Nothing to say before hand, getting right to the chapter…

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Chapter 16: Depends on Trust

"This root beer tastes like ketchup!" Roger exclaimed.

This caused everyone in the room to stop what they were doing and stare at him. He looked around at everybody.

"What? It does!"

"Ketchup?" Benny repeated, "Roger please explain because I'm very confused, how does root beer taste like ketchup?"

"I don't know, but it does! Taste it!"

"I'll taste it," April said, taking the cup from Roger's hand and taking a sip. She paused a moment, deep in concentration.

"Nope, tastes like root beer to me," she stated handing the cup back to him.

"You're not helping my case April."

"I'm sorry sweetie but it doesn't!"

Roger downed the rest of the drink, making a face.

"Ok maybe it doesn't…"

"Hey guys, has Maureen come home yet?" Mark asked, coming out of his room.

Roger and April exchanged a nervous glance.

"Um, no Mark, not yet," Roger replied, taking April's hand.

"Um guys, I'm gonna go to bed, I gotta get up early. Good night!" Benny said, quickly retreating into his room, he knew well enough not to stay for this.

Mark gave a long sigh, "Has she called or anything?"

"No," came Roger's timid reply.

Mark looked at his watch, "It's after midnight."

"We'll wait up with you if you want," April offered, "It's not fair to have to wait alone."

"No it's ok, I'm used to waiting."

Something about his tone sent a pang through Roger's heart. He remembered when Maureen had first moved in how Mark would wait up every night for her to come home, and Roger would wait with him. He did it mostly to keep his friend's mind off of wondering what Maureen could possibly be doing at 1, 2 or 3 in the morning. Eventually it happened so often that he and Collins had to take shifts, each night they'd trade off who waited, but Mark was there every night, staring at the door, waiting for it to creak open and reveal Maureen and her newest excuse.

"No Mark, I'll wait with you," he said, letting go of April's hand. Mark shook his head.

"No, it's ok really. I need to do this alone."

"Well, alright then… if you're sure."

"I am."

Roger looked at April, uncertain. She tried to smile but couldn't.

"Come on," she whispered, "let's just go to my place."

Roger nodded, following her to the door. He stopped and looked back.

"Are you sure? I don't mind staying really."

"Go," Mark said, waving him away, "Be with your girlfriend."

Roger hesitated, "I don't want to leave you alone."

"I'll be fine, go."

"Alright. I'll be at April's, give me a call if you need anything."
            "Will do. Bye."

Roger shut the door, following April down the stairs. Once they were out of earshot he grabbed her hand.

"I feel like I need to stay."

"Roger honey, he doesn't want you to. I know this is tough, but he needs to do this alone," April said, hugging him gently.

Roger clung to her, "You don't understand, Maureen and I had a fight a few weeks back and he walked in on it and we were saying some things that… I don't know how he's gonna take this if he's alone."

"What did he hear?"

"Well I knew from the beginning that Maureen's been cheating on him, and I confronted her about it and Mark happened to hear and I'm afraid he's going to say something to her."

"And what if he does? She needs to know it's wrong."

"I guess."

"You can't be his guardian forever, you have to let him live life on his own."

"I know. Come on, let's go."

The two walked arm in arm outside into the cold spring air.

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Maureen opened the door slowly, careful not to make a sound and wake anyone up. She eased into the room, feeling her way around in the dark, hoping not to crash into anything, as Collins had been known to do late at night. Several months before everyone had been jerked awake by a loud crashing sound followed by a muffled curse. Roger had armed himself with a broken chair leg and went to investigate only to find Collins sprawled on the floor with a big red splotch in the middle of his forehead. He had been searching for a glass of water and had walked into the fridge.

Maureen giggled to herself at the memory of it, she had been so convinced it was a burglar she was halfway out the fire escape before Mark could tell her what happened. Her good mood ended abruptly when she walked into her room. Instead of finding Mark sound asleep as she normally did, he was sitting on the bed staring at her when she entered.

"Where were you?" he asked, his tone sharp and angry, not at all like Mark.

"I'm sorry, I was-"

"What's your excuse this time Maureen? You haven't done this in awhile, you can try one of your old ones, maybe I won't remember that you used it already. Let's see, what were some of them? Oh yes, you ran into some old friends, you had to work late, you lost your keys. Which one is it this time?"

Maureen took a step backwards, obviously shocked at the attack, "Mark are you ok?"

Mark crossed his arms over his chest, "Go ahead, tell me your story."

She hesitated, "Listen, I don't like this, you're scaring me. What's gotten into you?"

Mark gave a harsh laugh, "What's gotten into me? I should ask you the same question. Or maybe it should be who's gotten into you?"

"How dare you!" Maureen shrieked, "Don't you dare accuse me of things when you have no proof!"

"No proof?" Mark repeated, "How's this? You come home late when you don't have a job or anything respectable to do, you refuse to tell me where you were, and my best friend already told me that you're cheating on me!"

"Mark, pookie listen-"

"Don't 'Mark, pookie' me! I'm sick of your shit Maureen! Why?" He asked, his voice slowly softened, as if the anger was too much for him to bear, "why would you do this to me?"

Maureen moved closer slowly, reaching out and touching him gently on the shoulder, "I don't want to hurt you, really I don't."

"Well you did," he said, pulling away from her and walking out the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked, hurrying after him.

"I don't know, somewhere."

"It's after 1!"

Mark wheeled around to face her, his eyes burning, "You try waiting up for me for once, see what it's like."

"Mark please, don't go!" Maureen called, running to him and grabbing his arm.

He pulled away, staring straight into her eyes, "What was his name Maureen?"

She fell silent. Mark turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Maureen sniffed back the tears that sprang to her eyes, fighting back her emotions as she'd done many times before.

"Her name was Sabrina," she said defiantly to the closed door.

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Roger and April hurried into her apartment, closing the door quickly behind them.

"Wow it is raining hard!" Roger said, shaking his hair out so that the droplets sprayed April. She shrieked and jumped backwards.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to do that," Roger said with mock innocence.

"Yeah yeah sure. Sit down, I'll get something to drink."

Roger sat on the couch, picking up one of the magazines on the table and thumbing through it. He could hear the clinking of glasses in the other room.

"400 ways to meet hot single guys," he read aloud, coming across an interesting article.

"Roger Aaron Davis you put that magazine down now!" came April's voice from the kitchen.

Roger chuckled, "And if I don't?"

April appeared in the doorway, two glasses and a bottle of wine clutched in her hand, "I will have to hurt you."

Roger lay back on the couch and spread his arms out lazily, "Go ahead."

April carefully set down the drinks before running at him, leaping on top of him and wringing her wet hair out in his face.

"Surrender!" she demanded, continuing to soak both her boyfriend and her couch.

"Never!" he cried, trying to wrestle her off. The two fell off the couch with a thud, both of them very wet. He climbed on top of her, trying to catch her hair that was flying madly around. April grabbed a pillow from the couch and began beating Roger with it.

"Get off me or you will eat feathers!" she yelled, accenting each word with a hit from the pillow. He fell backwards, grabbing his own pillow. The two continued to beat each other until they couldn't see straight.

"Wow, you really put up a fight over a magazine," Roger said later as the two lay panting on the floor.

"What can I say? Sometimes I'm aggressive," April replied, grinning.

Roger began to laugh.

"Oh get your head out of the gutter stupid," she said, hitting his shoulder playfully.

He caught her hand and kissed it. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What was that for?"

"Do I need a reason to be romantic?"

She laughed, "You call that romantic?"

"Well what would you call romantic?"

"A candlelight dinner at a fancy restaurant, maybe going to a beach and watching the sunset."

Roger snorted.

"What?" April asked, "I've never done those things, and I've always wanted to. I've lived in cities all my life, I've never even seen a beach."

Roger stretched his arm out as an invitation for April to come closer, "I've seen one, it's nothing special."

She squirmed over to him, laying her head on his chest, "What was it like?"

He thought for a moment, "Hot. I burned my feet on the sand. And I got sunburn from swimming in the water too long, I looked like a lobster and I couldn't sleep because it hurt when the sheets touched my skin. Seagulls ate all my food and I got stung by a jellyfish."

"Aww, when you say it like that it doesn't sound so wonderful," April said, kissing his neck.

"Yeah, either that or I just like to complain."

"Well you do that very well."

"Oh thank you," Roger said, pulling her closer.

"Ugh, you're all wet," April giggled.

"Well whose fault is that?"

She tugged playfully at his wet t-shirt, "Let's get you out of these, you're going to get sick."

He grinned, "There are plus sides to getting soaked in the rain."

She smacked him again, "Go into my room, you left some clothes here a while ago and I washed them. I'll be in soon."

"I could just head home, Maureen's gotta be back by now," Roger said, starting to get up. April grabbed his hand.

"No! I mean, couldn't you stay? It's late, I don't want you walking home alone."

"I'm a big boy," he said, flexing his muscles, "but yeah, if you want me here."

"I do," she said, staring up at him with pleading eyes. Something about her look made Roger's heart soften.

"I love you," he said softly.

"I heard that," she responded, a smile growing on her face, "say it again."

"I love you," he repeated, louder this time.

April felt as if her heart stopped beating, "You mean that? Roger really?"

He nodded, "I mean it with everything in me."

He helped her stand and pulled her into his arms. Neither one would let go of the other, and they stayed wrapped in each other for a long time.

"I love you too," she finally whispered in his ear.

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