The Real Deal (13)

A/N: Sorry this has taken so long to get up but at the moment I do not have access to the internet from home so I can't say how long it will be before this fic or any of my others will be updated again and for that I am soooo sorry but I do hope that you enjoy this chapter...


Harley was miserable. It had been a month since she caught Mark with his blond bombshell and decided to run away from the truth, she just wasn't the type of woman Mark went for.

Yes, he had said all the right things when they were together but that was because he was just too good of a guy to tell Harley right out that she just wasn't his type. Okay so they had been having mind blowing sex for months but who was Harley kidding Mark was a red blooded male with a willing woman in his bed of course he would take what she was so willing to give him.

Harley had called into work and let her partners know that she would be using all of her vacation days, which after not taking any time off for almost twelve years, turned out to be a lot of time. She had paid the resort a large sum of money to ensure she could stay as long as she felt the need to do so.

She still avoided all calls from not only Mark but Laurel as well. She just couldn't bring herself to admit that once again she had failed.

Harley nibbled on a saltine to help with the wave of nausea she was experiencing. "You're the best thing to ever happen to me," Harley said as she rubbed her belly, "Well you and your daddy," she added with a heavy sigh.

"Have you heard from her?" Mark asked by way of greeting when Laurel opened her front door.

"No, she hasn't called me and whenever I call her it goes straight to voicemail," Laurel said.

"It's been a month! Where the hell is she?"

"I wish I knew, Mark, I am going out of my mind with worry," Laurel admitted.

"Do you think maybe she went back to North Carolina?"

"I doubt that even if Harley is running that's the last place she would go."

"Are you sure?" Mark asked as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm positive," Laurel said as Mark nodded his head in understanding.

"I'm going to call a friend of mine, Sam Hunt, he's a private investigator if anyone can find her he can," Mark told Laurel.

"Usually I would advise you against it but not knowing where she is has me sick with worry. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help," Laurel said walking towards the kitchen, "I'm going to make some lunch, you hungry?"

"Naw, I'm going to get out of your hair and go make the call. You keep on trying Harley maybe you'll get lucky," Mark said walking to the front door.

"Mark?" Laurel called causing Mark to stop and turn to her.

"She's all right Laurel and don't worry we'll find her. I won't stop looking until I do," Mark said with a reassuring smile even if he wasn't feeling that assured himself.


"Harlz, it's Laurel…again! I have been calling you every day for weeks! I'm worried about you please when you get this message call me even if just to say you are alright. Mark and I really need to know that you are ok. I love you Harley you know I am here for you. I'm going to keep calling until I hear from you so get use to your inbox being full of annoying messages from me."

Harley listened to the message and tears welled up in her eyes. She missed her best friend so much and wanted nothing more than to see her and hug her and let her tell her that everything would work out but she couldn't do that. Going home meant facing Mark and she still wasn't ready to do that. She could call her though, calling wouldn't hurt.

Harley picked up her phone and dialed Laurel's number.

"Harley? Harley is that you?"

At the sound of Laurel's voice Harley broke down, "Laurel oh Laurel it's so good to hear your voice," Harley said through her tears.

"Harley where are you? We've been worried sick," Laurel said as she too began to cry.

"I'm not going to tell you where I am but I am safe I promise I just needed to get away so I can think about what I am going to do," Harley told her friend.

"Why won't you tell me where you are? What's going on Harlz?"

"I don't want you to have to lie to Shawn or Mark if they ask you where I am that wouldn't be fair just know that I am taking care of myself."

"When are you coming home?"

"I don't know if I am going to come back Laurel. I don't know if I can be anywhere near Mark ever again without feeling like a fool," Harley admitted.

"Tell me what happened Harley, please. Mark swears that things were good with you the day that you left so what the hell isn't he telling me?"

"He probably really believes that things were good. I mean he kissed me good bye before he left for work and we had even talked about going out for a nice quiet dinner and I was going to…,"

"You were going to what?" Laurel asked after a few seconds of silence.

Harley thought about telling Laurel about the baby but decided she would insist that she tell Mark so she didn't mention it.

"Nothing, anyway later that day I had decided that I would surprise Mark at work by taking him some lunch but I ended up being the one getting the surprise," Harley said as the picture of Mark with that woman flooded back into Harley's mind.

"What does that mean Harley? How were you surprised?"

"Mark was there with this beautiful blond bombshell and they were kissing and that's when I realized how big of a fool I was. I actually thought that Mark really cared for me, but it really was just an arrangement between us to him. I couldn't face him so I went back to his place and packed my things and got the hell away from there before I made a bigger fool of myself," Harley said as the tears started flowing again.

"Oh Harley," Laurel started.

"No, no it's okay Laurel I knew in the beginning that Mark was way out of my league and I tried not to fall in love with him because I knew it could only lead to me getting hurt again but I never expected the pain to be this bad. I mean it hurts worse than after what happened with Kendal and I spent years trying to get him to love me, oh Laurel I'm just so stupid!"

"You are not stupid and I don't know what you think you saw that day but you have to be wrong. I've seen Mark every day since you left and that man is miserable."

"Yeah I doubt it. Mark is use to having tall skinny beautiful women and I'm none of those things so I can't really blame him for seeing someone behind my back," Harley said.

"Look I don't know what Mark was doing with that other woman but I do know that he cares for you, the man has hired a PI to find you! If that doesn't prove to you he cares then what will?"

"He hired a PI?" Harley said as she began to panic.

"Shit! I shouldn't have told you that, look Harley just come home okay you and Mark can talk just please come home," Laurel pleaded.

"Laurel I have to go, I'll call you later," Harley said before clicking her cell phone off.

"Harley, no don't hang up!" Laurel yelled but it was too late as the line had already went dead.

"Damn it!" Laurel said as she dialed Mark's number. She had to let him know that she may have just caused Harley to run even further away than she already had.

"Mark! I'm so sorry!" Laurel started the second Mark answered the phone.

"Laurel calm down what's wrong?" Mark asked concerned and a little confused.

"I talked to Harley and I think she's going to run again."

"Slow down Laurel and tell me what Harley said," Mark said.

"She thinks you were cheating on her Mark…"

"What? Why the hell would she think that?" Mark all but screamed.

"The day she left she came by your shop and caught you kissing a blond. She was crushed. She said that once again she was played for a fool and she couldn't take you walking away from her once you realized that her mother had left so she felt she had to walk away first," Laurel said in a flurry of words.

Mark cursed under his breath, "Ok so we know why she left, which for the record was not what it looked like, but why do you think that Harley will run again?"

"In my haste to convince her that you really did care about her I may have let it slip that you had hired a PI to locate her, I'm so sorry Mark I didn't mean to tell her that," Laurel sobbed.

"It's ok Laurel, did Harley say anything else? Anything that could help us find her? Mark asked hopefully.

"I wish she had but no she didn't give anything away."

"Well my guy is on it and he is the very best in the business, if anyone can find her he can so don't worry now you calm yourself down and just keep trying to make Harley open up to you any little detail can help, alright?"

"Alright Mark but promise you'll find her, promise you'll bring Harley back home," Laurel said through fresh tears.

"I promise Laurel," Mark said as he heard Laurel disconnect the call, "I'll bring Harley home or I'll die trying," Mark said as he clicked his phone shut.