Chloe’s mobile rang for the 15th
time that morning.
“Why are you doing this?” she said crossly into
the phone. “What is it going to achieve?”
“Clo, I need to talk to you.”
“Only my friends call me Clo.” Chloe said,
hanging up.
She was getting so fed up of this. Mark
would not stop ringing her! She was surprised he didn’t get a tent and set up
camp on the doorstep. It wasn’t so bad him ringing at the moment – it was
annoying, but Ben was out at another boring meeting for something or other, so
it didn’t matter – but Mark had rung the house this morning after Chloe
had turned her mobile off, and when Ben answered, Mark had hung up. He’d rung
back later when, luckily, Ben was in the shower, but it was so not on phoning
Ben’s house to bug her like this. It wasn’t okay for him to ring her mobile
either, but it wasn’t as bad as ringing the landline.
The phone rang again.
Right, that was it. Chloe was going to sort
this out once and for all. Mark was, yet again, going too far. He had to
understand that things were over between them and he needed to leave her alone
now. She loved Ben, she didn’t love him: it was fairly straightforward, and
Chloe was not going to leave Mark’s house until she got that through to him.
Yes, she was going to see him. Risky? Why? There was nothing going on between
them any more, and, having had a few days to dwell on how badly Mark had
treated her, Chloe definitely never wanted anything to happen with them ever
again. She was highly unlikely to “succumb to his charms” the way she felt
about him at the moment, so there was no danger of any illegal kissing, or
anything else, happening when she was alone with him. He was acting like a
spoilt, immature, little boy, and Chloe didn’t have the time or the patience to
play his little games. Especially seeing as every time he came near her it put
her relationship with Ben in jeopardy, something else she wouldn’t stand for.
Ohhh, she was going to have such a go at Mark. And he was going to deserve
every word.
Chloe dialled a taxi and went and brushed her
hair.
And another thing – what had last night been
all about? At the time it had really freaked her out - what Mark had said, the
way he’d been behaving – but now she realised that not only had he been
drinking, but she had been too, so chances were she might have been
seeing things in a slightly exaggerated way. That would at least explain why
Chloe had thought Mark was acting more like an axe murderer than a spurned
lover. Quite obviously, he hadn’t been acting half as weird as Chloe had
thought at the time, so when she got to his house, hopefully they could have a
good shouting match, fall out even worse than they had at the moment, and Mark
would leave her alone for good.
The taxi soon arrived, and on the way over to
Mark’s house, Chloe busied herself with mentally listing all the reasons why
she hated Mark, all the things she needed to take him to task over, and then
all the things she liked about ‘Friends’, just for fun and to lighten the mood
a bit. She only managed to come up with one thing – Chandler - which was
terrible coming form a happily settled gal (coz that was what she was!). But
then again, she’d also had an affair with her boyfriend’s band mate, so that
was probably worse than just thinking about another guy. Buuuuut, it was
hadn’t really been a proper affair – all her and Mark had done was kiss,
it wasn’t like they’d been shagging behind Ben’s back (or anywhere else for
that matter!). So it wasn’t really an affair at all – great! Now all she needed
to do was tell Mark to clear off, and she could get on with moving in with Ben
and living happily ever after.
The taxi pulled up outside Mark’s house and
Chloe got out and paid the driver. Stopping for a second to collect herself and
work out her first line, Chloe proceeded towards the front door. She knocked
purposefully with three short sharp raps, and waited in the light drizzle to
begin her duel. She was momentarily thrown off course when someone she didn’t
recognise opened the door.
“Erm, is Mark around?” she asked.
“Yeah, he’s in his room.” The male stranger
said, letting Chloe in. “First door on the left.”
“Thanks.” Chloe said, stepping inside.
“I’m going out, Mark!” the guy shouted up the
stairs. “I’ll see you later!”
Chloe waited until he’d left the house and shut
the door before cautiously going up the stairs. She didn’t know Mark lived with
someone – she’d thought he lived on his own. Reaching the landing, Chloe
located what was supposedly Mark’s room, and knocked.
“I’m busy!” came the shout from inside.
But Chloe stormed right in, her temper aroused
just from hearing his voice.
“Really?” she said, letting the door slam
behind her. “Doing what?”
Mark stood up and looked at her in surprise.
“Chloe?”
“Ringing Ben and hanging up? Ringing my mobile
nine times in half an hour?” Chloe shouted, getting angrier with every word she
said.
“What are you do-”
“Do you think it’s funny, calling me all the
time? Think it’s going to make me want you more?”
“Do you think it’s funny hanging up every time
I try to talk to you?” Mark said, finding his voice.
“Oh yeah, I find it hilarious! One of my
favourite pass times is trying to get through to some idiot who doesn’t
know when to stop!”
“I just want to explain my side of things.”
“I don’t wanna hear it! What possible reason
could I have for wanting to listen to anything that comes out of your mouth?”
“Because you love me.” Mark said calmly.
“What?! I do not love you. I never ever
said that I did.”
“I know you do. That’s why you’re being like
this.” Mark said, taking a step towards Chloe.
Okay, maybe he was still a bit creepy. But, he
was still only Mark. And he was going to leave her alone, whether he
liked it or not.
“Oh I’m acting strangely, am I? Sorry, I
thought it was you doing the serial killer routine.”
This comment confused Mark. “What?”
“You’re being so weird! What is wrong with
you?!”
“I love you!” Mark shouted. “That’s what’s wrong
with me! I can’t think about anything but you, all the time, and it’s
driving me mad not being with you! All I want is you!” he said desperately,
coming towards Chloe again.
“Well you can’t have me!” Chloe shouted back,
standing her ground. “You have to accept that!”
“And what if I can’t?” Mark asked, now in front
of Chloe, putting a hand on her arm. “What happens then?”
Chloe pulled her arm out of his grasp. “All I
want you to do is leave me alone.” She said.
“No, I won’t leave you alone.” Mark said,
taking slow steps towards Chloe, making her back away until she was standing
against the wall. “Because I know we’re meant to be together.”
“You’re deluded.” Chloe said, feeling slightly
nervous about the position she was in.
“No, you are deluded.” Mark said, taking
a tiny step back, as if to illustrate the need to re-phrase. “Ben’s no good for
you.”
“Ben is everything to me.” Chloe said,
not sure she liked the way this was going.
They were meant to shout at each other and then
she would leave and Mark would have got the message. But instead she felt like
control of this situation was slowly slipping from her grasp. Mark had her cornered;
this wasn’t on her terms any more.
“Ben,” Mark said, getting closer to Chloe
again. “is an idiot. He doesn’t know what you need.”
“Oh and you do?” Chloe retorted, trying to put
some of the power she’d had moments earlier back into her voice.
“Tell me, Chloe,” Mark said, looking into her
eyes.
He wasn’t touching her, but he was standing so
close to her that Chloe was stating to feel very uncomfortable. Maybe
confronting Mark hadn’t been such a good idea after all.
“What have I actually done to you?” he asked.
“You lied to me. You were using me!”
“Was I? Oh! Who told you that?”
“Paul-”
“Paul. Right. And what else did he tell you?”
“He-”
“Did he tell you that my heart breaks every
hour, on the hour, because you’re not with me? Did he tell you that I dream
about you every night and would rather stay asleep forever than have to wake up
in an empty bed? Did he tell you that I love you so much I’d do anything
for you?” Mark leaned closer still. “Did he tell you that a thousand angels die
when you say you don’t love me?” he whispered, making the hairs on the back of
Chloe’s neck stand up, and running a cold finger down the side of her face.
She just watched him, frozen to the spot. She
was now feeling seriously freaked out. Something was very wrong here.
“No, I don’t expect he did.” Mark said.
He moved his hand down her leg, his face no
more than an inch from hers.
“I know what’s good for you…” he breathed.
Okay, that was enough. Chloe was getting out,
now.
“I’m going.” Chloe said, pushing Mark away and
turning for the door.
“No you’re not.” Mark said, grabbing Chloe’s
arm.
“Ow, Mark! You’re hurting me!” Chloe exclaimed
as Mark pulled her back to him.
“So now you know what it feels like.” He said,
a nasty glint in his eye. “We would be so good together. We were, and
you know that. Why won’t you give us a chance?”
“Because I love Ben.” Chloe said slowly,
challenging Mark with her eyes.
“Wrong answer.” Mark said, putting his hand on
Chloe’s other arm, maintaining a firm hold on her.
Chloe struggled, but Mark held her tightly.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” he sneered.
“Things not going according to plan? Thought you could come round here and get
rid of me with your hurtful words? How does it feel to be on the other side?”
“Just get off me!” Chloe exclaimed, jerking
herself free from Mark.
“Why are you always trying to get away?” Mark
asked, following Chloe as she tried to get to the door again. “I just want to
spend some time with you.”
“Leave me alone Mark!” she shouted. “Get it
into your head – it’s over!”
“No it isn’t.” Mark said, grabbing Chloe by the
wrist.
“Get your hands off me, you bastard!” she
exclaimed as she felt Mark’s fingers dig into her skin.
“Wrong answer.” Mark said again, pushing
her back against the wall and putting a hand either side of her so she couldn’t
get away. “Why do you keep doing this to me?” he asked, shaking his head. “Why
won’t you just admit to yourself what you feel for me?”
“I feel nothing for you.” Chloe said
adamantly.
“You’re lying.” Mark said.
“You’re scum, Mark.” Chloe said. “I hate you.”
Suddenly Mark leaned forward and kissed Chloe,
deeply and hungrily, both his hands on the sides of her head, stopping her from
pulling away.
“I don’t believe you.” He said, the
confrontational look in his eyes striking a strange fear into Chloe. “I know
you have feelings for me.”
“Please, Mark, what do you want?” Chloe asked,
desperately trying to get herself out of this situation.
“I want you!” Mark said, letting go of
Chloe and taking a step back in frustration. "That’s all I want! Why can’t
you understand that?!”
“But Mark, I’m with Ben!” Chloe said, trying to
reason with him, whilst eying up the door. “And even if I did want to get back
together with you, Paul knows! It’d be too dangerous!”
Mark came back close to her. “But tell me you
don’t feel anything when I do this.” He said, kissing her again, more gently
this time his hands moving down her body.
“Mark, I-I don’t, I’m sorry.” Chloe said.
“You’re lying!” Mark shouted, grabbing hold of
her shoulders. “After all this time, you’re still lying to me! Why would you do
that to me?”
“Maybe we should talk about this another time!
Mark, please, let me go home.” Chloe pleaded.
“Back to Ben? I don’t think so.” Mark said.
“Not until you stop lying to me.”
I-I don’t know what you want me to do.”
“Tell me you love me.”
“I can’t.”
“Say it!” Mark shouted, shaking Chloe.
“I don’t love you, Mark!” Chloe shouted.
“I can’t say it if it’s not true.”
Mark inhaled deeply, and for a moment she
thought she’d finally got through to him.
“I will show you that you have feelings for
me.” He said, unexpectedly pulling Chloe round and pushing her backwards with
such force that she fell onto the bed, the breath knocked out of her.
Chloe lay there for a second, trying to get her
breath back, not understanding what Mark meant. Then, as he walked over to the
bed and climbed on as well, a horrible feeling started in the pit of Chloe’s
stomach. She tried to sit up, but Mark was too quick for her. Kneeling over
her, he took hold of her wrists, pinning them to the bed above her head.
“Mark! No! What are you doing?!” Chloe
exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock and fear.
One of her hands hit something hard, and as
Mark pressed it down onto the bed, she heard the whirr of a CD playing coming
to life. Another second, and a song started to play. It was a happy song, with
an upbeat rhythm and carefree lyrics. It got louder and louder until the stereo
reached its maximum volume, drowning out Chloe’s panicked shouts. She looked at
Mark, saw the look of intensity on his face as he knelt over her, and knew she
needed to get out of there, and fast. She tried to pull her hands away, but
Mark just squeezed her wrists tighter, and Chloe almost yelped in pain. He let
go momentarily to undo the button and zip on Chloe’s jeans, but as soon as
Chloe had reached up to scratch his eyes out he had hold of her again. Chloe
tried to kick him off, but he moved his shins so they were on top of Chloe’s
legs, and she couldn’t move them any more. He was heavy, and Chloe wasn’t the
biggest person in the world, and she honestly believed that any minute, her
legs were just going to snap in two from the weight on top of them.
“Get off me!” she screamed, but Mark didn’t
flinch.
He didn’t say a word: it was almost
as if he couldn’t see how panicked Chloe was, like she wasn’t thrashing around,
trying to get him off her. He looked cool, calm, and collected, but he wasn’t
looking at her. As he got her trousers off, Chloe screamed again, struggling
even more fervently to free herself from her captor, but Mark was a lot
stronger than her, and held her down, removing his own trousers without giving
Chloe any chance to get away. She couldn’t move, she literally couldn’t move
any part of her, Mark had hold of her so securely.
Chloe had never been so afraid in her whole
life. She’d never felt a fear this extreme; she hadn’t even known such a fear
existed. It was pure terror, and coupled with the utter disbelief at the
identity of the person that was inflicting this on her, it was a lethal combination.
She realised with horror that she wasn’t going to get out of this situation.
She was totally at Mark’s mercy: he could do anything he wanted to her and
there was nothing she could do about it. With this realisation, it was like
someone had turned the power switch off on Chloe. She stopping struggling
against Mark’s strength, and, resigned to the fact that she couldn’t stop what
she knew was about to happen to her, gave up the fight.
Paralysed with fear, and letting her whole body
go limp, Chloe closed her eyes and tried to let the loud music fill up her
mind. She winced and bit her lip hard as Mark roughly pushed inside her. He
wasn’t being gentle, and he was hurting her, but Chloe didn’t cry out. She
didn’t make a sound; just lay there with her eyes tightly shut, trying to keep
the tears in and the feelings out, willing it to be over. This wasn’t happening
to her, it wasn’t. It was happening to someone else, someone far far away from
Chloe, someone who had done something so terrible that they deserved what was
being done to them. Chloe tried to think of other things – happy things – like
flowers on her birthday, girly nights in with slushy movies, cake stalls at
garden fetes, lying in the sun on a deserted beach, dancing the night away
under the stars… but all she could feel was Mark, doing something he shouldn’t
be doing, taking liberties, violating her. She felt sick: sick to the very core
of her being, which didn’t even feel like her any more. And then an image of
Ben appeared in her mind: Ben smiling, like nothing else in the world mattered.
And she tried to get it out, but it wouldn’t go, and now she was feeling all
this hurt and pain and seeing Ben’s face, and she didn’t want that! She didn’t
want him to be anything to do with this.
Chloe heard Mark sigh heavily, and then he
stopped moving on top her. He relaxed his grip on her sore wrists slightly, and
using all the strength she had, Chloe pushed him off her and dragged herself
off the bed. She stumbled as she tried to get her legs to work, and pulled her
underwear and trousers back on with trembling hands. She felt numb all over,
like she was watching the world from outside herself. She didn’t look at Mark –
she couldn’t bear to – just ran to the door and out onto the landing. She
almost fell down the stairs as one of her legs started to go dead, but she
grabbed the banister just in time and made it out the door and down the drive,
where she collapsed against a hedge, sobbing uncontrollably and praying for the
rain that was trickling from the sky to wash away all the pain.