Chapter 3

Eleven o clock. Mabel was upstairs, cleaning the dishes, having just eaten supper. Sable was downstairs in the store, sitting by her desk where she would sow her merchandise. But the sowing machine was quiet. She wasn't there to work; every second that passed, her eyes remained fixed upon the phone on the desk. Any minute it would ring. Sable had asked her sister to respect her privacy whilst she took an 'important' phone call. Mabel thought it would have been some sort of business transaction. She didn't know how wrong she was.

Sable felt a little sick. She still couldn't believe what had happened to her in the last 48 hours. The appearance of Mark had plunged her entire world into an uncertain darkness: she knew the man could cause devastating damage to her sanity. He had that potential, that power over her. And the worst part of it was the fact that only she knew about him this way. This figure from her past, his tall, dominating figure and deceptive voice. It all felt too much to bear at times.

The phone suddenly started to ring. Gathering every ounce of courage she had, she braced herself to pick up the receiver as it rang for a second time. He can't do any harm to me here; it's a phone call. She placed her hand on the receiver, lifting it and halting the rings. Bringing it to her ear, she attempted to still her nervous heart.

"Hello?" she said softly.

"Is this Sable on the phone?" a familiar voice asked. Even with the fuzz from the receiver, his voice was unmistakable.

"…Mark" Sable murmured, closing her eyes.

"How is business?" Mark asked confidently.

"Business is fine" Sable hummed impatiently. It was only a few seconds into the call and she was already uncomfortable. "Look, this isn't the time for pleasantries. You wanted to talk to me"

"I'm glad you remembered, sugar puff" Mark wooed. Sable dismissed the compliment as somewhat lascivious, shaking it off. "Weren't you glad to see me again after so many years?"

"How did you find me?" Sable asked.

"It was a combination of loneliness and coincidence, my dear" Mark explained. "When this lil' jailbird got set free, I got myself a job as a lumberjack for a leading firm. Right now, I got a placement by the woods near here for a couple of weeks. When I realized that the nearby town was the one where you'd lived all your life, I couldn't pass up the chance to see you again"

"Placement?" Sable questioned. "That sounds like too much of a coincidence to me, Mark"

"Well" Mark spat over the phone; his harsh breathing made a cutting noise through the receiver. "If you hadn't gone and gotten me landed in jail, then I would have found something better to do"

"I…you can't blame that on me!" Sable said staunchly, trying her best to be strong. It helped that he wasn't stood in front of her, with his towering frame and piercing red eyes "You…it was your fault"

"After all this time, and you're still clinging to that…little…belief…" Mark uttered; it was clear that his rage was beginning to develop. There was a silence of the phone after his utter; Sable could just about hear him counting to ten.

"…I'm sorry, babe, I didn't mean to get all angry then" he apologized.

"Mark, things have changed now" Sable explained, trying to keep him at bay with her words. She selected them carefully: she didn't want to say anything that could be used against her. "What do you want from me? Just tell me now"

"I want you back, Sabe" Mark said clearly. "I want things to be like they were before. Weren't we happy then?"

"We were…" Sable muttered. "…But it can't be regained now, Mark. That is in the past and I've moved on from it, no matter how hard"

"You're sour, aren't you?" Mark accused. "Of all that stuff that happened, with me going to jail and such?"

"I don't know what you mean" Sable huffed defensively. She did know what he meant, she knew it very clearly. But she wouldn't give herself away that easily. If there was one thing here experiences had taught her, it was strength.

"I've done my best to forget everything that happened between us" Sable said clearly, feeling slightly triumphant. She hoped that mark would just accept defeat upon making her point. "Despite the…highs…they are memories that will only lead to pain. So if you want me, Mark, then you may as well forget it. I'm through with you"

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Sable's heart was now beating fast with excitement; she had never felt such power over a man before. She thought about the power she had built, and shuddered at the image of other people witnessing what she had done. What a tarnishing act, she thought, nobody would see Sable as such an innocent woman anymore if they had seen what she had done. She never self admired, but she couldn't help but pat herself on the back, admiring her resistance.

The silence, however, was suddenly broken.

"You know when you said you were going out with lady friends?" he said suddenly. Sable's trail of thought was broken, she quickly returned to the matter at hand.

"Sorry, say that again?" she asked.

"You said yesterday that you were going out with a lady friend or something along those lines" Mark spoke clearly, his voice suddenly gaining in volume.

"Y-yes, what of it?" Sable asked, anxious as to why his voice had grown in size.

"…Tell me the truth" he said. "You weren't going with a lady friend. I'm not dull, Sabe. I knew you very well back then, and I know enough now to say that you haven't any close lady friends"

"What do you know?" Sable accused, slightly scared that her past bluff had been figured out. "Maybe I've made n-new friends…"

"Don't lie, babe" he said. He was still saying 'babe', as if Sable's previous offensive had had no effect on him whatsoever. "Your face gave it all away. You were never good at lying, hon"

There was no running from the secret anymore. Sable realized that Mark had seen through her pretend 'lady friend' like glass. She started to feel weak again; disappointed after such a good onslaught of words. It was back to square one, with no more roll of the die.

"…If you must know, Mark, I am in a relationship with somebody else at the moment" Sable said, trying her best to stay strong.

"So that's why you've been acting strange with me" Mark hummed, a twinge of disappointment in his voice.

"Don't be silly" Sable scolded.

"And who is this lucky man, hm?" Mark inquired, with a hint of sarcasm and malice in his voice. Sable started to get frustrated; she would not allow him to get under her skin any longer. The call had to be ended soon, in any way possible.

"The details of my relationships, romantic or otherwise, are none of your business" she said.

"Is that so?" Mark grumbled. "Well, the way I see it, anything to do with you is partly my business as well"

"Please, just leave me alone" Sable sighed in a last act of desperation. She felt like slamming the phone down, but she knew that wouldn't be of any help to her now.

"Very well, then" Mark hummed, before starting to cough. "I think I've had my fill of chitchat for tonight. You needn't worry yourself about your boyfriend; I know I can convince you to come back to me. We can start all over and fill every day with the good times we had…before all that stuff happened"

"Good night" Sable said impatiently, not allowing Mark to say anymore. She put the phone down and remained absolutely still for a few seconds, before exhaling and slumping back onto her chair. Rubbing her hands across her face, she sighed as her tiredness set in. It was stressful enough having to talk to Mark on the phone, but the prospect of him continually haunting her was a terrifying thought. The only solace she could see was the time limit on his 'placement'; if he was telling the truth, then he would be gone in two weeks and out of Sable's head. Shutting up shop, she wished deeply that this was the case. She knew from personal experience that Mark had the potential to be a very dangerous man.