Sitara

I watched the heavy rain pound against the window. The rapid downpour formed thick, watery streaks across the glass. A storm overwhelmed the city. Blackened clouds and dense fog masked the outside world in gray.

There was something comforting about the consistent pitter-patter of rain striking glass, and the occasional gregarious boom of thunder which accompanied it. I guess listening to nothing but the melancholy thoughts in my head was starting to get to me. I've been hiding away in my apartment for three days now. I couldn't find the energy or will to even get out of bed.

The same horrible memory kept replaying in my head. The date I went on with Marcus a few nights ago… everything was going so perfect until I stepped foot into that empty, dark restroom. The moment when that pile of human refuse smothered me with chloroform and tried to kidnap me— I couldn't get it out of my head.

I tried everything, from attempting to drown the painful memories away in alcohol, to warding them off with the comfort of sleep. But they'd always come back.

I recalled being pulled out of the restroom by a monster hiding his face with a mask, and dragged down a long hall by my arm. The chloroform had made me so tired, so woozy. I only remembered bits and pieces of the horrible ordeal.

I thought I could use my smarts and hack my way out of any tight situation, and if all else fails, I could always run. I was the fastest sprinter, and more acrobatic than anyone I knew. But I was wrong. There was nothing I could do. The plethora of skills I spent blood, sweat and tears developing and perfecting, meant nothing.

In truth, it was the memories that were the real monster, not the douchey kidnapper. I couldn't escape them or hide from them, at least not for very long. I certainly couldn't fight or run from them either. I was forced to endure the misery, and hope that the pain and trauma would ease with time. It felt like it was taking an eternity.

I hadn't spoken to anyone since I've been hiding away. Not Marcus, not Wrench or Josh, or any DedSec members for that matter. I hadn't checked on our followers, nor have I checked my blog. Then there was my bloodstained phone resting on my nightstand. God, I didn't even have the resolve to clean the darn thing off after all this time. It's been buzzing and ringing non-stop over these past few days.

I've swept all my responsibilities under the rug. It was pathetic. I used to be so much better than this. Regardless of how depressed and broken I felt, my brand still meant the world to me. I've gone through so much to bring DedSec into the spotlight. If I didn't get out of this damn bed anytime soon, I knew all my hard work would slip through my fingers. How would I live with myself if I let that happen?

I had to get back to the hackerspace. God knows what the boys had gotten themselves into without me. It was going to take every ounce of strength I had to climb out of bed. One step at a time though. My first plan of action was to check my phone. If I could pull that off without a hitch, then maybe there was hope after all.

I had five unread text messages and dozens of missed calls. The missed calls were all from Marcus, Wrench and Josh. Jeez, they had to be so worried. I disappeared on them without any explanation. It wasn't a good feeling. I scrolled through my five unread texts next. Three from Marcus, two from Wrench. I checked Marcus' messages first.

Hey girl. Just checking in. You doing alright? I know last night must of been difficult for you. You're probably going through a lot of shit right now, but can you hmu when you get a chance? Thanks.

Sitara, where you at? Everyone's worried. Please get in contact with us soon.

I miss you.

Each message was sent a day after one another. I sighed heavily, quickly scanning through Wrench's texts next.

Tsk, tsk Sitara... never figured u 4 the flighty type. Hope ur little hiatus doesn't last 2 long cuz u r totally missing out on all the fun. Tracking down murderers is SO much more exciting than I thought it would be. Not 2 toot my own horn, but I'd make a great detective.

Btw, me and ur boy toy, aka M, found the dick who tried to kidnap u. We strapped C-4 to a RC Jumper and chased him around his house with it. U should have saw the look on his face, the fucker was so scared. It was glorious Sitara. Simply glorious.

Despite how crappy I was feeling, his messages made me cackle aloud. I can't believe they did that, it had to be Wrench's crazy idea. As dumb as the whole scenario sounded, it was actually kinda sweet.

The texts did well to distract me from my sorrow. Maybe I needed companionship to get me out of this funk. And truth be told, I missed Marcus. I wanted to let him in on how I was feeling. He's always been emotionally open and honest with me. It'd only be fair. I wasn't sure if I was ready to talk about it, but he deserved someone who would try. We've always been there for one another when things got difficult. I didn't want that to change anytime soon.

I bet he was at the hackerspace, but I just wasn't ready to get out of bed yet. I decided to call him instead.

He answered after a few rings. "Hello?"

"Hey Marcus," I replied. "Are you busy?"

"Nah, just chillin' at the hackerspace. Is everything okay? How are you doing? Where have you been?"

"Y-yeah, about that…" I fumbled, unsure of what to say. "I um, need to see you. I know it's raining like cats and dogs right now so maybe you can stop by later?"

"I can stop by now. It's all good. Where are you? If you need me, I'm there."

"I'm home. Are you sure though? The storm looks pretty bad—"

"Be there soon." With that said, he hung up.

My stomach rumbled with nervousness. The hackerspace was nearby. He'd be here any minute. I reluctantly sat up, and by some miracle, I was able to stand shortly after. I managed to slowly drag myself into the bathroom to freshen up. It wasn't much of a walk thankfully— one of the added benefits of living in a studio apartment. All the basic necessities needed in a home were all in the same room, except for the bathroom of course. Granted, the space was tiny, but the rent was affordable. It even had a balcony. It was perfect for me.

My entire body was sore and my arm was still killing me. I probably didn't do the best job cleaning and bandaging it. I've never been good with that sort of thing. The sight of blood always made me queasy. I'd take another look at it eventually, I wasn't feeling up to it right now.

I changed into a pair of red plaid pajamas and a white t-shirt, and then crawled right back into bed. I yawned. Maybe I could fit in a fifteen-minute nap before he got here.

Knock. Knock.

Or not. Apparently he was already here. I glanced through the peephole. It was undoubtedly Marcus. He had a dripping wet umbrella in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other.

I unlocked the door and allowed him inside. He beamed at the sight of me, and planted a small kiss on my cheek. I couldn't help but return a smile, my face heating up. Marcus really did make a good distraction from the memories. My brain would always get so fuzzy when he was around, and all I could think about was the here and now, and how I wished every moment of free time we had together would last forever.

I knew I missed him, but I didn't realize just how much until he stepped through the door. I wanted so badly to erase the distance between us. If only I could embrace him and show him how I felt, so I could get all of these intense feelings off my chest. But I was still an emotional wreck right now. I wasn't thinking straight. It was probably best to hold off for now.

"Hey girl, I got you Chinese," he passed me the brown bag. "Figured you might have been hungry."

"Thank you," I pecked his cheek in appreciation of his thoughtful gesture, and turned to set the food down on my nightstand. I climbed back into the safety of my bed, pulling my purple sheets up to my waist. "But I'm not hungry."

Marcus set his drenched umbrella aside, and began removing his damp clothes. He took off his dark blue DedSec hat and jacket, revealing his black sweater underneath. I noticed he didn't have his messenger bag with him. Maybe he left it at the hackerspace, his gear would had gotten soaked otherwise.

"When's the last time you ate?" He asked, kicking off his tan boots.

"Three days ago…" I let out a sigh before continuing. "At that restaurant."

Marcus hung his dripping wet attire on the coat rack nailed to the cream colored wall. "For real? Three days?" He sat beside me on the edge of the bed, his body angled toward me. He silently studied me for a moment, his rich brown gaze stricken with sadness. "Sitara, you don't look so good. You're pale." He touched a palm to my forehead. "You're real warm too. What's wrong? You gettin' sick?"

"I don't know. I've been feeling so crappy lately."

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

"Marcus, none of this is your fault, okay? There was no way of knowing what would happen."

"There's something I need to tell you—"

"If it's more bad news about what happened that night, I don't want to hear it. I've been dwelling over it for so long— reliving that same horrible situation in my head time and time again. I just can't take it anymore. I'm in desperate need of a distraction. So can you keep it to yourself for now? Please?"

"Yeah, I can do that." He muttered. "Thanks for getting in contact with me earlier, I was worried about you. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't stop thinking about you. You were so withdrawn and cold after I saved you, and then you disappeared. I had no idea where you and I stood. Shit, I thought you hated me."

His words were so sincere. My stomach tightened. He really had no idea how much I actually adored him. I must be doing a terrible job at showing it. I gazed into his brown eyes, and clasped his hand. "How on earth could you think that? I will never hate you Marcus. Like ever."

"I dunno." He shrugged his shoulders. "There's a thin line between love and hate you know?"

"True, but we've gone through so many pitfalls and hardships together, and none of them have ever broken us apart. They only made us stronger." I laid the palm of my hand over his heart. "No matter what happens, you'll always have a place in my heart. I hope I'll always have a spot reserved in yours too."

He flushed, a wide smile formed on his handsome face. His pearly white smile was so disarmingly warm and genuine, and so undeniably charming as always. My tummy was immediately overwhelmed with butterflies. I was absolutely head over heels for that dangerously attractive smile. There was no use in trying to hide it anymore.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love your smile?" I asked.

"Yeah, you did. At Swelter Skelter, remember? I'll never forget it. The compliment kinda made my night. And I know what you're thinking— a suave dude like me should be used to flattery by now. I mean, I get complimented by people pretty often after all."

"Uh-huh," I shook my head. "Marcus, you are the worst at taking a compliment. You get all embarrassed and tongue-tied whenever I flatter you. It's the cutest thing."

"My point exactly. I only react like that with you. You're special to me girl, you know that right? I've never felt this way about anyone before." His calloused hand stroked my cheek tenderly. "I know these past few days have been fucking hard for you, but they haven't been particularly easy for me either. Nothing is the same without you. Not DedSec, not the hackerspace— shit, I'm not even the same without you. All these feelings I have for you… they're real. And it's scary, because I'm starting to realize just how much I need you, Sitara. I'm terrified of losing you."

His heartfelt confession made my nerve ends tingle. I captured his hand on my cheek and planted a small kiss on his palm. "I didn't know you were so clingy," I teased.

"I didn't know either, until recently. Is it too much?"

"Of course not. I like clingy. Seriously though Marcus, I like every single thing about you."

"Yeah, I like you too. I like you a whole lot." He glanced at the digital clock on my night stand. "So it's been one-hundred and eleven hours, twenty-four minutes and approximately seventeen seconds since we've last seen each other."

"Jeez, sounds like forever when you put it that way."

"Damn right it does. And with that in mind…" He opened his arms to me. "Bring yo' fine self over here girl, and give a brother some love."

I giggled, shaking my head. "I'd love to, but I'm way too comfy right now. You're gonna have to come to me handsome."

"Oh, don't mind if I do."

A glint of mischief sparkled in his eyes. He climbed on the bed on all fours, and slowly inched toward me. I reached out to him, my body desperate for his touch. He collapsed on top of me playfully, embracing me in a tight bear hug. God, he was so heavy, and the extra pressure on my wounded arm hurt like Hell.

"Marcus!" I whined. I pushed him off and claimed the dominant position, my thighs straddling him. "Holy crap, are you trying to kill me?"

"I hear being smothered to death with love is the best way to go," he joked. "Real talk though, did I hurt you? You seem sore baby."

"That's because I am, doofus. Everything hurts… especially my arm."

"Still? The scratch hasn't healed up at all?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I dunno, I haven't looked at it since I cleaned and dressed it that night. I probably did a terrible job too. My head wasn't in the right place."

"Mind if I take a look at it?"

"Please do."

Marcus sat up as I continued to straddle him. Our faces were so close. I could feel his warm breath on my lips. A nervous giggle escaped me, my face heating up. He flashed me a smile, and then focused on carefully removing the gauze pad on my forearm. He winced once he laid eyes on my uncovered wound. "Damn."

"What? How bad is it?"

"I think it's festering, girl. Are you sure you cleaned it?"

"Um, I think I did." I swallowed deeply. "Jesus, it's really bad isn't it? Do I need to go to the hospital? Is it badly infected?"

"Nah, it ain't that bad. Could be worse—"

"Liar."

I lowered my head to take a glance at it, but he captured my chin gently, forcing me to gaze at him. "Nuh-uh. It's best if you don't look for now. It's pretty nasty. I can help make it all better though. Where do you keep your first aid supplies?"

"I keep all that stuff in the bathroom, inside the medicine cabinet."

"Alright." He cupped my thighs and hoisted himself into a stance, lifting me up along with him. "Ready for an adventure my lady?"

I clung to him, my fingers smoothing over his neck. "Sure am, horsey—"

"Steed," Marcus corrected, as he carried me across my flat and through the narrow doorway of my tiny white, well-lit bathroom. He gently set me down on the sink's ceramic countertop and began rummaging through the mirrored medicine cabinet. He grabbed a box of sterile gauze pads paired with paper tape, and a tube of antibiotic ointment. "Cool, I think this is everything we need," he stated, setting the supplies aside.

"Will it hurt?" I asked.

"A little bit, yeah," he twisted the hot water knob and began washing his hands with soap. "It'll be worth it in the long run though. I know you don't wanna talk about that night but I gotta ask you something, it's important. You're in pretty bad shape, you've got a lot of bruises. Then there's that cut. How'd you get it in the first place? Did he pull a knife on you?"

"Um, no. I don't think so."

"A razor? Box cutter maybe?"

"Sorry, I don't remember much from that night, most of it is fuzzy." I anxiously awaited him to finish cleansing his hands. "You know what you're doing right?"

He grinned. "Don't worry girl, it ain't rocket science. I got you."

"Sorry. I've never dealt with a cut this large before. It's scary."

"I've dealt with much worse." He seized a gauze pad and doused it in soapy water. "Relax. This might sting a little. You ready?"

I nodded. He held the moist pad over my cut and squeezed, droplets of water sprinkling over it. I bit my lip. It burned, but the pain was tolerable at least.

"Not so bad right?" He lightly dabbed the wound, cleansing it thoroughly. "You know, when I was forced to do community service, I got to work with kids. I love em', but they have a real knack for doing stupid shit and hurting themselves. I had to patch them up on more than a few occasions."

"I remember Horatio mentioning you were falsely accused of some ridiculous high-tech robbery, purely based on your computer skills? He said there wasn't even any evidence to link you to the scene of the crime. Is that true?"

"Yeah. All because of the Home Domain Center and their fucked up, flawed system. I was lucky the judge sentenced me to community service, I don't even wanna think about the other possibilities."

"It was a shitty situation. Bright side is, you got the program shut down for good. Everyone has you— the one and only RetrO, Home Domain Awareness hacker to thank for it. You did a great thing Marcus."

"Damn right I did. Someone had to do it, and I'm glad it was me. Felt good exposing the HDC's flawed predictive software, as well as their deceptive bullshit and fearmongering." He dried my gash with tissues and coated it with thin layer of antibiotic ointment. Once he was done, he grabbed a new gauze pad and proceeded to dress the cut, attentively securing it with tape. "I went through a lot because of them. Couldn't find a job with criminal record, and my ethnicity only made matters worse."

"Racial discrimination is a horrible thing. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"Don't be sorry, it ain't your fault. I'm still going through it though. HDC and Blume aside, racism has been around for a long fucking time. You don't need to analyze any of their predictive algorithms or fucked up profiling software to figure it out. It's clear as day. Sure, it's gotten better over the years but the roots run deep. Although, that's a whole different can of worms I rather not open right now, I'd be ranting for days."

"Yeah, we should probably save that discussion for later."

"For sure." He took a step back and smiled. "Alright, all done. What do you think? Did I patch you up good enough?"

I gazed at my arm. My cut was neatly covered and secured by tape, and the burning had eased greatly. "It's perfect," I answered. "Much better than the crap job I did. The pain is letting up too. Now if only the soreness in the rest of my body would follow suit…"

"You must have put up a Hell of a fight with that kidnapper, huh? I can relate, I feel like complete shit for a few days after a fight too. The aches are the worst once your adrenaline levels die down. But at least your arm is feeling better. You should keep an eye on it though, in case it gets any worse. It's best to change the dressing daily, for hygienic purposes. Think you can do that? It's really easy."

"I think I prefer you doing it for me, Doctor Holloway."

"Doctor Holloway? That's new. But it does give me some steamy roleplaying ideas."

"Roleplay?" I snorted, hopping off the sink and turning into the hall. "Really Marcus?"

"Hear me out though," he followed after me. "For example, I can be doctor, and you can play the patient in desperate need of a thorough examination. Hot right?"

"Not really."

"Okay, how about cop and robber?"

"No."

"Maid and master?"

"Nope."

"Orc and elf?"

I cackled, collapsing onto the clean purple sheets of my bed. "You can't be serious."

He laid beside me and smirked. "What? I have a big imagination."

"More like a crazy imagination, but I love it. Reminds me of Wrench. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss his bat-shit crazy temper tantrums and terrible jokes. I miss Josh too, he's such a sweetheart."

"They miss you too girl. When are you coming back to the hackerspace?"

I sighed. It was still raining and thundering like Hell. "Maybe tonight, when the heavy downpour clears up. Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?"

"I did, but I'd much rather spend time with you. Ain't too often we get to chill like this."

I edged closer to him. I missed his warmth. Receptive as always, he pulled me into his tender embrace. Our bodies pressed together, chest to chest and thighs snuggling. One hand caressed my back soothingly, while the other brushed through the long strands of my hair. I breathed in the tantalizing woodsy aroma rising from his collar, and sighed contently, resting my head on his broad shoulder. His touch felt so relaxing. I could linger in the safety of his embrace forever.

Whether it was massages, or randomly whisking me around from place to place in his arms, Marcus always went out of his way to make me feel adored and cherished. I think all the piggy-back rides were making me lazy. Ever since he joined DedSec, I've been getting comfortable letting him fetch me food and caffeine instead of doing it myself. He's been spoiling me for a long time now and I didn't even realize it.

"Were you serious about not eating for three days?" He asked.

"I haven't had much of an appetite," I confessed.

He didn't respond. Lips pressed into a fine line, he merely sighed.

"Marcus?" I gazed at him, concerned by his sudden silence. "Don't be upset. I'm fine, really. I'll eat later, promise. You don't have to worry."

"Nah, it ain't that."

"What is it then?"

"I wish there was more I could do to help you through this, girl. I know you're hurting."

"You go above and beyond for me, Marcus. What more could I ask for?"

"I dunno. I'm really happy we're still together, despite everything. I thought for sure I was going to lose you, like I lost Horatio…"

My stomach hardened. It was still hard to think about him without tearing up, let alone talk about him. His death was weighing heavily on all of us, but Marcus most of all. He never fully opened up to me about it. It was my fault, I always stopped him halfway out of fear that I couldn't handle it. It bothered me to see him upset. But maybe he needed to let it all out. Keeping it all pinned up inside wasn't easy to live with. I knew from personal experience.

"You ever feel like maybe if we worked faster, if we worked harder, we could've saved him?" He asked. "If I had arrived a minute earlier, I could have stopped the Tezcas and Horatio would be here right now—"

"Marcus, you can't think like that," I frowned. "We did our best."

"Baby, our best wasn't good enough. My best wasn't good enough. That's what worries me. I don't want to fail you, Wrench or Josh the way I failed him. Losing him hurt like a motherfucker, and when you were taken, it was like I was reliving the nightmare all over again." He paused to sniff, his voice cracked with emotion. "He died in my arms for fuck's sake. All I could do was watch the life drain out of him. Fuck, I wish I coulda done more…"

Witnessing Marcus break down like this caused my eyes to water, and an overwhelming sadness weighed heavily on my heart. God I hated when he was upset. He was usually lively, playful and jubilant, so on the very rare occasions that he wasn't, it was always a shock to my system. I didn't know what to say or what to do. So I just held him and continued to listen.

"I'm glad I got you back," he mumbled. "I've been spending every moment of my time investigating these fucks that kidnapped you, but I'm worried digging too deep might backfire. You might get hurt even worse. I can't lose you again."

"You won't," I said, brushing the small, lone tear trailing down his face. "When that asshole took me, I remember being scared. I had this deep, profound feeling of hopelessness and dread in the pit of my stomach. But a part of me knew you weren't far behind— that you'd come for me in time. I never stopped believing in you, even after what happened to Horatio. You've done so many amazing things. I just… I feel so safe when you're close. The world could literally be falling apart around me and I'd still feel invincible with you near. Whatever dangers or pitfalls life throws at us in the future, I'm ready for it, so long as I have you by my side."

He chuckled shyly and flushed, his beautiful brown skin had a subtle rosiness to it. "Damn girl, I think that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me."

"It's the truth, and there's a lot more where that came from," I smooched his sculpted jawline teasingly. "You wonderful, perfect man—"

"Stop," he wrinkled his nose in protest.

Marcus laid a palm on my neck, his thumb stroking my skin sensually. Smiling, he pecked the corner of my mouth. I gazed up at him, our faces drawing close. My mouth moistened. I could already taste the rich, caramel sweetness of his routine morning espresso lingering on his full lips.

The thought of us having our first kiss sent a pleasurable jolt of electricity up my spine. We've both have been so patient and considerate toward one another. I didn't want to rush things. I liked to take my relationships slow. I had to really get to know the person to the core, and trust them fully before jumping in. Thankfully, he was receptive of that. Sometimes he was too hesitant for even my taste, but it served as an adorable reminder of how badly he didn't want to screw things up between us.

To my surprise, he decided to take initiative this time. His lips met mine in a delicate kiss. The rhythm of my heartbeat pounding against my chest pulsated in my ears, loud enough to overwhelm the constant pitter-patter of the pouring rain outside. I felt so lightheaded, and my stomach wouldn't stop twisting in knots. I was a mess. But somehow, I was able to pull myself together and kiss him back, my fingers caressing his cheek.

I've waited so long for this moment. It was just as gentle and innocent as I imagined it would be. He abruptly broke away, and planted a big kiss on my cheek, hugging me tightly.

I winced. Normally, I could handle his energetic, frisky nature— play fighting with him was guaranteed one of my favorite pastimes. But my body was still in a fragile state, and in the process of healing. "Not so tight, big guy," I said. "I'm still sore you know."

"Shit, my bad." He placed his arms at his sides. "You're so good at hiding it, I keep forgetting. If I knew beforehand that you were in so much pain, I woulda' picked up some painkillers on the way here. Maybe you should get some rest? I'll be right here when you wake up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You're gonna need your energy to make it to the hackerspace tonight. Josh and Wrench will be really surprised, and excited to see you too. Best believe they're gonna bombard you with questions."

"Well in that case…" I wrapped my arms around his neck, and settled my head comfortably on his chest. "I guess I should get in as much sleep as I can," I mumbled, closing my eyes.

A drawn-out yawn escaped him. "No doubt, I could use a nap myself. Didn't know cuddling was so tiring. Or maybe it's because my sleep schedule is fucked. And when I do sleep, it's only for like two or three hours. I mean, who even has time for sleep anymore? By the way, Josh made these bad ass sunlight emulating visors. You should try them out girl, they'll keep you up for fucking ever—"

"Marcus," I grumbled, interrupting his rant. "Shut up and let me sleep."

"Right sorry. I get a little carried away sometimes." He slipped off his thick rimmed glasses, set them aside and then reached for his phone. "One more thing though. According to the weather reports, the storm is supposed to clear out around seven. I'm gonna set an alarm for eight, so we don't oversleep. That'll give us about three hours of shuteye."

"Thanks hun." I sighed complacently, the rhythm of his chest rising and falling slowly lulling me to sleep.

It wasn't long before I was woken up however. Marcus' phone buzzed and vibrated on the bed beside him. It went on and on and on.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

God it was so annoying.

"Marcus," I whined. "Answer your freaking phone already, or put it on silent."

"I think that's the alarm," he muttered, his sleepy voice low and husky.

"No fucking way." I glanced at my digital clock. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was actually eight o'clock already. The soothing pitter-patter of rain against the window-pane was gone completely. "Jesus, it felt like I only closed my eyes for a minute."

"I know. There's only two occasions where time flies— when you're having fun, and when you're sleepin'."

I sighed. "Guess I should go shower and get dressed."

"Take your time," he dismissed the alarm, causing the God awful buzzing to stop. "I'll be here chillin'."

I reluctantly dragged my lazy self to the shower, and turned the hot water knob, steam filling my tiny bathroom. I carefully stripped down, gazing at the reflection of my sore body in the mirror. There were so many purplish-blue bruises scattered across my skin, all over my stomach, arms and neck. I grimaced. I had no idea it was this bad. Jeez, it was gross. The worst part was I couldn't remember enough about that night to pinpoint where each came from.

I unbraided my hair and withdrew the elastic hair tie, allowing my long locks to descend freely. I didn't want anyone to see my injuries if I could help it. With my hair flowing down my back and chest, it helped cover some of them. It was going to take some getting used to though. I always kept my hair neatly fixed in a ponytail, for practical reasons. I didn't need it getting in the way during ops or free runs.

My shower was longer than normal. I had to be extra mindful not to scrub my tender bruises. The steaming hot water flowing from the showerhead did wonders for my achy joints though. Once I was done, I leisurely dried myself off and returned to my bedroom, wrapped only in a towel.

Marcus was still lying on the bed, phone in his grasp and eyes glued to the screen. "Had a good shower?"

"Sure did," I replied, strolling over to my wardrobe. "Can I get a bit of privacy hun?"

"Huh?" His eyes shifted to me. He stared incredulously for a moment. "O-oh." He fumbled. Quickly, he pulled himself into a stance, his gaze dropping to the floor. "My bad, I didn't realize… I wasn't…"

"Relax. It's fine."

"So uh, I'll wait for you outside then." He glided past me, and reclaimed his boots and jacket.

"Don't forget your hat, silly."

"Right." He grabbed his hat hanging on the coat rack. "Er, thanks."

I giggled to myself as he departed. He was so adorable when embarrassed.

I changed into my usual duds— my blue denim shorts and oversized gray sweater, and met Marcus outside. He smiled at the sight of me. "I'm feeling the new hairstyle. Not wearing any makeup today?"

I shook my head. "I don't have the energy, nor am I in the mood to doll myself up tonight."

"It's all good, you don't need it. You're beautiful with or without it." He took my hand, our fingers intertwining.

"Thank you handsome," I smiled. "I'm ready to go when you are."

The usual short, uneventful walk to the hackerspace from my apartment was a lot more interesting this time around. For once, I wasn't making the trek alone. I had my favorite guy beside me every step of the way. We were like an actual couple— holding hands as we navigated through the damp city streets, laughing at the stupidest jokes and flirtatiously teasing one another at every turn.

It was almost as if my whole world didn't fall apart shortly ago, leaving me bedridden for days. But somehow, he was able to put the pieces of my shattered life back together. His vitality and enthusiasm was contagious. He was like a beacon of light warding away my inner darkness and gloom. It was much easier to cope with him around. I had to be wary not to get too dependent on his great vibes though. I had to learn how to deal with the pain on my own, so I could function and take care my responsibilities like a normal human being again.

We reached the heavily reinforced entrance of the hackerspace. I began punching in the access code. Halfway through, Marcus captured my hand, stopping me.

"Sitara, before we go any further," his soft brown eyes gazed into mine, "there's something I need to tell you."

I furrowed my brows. "Okay. What's up?"

"You asked me to keep it to myself earlier, but I don't think I can hold it in any longer. Withholding the truth is the same shit as lying, right?"

"Well yeah, to a certain extent. Whether you blatantly lie or simply withhold information for someone's own good, you're still making a conscious attempt to mask the truth. But in this case, you get a pass. You tried to tell me and I shut you down."

"I don't deserve a pass though."

I frowned. "Marcus, if it's weighing on you this much, just tell me already."

"It was my fault you got kidnapped."

"Marcus, please listen to me. What happened that night was not your fault."

"You don't understand," he argued. "Josh has been doing his homework on the missing person cases. He noticed a substantial rise in disappearances around the Elmhurst district— specifically within the proximity of that restaurant. I took you there to investigate. I knew there was a possibly things could go wrong, that'd it be dangerous for you but…"

He went on and on explaining himself, but his words went through one ear and out the other. A spark of adrenaline jolted through me, my muscles quivering with rage. How dare he put me in such a compromising position? He lied to me! He should had told me what the Hell I was walking into beforehand. Things would have ended differently. I would had been prepared. I wouldn't be suffering so damn much.

He was a fucking liar.

Slap!

I lashed out, the palm of my hand striking him across his face. "Don't follow me," I demanded, turning away from him and storming down the hall, away from the hackerspace.

Yikes, that slap had to hurt. Lol I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far, leave a review and let me know what you think!