Thirteen

She woke up in the morning, her eyes opening to stare at the ceiling coated in light. Rolling onto her side, she was surprised to find Mark gone, Zeus was with him. She sighed; Mark would be back on the road within the next couple of days, and then she wondered what she was going to do if she had a nightmare, or if Brock really did find her.

Sitting up in bed, allowing the blankets to fall, she sighed. Knowing she was next to Mark the previous night, the nightmares hadn't come back. She still felt the fear she had felt when the vivid image of Brock had frightened her so badly. There was nothing scarier than the gruesome visage of his face contorted with rage as he held her beneath him.

Celeste shook her head; she needed to quit thinking. Pulling the blankets back, she got out of bed and made her way to the bedroom window, staring out into the backyard. Zeus was outside, meandering about the backyard. Crossing her arms over her chest, she made her way out of the bedroom and down the hallway to where she heard clanging in the kitchen.

"Morning, Mark."

He jumped slightly, and turned with his coffee to face her. "Morning, Celeste. How did you sleep?"

"I slept all right." She reached into the cupboard and pulled out a mug. "I could go for a coffee." He grabbed the pot and poured her a cup. He went to the fridge and grabbed some cream while she grabbed the sugar bowl. She fixed her coffee and took a sip. She took a deep breath. "When do you go back on the road?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." She nodded. "I'm assuming that you don't want to come on the road with me." She shook her head.

"Too risky." She sighed. "Last thing I need is Brock sending me kicking and screaming back with him." Mark nodded. He understood her paranoia. He could only imagine it was heightened by the fading bruises on her face.

"Your face looks better," he told her gently. She stared at him, a smirk crossing her face as she sipped her coffee. He was on the ball before she could speak. "I didn't mean it like that," he insisted. "I just mean that the bruising has gone down." She smiled.

"I know what you meant," she replied. He flashed her a grin as he put his coffee cup on the counter.

"Look, when I get home next week, how about I take you out for dinner? You can't stay locked up in here. It's not right."

"I don't know, Mark..." She had ended things with Brock. And she had meant it. Especially after he had laid his hands on her. She knew that Mark was attracted to her; it was something she could pick up on. She would be lying if she didn't say she was attracted to him; but Brock Lesnar created more stress on her mind than she conceived of at the moment. And she knew Mark had a lot on his mind worrying about his upcoming match with Brock. He smiled.

"Come on; he's in Minnesota, Celeste. You have to have some kind of a life here." She sighed; he had a point. As much as she hated to admit it. She didn't know when she was going to go back to Minnesota; maybe when Brock had moved on. And when she didn't feel as though she was in any danger anymore. But she knew that was going to be a while; Brock wasn't going to let her go on her own terms. Everything about the relationship was dictated by Brock. And she was so sure that things weren't going to be over until Brock said things were over.

"Come on." Mark's voice cut into her thoughts. "Next week, we'll go for dinner, all right?"

She sighed. "Fine." She shook her head. "You're a bad influence, Mark."

"I don't hear you objecting," he answered, winking. With a shake of her head and a roll of her eyes, she put the empty mug on the counter and made her way into the living room. Mark followed behind, sipping his coffee. She sat down on the couch and Mark sat down beside her.

"Did you want breakfast?" he asked. She shook her head. "Celeste, you haven't really been eating."

"Just not hungry," she answered. "Too much to deal with." Mark sighed; he was worried about her dropping all sorts of weight. She was small enough that he wasn't sure she could afford to lose weight. She turned on the television to a news channel and placed the remote between them. She kept her eyes away from Mark and just watched TV. He was fascinated with her; taken with her. He wondered if she was embarassed over what had happened the night before with her nightmare. The fact that she was having nightmares unnerved him. He would just have to take care of Brock Lesnar and make sure he never stepped foot near Celeste again.