Page 19 of Perfect for Her

My body locks, my instinct to snap back something sarcastic comes to the surface but I push it down, knowing this isn’t the place, and Drew is only protecting his friend. I get that.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I mutter under my breath, hoping I can school my features enough to get through this conversation without alerting Mark.

“It means that it’s been four years. Why now? Why did you come here now? Why did you wait all this time to come here to find him?”

God, I wish I could explain everything. I wish I could explain the letters, emails, and photographs that pushed me past my breaking point, but that shameful feeling creeps back into the back of my head, telling me I’m weak for running. That I should have just stayed and faced it head-on, but the rational part of my brain knows I did the right thing. And I don’t have to explain it to anyone but Mark, and if I can, I will shelter him from that part of my past for as long as possible.

I open my mouth to say something but before I can, Mark is wrapping his wet arm around my shoulder and pulling me close. “What’s going on over here?” he says with a smile, looking between Drew and me, and the second he sees my face, his smile falls and his eyes narrow. “What the fuck did you say to her?” Mark accuses, stepping in front of me as Drew backs up with his hands raised.

“Hey, let’s not do this here,” I whisper against his shoulder. My eyes search for Ethan and when I don’t see his dark head anywhere, my heart sinks. “Where’s Ethan?” My voice shakes, that fear settling into my bones until Mark takes my hand and kisses my temple.

“He’s with Addison inside. Something about a popsicle or something.”

I breathe out, relief settling in as I smile.

“He’s fine, baby,” Mark reassures me as I lean into him, not caring that my oversized T-shirt is getting wet.

“What did you say to her, Drew?” Mark says, not letting it go as his voice rises once more. “Because from the look on her face just now, I would say it’s something that will get your face beaten in.”

My fingers grip his arms, holding him back, hoping to defuse the situation before it escalates.

“Come on, man, everyone is suspicious as to why it took her so long to find you. I was just asking the questions everyone wanted to know.”

Mark rolls his eyes and grips me tighter.

“What is it with you Mitchell children wanting to know every detail of everyone else’s life? Did you and your sister plan this or what? First, she comes at me for being a manwhore and fathering a child I didn’t even know I had, and now you?”

My eyes dart toward the sliding door where Addison just came out holding Ethan’s hand as he eats his popsicle. Hurt filters through my body at the thought of Addison thinking so low of me that I would withhold Ethan from Mark on purpose.

Addison stops walking, guilt written all over her face and I know what Mark said was true so I take a breath, needing to get out of this situation.

“You know what? I’m getting a bit hot from all this sun. I’m going to go inside for a bit,” I mutter before making my way inside, ignoring Mark’s voice and Addison’s gaze knowing I’m seconds away from bursting into tears and I will never let them see it.

The second I’m inside, I head upstairs and find what I assume is Mark’s bedroom. The second I step into the space, calm washes over me and I let a few stray tears fall, knowing that’s all I can allow myself to feel. A king-size mahogany bed sits front and center in the room, matching end tables blanketing each side and I chuckle softly because this looks like the very cliché men’s bedroom you would see in movies. His dresser sits on the far wall, pictures littering the top and as I take a closer look, I see Addison and Luna gracing most of the photos and a different set of emotions run through me.

When I first met Mark, I thought he was a player, and from what Drew just told me, I wasn’t that far off, but there was something deeper, something I found in his soul that made me believe he was different and now I don’t know what to think. So, I sit on the edge of his bed and look out the window at the bright-blue sky, wondering how I got myself in this situation in the first place.

“Knock, knock,” Addison says while softly rapping her hands against the wooden door as my head turns to see her uncertain eyes. “I thought we could talk.”

I shrug, not really knowing what to say to the person that treated me one way and then talked about me another.

Addison takes her time walking toward where I’m sitting and when I feel the bed dip and hear her intake of breath, I close my eyes, hating this whole situation.

“I wanted to explain what happened between Mark and me.”

I stay silent, waiting. And eventually, she starts explaining, and after a few minutes of saying pretty much the same thing as Drew, I stand, needing some space.

“All I wanted was to make sure he was in this for the right reasons. I was trying to protect you and Ethan.”

“And I love you for that, Addison, but it’s not your job to do that. It’s mine and now Mark’s. There are many reasons why I stayed away and none of them are your business.”

She nods, her eyes cast down and the guilt washing off her in waves.

“But I need you and your friends to leave it be for now. Mark and I are trying to figure this out and we can’t do that when everyone is prying into every nook of our relationship, trying to find some nefarious reason I’m here or why he’s here. I just need everyone to back the fuck off for a while.”

She nods again, getting up off the bed and making her way to the door before turning back and catching my eye.

“I know it doesn’t help, but I really am sorry and I know Drew is too. He’s never been good with words, just ask Kate.” She laughs and I can’t help but chuckle softly and watch as she leaves. Only a few minutes later, Mark pokes his head in and smiles.

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