Chris Patterson was pacing in the new office Hamilton had provided him with. He was expecting an important phone call that just wouldn't come. He'd left tons of messages, but so far no luck. Hamilton could come bursting into his office any minute, and he preferred to have mapped out a strategy before that.
Sighing, he reached for his phone again. It rang seven times until someone picked up.
"Finally," Patterson barked. "The concept of a cell phone is completely lost on you, isn't it?"
The voice on the other end apparently offered a sufficient explanation, because Patterson smiled slightly. "Well, better get used to it. If everything goes as planned we'll be here for a long time."
He waited for a reply and then continued talking. "Hamilton is coming apart. Right now he's too careless and violent for us to make our move. We need him happy and distracted. Which is where saving the girl comes in."
A suggestion was made on the other end of the phone line. "That has crossed my mind, but contrary to popular belief, Hamilton is not intellectually challenged. He'd know in a heartbeat."
He listened for a few seconds. "I would've liked to see you guys do better. Besides, I call the shots here. Serves you right for not volunteering. Now, about the girl."
His conversation partner spoke for a couple of minutes; Patterson was quiet except for the occasional non-committal sounds. Finally Patterson interrupted. "But how? Without drawing unwanted attention and getting my head ripped off?"
He chuckled at the reply. "Of course. So easy."
The other made an offensive remark. "Hey!" Patterson replied indignantly. "It was probably too easy. My brilliant brain overlooked it entirely."
A racket in the adjoining room interrupted a beginning argument. "Oh, Hamilton is trashing his office. Gotta go. I'll check in later." He ended the call and stepped out in the hallway, looking at Peter questioningly. "What has gotten into him?"
"Don't ask me," his assistant replied with a shrug. "One of his moods, I guess."
Patterson took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A loud yell indicated that Hamilton was not necessarily pleased with the disturbance. Pushing the door open slightly, Patterson observed Hamilton's position in the room, and calculated whether he could get out of Hamilton's sight without suffering severe injuries after delivering his message. Probably not. Either way, he still had to think of a way to persuade Hamilton to go and save the girl. Preferably without letting him in on the piece of information that he'd been responsible for the fact that the demons had taken her. He pulled himself together and stepped into the room. "What's wrong, Sir?"
Hamilton looked up in annoyance. "What part of me yelling 'get lost' didn't you understand?"
"There's something you should know, Sir." Patterson stuck his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet.
Marcus looked at Patterson bemusedly. What was wrong with his assistant? Well, he didn't have time for quirks. He had some demons to kill. "Later. I need an address. Help me look for it."
Patterson contemplated insisting on discussing it now, but decided to wait until he figured out a way to broach the subject. "What address, Sir? Have you tried your computer?"
Patterson did come in handy in just about any situation. Marcus threw his assistant a sideways glance. "No." He plopped down in his chair and searched Wolfram & Hart's files. Within minutes, he'd found it. "Okay. Hold the fort, I'll be gone for an hour or so."
"Where are you going, Sir?" Patterson panicked slightly. He couldn't be sure those demons wouldn't kill the girl before he'd had time to ease Hamilton into the knowledge that she was still alive.
"Kill myself some demons." Marcus smiled at the prospect. He was looking forward to it; it gave him a chance to avenge Jessica's death.
"Would those demons be the ones that came to see you this morning?" Patterson inquired tentatively.
Narrowing his eyes, Marcus turned to face him. "Yes. Why?"
"They took the girl," Patterson confessed, praying he'd make it out the door before Hamilton exploded. "I saw them."
Marcus nodded. "I know. That's why I'm going to kill them."
"Oh." How does he know? Patterson considered himself lucky, although it might have been better if he'd kept his mouth shut altogether. Oh well. "Have fun, Sir."
Weird. Marcus headed for the door. "I will. Thanks." Patterson was acting decidedly strange, but he had more important matters to attend to. He took the elevator down to the parking garage and sped into the city on his way to the demons' lair.
Jessica woke up abruptly, startled by a loud noise emanating from the other side of the building. Had she really fallen asleep? Even under these circumstances? The only excuse she could come up with was that she was exhausted by that morning's events. And let's not forget last night. Her back hurt from having slept in an uncomfortable position and she was cold. She shivered, immediately reminded of her broken arm by a blinding pain.
The tumult that had woken her up grew louder and the demons at the table looked up in alarm. One of them rose and took out a vicious-looking battle axe. He left the room to check out the source of the racket. A few seconds after the demon had disappeared through the doorway and closed the door behind him, he was sent flying back into the room, shattering the wooden door and landing on the concrete floor with a thud. The other demons jumped to their feet and scurried across the room to fetch weapons, the sounds of their extending claws mingling with the clang of metal against metal.
A tall figure emerged in the doorway. Jessica couldn't make out his face and squinted against the bright light that shone through the annihilated door. Marcus? Things had just gotten a lot stranger. What was he doing here? Was he here to gloat? To help them kill her? It didn't look like it, seeing as he had taken the now unconscious demon and was beating the others into oblivion with it. A small spark of hope made her sit upright, while Marcus tore the limb off a demon. Jessica closed her eyes tightly. She so did not want to see that. Not that she had any sympathy for those things, it was just... gross.
Her movement had alerted one of the demons to her presence. Doing the math, the demon figured that Marcus Hamilton was probably after the girl, and that said girl was his best chance at survival. He withdrew from the fight and approached the totally oblivious girl, drawing Marcus' attention.
Momentarily stunned by the discovery of Jessica -- alive -- huddled in a corner of the room, Marcus let himself be surprised by an attack of two demons who charged at him, running him through with a sword and swinging at his head with some sort of strange axe-like weapon. Rolling his eyes, Marcus pulled the sword from his chest, blocked the swing of the axe, and shoved the demons out of his way. He made his way over to her, grabbing the demon from behind and flinging it forcefully into the wall on the far end of the room.
She's alive. Those bastards had taken her alive, against his orders. But she's alive. With me. The world around him went quiet, and he sighed in bliss, causing her to open her eyes. The pain in them made him wince. She looked so hurt, frightened and desperate. He fruitlessly tried to tell himself he wasn't responsible for that; that the demons had taken her against his orders, but he was wrong. He had to stop fooling himself. She would never have been in this situation if it hadn't been for him.
Looking closer Marcus noticed she cradled her arm against her chest in an odd angle. He instantly knew it was broken. Fury and guilt warred inside him. For the moment, fury won. His hand reached out of its own accord, trying to caress her cheek, but he pulled back as he saw her eyes widen in fear. A sharp pain in his neck indicated that the demons were still in full attack mode and were not at all retreating to give him some time alone with his Jessica.
Exasperated, he turned around. Swatting one demon out of the way, he snatched the weapon out of another one's claw. Time to start doing some real damage. Wielding the sword swiftly, he chopped off heads and limbs left and right in a flurry of blows. After no more than a minute, Marcus was the only one left standing. He turned back to Jessica, who had crawled back into the far corner and was facing away from the fight, trembling violently.
Marcus didn't know what to do. He stood, sword still in his right hand, contemplating on the right course of action. "Jessie?"
A muffled sob was his only answer. He extended his hand tentatively. "Jessie, come on. You need to get out of here."
She didn't turn to face him, let alone take his hand. He cautiously touched her shoulder, making sure it wasn't the one attached to the broken arm. Still, she flinched. Marcus ignored the churning pit of guilt in his stomach and decided to change his approach. She needed to get to a hospital fast, and there was no time to address the issues between them. There would be plenty of time for that later. He yanked the chains loose from the frame and scooped her up in his arms, trying to avoid hurting her arm, but succeeding only partially. She cried in pain and then went limp in his arms. With uncharacteristic gentleness, Marcus positioned her on the passenger's seat of his car. He took a moment to savor the wonderful feeling of having her near again, then snapped out of it and started the car, driving toward the nearest hospital.
As he pulled up in front of the hospital, Jessica regained consciousness. Looking around in disorientation, she wondered why Marcus had taken her to a hospital. It made no sense, unless the sudden spark of hope in her heart had been right and he was sorry for what he had done. Well, too damn late. If he thought he could just swoop in and save her and say he was sorry about all she'd been through because of him, he had another thing coming. She was not caving in. He couldn't expect her to forget about the pain and the fear that he'd caused her, just because he'd had some sort of revelation and realized he didn't want her to die just yet. He couldn't play around with her like that. What if he'd decide tomorrow he didn't want her around after all? He'd get rid of her like he'd done today. It had hurt enough as it was. No way was she going to let it happen again. That was, if she got a choice in the matter. Marcus hadn't given her a choice earlier, so why did she think she was getting one now? He'd likely just fling her over his shoulder and carry her down to his cave, where she'd live in fear for the rest of her probably pretty short life.
Marcus threw her a sideways glance. She had woken up. Good. She wasn't looking too happy, but he could understand that. Right now the most important thing was to get her arm fixed up. After that they could talk. She didn't look like she wanted to hear his side of the story at this point in time anyway. He walked around the car to open her car door and bent over her to undo her seatbelt. She flinched at his proximity and kept her eyes trained on the floor. A pang of guilt shot through him. Guilt. He'd never known guilt of any kind, but in the last couple of hours he'd experienced enough of it to last him a lifetime. He silently offered his hand to help her out of his car.
Staring at his hand in disgust, she refused to take it. What was he thinking? That he could make everything right again by being polite? It took her some effort to crawl out of the car without the use of her arm, but she managed, only to lose her balance once she was on her feet.
Marcus rushed to her side, supporting her. She looked as if she was about to pass out again, so after a few tentative steps he hoisted her up in his arms and carried her into the hospital. She was so tiny. He'd been so close to losing her forever, and it would have been his own fault. He vowed to keep her safe from now on. Ignoring the punches she dealt to his chest with her good fist, he looked around for someone to help them.
"Her arm is broken." Marcus approached a young doctor who was making notes on a clipboard.
The man looked up. "You can get a form at the nurse's desk over there. Have a seat and we'll be right with you."
Marcus narrowed his eyes at the younger man menacingly. "You'd better help her now. She's in pain."
The doctor swallowed hard and took in the scene before him. Young woman, faint bruises on her face and arms, broken arm, not comfortable in the much older man's tight and possessive hold... and chains dangling from her feet and good arm. He reached a decision. "I'll drop these off, then I'll come with you. You need X-rays." He hurried into the nurse's office and was back within a minute. "This way."
Marcus nodded curtly and gently lowered Jessica onto her feet. "Can you walk?"
"Yeah I can walk," she spat back. "Don't touch me again." She walked in the indicated direction, gingerly holding her arm.
Marcus figured he deserved her wrath, so he acquiesced and silently followed her into the hallway.
Back in the nurse's office, the young doctor was conferring with his attending orthopaedic surgeon. "Bruises, broken arm, possessive behavior. Oh and did I mention the chains?"
The older man looked at his intern attentively. "Chains? He brought chains with him to the ER?"
"Apparently." The intern shrugged. He shook his head in incredulity. "What do I do, Dr. Prescott?"
"Call the police. I'll take care of the arm and maybe get some information out of the girl. What do they look like?" Prescott scratched his beard. He'd never get used to some people's behavior.
His intern looked out of the office window into the waiting room to try and locate the couple. "The guy is huge... Oh. Just look for a girl with chains on her feet and arm."
"Right. Sorry." The surgeon turned, took the X-rays under his arm and left for the ER waiting room. Surveying the room, he saw the young woman right away. She and the man next to her made for an odd pair. From the looks of it, he was quite some years older than her. She was very petite, whereas he was tall and broad shouldered. A guy built like that could snap that girl in half if he wanted to. It only took him a second to analyze the situation. Judging from the man's suit, he was some sort of big shot businessman. Prescott had seen it many times before. Those guys thought they were some kind of god and could get away with anything.
He cleared his throat and immediately felt the cold eyes of the man trained on him. The couple rose from their seats. The man instantly supported the girl's small frame with a concerned look on his face, but she pried his arm loose and glared daggers at him. He frowned, but complied and stuck his hands in his pockets.
"I'm Dr. Prescott. Please follow me." He placed a hand on the girl's elbow and led her into an examining room. The tall man followed them. Prescott turned around and shot him a disparaging look. "Sir, it's best that you wait here."
Marcus was about to protest when he saw Jessica's pleading look. "Fine." He returned to his seat and sat down, staring at the retreating couple with an unreadable expression on his face.
Dr. Prescott closed the door behind them. He decided on trying to make the girl more comfortable. Right now she seemed edgy and upset. "What's your name?"
"Jessica Nader." She sat down on the chair the doctor indicated to her.
Prescott nodded. "How did this happen, Jessica?"
Jessica hesitated. She wasn't stupid. She could tell the doctor thought Marcus and she'd had a domestic quarrel and Marcus had broken her arm. In a way, he had; but if she'd admit that to the doctor, the police would come and people would die. She knew Marcus. "I fell."
The doctor's chuckle lacked humor. "Tripped over your chains?" She looked at the shackles in shock, as if she'd forgotten about them. It was so sad. The girl was probably scared for her life. He would love to see that guy behind bars. "Tell me the truth, Jessica. I can't help you if you don't. How come your arm is broken? Why the chains?"
Jessica drew a deep breath. What was she supposed to tell the doctor? She couldn't tell him the truth and she couldn't tell him what he thought was the truth. How could she explain the chains? It dawned on her that there was only one feasible explanation for her current situation. She gulped and blushed fiercely. "The chains. Um... well, Marcus and I were playing a... um... game. You know."
The doctor smiled encouragingly. Now they were getting somewhere. "A sexual game?" With that kind of chains? No way.
She nodded. "Yeah. And um... I got impatient and they weren't really all that secure, so I tugged them loose and went to look for Marcus. Then I fell down the stairs." Jessica felt embarrassed beyond belief. Even though she had made the story up, it made her cringe.
A sudden thought hit the doctor. That man was in his late thirties, and this girl looked not a day over sixteen. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-one." Jessica frowned. "Why?"
Prescott sat down in front of her. "Listen to me, Jessica. We get a lot of girls like yourself in the ER. Some of them have broken arms or legs, but there are others who aren't so fortunate. There are people who can help you, and places where he can't find you. You just say the word and I'll have him arrested. If you go back to him, it'll only get worse until he breaks more than just your arm."
Jessica tried for her most stunned face. "What? You think Marcus did this?" The doctor nodded. "He didn't. He's a sweetheart, really. I told you, I fell."
Prescott sighed. Classic case of denial. "I've seen this before, Jessica. The possessive behavior, the age difference. You can't fool me. You have old bruises on your face."
"Can you just get on with it and set my arm? There's nothing wrong, really. It was just an unfortunate coincidence." Jessica refused to cast her eyes downward, so she stared down the doctor until he looked away.
"Okay," Prescott relented. He retrieved a pair of scissors from a cabinet and proceeded to cut open her already torn shirt.
A sudden gasp from the doctor made Jessica realize that the wounds Marcus had inflicted yesterday hadn't magically vanished. Crap. She closed her eyes, desperately searching for a logical explanation. Crap times twenty. "Um..."
Moving to stand in front of her, Prescott placed his hands on his hips sternly. "You fell?"
I wish Marcus was here. The thought was sudden and unexpected. "Um... no." She sighed. "We um... like to... you know. Pain and stuff." She prayed the doctor wouldn't pry further. It was mortifying enough as it was already.
Dumbstruck, Prescott opened his mouth to speak, then shut it with an audible snap. He gazed at her confoundedly for a few seconds. "He broke your arm and cut your chest open in an S&M game?"
Blushing fiercely, Jessica nodded. Please let him back off.
He tried one last time. "Has he ever... forced you to comply with his demands?"
Jessica couldn't suppress a chuckle. "Never." It was true. Up until last night, he'd been a perfect gentleman. She still wondered why he'd changed his mind about killing her, but decided to postpone those thoughts until a later time.
Prescott took out the X-rays and placed them on the wall. He pointed at the visible fracture line. "The problem is: I can't set your arm like this. It won't heal properly. I need to break it again and then set it. It'll hurt, but I can give you an anaesthetic."
"Don't bother," Jessica dismissed his suggestion. "Just do it already." She couldn't wait to get out of there. The sooner the better, and if that meant being in a little more pain, so be it. It couldn't get a lot worse than this anyway.
Brave girl. Brave, but stupid. Prescott reached for her arm and broke it again without further ado. She screamed in pain. After that, things happened very fast. The door burst open and he felt himself being hurled into a wall. The tall man from the waiting room advanced on him and towered over him threateningly.
"What do you think you're doing?" Marcus growled in a low voice. He had been sitting in the waiting room, hoping Jessica was okay, until he'd heard her cry of pain. He'd wasted no time in yanking the doctor away from her, not caring where he'd land. He moved toward him, fully intent on killing him slowly and painfully for hurting his Jessica. Jessica. Was she okay?
He looked back at Jessica and examined her face for traces of... he didn't know. Whatever he was looking for, she didn't show it. She looked intensely annoyed. With him? Why? What'd I do? She heaved an exasperated sigh.
"Leave the doctor alone, Marcus. He was just setting my arm," she admonished him. "Which he should be getting on with."
Marcus' brow creased in a frown as he watched the doctor scramble to his feet. Grudgingly he helped the man up. He refused to apologize however; Prescott had hurt her. It didn't matter that it'd been necessary, he was irrational that way. Once upright, the doctor shook Marcus' hand off his arm and glowered at him.
Marcus stared back unperturbed. "If your next words are 'Wait outside', you can spare yourself the trouble."
"Can we focus on the girl in pain, please?" Jessica suggested tiredly. "You can stay, Marcus, but save the testosterone for later."
Wait... when did he stop being in charge? He'd been acting like a kicked puppy since he'd released her from the demons' lair. He might feel guilty, but he was still himself. Marcus Hamilton did not get bossed around. She should know that by now. He took a step toward her to make that clear, but saw the fear still present in her eyes. There was another reason for her behavior.
The door to the examining room opened and two men stepped inside. Quickly, Marcus moved to stand before Jessica's exposed chest to cover her from prying eyes. The men didn't shift under his icy stare, but approached the doctor.
Prescott looked up from Jessica's arm in puzzlement, but then realized the police had been called to arrest the man for beating up his girlfriend. "Um... Sorry. There has been a misunderstanding."
Taking in the doctor's behavior, the measuring glances the two men threw him and the thoroughly embarrassed look on Jessica's face, Marcus put two and two together. Those men were here to arrest him for domestic violence. He barely could suppress a chuckle. Apparently, Jessica had cooked up a story about how she had sustained her injuries and the doctor had bought it. He briefly wondered what kind of story would make her blush that fiercely, and at the same time would explain her broken arm, the chains and the cuts and bruises on her body. Oh. He gulped, trying to rid himself of the pleasant images the realization brought about. He would never hurt her that much during sex though.
He didn't fool himself into thinking she'd wanted to protect him; she knew he could take care of himself. Most likely, she'd been protecting innocent people like the police officers and the doctor. It made him slightly sad, but he couldn't expect her to still care about him after what he'd done. He'd just have to live with it. Which brought him to another problem.
He couldn't very well force her to keep living with him. He couldn't bear the thought of hurting her again, and that was just what would happen if he took her back to his apartment. He would have to give her a free choice. Marcus nodded to himself. Free choice. That sounded good. Then again, she was thoroughly scared of him. Would she really make the right decision based on what she felt for him, or would she stay with him because she feared he'd harm her again if she didn't? He'd really messed up this time. It was all too possible she would never even be able to look at him again without trepidation. The odds of her ever reciprocating his feelings were slim to none. Good show, Marcus.
The police officers addressed Jessica, trying to peek around Marcus' frame. "Are you sure, Miss?"
Jessica nodded, but realized Marcus was blocking her from their view. "Definitely." She left it at that, hoping the officers would leave already.
The men hesitated, sensing that there was something off about the man in the suit and the girl he was protecting. They didn't have anything to go on, however, so arresting the guy would be opening a can of worms. He'd have their asses sued in no time. If the girl didn't want to press charges, there was nothing they could do. They nodded curtly and left the room.
Jessica heaved a sigh of relief, which quickly changed to a gasp of pain when the doctor proceeded to treat her arm. Marcus cleared his throat warningly and glared at Prescott, who hurried to put the cast on her arm.
After he was done, he backed away swiftly. "There. All done. The cast should be removed in six weeks, so go down to the nurses' office and they'll set you up with an appointment."
Marcus grumbled his approval and took Jessica's arm to escort her back to the waiting room. She resisted the urge to pry his hand off her arm while the doctor was watching, and was able to maintain her cool until they approached the car. Shaking his hand off brusquely, she opened the car door and lowered herself onto the seat. Marcus sat down next to her and watched her struggle with the seatbelt.
"Let me get that," he said softly, bending over her to help.
She leaned back in the seat, trying to create some distance between them. She couldn't help but inhale his scent deeply. Had it only been a day since she'd been so happy and in love? Clearly, a part of her remembered and still wanted him. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the sudden desire she felt.
Images of last night flashed before her mind's eye. Marcus toying with the knife. Marcus crushing her hopes and breaking her heart. Marcus cutting her and holding her while she cried because of it. The words he'd said and the look in his eyes. Marcus saying he was sorry. She couldn't take it anymore. It was just too hard. She didn't even know why he'd saved her. His behavior the last day had been strange to say the least.
She opened her eyes when she heard the click of the seatbelt being fastened. Marcus was looking at her with a wistful expression on his handsome face. She sighed. She wanted nothing more than to wake up and discover this had all been a bad dream. Maybe she'd wake up and see Marcus' sleeping head and be safe. Blinking, she realized that she'd rather be with Marcus than somewhere else. The Marcus that she'd thought she knew of course, she wasn't too fond of the new version.
Marcus started the car and attempted to decide what he should do next. Should he just drop her off at her parents' house without trying to explain his actions? Something told him he owed her at least some sort of explanation. It wasn't a conversation he particularly looked forward to, and he could tell from her reticence that she was as reluctant to listen to him, as he was to divulge his feelings. Still, it wouldn't leave him alone until he did. He took a deep breath and kept his eyes trained on the road.
"I'm sorry," Marcus said, a little more brusquely than he'd intended. "About everything."
Jessica nodded mutely, studying her hands.
Marcus sighed. That was apparently not going to cut it. How did you say you were sorry for almost killing someone? Was there a right way to do that? A way that would make everything okay again?
"I was wrong," he continued. "I wasn't thinking clearly." He warmed to the subject when he saw her throw a furtive glance in his direction from the corner of his eye. "I want to explain."
She looked at him pensively, then nodded slowly. He noticed her hands trembled slightly. She was still afraid of him. He doubted she'd ever be able to look at him again the way she used to. He cleared his throat. The hardest part was yet to come. "Well... this is going to sound strange. I hired those demons. To kill you. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly, I just wanted you out of my life."
He heard a muffled sob and glanced at her. She was crying already. That really didn't bode well. Suddenly realizing what he had said, he hurried to correct himself. "That's not what I meant. I'm not saying this right. I wanted you out of my life because I didn't want to lose you. Because I... I fell in love with you, Jessie."
Marcus fidgeted in his seat apprehensively. The word was out. He felt ridiculously hopeful that she'd turn to him, say she loved him too and forgive him for everything he'd done. Still, he realized that wasn't likely to happen.
She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke, her words barely more than a whisper. "I loved you too."
Marcus didn't fail to recognize the past tense of her words. He felt oddly happy, even though her words implicated that she wasn't in love with him anymore.
Jessica continued, a little louder this time. "Why did you come back for me?"
His answer seemed important to her. He considered telling a lie, but that would be counter-productive. If he wanted her to have free choice, she'd have to have all the information. "I didn't," he confessed. "I thought you were dead and I wanted to vent my anger by killing the demons that killed you."
She shook her head dejectedly. "Don't lie to me. You told them to take me back to their lair and use me as a sacrifice."
Marcus frowned. "No, I didn't. I ordered them to make it quick so you wouldn't suffer."
"Oh please," she scoffed angrily, temporarily forgetting her fear. "I was there, remember? Your assistant came down specifically to issue new orders. They could do as they pleased with me. He said you changed your mind."
Marcus kept silent for a few seconds. Patterson? Had he approached the demons behind his back and told them to have their merry way with Jessica? Why? Right now Marcus was glad that he had, but saving Jessica couldn't have been Patterson's ultimate goal. Or could it? No, he decided. That didn't explain Patterson's strange behavior that morning, and if he'd wanted to save her, why hadn't he sent Marcus to rescue her? He'd have to look into the matter once he'd settled things with Jessica.
"That order didn't come from me," Marcus admitted finally. "I wish it did. But I can't take credit for the fact that you're still alive. No matter how much I want to."
Jessica studied him thoughtfully. "You said you wanted me dead because you didn't want to lose me. That doesn't make sense in my world." She felt a little more comfortable around him now he'd confessed to having feelings for her, but she couldn't be sure he wouldn't change on a dime -- again. Either way, she had to get some things off her chest.
"It does," he argued. "You're mortal, I'm not. You're human and therefore by default weak and an easy target for my enemies. They'd take you and try to use you as a bargaining chip and you'd get killed. I couldn't bear that thought." He paused his rant to take a deep breath. "And besides, it's impossible for us to be together. I'm evil. You're not. You wouldn't love me forever; eventually you'd get disgusted by my nature. And I could never set you free. The thought of you making a life with another man..." He shuddered.
"Still not big on the logic," Jessica observed. "That's a load of crap and you know it. Evil, pfft. Are you saying that you were faking every second of the last five days? And that you were pretending to love Megan and Thomas? Where does it say that you have to be all evil, all the time?" She held up her hand to silence him. "I'm not done yet. What about Matt and Kuan-Yu? Are they less evil than you because they love? And if so, why does that matter and why don't you want to be like them? It could be just a job, Marcus, and I could have lived with that as long as you'd have been with me." She sighed regretfully. "But it's too late now."
Marcus opened his mouth to protest. She cut him off with an angry glare. "You've done this to me. I used to have a good heart. It was pure. And then you came and I gave it to you. You corrupted it and broke it to boot. Well, keep it. I don't need it anymore. I don't want it anymore." Her voice was thick with emotion and the tears that threatened to spill.
Marcus tightened his grip on the steering wheel. She was right; he'd used her, not caring about the damage he'd do. He'd tainted her, trying to drag her down in his darkness to entertain himself. The fact that she cared about that indicated that she wasn't as far gone as she thought she was. Truth be told, he wasn't sure he could ever completely darken her soul, even if he wanted to. She had an innate pureness, soft and sweet and caring. She'd never stop being that way. In the hospital, she'd protected other people by basically surrendering herself to him again. To him, the thing she feared the most. No, she wouldn't change; he wouldn't let her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, more to himself than to her.
"Sorry doesn't cut it, Marcus," Jessica told him resolutely. "You hurt me. A lot. I can't go on like this, wondering when you'll grow tired of me and decide you want me dead after all." She turned her face toward the window to hide her tears.
Marcus nodded slowly. She'd made her choice. He set course for the suburbs. He didn't know what to say anymore so he kept quiet. Even as she fumbled to undo the seatbelt after he'd pulled up to her parents' house, he kept his gaze trained on the road ahead, both hands resting on the steering wheel.
Jessica looked at him and opened her mouth to say something but shook her head. It was better this way. Even if she could forgive him for what he'd done, she wasn't sure if she could forgive herself for forgiving him. When did this all get so complicated? Right, when I went and fell in love with my captor. She shut the car door quietly and made her way to the front door.
"Goodbye Jessie," Marcus whispered to himself before he drove away.