Two

One step forward, a hundred steps backwards

The devil doesn't come to you with his red face and horns, he comes to you disguised as everything you've ever wanted!

I'd spent the last forty eight hours in some kind of Marshall induced fog. He'd been attentive,  affectionate and expressed his regrets at his treatment of me till he was blue in the face.
The sex as usual was out of this world, almost as if he were made just for me and I was counting my blessings and thankful to whatever or whomever changed his mind about me.  I got lost in him,  couldn't find where he started and I finished in my brain.  Not able to deny any longer my true feelings for him and for once since my arrival we both seemed to be on the same page. No longer feeling scared or threatened by him we'd put that to bed yesterday. I felt sure that he wouldn't put me through all of that again,  he'd even spoken to me about what we both wanted to do to be happy from here on out. But I couldn't shake off this sense of impending doom even as he glanced at me sideways giving me a cute smirk, I could feel it winding its way around my heart and tugging it tighter.

Before my momma passed away she always used to say 'if something's to good to be true, then it probably is' but I was actively choosing to ignore that sage advice right now.

Marshall had decided we should gather everyone together and have a listening party for our song, I was nervous about hearing it for the first time in front of everybody legitimately not liking crowds of people around me. People were beginning to gather at Effigy in Marshalls private studio a large crowd of staff, friends and even his daughters wanted to hear our new song together.
Jeremy was beside himself hopping from one corner of the room to the next, fawning over Marshall's kids and had his nose wedged so far up Paul's ass that it was like a scene out of the most grossest film The Human centipede.

I heard Porter's booming laugh before I saw him and as he entered the room he made a beeline for me “Hey girl how come you get a big ole party for a new song and no one else does around here" He pulls me in for a big bear hug and kisses my cheek, out of the corner of my eye I spy Marshall glaring at us, his jaw shut so tightly closed that his muscles twitch visibly but he catches me watching him  as I smile he turns away fiddling with the dials on his desk.

I breathe a sigh of relief as Porter eventually releases me and introduces me to Royce I've seen him around here a few times but no one has introduced us before now, leaning over I shake his offered hand and smile warmly at him “So this is the famous Maud is it?” he shouts out as he doesnt seem to be able to talk in a quiet tone this morning in fact none of them do and I recoil for a moment wondering just how famous and how much Marshall and Porter have told him about me, I look to Porter for reassurance and he shakes his head at me. I relax and chat happily safe in the knowledge that our night together as a threesome is still under wraps and hopefully stays that way, I'm not embarrassed about that night but it's not something I want getting out and people assuming the wrong kind of thing about me, I'm not the kind of girl who sleeps around but I'm well aware of how it would look from the outside to people who didn't really know me at all.

As I take the only seat left available between Royce and Porter I notice Marshall's steely gaze settled on me he misses nothing everytime one of the guys touches my hand or arm while they talk innocently to me, he begins to look more and more wound up, I try to smile at him to reassure him that nothing is going on but instead of a smile back he turns his back to me and I don't think anyone else sees it apart from my but he clenches and unclenches his fists at his side. I decide to move and see if it'll calm him down a little while the sound engineers are setting up our track. I leave the room to go and use the bathroom hoping if I remove myself entirely he'll chill out and stop glaring at me and his friends but glancing back I notice Porter following me out and I want to cry, I feel like somethings building and Porter heads into the gents while I go to the ladies stalls. I wait inside for a good ten minutes in hope that Porter will go back and he'll see that I haven't been doing anything I shouldn't be but as I walk back and glance inside the studio my eyes find his, they look like cold, black stones as his eyes follow me back in the room and instead of taking my former position back I go round the desk and stand with Jeremy.

I watch Porter approach Marshall and pat him on the back all the while Marshall ignores him and tries to shake his hand off of his shoulder, eventually he grabs Porter's hand and removes it violently and watch him tell Porter to “sit the fuck down" he looks shocked as he heads back to his seat, head bowed and sits down in silence. This is going to go sideways I just know it, gone is the gentle loving Marshall of this morning and the cold, hard version has replaced him once more. My body shudders at the thoughts that run through my head, this isn't going to end prettily.
My eyes search the room for the backpack that I usually carry on board flights, I know I have everything in there should I need to make a quick exit, I find it between Marshall's legs on the floor.
My heart drops as my potential escape route is blocked, but in a moment of rare luck this morning Marshall notices it too and kicks it away from him in a temper. Other people are beginning to recognise the signs emanating from him now as they speak in hushed whispers around us, the girls seem oblivious though thank god as does Jeremy.

Everyone is quiet as Paul gets up to speak “Quiet everybody, we'd just like to say thank you to Maud for eventually agreeing to come out here and not only let us rip her brilliant song apart but also agree to singing the hook for Marshall, thank you Maud and without further ado here it is"
The sound engineer presses play and there's silence throughout the studio as everyone listens carefully, I can't take my eyes off of Marshall, he's smirking at me. I smile in return thinking he's over whatever he thought was happening in his head earlier and he gets up and comes to stand beside me, with his arm around my waist holding onto me tightly. The song is actually great, I hadn't heard it all the way through and I love the way he's chopped my song up to fit in with his so amazingly, he really is a genius.

When the song stops playing everybody in the room turns to face us and starts clapping and cheering, I can feel my cheeks burning, hating being center of attention. When Marshall turns and kisses me full on the mouth, groping at my breast in front of everybody, the clapping stops and I hear gasps filling the room as I push him away from me and slap him hard around the face.
He looks at me and laughs while rubbing his face “Ladies and gentlemen, sweet innocent Maud here doesn't usually object to me groping her tits, do you baby?” I squirm next to him and try to move but his grip around my waist tightens and I can't get away.
“In fact when Porter was fucking her ass in LA as I watched while she sucked my dick, she had no objections whatsoever then either, right Porter?” Porter shakes his head at Marshall "What the fuck Marshall, not cool" and gets up moving Marshall's kids with him out of the room.
“You see Maud let Porter and I go to town on her that night in LA, Jeremy when she was supposedly back at her hotel with a migraine. She wasn't she was with us getting her brains fucked out"

Marshall turns to look at me smiling and I want to die everybody was looking me, I wanted the ground to open and swallow me up where I stood, I could feel tears pricking at my eyes as I looked at him in disbelief, How could he do this to me?
“I've been fucking her every night since you arrived too, we just spent the past two days doing nothing else actually" someone in the room lets out a laugh and my tears begin to fall in earnest “How could you do this to me?” I ask him beseechingly “I thought you loved me" he busts out laughing once more “How could anyone love a whore who lets a man friend’s fuck her, you’re disgusting Maud, I feel dirty when I touch you!”

My knees feel weak as I search for my bag and a way out of this horror show. My sobs become louder as my brain begins working overtime on my mission to get the hell out and it angers me, angers me that I could be so stupid to trust him when he says he was sorry, trust him with my heart and my feelings, I hate him. I hate myself more.

I wrench my body away from his and snatching up my bag I run out of the studio, run out into the road and keep running until my lungs burn, I manage to hail a taxi and ask them to take me to the airport while I take the opportunity to root through my bag, I cry with relief when my hand lands on my passport and then I search for my credit card, Jeremy usually keeps it but I had it for shopping and I don't remember returning it to him, I find it right at the bottom and clutch it to my chest crying. I fucking hate myself for this. I have no clothes or anything they are back at my hotel room packed and waiting for me to pick them up but I can't chance it I need to disappear and forget about this whole mess.

When we finally reach the airport I run toward the nearest check in desk I can see that's open and collapse on the desk in front of a kind looking woman “Can I help you dear?” she asks me quietly and I look up at her kind eyes, I nod my head “Yes I need a ticket to anywhere, a flight that leaves soon please" I beg her to help me as I get out my passport and credit card and hand both over. “Hot or cold my lovely?”
“Hot I think" and she nods in agreement with me “Sweetie this is as far away and as hot as I can get you" she shows me my destination and I nod yes.

No one will find me there.