Chapter 4

After that first day, the rest of the week Mark and Marlize didn't say more than a few words to each other, basically her answering yes or no to questions he had. Other than that, they didn't interact and kept to themselves. Marlize spent her days fishing or reading a book, not even bothering with the television. Mark had watched some of it, but it was in his room and away from her. Vince had called in to see how he was doing and Marlize just told him 'fine', not knowing what else to say. Why was her Uncle so concerned with an employee of his anyway?

Vince was concerned because Mark had watched his best friend die from a fatal stab wound. They had been coming out of a bar, been mugged by some punks in a shadier side of Houston. Mark had been brawling when his friend had been stabbed. Poor bastard had bled out right there on the pavement waiting on an ambulance. Arrival times were not the best. If he hadn't been so busy enjoying the brawl and putting heads through stop signs, Mark would have been able to interfere on Jared's behalf. As it was, he hadn't paid any attention, figuring his buddy had been able to handle one on one. He had regret and guilt aplenty to go around.

To make matters worse, as if they weren't already, Jared's family blamed Mark completely for what happened. Mark had been the one to start the fight, according to several witnesses that had been at the bar when the brawl went down. Jared had been dancing the night away with a sweet young thing and Mark was off the road on a small vacation, trying to grow his goatee out into a beard for his job. He also had some small injuries he wanted to nurse back to health on his own. Mark knew the Little family for years, so when he came by Jared's to ask if he could take him out for a drink and catch up, the man was all for it. They were friends all the way back since high school and Mark never lost touch. Jared's family wanted nothing to do with Mark, ordering him to stay away and to never contact any of them again.

To be fair, Mark blamed himself too.

He HAD been enjoying that brawl; it had been great, having some unscripted violence in his life. He didn't remember starting a fight per se since he had turned down the requests for an autograph, after one of them had called him an Amish goat fucker. One did not insult a man in one breath and then ask for something in the next. Mark had, as any hot-blooded Texan would, taken offense and jacked the prick in the jaw. It had escalated. If he had just signed the napkin and swallowed his pride, none of that night's events would have happened. Jared would be alive.

So yes, his family was allowed to fault him.

Mark was out on the dock, watching as the ferry came in and smirked when Marlize looked up from her spot reading. It wasn't the normal day. "I bribed him." He informed her when she walked over, obviously expecting some kind of trouble or something. For cigarettes and some scotch, Mark had run out of both and he had money to burn right now. He had noticed she wasn't eating as much either, wondering what THAT was all about. "I also had him," He walked down to meet the boat with her, talking while doing so, knowing this wasn't going to be a long visit. "Bring out a better table…" One he would assemble himself because Mark had dropped down at her picnic table and it had crashed under him.

That had NOT been amusing and Mark had let loose with a string of expletives that had sent the birds flying off.

Blinking, Marlize stared at the very sturdy looking table and watched with almost bated breath as Mark carried it himself to the spot where her poor table once stood. It was a huge box and she had all kinds of tools out here because she also had to assemble some furniture upon arrival. "I thought something was missing out here…" She mused thoughtfully, setting her book down and stood up from her chair to try to help him, but Mark shook his head, ordering her to just grab the rest of the stuff that he had bribed her friend, Dirk, to bring.

"Sorry about this, D. I didn't think he would do something like this." She murmured, once Mark was out of earshot, looking back at her friend sympathetically.

"Hey, the amount he paid me…trust me, it was WORTH every bit of trouble." Dirk got a very hefty tip, on top of the amount Mark had to pay for the table and other things he had ordered. "I also brought your list of shit that you needed a few days early, no big deal."

She grinned at him with sparkling pale blues. "Thank you, you're too kind." Then her voice lowered considerably, leaning in a little. "Have you heard anything?"

Dirk shook his head. "Not a peep. He has no idea you're here, don't worry, Mar."

"Good, that's good."

"If I hear anything, I'll let you know asap. Don't worry, he can't get here without a ferry anyway and that'll give you time to get the fuck out if it comes to it."

That was a very good point and Marlize already had a contingency plan in case that ever happened. "Thanks for looking out for me and…my guest."

"Hey, if your guest needs anything else, anything at all, you tell him I'm his man."

She chuckled, promising to pass along that message and started carrying the bags into the cabin, with Dirk's help, while Mark got to work assembling the much sturdier table. Dirk was even kind enough to take the broken one away, waving at them and got back on the ferry to head back across the water. Marlize started unpacking the groceries and everything, putting things in their proper places and took a deep breath, thankful that there'd been no word from her ex-husband possibly finding her here.

He won't, he has no idea about this place, I made sure of it.

"Next time, don't apologize on my behalf." Mark ordered, once it was just them and he had finished putting that table together, folding his arms across his chest while surveying her now setting out his things. She had already put everything else away. He had heard quite a bit on that dock. Mark had some exceptional hearing, a blessing given the number of head shots he had taken over the years. "He was paid very, very well for that trip and had the option to decline." Very few people declined a couple grand, however, that was just a plain fact. Also, most people didn't say no to him, not without thinking over their desire for living first. "What is it you're hiding from out here anyway?" It was obvious that she was. Marlize had no contact with the outside world unless by necessity; she was quiet and withdrawn, and she cried a lot in her bedroom during the night.

To be fair, he also cried out at night while he was asleep, screaming for Jared over and over as his friend died every night in his dreams. Not that HE knew it.

Marlize didn't hear any of that since Mark was on the opposite side of the cabin and she did that on purpose. She didn't want Mark anywhere near her while she slept. It just made her more comfortable to have him on the opposite side and he was probably thankful she had done that type of setup too. Her entire body tensed at his question and Marlize wasn't sure how to answer it, not wanting to divulge anything to him. It wasn't his business. She also liked her head on her shoulders and didn't want it removed.

"I pose that to you, why are YOU really here on Vince's orders?" Oh boy, those green eyes turned acidic and they were shooting acid balls right at her, making her fold her arms in front of her chest. "See? You don't wanna talk about it either, so let's just pretend you didn't hear anything and go on with our merry day, peach." It's none of his damn business why I'm hiding out here and I'm never telling him the truth. He doesn't need to know. "And I apologized on your behalf because it was the right thing to do and he's my friend. I don't care how much you paid him, he still went out of his way for you."

Back to peach, he had touched on a nerve and that made his rather unsettling smile appear as Mark studied her, running one lone fingertip along his bottom lip. "It's not going out of one's way when they are earning a substantial amount of money. That, my dear," Only he could make a term of endearment sound so condescending. "Is called a job." One Dirk had gladly taken once he realized how much money he would be pocketing. If Marlize only knew why he was here, she might not be so sassy and he bent down, dropping his massive hands down into the countertop, splaying his palms out. "Did you murder someone, hm?" I did. That was what it felt like anyway; he had murdered someone close to him because he hadn't paid attention and the thought made his mood shift.

The venom flowing through his veins and eyes faded to something else entirely, self-loathing perhaps.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no, I didn't." I almost did, does that count? The pain was evident in her eyes as Marlize turned away from him, the counter keeping them separated, and had to take a deep breath to slow her racing heart.

Marlize didn't want anyone, especially Uncle Vince's employee, to discover what she'd done. There was a reason she didn't have pictures up in this place; there was a reason why she didn't personalize it in any way because she didn't have the TIME to grab those things. All she brought here with her was two luggage bags of everything she'd tossed into them and had to replace quite a few things since being here for nearly two years now.

"I don't appreciate you eavesdropping on my conversation with Dirk either." She had kept her voice down considerably and so had Dirk, so Mark must've stayed just far enough back to overhear them. "Don't you have a table to build since you destroyed mine?"

Now that was just rude considering the new table was so much nicer than that last piece of rickety junk. It had cost a small fortune because Mark was very particular about where he sat to eat and lounge. Since he had paid for it, he was paying for his own comfort and peace of mind, especially after that last mishap.

"It's nearly finished already. Yours was an accident waiting to happen anyway, so it's probably a good thing it's just you out here. You're a terribly unsafe hostess." There was that anger he learned she carried around a bit like a sword and a shield, both as an offense and a defense.

"Not my fault you're a giant and weigh over three hundred pounds! You should probably watch your weight so you don't blow up like a balloon." WHAT THE HELL, MARLIZE?! His words stung because she never wanted to be a hostess in the first place! Her temper was up and she couldn't shut her mouth even if her life depended on it. "Never asked to be a hostess in the first place. You wanna buy shit for this place and change shit you don't like? Feel free! No skin off my back." If he wanted to spend his hard earned money to revamp this place, Marlize would not stop him because it would just be better for her in the long run after he was long gone. Mark wouldn't be here forever, she would though, having no intention of ever leaving this island.

He raised an eyebrow at her comment about his weight. Now THAT was just rude, making a personal remark about someone's body. He didn't say a word, just folded his arms over his bare chest and gave her a very, deliberate slow scan, the eyebrow going even higher when his gaze reached the belly she was constantly trying to hide. "Now, now, pet, let's keep things civil…" There was warning in his tone, something most people who knew him would have heeded because his fists were not the only weapon in his arsenal. Mark was called a master of mind games for a reason, and sometimes, he played those games just with words.

"Then stop asking me about my personal business and we will remain civil. I don't ask you personal shit, you don't ask me personal shit and we're golden. Okay? Okay." Marlize couldn't believe she had made that hideous remark about his weight and felt the guilt already consuming her, rubbing the back of her heated neck. Damn, why did this man get under her skin so easily? "I shouldn't have said that about your weight. That was very rude of me and I don't even know why I said it, so I'm sorry." In fact, Mark had one hell of a body on him; he wasn't chiseled out of stone, but those arms and chest were absolutely delicious and refined. "There's nothing wrong with your body. You're fine just the way you are and it's not your fault the table gave way. I'm just glad you weren't hurt or anything." That could've been an automatic lawsuit slapped on her, even though she didn't think Uncle Vince would do that, but Marlize could never be too careful.

Leaning down on the counter, one elbow propped, so Mark could rest his chin in his palm, he merely analyzed her. Lazily, he reached over to the fruit bowl she had stocked just that morning, popping a few grapes in his mouth. "Are you bipolar?" There was no judgment or snark, he was genuinely curious at this point. She looked taken aback by it and he shrugged nonchalantly. "You cycle through your moods obscenely fast."

The other option was trauma, and he knew how that one went.

Mark had so far managed to avoid her when a mood took him, not about to be responsible for the death or harm of Linda's niece. Vince was already a pain in the backside; his wife could be downright scary. She had just gone from comments about his weight to telling him he looked fine, so it was like an automatic response. Maybe not bipolar, and he swiped a finger along his mouth. Maybe she was just trained to adjust her tone and what she said. However, he had a feeling if he prodded again, Marlize would stab him.

It was a trained response because she had popped off at Jon quite a bit with her temper and he had forced her to change it with punishment. Just one look from him and all of her resolve would crumble into dust. Marlize would apologize to him AFTER being beaten, simply because that was what he had trained her to do. They had married shortly after she graduated college, meeting outside of it, and he was a powerful individual. A lawyer. It was STILL a miracle that she'd gotten away with doing what she did, though it was ruled as self-defense and thank the lord she had a judge that understood that.

Bradley was a monster, plain and simple.

Snapping at him is not going to do me any favors. "Does it matter if I am or not?" Marlize winced instantly as soon as the words left her mouth and hated herself right now. "No, I'm not. And I'm just…not used to having someone to talk to. I'm not very sociable if you haven't noticed, Mark." It was the truth due to the fact that Bradley kept her isolated and, instead of living her life the way she wanted, Marlize was here, hiding from him and praying he never found her. Popping a grape in her mouth since they were there and she was hungry, she started pulling things out of the fridge to make her a salad. Would rather have something better, but I gotta lose weight somehow.

Taking that as his cue to vacate, not bothering with a response, Mark just walked out of the kitchen and back outside to finish up the table. Maybe he was a little too aggressive with getting the last pieces in place, but…oh well. Huffing, he finished and pulled the table over to where she had the last one, which was in pieces neatly stacked in a pile. He eyed said pieces, wondering how she felt about a bonfire made from treated wood and glanced back at the house. Mark doubted she was going to come out and cook over flames tonight, not with that attitude. Honestly, Marlize had been acting weird when it came to food and now he knew why; she was self-conscious about her size, so maybe he ought to cook.

Something greasy and fattening…

Marlize wouldn't eat anything of the sort, not when her ex-husband was constantly taunting her about her size whenever she started eating unhealthy food in her head. Bradley was a health nut and everything they ate was organic with hardly any flavor. Even though she was divorced and away from him now, free, the trauma of her marriage didn't make Marlize feel like she was truly free. After her salad was made, she saw Mark was still out there with the new table and sighed, deciding she'd have to eat inside this time around. Pouring the fat-free dressing on it, she forced it down her throat, her back to the front door and rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. Once she finished the salad entirely, still hungry, Marlize ignored it and tightened her shoes before heading outside, right past Mark, and headed into the woods for a jog on the trail out there.

She could really go for a chocolate bar right now or ice cream smothered in hot fudge… I need to stop and just focus, damn it!