Chapter 10

"I don't know." She replied quietly.

"Come on Amanda tell me." Mark said, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

"Well Brittany rang me before." She began.

"Uh huh." Mark said.

"And she told me that she found out that my boyfriend had been cheating on me." Mandy said.

"Really?" Mark said.

"Yes, it's not fair! I didn't do anything to him!" Mandy said.

Even though he couldn't hear her, Mark knew she was crying.

"I know it's not fair, you're such a pretty girl." Mark said.

"I am?" She snuffled.

"Of course you are, you've always been a cute little thing growing up." Mark chuckled.

"It would have been nine months next Wednesday, my birthday." She explained.

"Shit you're right! February 23rd!" Mark remembered.

Mandy let out a little giggle. "You remember?"

"Yeah, I used to send ya out 20 dollars in the mail for ya birthday. Don't ya remember?" Mark asked.

"Yeah I remember." She replied.

For some odd reason, she seemed to enjoy laying back on him. It felt weird considering it was Mark.

Mark felt the same. Lying in a bathtub with her relaxing against him made him feel funny. She felt naked to him, even though she wasn't. It was starting to freak him out a little.

"Well Mandy, I'll yet ya finish washing ya self in here. Then I'll tuck ya up into ya bed ok?" Mark explained, hopping out of the bath.

"Ok." She replied quietly. "Mark…"

"Yeah?" He asked, as he tried himself off with a towel.

"I don't have my pajamas with me." She said.

"I'll go grab them for ya." He chuckled and started to walk out.

"And Mark…" She said again.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"I need some underwear too." She said quietly.

"Of course." He smiled and continued out the door.

Mark walked into her room and walked over to the draws near her bed. He took out her nightgown from the top draw and opened the second one. He raised his eyebrows when he saw all her underwear. He took out a pair, pink lacy ones.

I can't believe that John would let her wear these at her age? He thought to himself. Then again he probably doesn't know, he chuckled.

"Here ya go." Mark smiled as he walked back into his bathroom and placed her clothes on the sink.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"No problem." He said and walked out to let her get changed.

Mandy walked into her room and found Mark plugging a plug into a switch.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she sat down on her bed.

"Oh, well I got an electric blanket here and I thought that it may keep ya warm." He explained, standing up.

"Oh ok." She replied and pulled back the covers and hopped in.

"Are you going to bed right now? Wanna talk for a while?" She asked.

"Yeah I guess so." He replied and walked over and sat on the end of her bed.

"Mark hope in." She said.

Mark shrugged his shoulders and hopped in next to her.

"Oh this blanket is nice." She said.

"Yeah, I hate getting into a cold bed." Mark explained.

"Yeah." She sighed.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I just hate him." Mandy answered.

"Hate who…oh." Mark said, remembering what she told him. "Well how do you think that I and Sara got divorced?"

"What?" Mandy said looking up at him.

Mark smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"She cheated on you? I thought that you two just had a fight? That's what dad told me." Mandy explained.

"Well technically we did have a fight, but no one fights without a reason." Mark said.

"Why didn't dad tell me? He treats me like a little baby." Mandy sighed.

"I didn't want him to tell ya. I didn't want ya to think of Sara as some evil woman." Mark explained.

"Mark, she cheated on you, of course she's evil, just like Trent is." Mandy replied.

"I guess so." He said quietly.

"Mark if I had known these things about ya, I wouldn't have gone and been such a bitch to ya. I would have enjoyed coming down here. I would have enjoyed seeing ya." Mandy explained.

"Yeah well, ya can't change the past Mandy." Mark said.

"I know, it's good that we know more about each other. I think that we can become good friends now." Mandy said, ignoring all the new feelings she was having all of a sudden when he was around her.

"I agree." Mark chuckled and pulled her into a hug.

"Tell me more about when I was little." Mandy said, closing her eyes.

"Too much to remember." Mark replied, closing his eyes too.

Before they knew it, they had both fallen asleep in her bed.