Chapter 17
The following morning, Nicoya didn't wake up until late, not caring at the moment, having pulled an all nighter to get the rest of the scripts finished. Her face was tear-streaked since she'd basically cried throughout the entire process, hoping they weren't messed up. She slept in bed, wearing her clothes from the previous night, her black hair tousled and splayed on the pillow with her open laptop in front of her. Her body was curled at a dangerous angle and she had a stack of finished scripts on the side of the laptop. She looked like a Mack truck had run her down going ninety miles an hour.
Alyssa stumbled out of her bedroom, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Looking none too worse for wear herself. She seen her mother and frowned, then spotted the scripts and rolled her eyes. Even now she couldn't take a break. Alyssa sighed and walked over to the bed, her small hands fumbling with the scripts. Gathering them up and gently moved them to the table, followed by the laptop. Alyssa then somehow managed to rearrange her mother on the bed and pulled the blankets around her before going back to her own bed.
Nicoya awoke when she felt someone moving her around and sighed when she seen her daughter retreat back into her own room. She slowly rubbed the sleep from her eyes, staring over at the clock, and waved it off when she seen it was going on noon. She didn't care as she stumbled out of bed, seeing her laptop and scripts on the table, and smiled, knowing Alyssa had done that. She sighed heavily as she knocked her on the door and pushed it open, staring at her little girl, who was sitting watching Garfield on their portable DVD player. "Hey sweetheart, how did you sleep?" She softly asked, raking a hand through her black hair, not caring how it looked right now.
Alyssa shrugged, not taking her eyes off the television. "Better then you. I slept. You stayed up all night working." She stated flatly, no emotion in her tone of voice.
"You were sleeping, Alyssa and I couldn't sleep so yes, I did stay up and work." Nicoya didn't appreciate the tone of her daughter's voice and knew Mark was having a bad influence on her as she sighed. "When you're ready to stop hating your mother, you come talk to me. Until then, I'll be out here." She then closed the door, tears spilling down her cheeks, and walked over to the bed, laying back down on it, her heart breaking.
Alyssa got up and stalked out of the room, her blue eyes blazing. "Maybe you ought to remember you have a daughter!" She shot back heatedly. "You ALWAYS push me aside for work! You only brought me home last night because MARK upset you and made you feel bad!"
"Alyssa Marie Harris, don't you DARE take that tone with your mother, young lady! If you don't stop this right now, I will forbid you to see Mark again!" She shouted back at her daughter, her own blue eyes clouded over with anger, and crossed her arms in front of his chest. "You cried yourself to sleep last night and I even tucked you in! I sat with you for a good hour before starting my work so don't tell me that I choose my work over you because that's bull! I love you unconditionally, you know that, but what I do pays the bills and keeps a roof over your head, clothes on your body, and food in your smart mouth!"
Tears burned in Alyssa's eyes as she clenched and unclenched her fists, hating the unfairness of it all. She was the one who played by herself every night or spent it in Mark's company while her mother worked. There were days on the road traveling, hardly any days off, but she was number one? Alyssa shook her head and swallowed down her anger before nodding stiffly. She then retreated to her bedroom, snatching up her favorite stuffed animal, and curled into a ball at the end of the bed, watching Garfield through her tears.
Nicoya sighed heavily as she raked her hands through her hair, deciding a shower was in order, and walked inside the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She stripped out of her grimy clothes and stepped under the hot sprays, soaking her body, and just stood under them. Her hands were planted on the shower wall before her as she allowed the sprays to cascade down her body as they mixed with her heart wrenching tears. She couldn't believe how cruel she'd been to daughter and felt even sicker to her stomach. She sighed heavily, spitting out the water whenever too much got in, but didn't move from that spot. She'd basically cried herself to sleep the previous night after finishing the scripts that Vince requested her to do.
Alyssa sighed, wiping away her tears and rolling onto her back. Frowning when her stomach growled. She was tempted to refuse to eat, but decided against it. Instead, she padded out to the main room, not spotting her mother and sighed again. She quickly ordered breakfast for both of them, used to this and sat down on the couch to wait.
After finishing up her shower, Nicoya stepped out of the shower, towel drying herself off before wrapping her body in it, tucking it tightly so it didn't move, and sighed as she looked in the mirror. She quickly brushed her teeth and hair before walking out, not surprised to find her daughter on the couch, and walked over to her bag. Pulling out a pair of jeans and t-shirt, refusing to go to the arena today. She dressed and then proceeded to make a call to Vince, explaining to him the scripts were done and she demanded a day off since she'd been doing so much work lately. The man resignedly gave it to her and Nicoya hung up, smiling bitterly, and then proceeded to lie back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Alyssa rolled her eyes when she wasn't acknowledged, finally getting up and walking over to the bed, climbing on it, and began to jump. "Why're you in jeans? You never wear jeans to work." She pointed out, still bouncing.
"Because I'm not going to the arena tonight. I demanded Vince give me the day and night off." She answered her daughter, her arm thrown over her eyes, not minding her daughter jumping on the bed, and crossed her ankles as she sighed heavily. She already knew her daughter ordered breakfast and had to smile at that. Even though it quickly faded when she thought of Mark. 'Screw him.' She thought angrily and pushed him out of her mind forcefully.
Alyssa leapt off the bed when there was a knock on the door, grinning when the food was ushered in. She looked impatiently at her mother before rolling her eyes again and walked over to get Nicoya's purse. She handed it to her mother and waited for her to give her some money for the server. Alyssa handed him his tip before pulling the trolley in, closing the door behind her. "Come eat, Mom." She said softly.
"I'm not hungry, Alyssa. You eat." She instructed, still lying on the bed, feeling too sick to her stomach at the moment to eat. She'd basically had a breakdown in the shower and then one the previous night, so she was exhausted mentally and physically. She hated feeling like this, but at the same time, she knew she needed the release. She didn't care if her daughter ordered food for her. It wasn't like she could afford it anyway. Sighing, Nicoya turned on her side and closed her eyes, wanting to relax for that day.
Alyssa ate quietly for awhile, finally clearing her throat. "Mom…is Mark still allowed to take me horseback riding today?" She asked hesitantly, wondering if her mother even remembered that.
Sighing resignedly upon hearing that, Nicoya slowly opened her eyes and rubbed her temples as she sat up, knowing it meant a lot to her daughter. "If you wanna go, Aly that's fine." She finally said, not too keen on her daughter spending the day with Mark, but figured if it made Alyssa happy, then that's all that mattered. She wasn't going to keep Mark from her daughter, especially with how close they were. Though, if the motherfucker EVER tried telling her how to raise or treat her daughter again, she was going to dot his eye for him.
Alyssa smiled brightly, finishing her French toast and swallowed down her orange juice. "Hey Mom, why don't you come with us?" She asked, grabbing her mother's hand, her big blue eyes pleading, flashing a puppy dog look. "It'd be loads of fun."
"Alyssa, not today alright?" She said, slipping her hand out of her daughter's, and lay back down on the bed, raking a hand through her wet black hair from her shower earlier. "You and Mark go and have fun. No offense, but I really don't feel like spending the day with him." She hoped her daughter understood and closed her eyes as she sighed heavily. She didn't even want Alyssa going to be quite honest, but then she seen the excitement in her daughter's eyes, and couldn't say no even if her life depended on it.
Alyssa didn't say a word, just went to change her clothes. She emerged long enough to call Mark's cell phone, giggling when he seemed surprised to hear from her then confirmed if they were still going. When she hung up, she was dancing. "He's on his way!" She laughed, spinning in a circle. She shrieked when there was a knock on the door, flying over to answer it. "Marky!"
Mark scooped her up into a bear hug, laughing when she tugged on his hair, his deep voice booming throughout the room as he asked, "Hey angel, ready to go?"
"Yes. Mom, gonna come give me a kiss?" Alyssa asked, slipping down onto the floor, and turned around to face her.
Sighing heavily, Nicoya managed to drag herself from the bed and walked over, bending down, and looked into her daughter's eyes, completely ignoring Mark's presence. "Behave and be good." She said flatly, kissing her forehead, and hugged her before walking back over and laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling again, her arms thrown above her head on either side.
"Mark, why doesn't my Mom love me anymore?" Alyssa asked as they walked down the hallway, the door slowly closing behind them. Her voice sounded so sad and depressed.
"Angel, yer momma loves you, she's just goin' through a rough patch right now. Be patient with her." Mark replied gently, his heart breaking at how sad Alyssa sounded. "Yer her world, Aly never forget that."
Nicoya spent the entire day crying her heart and soul out, having heard her daughter ask Mark that question. She felt like her heart was torn to bits and hated herself for making her daughter even assume she didn't love her. She sighed heavily, finally pulling herself from the bed, and walked in the kitchen to get a glass of water. She just leaned against the counter, raking her hands through her hair, and sniffled a little. Alyssa was her entire world, but after what happened with John, she wasn't sure what she was going to do now. John was going to be a man on a mission to try to hurt her and use Alyssa in order to get it done so she had to protect her daughter tenfold now.
Mark knocked lightly on Nicoya's door, cradling Alyssa in his arms. They had spent the day out riding, he'd loved seeing her pick it up so quick. A natural on a horse. Though, when she wanted to gallop, it scared the Hell out of him. Finally compromising with her, she rode with him and they galloped. He'd taken along his camera. Something he'd invested in then seldom used to snap pictures for Nicoya, not sure why he did, but there it was.
Nicoya heard the knock on the door and walked over, having been surfing the net on her laptop, and opened it. She didn't say a word, seeing Mark was carrying a sleeping Alyssa, and walked away from the door, going back to sit on her bed. She would go say good night to her daughter after Mark was gone as she leaned back against the headboard, her knees drawn up, and had her eyes closed. She had a feeling Mark knew where to put Alyssa so she didn't feel the need to point it out. After all, he'd been in Alyssa's life for quite sometime now.
Mark smiled when Alyssa half woke up and whispered in her ear while smoothing back her hair, "Yer home, angel."
"Where's Mom?" She murmured, yawning loudly, completely worn out from riding the horses today.
"Out on her bed." Mark answered quietly, pulling off her tennis shoes, and set them gently on the floor.
"Did you tell her I rode by myself?" Alyssa asked, her voice a mere whisper, and yawned again, trying to keep her eyes from drooping closed.
"Not yet, but I will." Mark promised her, running his finger down her cheek, and smiled as his angel's eyes closed again, falling back to sleep.
Nicoya sighed heavily when she felt more tears spill down her cheeks and stood up from the bed, walking into the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of wine since she knew Alyssa would be out of it for the rest of the night. She walked back out to her bed and sat down on it, knowing Mark must've worn her little butt out. She smiled a little at that, wiping her tears away, and leaned back against the headboard, holding the glass loosely in her hand. She had her elbows resting on her knees, her hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back.
Mark walked out of Alyssa's room, fiddling with his camera before walking over to the bed, halting and holding it out to her. "There's some pictures of Alyssa on it." He said evenly, not sure if she would even acknowledge him, actually all the pictures were of Alyssa. "She did real good today. She's a natural rider."
"Thanks." She replied in an even tone of voice, showing no emotion, and took the camera from him before setting it to the side. "I'm glad she had a good time." Her voice was still even as she took a sip of her wine and set it on the nightstand before leaned her head back, cracking it a little, and closed her eyes, refusing to look at this man right now. If she did, she would either completely breakdown again or sock him in his eye for what he said to her the previous night.
Mark sighed, raking a hand through his hair, knowing one of them was going to have to extend the olive branch before Alyssa wound up hurt or in the middle of whatever was going on. "Nico, I'm sorry. I overstepped myself drastically last night." He said finally.
"Don't worry about it, Mark. Water under the fucking bridge. The most important thing here is that Alyssa is happy and you make her that way. That's the ONLY reason why I'm letting you stick around." She stated in a heated tone of voice, standing up from the bed, and brushed past him as she walked over to stare out the window. Her arm crossed beneath her breasts, and took a long swig of her wine before setting it down on the table nearby. Near her scripts she'd finished the previous night.
Mark rolled his eyes heavenward and stalked over to her, gently grabbing her by the arms and spun her around, staring down into her blue eyes with his piercing green ones. "Nico, stop actin' like a damned child. I said I was sorry. You got a chip on yer shoulder and I'm not the one who put it there. I'm on yer side, stop treatin' me like I'm the damned enemy."