I would like to thank Nina26, mcnat fan, & kaquelfan4ever, for their very kind reviews!!
Disclaimer: Agnes Nixon owns the show, I don't. Obviously the characters aren't mine.
Chapter 5
The next morning Natalie woke with a start, after realizing that she wasn't at home in her comfortable bed. She quickly looked around the room for John and saw that he was lying on the floor in a sleeping bag. A pang of guilt hit her, she had shown up at John's doorstep late at night, and had practically forced him to sleep on the floor. After making sure that he was sound asleep, she crept into his exceptionally diminutive bathroom, and stepped into the shower. Her back ached from sleeping on such an uncomfortable mattress all night long, but she was not about to complain, because it was better then having to be alone in a room with Cristian. Natalie cautiously turned the faucet until she was satisfied with the temperature of the water. As she was turning it, the faucet let out a loud squeak.
"Damn It, McBain don't you ever clean this rusty thing?"
Lucky for Nat, John was a heavy sleeper and was not disturbed by the noise. After taking the fastest shower of her life, she dried herself with a towel that was resting on a hanger. She was about to hang it back up to dry when she caught a whiff of it. It smelled just like the cologne John wore, it was his signature scent. Natalie held the towel to her face and inhaled the scent. A few minutes later she was dressed and quietly tip-toed out of the bathroom and back into the tiny apartment. John was still asleep. Natalie smiled. John's hair was sticking up, most likely from having a restless night's sleep, and she thought he looked adorable. She quickly scolded herself for having such wishful thoughts.
"Stop it Natalie, you're married." She muttered under her breath. Yet she couldn't help but yearn for John to wrap his strong arms around her and fix all of her problems, the way he did before Cristian returned from the "dead".
Natalie glanced at John one more time, before silently slipping out of his room. After making sure that Roxy was nowhere in sight, she made her way to her car and drove home to Llanfair. Inside the mansion, Viki sat in a chair at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee, while Jessica paced back and forth anxiously waiting for Natalie to return.
"Jess, why don't you sit down? You've been staring out the window since you woke up." Viki suggested.
"Mom, Natalie ran out of the house late last night, claiming that her marriage to Cristian was over. I can't help worrying about her." Jessica cried.
"I just wish I knew what happened. Do you think they got into a fight?" Viki asked.
"They must have, but Nat looked petrified. Something really horrible must have happened. I tried talking to Cristian, but he just bolted the door shut and told me to go away!" Jessica had no idea what to do next.
"Do you think she spent the night at Roxy's?" Viki tried to think of all the possible places her daughter could have gone.
"I already called her, she said that Natalie wasn't there." Jessica answered her worried mother's question.
"If she's not back within the hour, I'm calling Bo." Viki declared.
All of a sudden an idea hit Jessica. "Maybe she's at John's?"
"I thought that he was dating Evangeline Williamson?" Said Viki.
"He is, or at least…I think he is. But I doubt that would stop Natalie from going to him for help." Jessica replied.
Just then they heard the front door open and close, Jessica and Viki rushed to the foyer.
"Natalie honey, we were so worried about you!" Viki enveloped her daughter in a tender hug.
"Where were you?" Jessica wanted to know.
"It doesn't matter, I'll be fine. Where's Cristian?" Natalie inquired.
"Why he's upstairs in your bedroom." Viki responded.
"Thanks mom." Natalie ran up the stairs, and carefully pushed open the door to her bedroom.
Cristian was sprawled out on the bed flipping through his mysterious black notebook. He looked up and saw Natalie glaring at him.
"Hey you, where did you go last night?" Cristian asked.
Natalie was outraged. "You've got some nerve pretending as if nothing happened!"
"Oh come on Nat, I was a little tipsy and I swatted your arm. You can't honestly, still be mad at me, babe?" Cristian acted nonchalant.
"I want you out of my house, now!" She retorted.
"Natalie what is going on with you, you're going to ruin our marriage because I made a few innocent mistakes?" Cristian said.
"Innocent? My God, Cris you knew exactly what you were doing. I am not going to let you hurt me again," Natalie protested. "If you don't get out now, I'm going to call the police."
"Oh, now I see where all of this is coming from," Cristian accused. "You want to get rid of me so you can be with Johnny boy 'eh? Well that's just too damn bad, 'cause I'm not going anywhere!"
"Fine, I guess we'll have to do this the hard way." Natalie left the room and went back downstairs, where her mother and sister sat waiting for her.
"Nat, what's going on…we heard screaming!" Jessica exclaimed.
"I'll explain everything in detail later, right now I need your help with getting Cristian out of the house. He refuses to move." Natalie reached for the phone.
"Who are you calling?" Jessica asked.
"Uncle Bo." Natalie answered.
"Wait a minute, Natalie. Why get the police involved?" Viki was confused.
Natalie put the phone down. "Fine, I might as well tell you now. You have to promise not to lose your cool though."
"We promise." Jessica was eager to hear her sister's news.
Natalie struggled to find the right words; it still hurt her to admit that her "loving" husband was so violent.
"Cristian—he…well you see--, he's been hitting me." Natalie confessed.
"Oh My God." Viki spoke softly. She reached for her daughter's hand and squeezed it gently.
"What did he do to you?" Jessica was fuming mad.
Natalie wiped the dark red gloss off her lips, revealing a nasty cut and a rather swollen looking lip, then she held up her badly bruised arm.
"Oh, my poor baby." Viki began to cry.
"Mom, please don't cry. It's not that bad." Natalie tried to comfort her mom.
"Not that bad, NOT THAT BAD," Jessica repeated her sister. "It's horrendous, Natalie, it's a crime!"
"Calm down," Natalie whispered. "Mom's upset enough as it is."
Jessica picked up the phone. "I'm calling 'Tonio, and then Uncle Bo. I want you to call Nora."
"Nora? What for?" Natalie replied.
"You'll need a lawyer to settle your divorce." Jessica logically explained.
Jessica continued with her phone call, while Natalie used her cell-phone to call her soon-to-be lawyer.