The Madonna, The Virgin, and The Whore

Chapter Twenty-Seven

LEXI

It was like living out one of my reoccurring nightmares. Mark Stueben was sitting across the bar, raising his drink over at me like everything between us was good. That familiar sense of panic began to grip at me as I pulled my eyes away from him and stared down at the top of the bar, commanding myself to hold it together. This was not a nightmare; this was real.

I had changed a lot in the last two years but Mark Steuben was threatening to resurrect the girl I was before, the stupid, weak, mess that I was. I had made a mistake running away when I saw him the other night at the club. I had promised myself that I wouldn't allow him to have that kind of power over me ever again. But I wasn't prepared, and Will was there...

Turning my attention back to my drink, I continued to watch him out of the corner of my eye as he got the bartender's attention. I knew he was up to something. This was too good of an opportunity for Mark to pass up. A familiar uneasy feeling tore through me. I was a target for him back then, and it was plain to see that he still saw me as one now.

I should have gotten up and left. I should have just walked out of the bar. But I knew Mark. He'd follow me, and the last thing I wanted was to be stranded on an empty sidewalk alone with him! I could sit him out. Or maybe I could call someone to come and get me. I scrolled through my phone, kicking myself for not leaving with Mary and Ian when I had the chance.

My thoughts were swirling as I scrolled through my contacts. Both my sisters were out and there was no one else in town I knew of that wasn't friends with Mark as well. I stared down at my phone, seeing Will's name as it came up on the screen. My thumb hovered above it. If I called him and told him I needed him, he'd be here, despite how things were left between the two of us. I felt confident in that. I glanced over at Mark still talking to the bartender. Did I really want to drag Will into all this though? He'd have questions and I wouldn't be able to give him any answers.

I sat there debating for a while looking up only when a pink cocktail was placed down in front of me. I stared up at the bartender in confusion. "I didn't order this," I told her, pointing at the froufrou drink.

She smiled and tucked a strand of her long, blonde hair behind her ear and nodded. "I know. It's from the guy down at the end of the bar-"

I leaned back as if the drink was contaminated. Knowing Mark, it probably was. Forcefully I slid away from me and shook my head. "I don't want it."

She raised a pierced eyebrow at me and cocked her head to the side. "You sure? He seemed to think you would."

"Well, he was wrong. Can you take it back? Please." She shrugged her shoulders like it was no skin off her back and removed the drink. There was no way in hell I was drinking anything that Mark Steuben tried to give me. I may have been an idiot before, but not anymore.

"Aw, come on Lexi!" I heard him howl from the other end of the bar as the bartender told him that I refused the drink. I didn't look over at him though. I did my best not to engage him in any way. I didn't want to give Mark any reason to keep on antagonizing me, but I knew in my gut he wasn't going to stop. He never had before.

After the night of the party, I had exactly three run-ins with Mark Steuben. The first was about three weeks after the rape. I was walking home from the store and a car passed me on the empty road. It lolled to a stop a few yards ahead of me, simultaneously halting me in my tracks. I was still feeling vulnerable at that time and was scared of my own shadow. I hadn't developed my thick scars yet.

My eyes darted back over to the car, my heartbeat accelerating as I recognized it. It began to back up at full speed and I jumped to the right, dodging the tail end of the car as it just missed me. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins and I was shaking as I staggered back in disbelief. The windows in the car were rolled down and Mark and two of his friends were inside, leering out at me.