Chapter 24
The night Nalani left Mark was something that would be eternally burned in their memories forever.
Mark wasn't home yet and Nalani silently hoped she could skip out before he did arrive, swallowing hard. She couldn't believe what she was about to do, tears streaming down her face, her heart breaking all over again. Scott's words kept thundering through her mind every time Nalani contemplated staying, knowing she had to leave, wishing she could stay. All she wanted to do was be happy and Mark made her that way, Scott had managed to steal away the only thing that completed her.
If he killed her family, Nalani could only imagine what he was capable of and she didn't want to find out. Mark's life was on the line and Nalani had alternative, hoping Mark let her leave quietly. Hell, she'd been packing her bags slowly but surely for the past few weeks, hiding them in her private walk-in closet that Mark never went in because he had his own. She'd already given her notice to the diner and Sharon wasn't happy to see her go, but wished her the best, knowing something was going on with Nalani.
Nalani left in tears, thinking of the diner as her second home, but she had to do what was best for Mark. Over the past three months, Nalani tried thinking of every possible way to stay with Mark, even contemplating begging him to run away with her, but immediately nixed that idea. Scott would find her just like he did before and this time he would kill both of them, which Nalani couldn't let happen. She still had no idea just how deep Mark's connection went with Scott, remembering what the monster had said regarding Mark's involvement in the murders.
Nalani didn't and wouldn't believe it.
There was no way Scott and Mark knew each other, it was impossible. Even if they did, Nalani didn't know anything about Mark's past and honestly didn't want to. She knew deep in her heart Mark wasn't capable of raping a seventeen year old girl and murdering an innocent family, tears stinging her eyes at the thought of her deceased family. It was Nalani's fault they were both dead because if she would've never met Scott, he would've never been able to get close to her father and betray him.
She had to atone for her mistakes.
"I'm so sorry, Nikki." Nalani whispered somberly, tears streaking down her cheeks as she continued packing the rest of her things. "I'm so sorry…"
The amount of guilt Nalani felt nearly crushed her, but she had to be strong until she left Mark. Then she could totally fall apart, pressing a hand to her stomach, which was growing rapidly. She was only three months pregnant and couldn't believe how big she already was, wondering if the kid was overgrown or something, having already scheduled her first ultrasound at Dallas Memorial Hospital for the following day. It broke Nalani's heart that this child more than likely wasn't Mark's and that made her cry harder, needing to get out of there.
Nalani wore baggy t-shirts around Mark lately, knowing he was starting to become suspicious and hoped he hadn't grasped onto the fact she was pregnant. Hell, he'd been so busy with CSI lately, driving headfirst into his work, that he probably didn't even notice her. Nalani closed her eyes and looked through the window, a streak of lightning flashing across the sky, closing her eyes as thunder rumbled throughout the Houston area. She could feel another wave of nausea overtaking her and ran to the bathroom, dropping the clothes in her hands, and vomited what was left in her stomach.
It was a horrible mixture of morning sickness and having to leave Mark.
Once Nalani regained her equanimity, she began packing again, folding her clothes at first and then just started shoving them in bags as quickly as she could. Her heart nearly stopped when the front door downstairs slammed shut, knowing Mark was home from work. Nalani swallowed hard and zipped up another bag, tossing it over her shoulder before starting on the second one. Her heart felt as though it might give out and Nalani silently wished she could've made a fast escape before Mark came home, but no such luck.
"Nalani?" Mark called out, trudging up the stairs and stopped when another bag was tossed out of the room into the hallway, nearly nailing him. "What the hell?"
She didn't stop and continuing packing, ignoring Mark calling her name because she had to keep going. If she stopped and looked at him, Nalani would fall to pieces, needing to stay strong just a little while longer. This was going to be the hardest thing she'd ever have to do in her life and Nalani hoped Scott burned in hell for doing this to her. As if probably being pregnant with his demon spawn wasn't bad enough, now she had to leave behind the only piece of her life that made sense.
"What the hell are you doin'?" Mark stopped in the doorway, seeing all of the bags packed as she kept shoving things in them, her things. "Nalani?"
"I'm leaving." She stated, trying to sound cold and hard, her back facing him. "I can't do this anymore."
"Can't do what? What the hell are ya talkin' 'bout?" Mark was very tired and didn't feel like trying to analyze his girlfriend, though her talking about leaving didn't set well with him. "What's goin' on?"
Nalani growled, zipping up another bag before tossing it behind her with the others. "Are you deaf or do you have selective hearing?" She demanded, finally turning to face him with dead blue eyes, having gone over this moment in her mind for the past three months. "I'm leaving you."
His green eyes narrowed back at her, seeing something wasn't right in Nalani's eyes, even though they currently looked cold as ice. "I heard ya perfectly and yer not goin' anywhere." He stated, refusing to let her walk away from him, not without an explanation. "You've been distant from me lately and I wanna know why."
Nalani cringed when he said that, hating how observant Mark could be. "I don't want to be with you anymore." She lied flatly, trying to sound as convincing as possible, but it wasn't happening. "I…" No matter how hard she tried, Nalani could not bring herself to say she didn't love him, refusing to do it. "I have to leave you, I-I'm not happy here anymore…"
"Nalani, darlin', whatever it is we can work it out…" Mark sighed, wondering what the hell was wrong with her now and what triggered her sudden haste to want to move out. "I love you and you love me. Don't do this to us…"
She didn't want to leave, god help her, but Nalani knew she didn't have a choice. "I have to." She whispered heartbrokenly, beginning to carry her bags out of the bedroom and immediately yanked her arms out of Mark's grasp when he grabbed her. "Don't touch me!"
The fire in her eyes actually stunned Mark temporarily because she meant what she said, remembering a month ago when he'd tried getting her to talk to him about what was bothering her. She completely freaked out on him, only for both of them to wind up making love on the floor. Nalani had refused to use the bed, even to sleep in it and Mark hadn't thought much about it, just happy to have her back in his arms. That was the last time they were together because right after that Nalani had moved into one of the spare bedrooms, leaving her clothes and whatnot in their bedroom.
"Why?" Mark whispered desperately, trying to figure out what was wrong and wished she would trust him enough to tell the truth. "Talk to me, Nalani, please…"
"I can't…" There was no way Mark could ever find out the truth about Scott breaking into the house and raping her in the same bed Nalani refused to sleep in. "This is something I have to do for myself and you're going to have to accept it…"
"ACCEPT IT?" Mark roared out of nowhere, watching her toss each bag one by one down the stairs, which skidded to a halt against the front door. "ACCEPT WHAT? ACCEPT THE FACT YOU MADE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH YA? ACCEPT THE FACT YA WANNA WALK AWAY FROM ME WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A FUCK YOU, HAVE A NICE LIFE? I'M NOT GONNA ACCEPT THAT, NALANI MARTIN!"
"You have no choice in this, Mark." Her voice remained low and calm, knowing he had every right to blow his stack. "I mean come on, let's face facts. I haven't slept with you in a month. I've been staying in one of the spare bedrooms just to be away from you, don't you get it? Don't you understand that I can't be with you anymore?"
Mark was very intelligent and caught what she said, following her down the stairs. "Can't or don't?" He demanded angrily, trying not to lose his temper again, needing to find some way to make her stay. "Why can't you stay with me anymore Nalani, huh? What the hell has gotten into you lately?"
"Both." She whispered, hating how she kept lying to him, but knew it was the right thing to do. "You need to let me go and find another woman who can give you everything you want. It's not me and I'm sick of pretending."
Gritting his teeth, Mark was fighting back every single part of him not to grab her. "Pretending what? Pretending you love me?" He growled, almost afraid to hear the answer and saw all the sadness pour forth in her eyes. "Tell me you don't love me. You look me square in the fuckin' eyes and say it, then maybe I'll believe the shit yer spewin'."
"I…" Nalani began and blinked, tears sliding down her cheeks, knowing she couldn't say it. "I don't have to tell you shit!" She suddenly went on the defensive side, needing to fight harder. "I'm leaving and you can't stop me!"
"Yes I fuckin' can!" Mark suddenly stopped her from going out that door and grabbed her by the arms, yanking her against him forcefully, his eyes locking with hers. "You can't leave me here, don't you get how much you mean to me, Nalani? Jesus fuckin' Christ, you belong HERE! This is your goddamn home!"
Shaking her head sadly, Nalani pulled away from him, crying out when he simply tightening his grip on her arms. "Mark, stop it please…" She pleaded, ready to fall apart against him and tried breaking free, her face turning red. "LET ME GO!"
"NO!" Mark shouted and crushed his lips against hers, having not felt her lips against his in the past month, missing her more than anything.
He was fighting tooth and nail for this woman because he fully believed she was it for him. There was nobody else in the world that could compare to the beautiful fragile woman in his arms and there never would. Feeling her fighting him just angered Mark further as he slammed her back against the front door, his knee resting between her thighs so she couldn't kick him, pinning both wrists above her head with one hand and ripped his lips from hers. He turned her face to the side and began kissing up her neck, pressing closer to her, groaning in her ear at how soft her skin was.
A flashback hit Nalani that made her nearly vomit all over Mark because Scott had done the exact same thing to her. She'd opened the front door and was backhanded across the face, Scott forcing himself inside before she could regain her footing. He'd kicked the door closed and yanked her up by her blonde hair, crushing his lips to hers and slammed her back against the door, flipping the lock on it. Pinning her wrists above her head, his knee between her struggling legs, Scott had proceeded to lick and kiss up her neck to her ear, groaning while ripping her clothes from her body.
"You're soft and sweet, just like I remember Nally…"
"NO! GET OFF OF ME!" Nalani suddenly screamed, beginning to struggle with everything inside of her, tears streaming down her face. "NO! DON'T TOUCH ME! MARK!" Her eyes snapped open when Mark suddenly backed away, Nalani's chest heaving from how hard she breathed, covering her mouth with her hand in mortification. "Oh god…"
Mark couldn't believe she'd not only screamed at him to get off of her, but his name as if she was calling for help. He didn't understand any of this, frowning back at her trembling form, seeing how fragile of a state she was in. She had to calm down before she gave herself a stroke and Mark knew touching her right now wasn't the best thing to do, holding his hands up.
"Darlin', it's me…" Mark's voice dropped to a soothing baritone, remembering this exact same thing happening a month ago, which resulted in them ending up making love on the bedroom floor. "Nalani…"
"I-I have to go…" She really had to leave now before she spilled everything to Mark, immediately grabbing the first bag she got her hands on and rushed out the door, another streak of lightning flaring the sky. "I have to go…I can't stay here…He'll find out if I do…"
Mark heard her mumbling, but couldn't quite grasp what she was saying as it began pouring down rain, following her to her car. "Nalani wait!" He pleaded, wanting to reach out and stop her, but knew she would probably freak out again. "Please darlin', don't do this…"
"I have to!" She cried out, her tears mixing with the rain, being drenched from head to toe, thankful it was dark out and she was wearing a black shirt or else Mark might've noticed her baby bump. "Don't you get that? If I don't leave…" Nalani immediately stopped, knowing she'd already said too much. "Please don't fight me on this, Mark..."
"What do ya mean if ya don't leave? What the hell is goin' on? Goddamn it, don't run away from me, Nalani!" Mark growled, watching as she began shoving the bags in the backseat of her car, her honey locks clinging to her head and shoulders. "Talk to me!"
Nalani slammed the car door shut, shakily pulling her keys out of her pocket, her purse and everything else in the car she would need. The rest could be left behind, she had enough to survive, including the clothes on her back. She gripped the door that lead to the driver's side, knowing it was almost over and Scott would leave her alone hopefully. If he came after Mark anyway, she would kill him and Nalani had already vowed that, refusing to have another death on her already stained hands.
"I can't, don't you understand that?! Don't you think if I could stay with you, I would, Mark?!" She snapped and blinked both the raindrops and tears from her eyes, locking with those beautiful emerald gems she'd never see again. "Please, just…be happy. Be happy and find someone else. Live your life to the fullest and never settle for anything less than you deserve…"
"You're all I need and that'll never change." Mark stated, watching her head lower, and knew something was eating away at her that she point blank refused to talk about. "This isn't the end, Nalani. I'll find you wherever you go because we're meant to be, darlin'. I love you…"
"I love you too, but I can't stay here anymore."
Mark could only watch with his heart in shambles as Nalani peeled out of the driveway, the squealing of tires echoing throughout the stormy night. Tears poured down his face freely and Mark didn't care, knowing he'd just let the love of his life slip through his fingers, feeling as though he couldn't breathe. He dropped to his knees in the muddy grass, not caring about anything anymore, and let out a strangled roar that echoed for miles on end.
"NALANI!"