Andie stormed into the loft, and flew into her room, locking the door behind her. She didn't want to talk to anyone; she didn't want to confront her friends. Mark walked slowly up the stairs, carefully thinking about what he was going to say to Andie, when Angel calling him shattered his thoughts.
"Mark! Mark!" Angel called as he followed him. Mark turned around. "When I was talking to Andie, she said that she didn't want to come back, because she was afraid that you'd yell at her. I know it may seem pretty hard, but please try not to yell at her. It'll only make her want to runaway again." Mark nodded, thanked Angel, and continued mounting the steps that seemed to go on forever.
Andie was sobbing in her room by the time Mark got upstairs. He quietly knocked on the door, and waited for her respond.
"Go away!" she yelled.
"Andie, I want to
talk to you."
"Well, I don't want to talk to you. Go
away!" Mark tried to open the door, but found that it was still
locked. He ran his hand along the top of the door frame until he
found what he was looking for, the key to her room. He stuck the
little black stick in the hole in the doorknob, and turned the
doorknob gently. Andie immediately sat up when she heard the door
open. "I said, 'go away'!" she cried as she flung a pillow
at Mark. Mark caught the pillow, and threw it back at Andie.
"Two can play at that game, young lady. Now, tell me what in world you were thinking that made you runaway!" he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I don't want to talk about it!"
"Well I do. Don't you get it? If Becky finds out about this, she'll use this as an excuse to take you away from me! Do you want to go live with your sister?"
"Well then maybe you
could go back to all the good times you used to have before I came if
I left."
"Is that what this is about? Where did you get an
idea that I didn't want you so I could go out and have a good
time?"
"I heard you, Roger, and Collins talking about all the
good times you used to have before I came when I got home today, and
I felt bad that you couldn't have a good time anymore." Mark
pulled Andie into a comforting hug.
"Oh no, sweetie. Sure, we had fun before you came, but now we have even more fun. We're all happy that you're here." Andie looked reluctant to believe her Uncle. After a few seconds, she still didn't know how to reply to his comment.
"I'm really tired," she said. "I think I'll go to bed now." Mark gave her a kiss on the top of her head.
"Good idea. Promise you won't run off again?" Andie smiled weakly.
"Yeah, I guess so." Mark stood up.
"I'll see you in the morning." Andie slipped under the covers without bothering to change out of her clothes.
"Uncle Mark?" Mark stopped.
"Yeah?"
"I love you." Mark smiled.
"Love you too. Now go to sleep! I wanted you asleep hours ago!" He turned off the lights, and Andie closed her eyes. She was glad that she didn't runaway.
The Bohemians had gathered in Roger and Mimi's apartment, so Mark joined them there. Mimi had already called Naomi, and told her that they had found Andie, so Collins was on his way home. Joanne was putting Julia to bed, and was going to bed too, since she had to get up early the next morning for work.
"Is she asleep?" Mimi asked. Mark nodded as he sat down next to Angel on the couch.
"Yeah. We talked briefly, but she was really tired, so I let her go to sleep. We'll talk more in the morning I guess."
"And you're sure that she'll stay there all night?" asked Maureen.
"She promised me that she wouldn't run off, so I don't think that she will. She's totally wiped. I can't believe she ran away though."
"Did she tell you why she left? I mean, there must be a reason."
"There is," Mark replied quietly. "She heard me, Roger, and Collins talking about what we used to do before she came, and got the wrong impression. She flipped out before she could hear us talk about how much we love to have her with us."
"So this is all our fault?" Roger said after a couple seconds of silence.
"In a way. But I don't blame you. It's nobody's fault. I keep going back and forth in my mind, should I punish her for running away? It was a misunderstanding, but she did leave."
"As much as I hate to say this Mark, I think you should. She ran away! It'll help get the message through to her that she can't do things like this," Mimi said from her seat on the floor. She was leaning up against Roger's legs and half asleep herself.
"I know, but she's a good kid."
"Ground her for a week or something. It'll be the first time you've even thought about punishing the girl, so it won't take much to get through to her." Mark nodded in agreement. Andie wouldn't be happy with being punished, but he knew that it would stop her from even thinking of leaving again.
Mark came to the conclusion that he could raise a teenager. It would take some work, and a hell of a lot of patience, but he could do it. Plus, he had a support team behind him, sure it consisted of seven Bohemians, but he had a support team behind him. Mark, however, wasn't prepared for Andie's next quest, which is another story.
A/N: Short chapter I know, but there WILL be a sequel! First, I will be typing up the sequel to Her Story, and after I finish Off-Camera, will be writing out (and then typing) Heavenly Reunions. Yes, I try to work on two stories at once. Thanks to everyone for the AWESOME reviews! Until next time!
Tina101