Well this chapter didn't take me as long to write as the previous one. Once again, thank you for returning to my story after such a long break. This chapter is part 1 of ? that looks at the actions of Markus after his concert. To be honest, I was never a fan of Markus and his actions just cemented my opinion!
The sound of the door slamming shut reverberated around the silent room and was quickly replaced by further sounds of frustration. Chairs were turned over, papers strewed over the floor and a glass laid shattered against a wall. Markus paced around the room, feeling confided by the small room. His path of destruction had done nothing to ease the anger and frustration he felt. Grabbing a bottle of whiskey, he took a large swig from the bottle before grabbing yet another glass and throwing it against the wall, watching it slide down to join the first shattered glass. Sitting down dejectedly on the couch, he swallowed down another mouthful of whiskey. The burn as it worked its way down his throat felt good. He wanted it to hurt and embraced it. He knew it was just a matter before it started to numb his feelings, but before he allowed it he needed the pain to clear his thoughts.
He was struggling to understand how the day had ended up so badly. He had planned it out so carefully, was sure of the result. Frowning, he tried to pinpoint exactly where it had gone off track. Rayna had been right beside him all day, supporting him and offering him platitudes of comfort. She had freely given herself to him, his body thrummed as he remembered the way her body had felt against him as she hugged him tightly.
Running his hands through his hair in frustration, he let out a scream and grabbed the whiskey bottle again. His mind traced the events of the day, trying to find that elusive moment where it all came crumbling down.
Rayna had found him hiding away from everyone, silently freaking out about what they were both about to do. Markus, normally not one prone to self-doubt, had suddenly been overwhelmed by the uncertainly of it all. He was about to launch himself onto the country music scene with nothing but his reputation to shield him. It was just him, he no longer had a band behind him to carry the weight of failure for him. He paced back and forward, muttering under his breath, "I can't do this", her voice broke through his feeling of despair. Looking up and seeing her standing before him, he felt a calm come over him. She was the life buoy he needed. Her blue eyes registered her concern for him, her hand felt warm against his arm as she gently rubbed it soothingly.
"Markus?"
Having her near him, pushed all thoughts of self-doubt away. He needed her to make him shine. She filled all those hollow places that fame and celebrity couldn't. He grabbed her hand, stilling it against his arm. Giving it a slight squeeze, he moved slightly away from her. He knew that she would follow, that was his plan. He knew that he had to slightly manipulate the feelings that were pulsating between them. If he had learnt anything about Rayna, over the short period of time he had known her, was that she was incredibly loyal. She would stick by Deacon right up to the very end. Markus knew that he had to give her that push that would severe the ties that bound them together. Turning his back slightly on her, hiding the small smirk that graced his face, he began the slow seduction of enthralling her to him.
"I can't do this. I'm not a country singer"
Reaching over, she grabbed his hand. Holding it firmly she gave it a small squeeze, before gently guiding him over to the edge of the building where they both could see the stage set up below. Standing side by side for a moment, they both took in the scene unfolding below. Rayna turned towards Markus, her hair whipping across her face from the breeze. Trying to calm her hair, she smiled up at Markus. Her blue eyes sparked with life,
"Markus, I believe in you. You can do this."
Catching her eye, Markus stared at her. Everything stilled around and within him. All he could sense was Rayna. His heart beat loudly in his chest, sliding his hand out, he captured one of the unruly strands of hair and gently tucked in behind her ear. Smiling at her, he nodded slightly acknowledging her words.
"Okay, lets go do this then"
Rayna gave a bark of a laugh at his words and nodded. Together they walked off, Markus with his arm casually draped across Rayna's shoulder and with a renewed hope in his heart. He knew by the end of the day he would have everything he wanted. He would get the recognition he craved so badly in the music industry, and right by his side he would have this wonderful woman who had dazzled him and captured his heart.
Sighing to himself, Markus laid his head against the back of the couch. Rubbing his eyes, he wanted so much to reside in the memory of Rayna's comfort, but his mind kept wanting to recall events that occurred later in the day. No matter how much he pushed the memories away, they refused to be ignored leaving him with a dulled hollowed feeling deep in his stomach. Taking another drink from the rapidly emptying bottle of whiskey, he spied his phone lying on the ground. Grimacing to himself over his earlier behaviour, he stretched over and grabbed the pieces of his phone. The force of him throwing it had caused it to separate. Squinting at the various pieces that laid before him, Markus had a moment of regret before he pushed it aside. Pushing the pieces together, like some strange futuristic jigsaw puzzle, the beep of the phone turning on gave him hope.
The cracked screen made reading messages difficult, but he could make out that he had received some from his old band mates. Scrolling through the well wishes and platitudes of congratulations, he had a pang of regret about how he had left things with his one-time friends. They had all been in the band from the start and had been through the many up and downs that came with the struggle to get recognised in the music industry. However, once he had had a taste of success, he had felt the constraints of being in band were holding him back. They didn't have the same naked ambition that he had, nor did they have the talent that many told him he had. Hell, even Rayna had told him that he was talented, that she wanted to share that talent with the world. It was one of the reasons he had signed with her. Of course, if he was being honest, her beauty was what had first attracted him to Highway 65 along with the sparks that had flown between them from the moment she had sat down next to him on that plane.