Truth or Dare?

Can you help me?

Felicity's POV

I smile meekly at the women around the table and then sigh dramatically. I just want to eat my bloody food.

"Look, we had a little disagreement before I left and he wanted to clear the air, that's all. Can we move on and have a good night?" It wasn't too much to ask for but clearly Becca disagreed.

"Umm...can we not have a night when we aren't being watched by your bodyguards?" Shes right and she knows it.

"Maybe we could go to one of the bars on the street. This isn't the only one with a beer garden?" Lauren's solution is pulled at the seems quickly as Alice throws in the inevitable thought that we all have.

"And you really think Marcus wouldn't have someone keeping a close eye on her. Fliss what's this about? Why the overprotectiveness all of a sudden?"

I know I have to keep their real occupation hidden and something about that is actually quite thrilling, but then I'm not particularly good at keeping things from these guys. The metaphorical cogs in my mind whirl at an impressive speed and as soon as I finish chewing my mouthful, I know exactly how to get around all this.

"Look, Jackson has basically threatened Marcus saying that he's going to get me back and I don't think he actually knows where to draw the line anymore. I have no idea what's happened to him but he's a few screws short of a toolbox!" I say it so quickly that the girls stare back at me with slack jaws and wide eyes.

"He's threatened Marcus?!" Alice is stunned but then I can understand why. The size difference between the two would mean he would be stupid to go up against him.

I nod slowly and take a deep, calming breath. My head hurts already and I'm thinking everything over in my head before I say it. I don't want to slip up.

"Yeah...he left a note on his car. The guys with him are just some work friends who happened to be visiting when they found the note. Let's just say that Marcus isn't going to let me out of his sight until he goes to his next placement." I'm just spitting it out so that I don't need to tolerate the million and one questions.

"Makes sense but I just can't see what Jackson actually thinks is going to happen? How can he 'get you back'?" I wince at her words and Lauren pales at my reaction. What I wasn't expecting was her reaction.

Her hand slams on the table and she grabs my jaw, turning my head to look her straight in the eyes. I grip her wrist and pull it off me quickly before I even realise what I've done.

"Sorry!" We both say together and then I clasp my fingers in hers.

"He hasn't touched me. Well he tried but Marcus was in the park and pushed him off. I think he would've killed him if I wasn't there to stop him." I bring her hand in my lap and stare at our entwined fingers as I reveal how pathetic I was not to be able to fight him off myself.

"I know that must've been hard for you Fliss. Why haven't you told us any of this?" Becca sounds so heartbroken but I can only shrug at her in response.

My hand pulls out of Lauren's hold and I cover my face with both my hands, slumping my shoulders before taking and deep breath and finally pulling my hands away.

"Look, it's going to be fine. I'm going to train in some self defence with Marcus and I think we all know he's going to do his best to make sure I can do something to protect myself. I won't be as pathetic and hopeless as I am now." I grab my fork and start to twirl my spaghetti around and around, aimlessly hoping this topic would be over so that we can just eat and laugh.

"You are definitely not thinking you can sit here and call yourself that in front of us?!" Ahh, the defence strategy.

"Look, I'm just saying that I can't at the moment but hopefully I will be able to one day." I smile at them and receive their full smiles back which startles me a little.