Marcus & Mia

by Hannah Meade

  "You are desperate."

  "But he does not have the right to call me that. What the hell? No guy has ever rejected me. Ever."

  I sigh. I do not have time for her problems right now. I have my own. "Marcus brought a date here. I was talking to him before you showed up."

  Emily's eyes widen. "Shit, Mia. I am sorry. Was she pretty?"

  I look down. "Yeah. She was."

  I feel a hand cover mine. "Let's go, Mia. You do not have to deal with his games. I cannot believe he brought her here and even let you see her. And to think I liked that guy." Emily shakes her head and calls for the check.

  ~~~

  "Mia, phone is for you."

  This is the tenth time I have heard that tonight.

  I simply shake my head. I can hear her telling him that I am busy. Again.

  God, he is so annoying. You do not just show up with a date and then say hi to your date from last night. What the hell is that about?

  I have been moping around in my room since we got back from the restaurant. I do not know why this is bothering me so much. It is not like we are together. What is my problem?

  A soft knock sounds at my door. "What, Em? Another phone call?"

  She does not answer, but my door opens. "Why are you avoiding my calls?"

  Marcus. I quickly sit up. "Why are you in my room?"

  He steps closer to me. "I asked you a question first."

  I gulp. "I just did not want to talk to you."

  Another step closer. "Why? Did I do something wrong?"

  "You did not do something right."

  Another step closer and he is right in front of me. "Can I make it up to you?"

  I look up at him. My voice is barely above a whisper. "I do not know."

  He does not say anything after that. He just starts leaning down. Towards my lips. I could just let it go. Let him kiss me. Let him make it all better. But I need answers.

  I look away and take a step back. "Who was that girl at Olive Garden?"

  He furrows his eyebrows. "You mean Victoria?"

  Dammit. She even has a pretty name. This is not looking good for me.

  "Yeah. Victoria." I spit out her name like it is acid.

  And Marcus starts laughing. A lot.

  My cheeks burn. What did I say? "Why the fuck are you laughing?"

  He cannot even tell me. Cannot even catch his breath, because he is laughing so hard.

  "I am going to kick you where the sun does not shine if you do not stop and tell me what is going on right now." I rear back like I am actually going to kick him.

  He puts his hand up. "No...Stop...Just...Wait."

  I roll my eyes and wait for him to catch his breath.

  He finally gets his act together and clears his throat. But he still does not say anything.

  "Well?" I impatiently tap my foot on the ground, making a constant thump thump for him to hear. I am just plain annoyed now, and I hope he can tell.

  "Victoria is my sister."

  Eight

  "She is...your sister?! You did not tell me you had a sister!"

  He just shrugs with that knowing grin still on his face. "You never asked."

  I whack him on the arm. "Why did not you just tell me that in the restaurant? You did not say she was your sister. You made me assume the worst!"

  "I also did not say she was my date. I was just shocked to see you there. I did not get to introductions. Do you go there a lot?"

  "It is my favorite restaurant. Do you go there a lot?" Well, you probably would have seen him if he had gone there as much as you do. Duh, Mia.

  "First time, but Vic goes there a lot. Lately I have been hanging out with her more and so I thought I would take her out to lunch at her favorite restaurant. Were you jealous?" Marcus comes over and wraps me in a hug.

  "Maybe a little," I mumble through his shirt. Which smells like sexy men's cologne by the way.

  I feel his laugh rumble beneath me, deep and dark. It kind of turns me on. I look up into his eyes and hope he can see what I want. I hope my eyes give it away.

  He seems to get it, because he leans down and meets his lips with mine.

  I close my eyes and savor in his taste. God, he tastes like sweet honey. It is like we are stuck to each other. We cannot get away, no matter how hard we pull.

  He puts his hands on my face and pulls me even closer to him. If that is even possible. I put my hands on his chest, on his shirt, pulling him closer to me. He bites down gently on my lips with his teeth, willing them to open. I open my lips and let his tongue explore my mouth. He lets my tongue return the favor. I start unbuttoning his shirt, one by one. Savoring the moment.

  Savoring the moment of being with him, of touching him.

  His lips move away from my lips, instead attacking my neck. Yep. Probably going to have a hickey there tomorrow. He sucks on my neck, causing me to moan. Damn that feels good. I lean my head back, taking the moment in.

  His hands toy with the bottom of my tank top, sliding it slowly up and over my head. Now we are both shirtless, staring at each other for the first time. I cross my arms over my chest, feeling self-conscious. I am not the slimmest girl in the world.

  But he stops me. He pulls my arms down and puts them behind my back, restricting me. "You are beautiful, Mia. Do not ever do that again. Do not hide your body." He looks down at my lips and closes the distance between them. A reassuring kiss.

  I kiss him back, trying to pull my hands out so I can pull him closer, closer to me. He lets me go. Lets me pull him closer. Let me get even more of him.

  I hear Marcus pull down his zipper and that is when I freeze.

  He must notice, because he stops. “Is everything okay? We can stop if you want.”

  I can feel tears form in my eyes. Do not cry, please do not cry.

  “Mia? What is wrong?”

  I swallow, hard. “I am sorry. I am sorry. It is just…”

  I look Marcus in the eye. Can I just come right out and tell him? The only people that know are my parents and Emily. “Sex is just kind of a big deal to me.”

  “Hey, I understand. I do not go around having sex with anyone. We do not have to do this tonight.”

  “No, no I want to. Trust me, Marcus. I just…” It is okay. Just tell him. “I was raped.”

  Then, I see Marcus’s expression switch from understanding to concern. “Mia, oh, my god. I am so sorry.”

  I blink back a few tears. “It is okay. I have gotten through it mostly, but I have not had sex since then. It has never felt right with anyone.” I grab the sides of his face with my hands. “Except now.”

  “Mia, we really do not have to do this. I do not want to push you if you are not ready.”

  I lean in and kiss him on the lips. “I do. I want you to be my first since then. I want you to hold me and be inside of me for the first time in years.”

  “If you are sure…”

  I nod and slowly finish unbuttoning his shirt. “I am sure, Marcus.”

  He unzips the rest of his zipper and I do not feel as nervous as before. Now that he knows, I know he will be gentle.

  He pauses one last time. “Are you absolutely sure?”

  I unclasp my bra as an answer.

  ~~~

  "WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND BAKEY. GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP, MIA. WE GOT SHIT TO DO. OH, AND BY THE WAY, DID YOU SEE MARCUS GO HOME LAST NIGHT, BECAUSE I DI...."

  The door flings open and Emily stops in her tracks.

  I groggily sit up and wave. "Morning, Em."

  Marcus senses my movement and sits up with me, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. "Good morning, baby." He leans over and kisses my cheek, making my whole body blush.

  Emily just stares at us, dumbfounded. "OH, MY GOD, DID YOU TWO...OH, MY GOD, YOU DID. MIA ELIZABETH HATHEWAY. HOW THE FUCK DID THIS HAPPEN? OH, MY GOD. MARCUS, YOU MUST HAVE HAD ONE HELL OF AN EXPLANATION. OH, MY GOD."

  I cover my ears to try and save my eardrums from bursting. Emily is actually so loud, I cannot even yell over h
er to tell her to get the hell out.

  I wait until she is done with her little excited spiel about Marcus and me to kick her out of my room.

  Marcus turns toward me once she is gone. "Fuck. I think my ears are bleeding."

  "Yeah. Try living with her. I have to go to weekly checkups just to make sure my ears are still attached to my head." I groan and flop back down on my pillow.

  Marcus joins me. "Last night was amazing, Mia. I just want you to know that."

  I smile and trace the perfect jawline of his face. "It was."

  "You are beautiful."

  I smile and kiss him on the lips. Even after sleeping with each other, we cannot get enough. Is this how Emily had felt with Jace? I never really asked her before. I break away, even though my lips are screaming no, and get out of the bed. "I really do have to do things today, unfortunately."

  Marcus pouts. "Can you not stay in bed just a little longer?" He tries to tug me back to him, and it is so hard to resist.

  I shake my head no. "If I stayed in bed any longer, I would not be able to get out. I really have to get ready. I am sorry, Marcus." I wrangle out of his grip and plant a kiss on his lips before heading to the bathroom to freshen up.

  Emily is right. We do have things to do today. Things that I would rather not have to do, but are needed. We are going to see my parents for the first time in two years. I moved out of my parents’ house just before my senior year in high school and I have not been back since. Let's just say we had some disagreements about my life; disagreements that we have never gotten through.

  Today is my parent's 25th anniversary party, and they had invited me to come. That is the first kind of communication I have made with them since I moved out. To say I am nervous is a huge understatement.

  "Mia, hurry up. The party is going to start soon."

  I groan. I had already spent twenty minutes in the bathroom trying to stall for time. I can tell Emily I do not feel good. My stomach is already in knots anyway; it is partly true.

  I hear my name yelled on the other side of my door.

  "Just give me a minute!" God, she is irritating me.

  "It is me, Mia."

  I open the door and let him in. "Sorry. I thought you were Emily." I walk right into his open arms, letting him envelop me.

  "It is going to be okay, baby. I will be right here for you when you get back. To help you feel better or to make your night even better, depending on how the party goes." He sucks on my neck, probably giving me another hickey. Yeah, that will go over well with my parents. But I simply do not care at this point.

  "Mmmm. Marcus." Wow, this boy is making me feel things I have never felt before.

  He grin. He knows what he does to me.

  "Mia, I swear to God. What is taking so..." The door opens and Emily walks in on Marcus and me...again. "Jesus Christ, you two. We have things to do. This is not the time to do that."

  I laugh. "Oh, Em. It is always a time to do this." I then put both my hands on Marcus's cheeks and pull his lips to mine. I can hear Emily 'gagging' behind me.

  "Get a room!" Emily gives us both a glare and slams the door on her way out. "And hurry up, Mia. We are leaving in ten."

  I pull away and glance at the clock. Shit. I had lost track of time. "Fuck. I really have to finish getting ready. Get out, Marcus. You are distracting me." It does not help that he had no shirt on either.

  He just laughs. "Fine. Fine. Good luck, Mia." He leans over and gives me a quick kiss before leaving.

  Oh, how badly I just want to stay home and be with Marcus today.

  ~~~

  "I do not know about this, Em."

  We have just pulled up to the party venue and I am a nervous wreck. I cannot stop thinking about what will happen. Will we end up in a fight by the end of the night, or will we be one big happy family again?

  "They invited you, Mia. They obviously want you here. I bet they even miss you. Plus, you have me. You are not going in alone." She takes out her keys and gets out of the car, with me still sitting there contemplating whether or not I really want to go in or not.

  Emily notices I did not get out of the car and practically yanks me out.

  "Ow! What the hell, Em? We do not need a trip to the hospital after the party!"

  She just smiles. "We need to go. The party has already started. We are late."

  "Because of you. You made me go back in my room and change.”

  Emily stops walking and glares back at me. "You had on ripped skinny jeans and crop top. You honestly think that is appropriate for an anniversary party for your parents?" Without waiting for a reply, she keeps on going.

  I glare at her retreating back. It does not matter that she is right. It matters that she practically forced me to come to my parents’ party and then made us late by judging what I am wearing.

  "Are you coming? Or are you just going to stand there while I go say hi to your parents?"

  I roll my eyes but snap out of my trance and follow her.

  ~~~

  There are lots of people at this party. A lot of people whom I have not seen or talked to in a long time.

  As soon as I step through the door, I know this is a bad idea. Every single pair of eyes in the room has looked over at who was coming in late. And two pairs of those eyes are just like mine.

  "Mia? You came! Oh, my baby! I have missed you so much!" My mom comes running, literally running, over to me once she realizes who I am. She wraps me up in a big hug that squeezes all the air out of me. "You have grown so much in these last so many years."

  I step out of my mom's hold. I see the disappointment in her eyes, but this is not like old times. "Two years, Mom. It has been two years."

  She looks down. "Yeah, hun, I know."

  I turn toward my father, who is looking at me like I am an alien. "Do you know what you've done to your mother in these last two years? Do you know how hurt she has been?"

  I gulp. This is the reaction I was expecting. My father was never an emotional man. He used to be a lawyer, so I guess he is always been this stiff. It still hurts, though. "You know I had to leave. You guys were not supporting me at all. Moving out was the best decision I have ever made." I can hear my voice crack at the end. Dammit. I am not going to cry here. Not now. "I...I have to get out of here." I back up, watching my mother's eyes lose all the light they had when I first got here.

  Emily catches my eye from across the room and she immediately walks over to me. She knows something is wrong. "What happened, Mia?"

  I shake my head, unable to speak. I just back up against the wall and slide down it. "I could not do it. When I talk to them, all the old feelings come back. I remember all the good times I had with them, all the family vacations we went on. I remember the one trip to Disneyworld, when my dad proposed to my mom and they renewed their vows in the princess castle. And I remember when everything went to shit. I remember when we started to fight with each other." I take a moment to collect myself, because I know I will lose it after this. "I remember when my dad cheated on my mom. He just asked me if I knew how I had hurt my mother in these last two years, and I cannot help but feel déjà vu. Except, I was the one telling him that. I was the one telling him that he was ruining my mom's life. I do not know why I thought I could do this, Em. Why did you make me come?" I put my head in my hands and almost let it all out. Almost.

  "Mia. listen to me. You are stronger than you think you are. Just because your dad said some dumb shit to you, does not mean you can cry over them. They are not worth it. They are so not worth it, Mia. You know that. Do not let him get to you. You do not have to take his shit anymore. You moved out; you moved on. You do not owe them anything. I am sorry I thought this would be different. It is not. If you want to go, we can go." She holds out her hand to me, helping me up off my feet.

  I look over to where my parents are still there, watching me. "In a minute, Em. I have to say something."

  She nods, knowing it is important to me to finally tell them what I have
wanted to tell them for two years.

  I walk over to where my parents are standing. "Look. I know I fucked up, okay? I know I did some unforgiveable shit in your eyes, but you guys still were not there when I needed you. I needed your support, and I got nothing. Do you know how that made me feel? I had a fucking child! And I had no one to help me raise it! The father was already a douchebag, and I get my own father was too. Yeah, I still remember dad. I still remember the night I walked in on you cheating on mom with my best friend. I do not know why I even expected you to help me, you could not even raise your own kid right. You showed me who you really are, and I am sorry, but I cannot accept that. Even you, Mom. You did not even help me. And you knew about the cheating." I look at her stunned face; evidently, she did not know that. "Yeah, that is right. I heard you crying for hours on hours every night about what you were going to do with him. What you were going to do with yourself. You are a coward." I look at both of them, small tears threatening to spill over my eyes.

  "You both are. Trying to hide behind this secret and just pretend everything was fine when it was not. And look where it got you. Your own kid left you for two years and we did not even communicate once. You guys will always be my parents and I will always love you deep down in my heart, but I have no obligation to talk to you. My whole life turned upside down senior year and my own parents were not even there to help me. I had to turn to some girl I barely knew to help me." I lean over my shoulder and smile at Emily. "I had to find out the hard way who my real family is." I turn back to my parents, almost finished with what I had to say. "So I hope you both have a really nice life. I hope you have another kid, and I hope you do not fuck up your relationship with her like you did with me. I hope someday I can look you both in the eye and not feel complete and utter disappointment. Good-bye." I turn on my heels and walk away from the only two people I thought would be there for me my whole life.

  I reach Emily and give her a hug. "Thank you, Emily."

  She gives me a questioning look. "For what?"

  I lean back and smile. "For everything. For helping me two years ago and helping me make the hardest decision in my life. For becoming my best friend and sticking by my side. And for bringing me here tonight so I could finally say goodbye to my parents." I can feel the tears coming. I have to get out of here. "Can we go home now?"