Chapter 9

The familiar clomping sound of his boots accompanied Mark as he stomped into the shop, the doors closing silently behind him. His eyes fell upon Tom Nook with disdain.

"So you're the guy whose been dating my Sable, eh?" he sneered, clenching his fists. At once, Sable ran up to Tom Nook and held him tightly.

"Just leave us alone!" she yelled.

"Hey, what's your problem, hm?" Tom Nook spat, angered that the mere presence of this man would upset Sable.

"My problem?" mark asked sarcastically. "My problem? My problem is that my baby's hooked up with some convenient store loser!"

Tom Nook gritted his teeth, trying not to lose his temper. Sable, on the other hand, was firing on all guns.

"I'm not your baby!" she yelled. "I never will be; just go away!"

"Why do you have to come here and cause trouble?" Tom Nook asked as calmly as he could. "Can't you see that she's happy with me now? Just let her go and find someone else to be with, okay?" he asked.

Mark started to laugh, holding his chest as he guffawed at Tom. His gravelly voice was erupting in a wave of hooting and howling as he struggled to control his composure. Suddenly, he started to cough, killing his joy instantly as he turned back into his nasty self.

"Are you serious?" he remarked after his coughing fit ended, making his voice even more rough. "I'm not leaving until I get retribution for what your little bitch did to me!"

"Don't call her that!" Tom Nook yelled, stamping his foot. "We don't want any trouble, just get out!"

"She landed me in jail!" Mark yelled. "She ruined my life, and now I'm going to ruin hers!"

Tom Nook's anger gave away to confusion. He looked to Sable, who was still seething angrily at Mark.

"You can't blame what happened on me!" she argued, exasperated. "Everything was your fault! You got yourself landed in jail, I did nothing at all! I was the victim!"

"Wait, wait!" Tom Nook yelled suddenly, silencing Sable. As she looked at him, he let go of her. "What are the two of you talking about?"

Sable, figuring out what she had just done, slapped her hands to her mouth in the vain attempt to save the words she had said from reaching Tom's ears. But it was too late, far too late. Mark caught on to what had happened and started to snigger.

"She didn't tell you, did she?" he growled, a sneer appearing his face. Tom Nook turned to face him, still angry.

"This isn't making sense anymore" he growled. "Somebody clear this up for me; what are you talking about?"

"No Mark…" Sable begged suddenly. But Mark had everything the way he wanted it.

"…I was hoping this would happen" Mark said. "Now I can finally break you apart myself. You see, me and Sable have…quite a history"

"Mark, how can you do this?" Sable spat. "Have…have a heart, will you?"

"Shut up!" Mark snapped. "Back in the day…we were, as you'd say, on fire" Mark reveled in the disgusted face that started to form on Tom Nook's face. "We did everything in the short time we were together. It was only inevitable that it would happen to her"

"What, what?" Tom Nook yelled. "Get to the point!"

"No!" Sable yelled.

Mark folded his arms, huffing a little.

"Well, it was inevitable that she would get pregnant" he revealed. "We conceived twins"

Tom Nook felt a shock go through his body as Mark spoke the one word he didn't expect. It almost flew over his head, but he had caught onto it in time. He wished he hadn't.

"…W-what…" Tom Nook stuttered. Darting his sight towards Sable, he could see that she was in equal shock. A devastated look was draped across her face; she hid her face in her hands. Looking back at Mark, he shook his head slowly. "Did…d-did you just say…"

"That's right, lover boy" Mark spat. "I got your little girlfriend pregnant with twins. But wait; that's not the end of the story"

Tom Nook was frozen on the spot. He had lost all feeling apart of his dizzying head and his aching heart. He felt extremely ill; he watched as his ideologies of the world started to crumble.

"I was thrilled at the idea of being a dad, but Sable wasn't" Mark continued, regardless. He was the only one of the three who seemed to be okay. Sickeningly enough, one could say he took joy in revealing this to Tom Nook, who stood speechless, shocked, and beyond belief.

"So, do you want to know what happened next?" Mark growled. "Well, I'll tell you! Our little princess here was so unhappy at the fact she had to become a mother…she sought a way out"

"Don't listen to him, Tom!" Sable blurted suddenly, taking his arm. "Please, he's not telling the truth!"

"You can already see that she's desperate to cover up her dirty little secret" Mark explained, raising a finger to point at her. "She's so ashamed, she'll even lie to you to cover the truth! And the truth was…she didn't want the baby"

Tom Nook felt his head start to ache. He knew what was coming; he held his head to try and keep the agony at bay. It was too much to bear. But Mark was relentless; prepared to make the next five seconds the worst five seconds of Tom Nook's life.

"She didn't want the baby, so she went ahead and had an abortion" he said.

That was it. The word Tom Nook dreaded. The tugging and pleading on his arm came to a sudden stop. He felt Sable let go of his arm; there was no feeling coming to him whatsoever. Everything just stopped. Tears started to come to his eyes like a natural reaction; he had completely lost control of his body. His heart started to beat throbbingly inside his throat, with each heartbeat urging his tears forward, blurring his vision. It felt like he was choking; the air passed through him unconsciously. The tears started to leak down his cheeks, and it was a good while before Tom Nook summoned the inner strength to move his head towards Sable.

There were tears flowing from her eyes as well. Everything felt shattered around them. Just when they thought everything was going to be okay, it had happened. His eyes sunk; they fell upon the bouquet of flowers that had been dropped on the floor. Tom Nook remembered how much time he had spent arranging the flowers neatly; they were now strewn across the floor, withering, dying away. His eyes closed, it was all over, he thought.

"That's…th-that's not true…" Sable uttered. Tom Nook listened intently to the words she spoke, were these truly the words of a liar? Had he been deceived from the very beginning?

"There you have it" Mark grumbled. "Now you know"

Instantly, Sable turned on her heels and ran away. Tom Nook opened his eyes and lifted his head suddenly, the stillness shattering. He could hear Sable's hells tapping against the floor as she sprinted out of the shop as quickly as she could, leaving a broken Tom Nook staring at the floor.

"Well, I think you deserved to know the truth" Mark mumbled. Even he felt slightly bad at what happened in front of him. He had just unleashed the devastating power he possessed and was shocked by the result. He watched as Tom Nook started to shiver with fury. His fists clenched.

"Get out" he snarled, his head still hunched.

"I…I need another axe" Mark said, suddenly becoming feeble.

"You…you want an axe?" Tom Nook asked calmly. Suddenly, he released his rage, throwing his arm out and grabbing the axe on the display. Pulling it into his arms, he moved towards Mark, grasping the axe. "You want an axe? Fine! You can have the axe, right in your fucking spine!" he screamed, raising the axe. Mark gasped and started to retreat, running out of the store. Tom Nook watched as Mark ran away from the store, occasionally turning his head back to look. All his power had left him now.

With speed, Tom Nook started to feel his instincts working. The moment that Mark had left his sight, he put the axe back on display and hurriedly put on his coat. He could afford to lose one day of business, considering the circumstances. Rushing to put his coat on, he grabbed his keys and quickly put it into the main electrical outlet, shutting down all the lights. He then put the security system on before locking the store from outside. Once everything had been locked, he made a straight dash for the Able Sisters store.

Mabel was busy worrying herself about her elder sister, who had burst into the store crying. Her concerns were growing about how she was going to help Sable through her hard time. Mabel had never seen her in such a foul mood before, and as a result, she became irritable with the world for treating her sister so. As she was busy trying to set things straight with her mind, the door opened. Tom Nook came almost bursting in, panting for breath.

"Mabel, where's your sister?" he asked, panting for breath.

"Upstairs" Mabel replied with a frown. "Sorry, but you can't see her"

"Why?" Tom Nook asked, waving his hands in frustration. "I have to talk to her!"

"Listen, Tom!" Mabel yelled suddenly. "Sable told me everything that happened. The last thing she needs right now is you barking in her ears about 'the truth', or whatever. She's told me specifically not to let anyone go upstairs to see her, and that also means you" she asserted. Tom Nook wiped his eyes in defeat, scratching the dried up tears from his face. The tracks of matted fur still remained from where his tears trickled.

"Please…" he begged, putting his hands together. Mabel watched as Tom Nook's eyes begun to water in desperation. "Please, I just want to know the truth" Mabel started to feel guilty for snapping at the desperate man in front of her. She discovered the anguish in his eyes and his voice; he must have gone through just as hard a time.

"Tom…I'm sorry" Mabel apologized. "I've been really insensitive. Sable really needs to be by herself for the time. I'm sorry" she said calmly.

"Then…could you tell me?" Tom Nook asked. "You must know, surely?"

Mabel knew everything, but she remembered her sister's words.

"No, Tom, I can't tell you" she explained. "I…I can't betray my sister's privacy. Please, you have to understand"

But Tom Nook started to break down in front of Mabel, hiding his crying face with his forearm. It was painful to watch a man cry, especially Tom Nook, whose attitudes to life and very demeanor had changed since he started his relationship with Sable. Mabel herself started to feel guilty at what she was doing to Tom Nook. Feeling desperate, she decided there was only one thing to do.

"…Go and talk to Tortimer" she said suddenly. Her words caused Tom Nook's sobbing to cease. His head darted up like a deer spotting prey; his teary eyes opened widely.

"…Tortimer?" he asked, a hint of skepticism trailing in his voice.

"…He knows everything you need to know, Tom" Mabel explained. "Go and see him. I'll leave a message on your phone at home to let you know how Sable is doing, okay?" she asked.

Tom Nook felt like giving Mabel a massive hug, but he struggled himself to remain composed. Drying his eyes quickly, he cleared his throat.

"Thank you, Mabel" he said with a quivering voice. Mabel bent her head slightly and smirked a little, her eyebrows rising.

"Take care of yourself, Tom" she said, putting her hands together. "…Be strong. For all of us, especially Sable. She needs the strength"

Tom Nook finished drying his eyes on the wet sleeves of his jacket and nodded, putting a bit of strength in his nod.

"I will" he said, his voice returning to normal. "Thank you" And with that, he turned around and hurriedly left the store, eagerly pursuing the truth. Glad that he wasn't going to be deceived any further, Tom Nook marched to the town office as the rain started to fall violently. A heavy wind picked up, but nothing would deter Tom Nook's feverish pace as he sought to end his pain.