Nineteen

With a stretch, Celeste woke up in the morning, inadvertantly giving Zeus a little bit of a kick as she awakened. The dog let out a bit of a groan, lifting his weary head in agitation before he opted to lay back down. "Sorry, big guy," she murmured, sitting up and stroking the dog's head. Zeus' eyes remained closed. Pulling the blankets back, she got out of bed and decided to let Zeus sleep in a little bit.

She made her way downstairs with the intentions of calling Elise and making sure everything was all right. She had a strong feeling that Brock had tried hitting up Elise and the family for information. The clock on the microwave said it was seven-thirty; she knew Mark wouldn't be awake for another few hours and she decided to let him sleep. He had to be back on the road tomorrow afternoon and she knew his day was going to be full of packing and travel arrangements. She wanted him to relax for as long as he could.

Picking up the phone, she called Elise. "Hello?" It was obvious her sister had been up for awhile. Elise was something of a morning person; always up when the sun rose, sipping coffee out on her back porch with her poodle named Cannon.

"Hey, Lise."

"Celeste? Oh, my God! Are you all right? Christ, everyone here is worried about you. What's going on?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Fine, fine. I had a run-in with Brock a few days ago. Are things really over between you two?"

"Yeah. He really crossed the line, Elise. I can't go back."

"How bad?"

"Just think of how bad it could be." Elise sucked in a breath. "Then times it by ten."

"Jesus. Where are you, Celeste?"

"I'm not saying. I'm with a friend, and just know I'm safe." Elise sucked in a breath.

"I'm not going to find out, am I?"

"No, you're not. It's better you guys don't know anyways. Just have faith that I'm safe, all right? Is Jacob all right?"

"Yeah. Brock tried beating the information out of him." Celeste shook her head and felt a wave of nausea pang in her stomach. Jacob was a trained boxer, but it still didn't stop her from feeling some form of concern for her brother. "Don't worry; Brock backed off after Jacob took a shot at him." The girls laughed. The three Marlowe children had a bit of spunk, but Celeste was the most demure. Elise was relieved that she had finally left Brock; but things had obviously been bad in the end. Elise's mind was only wondering about how bad it could have been. "Are you all right with everything?"

"Not really, but I don't have much of a choice," Celeste replied. "It's hard after all this time, you know? Moving on seems like such a foreign concept."

"I know, hon. But somebody will come along and treat you better," Elise assured her. Celeste nodded, a smile crossing her features as she thought about Mark upstairs, sleeping.

"Look, I should get going. I've got some stuff to do today. I'll call you in the next week or so and let you know I'm all right. Just let Mom and Jacob know I'm okay, and if Brock comes at you again, please go to the police, Elise. It's harassment."

"Will do, Celeste. Take it easy."

"Bye, sis." Elise and Celeste hung up. She leaned her head against the wall. She could feel the tears coming. She wished that she could just walk away from the situation and everything could be over. Brock could just let her go and let her go on about her life.

**

Mark could hear the soft cries coming down the stairs and his expression softened. He knew it was only a matter of time before she really had a breakdown. Her sobs were soft as he made his way into the kitchen. It was obvious she was trying to stay quiet so she didn't rouse him. She had her back to him, sipping on a coffee. When she sensed him behind her, she dried her eyes with her hands and straightened up. She turned to see him and cleared her throat. "Coffee?"

"Nah, not right now. I'm all right. Are you?"

"Yeah," she replied. She put her coffee mug down. "I'm fine, Mark."

"Come here," he said, pulling her into his arms. She was a little reluctant, but she rested her head against his chest and he felt the tears begin to flow. "Let it out; it's okay," he soothed, his hands rubbing her back. The worst part for her; was even though the tears were falling, she couldn't just let it all out the way that she wanted to.

"I'm fine, Mark. Really...it's just...he tried to rough up my brother, and my family's getting harassed, and I feel like this is all my fault." She sighed. "It's just hard...you know, why can't he just let it go?"

"I don't know, beautiful," he said, "I don't know what's running through the man's mind, but you shouldn't be thinking this is your fault. Just try not to worry about it, okay? No one knows except for you and I where you are. I know you're scared, and I know you're worried about your family, but they'll be okay. If they're anything like you, they'll kick ass if Brock pushes too hard." She nodded, keeping her head rested on his chest.

"Is it normal if I just can't cry it all out?"

"Sure it is," he assured her. "People cope differently." He pulled back and wiped a tear away with his thumb. She was receptive to his touch. Mark felt something stir internally. This wasn't good. "Celeste, I don't know if I want you at No Mercy."

"Mark, I'll be fine," she said. He wanted to touch her bruise, but he was afraid of what he was feeling every time they made contact. It was not good to be getting involved with his opponent's girlfriend. It was only asking for trouble for everybody involved and he wasn't sure he wanted to put Celeste back in Lesnar's way again. But she stood her ground. "I can't run for the rest of my life." He nodded; she had a point. "I also can't spend the rest of my life hiding behind you or your friends." He smirked. "So don't you even think about setting up surveillance for me." Mark sighed.

"Are you sure you're going to be all right? I don't feel right leaving you alone backstage, especially if something goes wrong. I mean, Paul will more than likely be at ringside for Brock, so during the match is okay...I'm just worried about after the match."

"Don't worry so much. I'll be fine," she assured him. "What can he really do in front of all those people anyway? Just about everyone knows this fucked up situation anyway, so I doubt they'll let him get close to me." He nodded.

"It's still a chance I don't want to take. He hurt you good."

"I know he did, but if I spend my life running, he wins. I don't want to do that." She flashed him a smile. "Just trust me on this, all right?"

She could tell he was reluctant, but he agreed. "Fine. But you need to make sure that you have eyes in the back of your head with this guy." She nodded. "I mean it. He will stop at nothing, Celeste. He's shown that."

"I know, Mark, and I appreciate you worrying about me so much." She decided to change the subject. "How about you go get ready for your day and I'll have breakfast ready for you when you come back down here."

"You don't have to do that," he told her. She smiled.

"I need to do something. I'm not an invalid," she said. He knew better than to argue with her, so he nodded and disappeared up the stairs. Celeste began to make her way around the kitchen, the thought of being at No Mercy weighing heavily on her mind. As scared as she was of facing Brock for the first time since he had really attacked her, she knew that she couldn't show Mark he was right. She had to face him and she had to be unable to show fear, no matter how hard it may be.