Marie's Path

Chapter 2

Marie felt her stomach rumble. She had spent the entire day sleeping or watching television. Not even bothering getting dressed. She wore an old pair of sweatpants and a faded tee shirt. She was so hungry she felt almost sick. But there wasn't a thing to eat in the house.

She really wanted to go to the diner. Whenever she would walk past, the smell of good food would make her mouth water. Knowing that Sang and those guys worked there always kept her from going in. It wouldn't surprise her if they turned her away. She wanted to avoid the humiliation. But the thought of real food had her running to the bathroom to clean up. Maybe if she was lucky none of them would be working tonight.

She cringed when she studied her face in the mirror. All she could see was a younger version of her mother looking back at her. The only difference she could see was in the eyes. They weren't dark like her mother's, they were a light brown with an equal balance of gold. She thought they were close to being amber. Her eye color was the only thing about her face that she thought was appealing.

She ran her fingers down her cheeks. Her skin, in reality was smooth, and unblemished. But what she felt, was rough, dry, leathery skin. Picking up a brush, she ran it through her dark thick hair. It had a slight wave to it that made it hard for Marie to control. She always let it hang around her face. It was her way to hide and go unnoticed.

She slammed the brush down on the countertop. "God, I'm so ugly! What the hell was I thinking!" She gripped the sides of the sink taking deep breaths.

"I should never have asked Gabriel for help. There's not a damn thing he can do to help me. I bet he knows it too. He probably told all of them, and they're all laughing at me." She sneered at her reflection before storming out of the bathroom.

Flinging the closet door open in her bedroom, she randomly grabbed a shirt off a hanger and threw it on the bed. With her hands on her hips, she looked around her bedroom floor. Articles of clothing, magazines and random wrappers were scattered around.

Picking up a pair of jeans, she shook them out and held them up. "Good enough," she mumbled putting them on. After getting dressed she looked at herself in the mirror. She was non descript. Nothing to show off any curves, nothing to bring any attention to herself.

She thought of Sang and Danielle. Both pretty. One a natural beauty, and the other one that thought she had to work at it. Danielle's motto was the more makeup the better. Even Marie, who knew next to nothing about makeup and fashion, knew Danielle achieved the wrong type of look.

"Stop comparing yourself with them," she said looking at herself in the mirror. "This is you, so live with it."

She stood outside the diner a good ten minutes before getting up the courage to go inside. The first person she saw was Luke at the register. He did a double take when he saw her.

"Hi, umm, you want a table?" he asked warily.

She looked up at him boldly. "No. Could I get a cheeseburger and fries to go? Wait, a double bacon cheeseburger and fries."

"Sure thing." He smiled at her pointing to a bench along the wall. "Have a seat, I'll put your order right in. It should be only ten minutes."

She watched him walk over to the large opening between the kitchen and the wait station. She watched as he leaned over the counter getting someone's attention. She felt embarrassed when she saw North take her order ticket from Luke giving her a quick glance before turning away.

"It'll just be a few minutes," Luke told her before greeting a couple coming in and leading them to a table.

With nothing to do, she people watched. They're weren't many people in here yet, but one table caught her attention. One woman sitting with five guys. The woman had her arms crossed, with a scowl on her face. The guys, damn they were gorgeous, looked like they were pleading with her or at the least trying to reason with her. A couple of them looked pissed off. The woman kept shaking her head no, not giving an inch. There was another guy, well dressed, standing behind the woman with his hands on her shoulders. Marie wondered what their story was, but tore her attention away from them when Luke brought her order over to the register.

"Hope you like vegetables." He grimaced. "North insisted on adding a container of vegetable salad. You aren't charged for that, of course."

"Why would he do that?" she asked handing Luke her money.

"Because he's a vegetable freak, and thinks everyone else should be too." He shook his head smirking as he handed her the bag. "Enjoy, come back again, Marie."

Taking the bag she could feel her mouth watering as she smelled the aroma of the food.

"Umm, okay, thanks." Marie didn't know how to react about North adding vegetables. "Well, tell North thanks for me." She forced a small smile at Luke before going out the door.

She only made it as far as the treeline before reaching into the bag and snagging a fry. Her eyes closed and she moaned as she ate the hot crunchy treat. Reaching for another, she popped it into her mouth before closing up the bag.

Marie had only take a few steps when arms grabbed her from behind. She was pulled back against a chest and a hand was placed tightly across her mouth. "Stop struggling." a mechanical voice told her. "Stay away from there and from them. They're no good."

Marie kept struggling and kicking, he held her tighter. "Your sister wouldn't listen, you better."

"Hey!"

She was relieved to hear another voice. Whoever had grabbed her, threw her to the ground before running off.

"Are you alright?"

A man crouched down beside her and held out a hand to her. She grabbed her bag of food and reached for his hand. As he helped her stand, she looked into the bluest eyes she had ever seen.