his hand. "You too Laura". Mark and Laura left the office. Mark threw his arm around Laura's shoulder. "You did great Kid; you're a regular little Einstein." Laura first instinct was to move away, but she didn't, she realized it felt kinda nice with Mark's arm around her. "I'm not a genius." She said turning red. Mark grinned "Ya know you're kinda cute when you blush like that." Which made her blush even more. "Stop it" she said and punched him in the arm. "Oww, Violent little thing aint ya?" He laughed. "Keep that up and I'll have to take ya on the Last Ride" She was grinning at him, "yea you and what army?" Mark pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head, "you got spunk girl, I like that."
Mark had stopped on the way home and got burgers and fries. They were vegging out in front of the TV on the floor. Laura had on Courage the Cowardly dog, which was her favorite show. She was laughing so hard she fell over. "I love this show" she said laughing. Mark was just enjoying watching her. She was so beautiful. Laura got up and took there trash in the kitchen. She came back in the den and told Mark she was going to take a shower. "Come back down when you get through, Okay" he said. "Kay, I will."
Laura got out of the shower and went to her room to find something to wear. God knows Mark bought her enough clothes she thought. She picked out the long-sleeved pajamas. They were pink with little red flowers on them. She wouldn't have picked them herself, but Mark had liked them. I think he's trying to turn me into a girl she laughed. The most important thing was they covered up her legs so you couldn't see the scars. She brushed and dried her hair, then put it in two braids so it wouldn't get tangled and headed back down stairs.
Laura went back down to the den; Mark was on the sofa with his feet on the table watching the news. Mark patted the seat beside him "Come here." He said. She went over and sat beside him and tucked her feet under her. "You look about 12 with your hair like that." he said, tugging on one braid. "Do not" she said. "Listen, baby. Jamie couldn't find any medical records on you." He said. "I aint never been to a doctor that I can recall." she said. "Well you're going to have to go to the doctors and get a physical before you can start school." Mark watched the change transform her face. "NO DAMN WAY" She yelled. "You can just forget it, aint no damn doctor poking around on me." Mark felt himself getting angry. "Well that's just fine little girl, if you want to live on the streets for the rest of your life and miss an opportunity to go to school, go right ahead." "You're acting like a 2 year old over a damn doctor's appointment." Mark got up and left the room. Laura sat there and felt like crying. She knew Mark was trying to help her, but she also knew the doctor would see the scars that were all over her body and of course he would tell Mark. It was bad enough Mark had seen the ones on her legs. She was deeply ashamed of them. No one was ever going to love her or want her. Her body was so ugly; she didn't want Mark to know.
Laura went in search of Mark. She went upstairs and peeked in his bedroom, but he wasn't there. She went back down stairs to the Jacuzzi. Sure enough he was in there; his knee must be bothering him. She went over and plopped down on her stomach and stretched out beside the Jacuzzi. "Your knee hurting?" She asked. "yea, not to bad though and the Jacuzzi always helps." Mark said. "Want to get in?" he asked. "No thanks." She said. "I got you a swim suit the other day; you can use the Jacuzzi any time ya want." She didn't answer him; she rolled over to her side and watched him. God he was beautiful. His arms were so big, and his chest was so sexy. She could see the water droplets clinging to the fine hair that covered his chest. You could drown in his beautiful green eyes, with those thick long lashes. Damn Laura snap out of it, he'll never want someone as fucked up as you. Mark watched her watching him, wondering what she was thinking. "I'll go to the doctor" she said suddenly. "I'm sorry I acted like a Baby." She got up and left before he could say anything. "Damn" he said. I shouldn't have yelled at her earlier, God I'm such an idiot he thought. Mark got out of the Jacuzzi and dried off. He pulled on his sweats and went to talk to her.
Laura lay in the dark trying to go to sleep, but she couldn't. Mark was mad at her and she couldn't stand it. He had done so much for her and she had to go and act like an idiot. Laura heard the door open and a moment later felt the mattress dip. "Baby girl, you asleep?" Laura turned over and shook her head. She looked like she was going to cry. Damn ya big dummy, why did ya have to yell at her, he thought. "I'm sorry I yelled at you Baby." He said. "It's not your fault" she said. "I was acting like a stupid baby." "No ya wasn't, its normal to be nervous about going to the doctor, especially if ya never been to one." Mark said. She looked like a little angel lying there. Mark wanted to protect her from every bad thing in the world. "Friends again?" Mark asked. She nodded her head. "You get some sleep girl, I'll see ya in the morning" He said. He got up to leave. "Mark, I aint sleepy." She said. He came back and sat down. "Turn over; I'll scratch your back. My mama used to do that to get us to sleep. Works like a charm." She didn't move. "Lord, turn over girl, I aint going to bite." She turned over on her side and Mark scooted over closer to her. He pulled her shirt up some and started to scratch her back. After a few minutes he could feel her start to relax. "Feel good baby?" he asked. "Mmm yea." she mumbled. Mark smiled, she was already half asleep. He waited until her breathing became steady, pulled down her shirt and went off to bed himself.
Laura woke up while it was till dark out; she glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 3:00 AM. She tried to go back to sleep but she couldn't. She was too worried about going to the doctor; she couldn't get it off her mind. She decided to go down stairs and get something to drink and watch TV for a while. She went down to the kitchen and grabbed her a Pepsi from the fridge. Oh yea Laura she thought, that's really going to help you sleep. She went in the den turned on the TV and lay down in the floor. She found some cartoons and lay back on the floor. Mark had heard her get up and went down to make sure she was alright. He found her lying in the floor watching cartoons. He sat down beside her on the floor. "Ya alright." He asked. "Yea I just couldn't sleep." She said. "Well I don't think that Pepsi going to help." He said. "I know." She said. "Laura I know you're worried about going to the doctor, but you don't have to. I made you an appointment with my doctor for Friday. He is a nice guy, he won't hurt ya." Laura couldn't really explain to him why she didn't want to go. "Listen tomorrow, we aint got nothing to do. We going to find something fun to do to get your mind off this" Mark said. "Got any ideas?" Mark asked. "Well could we go for a ride on one of your bikes?" she asked. "You didn't have to think long about that did ya?" Mark laughed. She grinned at him. "I been really wanting to go for a ride." She said. "It a date." He said. "Now get up to bed, ya wont be able to get up tomorrow." "Aww, I'm not sleepy." She said. Mark sat up and said in a deep voice "I know your not disobeying the Lord of Darkness." Laura busted out laughing. "Oh ya think its funny do ya?" Mark said. Mark grabbed her and started tickling her. She couldn't catch her breath she was laughing so hard. "Stop Mark." She gasped. Mark pinned her with her hand above her head. "Now lets see little lady, are you ticklish on your feet." Mark reached down with one hand and started tickling her feet. Laura squealed "Stop Mark, Please." "Hmm, maybe on your stomach." Mark said. He slid his hand up to her stomach and started tickling her. Laura was laughing and pleading at the same time. "Please Mark stop." " I can stop he said, as soon as you tap out and admit defeat , the very idea laughing at The Lord of Darkness." "No way." she said. Mark grinned. He picked her up and put her in his lap and started an all out tickling assault on her. Laura collapsed in a fit of giggling. "Okay, Okay" she said trying to catch her breath. "I admit defeat and promise to be obedient to you." "That's better." He said. "You see how cruel I can be, you just try laughing at me again." She did her best to suppress her giggle. He smiled down at her; it was great to see her laughing and cutting up. She laid her head on his chest still trying to catch her breath. She had never laughed so hard in her life. Mark cradled her in his arms and stroked her long hair. She laid there and relaxed in his arms. She never had anyone hold or before. It felt so good and she felt safe for the first time in her life. Mark picked her up and took her upstairs to her room. He laid her in her bed and tucked the covers around her. "Goodnight baby girl." He said and bent down and kissed her on her cheek. "Nite Mark." Laura drifted to sleep with thoughts of Mark and a smile on her face.