It's six days till she sees him again...
She should be grateful for the break, for the fact that she could sleep a full night without being woken and having to clean his sick while putting him to bed. She should be pleased that no random skanks are lurking around the house. She should be grateful, but she is not. Because she hasn't been able to sleep out of worry that he is dead in a ditch somewhere. She is so angry at him that she swears to Willadeene that when he gets home she is going to give him the silent treatment. "I will not speak to him, Willadeene. Not even a whisper. I swear! In fact, he will be lucky if I ever speak to him again!"
He is brought home by his bodyguards, Max and Jack late on a Thursday night. It's chaos the second they arrive. They call Jonas and Marli out of the house and pop the trunk showing them the sorry state he is in. His clothing is caked in mud and blood, and his once long hair that was always kept in a bun on the top of his head is all but gone, chopped off in jagged clumps. The alcohol fumes emitting from his body make Marli's eyes water and her nose sting. He groans and rolls over exposing his right hand which looks like a mangled bloody mess. Max speaks first. "He got away from us and landed up at some shady party, by the time we got there his fucked up ass looked like this. They said he had started the fight. Knew it was a lie though. Austin is a lot of things but a man who starts fights he is not. Luckily one of the girls had footage and it was clear he was jumped. Five against one. I have the footage and we got hold of his lawyers to take care of the rest," he explains. Marli can't stop her glare when she looks up at Jack. "Why is he in the trunk?" She asks, Jack shakes his head at her. "He was still high when we found him. Had to tie him to the plane seat. We put him in the trunk so he would not jump out of the car...and because he smells like death," he explains. Marli is mad at them. Well, she is really mad at Austin, but she will take it out on anyone else but him right now.
"Just...just get him inside and to the bathroom so I can clean him up." She instructs. Jack and Max reach in and pull him out, but are stopped by Jonas. "No. Take him up to the pool," he says in a calm voice. Max and Jack don't hesitate and start dragging him in the direction of the pool. Marli's blood runs cold. What is Jonas doing? She grabs his arm but he shakes her gently off. "Jonas what are you doing?" she asks fearfully. Jonas turns to Marli with a hard glare. "Go inside, run him a hot bath, Marli. You can baby him all you want in a minute. But right now I am going to teach that mother fucker a lesson," he grunts out then turns and follows behind the three boys. Marli runs behind Jonas trying to get him to stop and listen to her, but he just pushes her off and walks faster up to the pool.
Jack and Max have already reached the edge of the pool and when Jonas reaches them he shoves Austin hard. Austin falls into the pool and his practically lifeless body floats nearly to the bottom of the pool. Marli rushes up shouting at them to stop and to pull him out but all three men ignore her and when she tries to jump in Max grabs hold of her. She is powerless against him. Marli feels sick just watching Austin floating underwater toward the bottom of the pool. Then suddenly Austin's body starts moving and he breaks the surface gasping for air.
At that, both Jonas and Jack jump in. Each man grabs one of Austin's arms and then Jonas grabs a hand full of whatever hair is left at the back of Austin's head and dunks him under the water again. Austin thrashes around, desperate for air while Jonas holds him under. Both Jonas and Jack have to hold on extra tight because even though they are both practically the same size as Austin he seems to be thrashing out of their grip. Marli hopes he does and then punches all three of these dreadful men. Jonas yanks Austin's head up again and his body goes calm as he takes the opportunity to take deep breaths, it's all he seems to be able to concentrate on. Jonas whispers something in Austin's ear and whatever he says gets Austin thrashing around again Jonas dunks his head underwater again, holding him under as he thrashes around. Jonas and Jack are struggling to hold him down. Marli gets splashed from all the thrashing around and she can tell the water is icy cold. Her toes are already numb from the overflow of pool water on her feet. Jonas lets him up again and Austin goes limp as he gasps for air. "That's enough! Let him go! Please!" Mark begs, but Jonas ignores her. He turns to Max though. "Max get in here, we can't hold him down with just the two of us," he says. Jack nods. "Yeah this asshole is like the hulk," he says. Jonas looks at Marli. "Marli, go inside. Run him a hot bath. You can't stop this," he says. Marli shakes her head. "No. Let him go!" she shouts at him. "Stubborn woman," Jonas says under his breath. But then Austin starts thrashing around again and they shout at Max to leave Marli and help them.
Good, Marli has a plan. As soon as Max lets her go she is going to jump in and rip them all off Austin. But then she sees Max in the pool and Austin being pushed under again, but she is still being restrained. Looking behind her she sees Charlie. "You are no match for them Marli please come back to the house. Run the hot bath and wait for Austin. He will need you later. Be ready for him," Charlie says softly. Marli does not want to admit it but he is right and so she lets him lead her back to the house. The splashing of water gets more muffled the further away she gets. Twenty minutes later Max and Jack dump a wet and panting Austin on the bathroom floor. When Marli touches him he is like a block of ice, his body is covered in goosebumps from head to toe and he won't stop shaking, even his lips are blue. Jack leans down to undress him, but Marli bats him away. "I will do that. Just leave," she hisses. "Marli let them help to get him undressed and into the bath," Jonas says from the doorway. Marli starts to push them all out the door. "No! I can handle this part! Just get out," she says. They all move past the door threshold and Marli slams and locks the bathroom door. She hates them all. There was no need for Jonas to go to those extremes. She moves over to Austin who's trying to sit up and struggles to take off his wet clothing and hold him upright, but by some miracle, she manages to get his wet clothes off and him into the steaming hot bath. She starts to gently wash away the blood and mud from his body that the pool did not. Slowly he starts to look more human and his blue skin starts to turn back to its lively peachy self again. She washes his hair and assesses the damage. Some horrible person must have grabbed his bun, pulled, and cut it, she is so angry that someone could be cruel. But it's not as bad as she first thought, there is enough hair that resembles a messy Bob. She will call his hairdresser in the morning to come and fix it, she washes it for now and pulls what's left into a small ponytail.
"Can I shave your beard?" she asks softly. He nods. "Cleanly shaven?" he nods again. After she finishes shavings him she moves to his hand. It looks swollen and some skin is broken on the knuckles. She is worried that's its broken. "Can you flex your hand?" she asks. He holds up his hand and flexes it. Ok, not broken then. She washes it clean and wraps it in a dry face cloth for now. "Can you get out of the bath?" she asks. He nods again and slowly stands up then gets out of the tub. She dries him off and helps him into a pair of tartan sleep pants. She puts toothpaste on his toothbrush and hands it to him. While he brushing his teeth she raids the drug cupboard for bandages and antiseptic cream to fix up his hand. When they are done she leads him to his bed and helps him get in it. His torso is riddled with bruises and he flinches every time he moves, luckily there seems to be no major damage. Marli holds back her tears, she is so mad at him. He was so irresponsible and so very selfish. She tucks him in and sees that his phone is on his bedside table, it's caked in mud and the screen is cracked. She is guessing he will need to get a new one. How did this even happen? She turns to go but Austin grunts in disapproval and grabs her hand. "Stay please," he whispers. She doesn't have to be asked twice, she never wanted to go anyway. She crawls up into the bed and Austin clings to her, turning them so they are spooning. She listens as his breathing slows down and his arms get heavy. She can hear music in the distance from somewhere in the house - Jonas must be doing his own healing.
~
Marli wakes up mid-morning. Not surprisingly after the whole almost pool murder incident. Bathing and cleaning up Austin caused them only got to bed close to 3 am. She can immediately feel Austin is not in bed and her heart drops. She slips out of bed and goes looking for him, following her nose, and finds him in the kitchen making coffee. Still, only in his pajamas bottoms, his torso looks like it has been used as a punching bag. He snaps his head up as soon as she walks in. He pushes a cup of coffee to the other side of the island and nods once for her to take it. She does. "Thank you for helping me," he says his voice a little cold, "I appreciate it. But may I ask why you insist on helping me?" his voice is also cautious, almost untrusting. Marli takes a sip of her coffee and shrugs. "I don't know. I just do," she says. Austin shakes his head. "You know, now tell me," he says. Marli puts her coffee down and sighs. "I don't know why Austin. I do it because you are worth it...you mean something," she says. Austin frowns like he can't believe the words coming out of her mouth "No, I am not. I am no good. If you had any sense at all you would leave," he says. Marli's heart plummets, is he kicking her out? "Do you want me to leave?" she asks but Austin ignores her question.
"what do you want? From me. What do you want?"
"N-nothing"
"Don't stumble now, lil mama. Everyone wants something from me. Money, drugs, alcohol, status. Tell me. What do you want?"
Marli stands with her back up straight she looks at him head-on. "Nothing!" She enunciates the word.
"Lier!" Austin snarls and then suddenly he has rounded the island, clutches Marli's hips, lifting her and sitting her on the island then slips his hips between her thighs, bending down slightly so his face is level with hers. "You are a shit liar, lil mama. Tell me now. What do you want?" Marli swallows the lump in her throat. Her hands are burning where they are resting against his chest. She doesn't know how to tell him what she really wants. She takes too long to answer because Austin growls, grabs her hips, and pulls her flush to him. "You, just you Austin Post," She manages to squeak out. He is looking at her with such intensity she finds it hard to breathe when he is so close. "You would ask me for the one thing I can't give you. I am no good. Take something else," he says but Marli shakes her head. There is nothing else she wants. What does she say? There is nothing she can do.
Wait.
She grabs his face and smashes their lips together.
But as quick as it started Austin is pulling away, looking at her like she has two heads. Shit. Austin takes her hands off his face and places them on the island. "Keep your hands on the island. Do not move them" Marli can only nod. He cups her cheeks and leans in, brushing her lips with his. Her head is spinning and she already loses focus. She lifts her hands and places them on Austin's arms, but Austin pulls back taking her hands and placing them firmly back on the island. "Just...do as I say. Keep them here," he says sternly. OK! Just hurry up! He takes her head in his palms again and connects their lips slowly. He runs his tongue softly along her bottom lip and she opens her mouth. He deepens the kiss and Marli's head is spinning, her stomach is doing flip flops and the little nerve endings at the back of her thighs start tingling causing goosebumps to explode throughout her skin. She wants to live forever, but only if Austin is kissing her. She lets out an involuntary whimper and then Austin is pulling back. No! "I should not have done that. Get dressed we leave in two hours," he growls then stalks out of the kitchen. What the fuck.
~
She is sitting at the back of the plane, sulking. She is angry with everyone. Max and Jack for putting Austin in the trunk of their car. Jonas for almost murdering Austin in the pool. Charlie for, well she is not sure but she is still mad at him. Then there's Austin, she is mad at him for kissing her and then leaving. Who the fuck does he think he is. Just walking in kissing her and walking out. Ok, it did not happen like that but still, she is mad at him. She is so mad that she sends Noah a text telling him she has an event tonight but wants to meet up after. He replies immediately saying that he is going to a party tonight she can meet him there after her event. He also sends the address. Marli locks her phone pleased that she showed Austin up, even if he does not know anything of her plans to meet up with Noah. When they land, Austin picks up Marli's bag, but she snatches it back from him. She can carry her own bag. She storms off to the car glaring at Jonas when he opens her door for her and mumbles loud enough under her breath that she can get her own dam door. She also has to work extra hard not to let out a giggle when Jonas tells Austin that he wants to be cremated when he dies as it is his last hope for a smoking hot body. Why is he joking at a time like this? She also does not understand them. They are acting like Jonas did not try and kill Austin in the pool yesterday. They pull up to the LA mansion and Marli storms into the house and straight up to her room. She hates them all.
Half an hour later there is a soft knock on her door and she can hear a woman's voice on the other side of the door. She opens it to find two women and a man. "Hello I am Carmen, this is Betty and Peter. We are here to get you ready for tonight," Carmen says. She lets them in and for the next few hours, they fuss over her. Once her hair and makeup are done and she has gotten into her dress. Peter helps her hang the Dior Y necklace around her neck. They all take a step back, oohs and aahs ensue and then they leave. Another half an hour later she hears another knock on the door, she opens it to reveal Jack who takes a step back and looks her up and down. "Wow Marli, you clean up good," he says. Marli feels a bit shy now and mumbles back a thank you. She leaves her room and starts walking down the stairs watching her steps, halfway down she looks up and sees Austin at the bottom of the stairs with wide eyes and raised eyebrows looking at her. She sees him mouthing, "holy Fuck". When she reaches him he lets out a soft whistle. He takes her hand and makes her spin around slowly. "Beautiful. You are beautiful, lil mama," he says while placing a kiss on her cheek and then extending his elbow for her to take, she does and they walk to the car.
Her anger with him is now long forgotten.
Once in the car, Jonas runs through what's going to happen at the event. When they arrive Austin will walk the red carpet alone, and Marli and Jonas will go around the side and wait near the entrance for Austin. It will look like he has arrived at the event alone. Once inside Jonas explains that it's an exclusive event and so media or photography will not be allowed inside except for a few fashion magazines that have photoshoot areas set up at the side. They will only be taking photos of those that go into those specific areas. Dior has requested that Marli pose for several photos due to the dress being currently exclusive and unreleased. Marli feels a little sick at the idea of posing for big magazines, but the dress makes her feel magical and confident so she really wants to show it off. When they arrive Austin is whisked away down the carpet for photos while Marli and Jonas go stand and wait for him in their agreed spot. Eventually, Austin comes into view, stopping to pose for the cameras now and then. Marli can't help her heart beating a little faster when she sees him. He is a magnificent-looking man. Eventually, he is done with the media and steps into the event. His eyes find Marli immediately and he makes a beeline for her. He surprises her by crowding her a bit and placing his hand on the small of her back, rubbing his thumb softly on her exposed skin. It almost feels like he is claiming her. This is very odd behavior from him. Usually, he keeps her at arm's length at events or parties like this. He obviously senses her confusion and leans down to whisper in her ear, "this is an exclusive party. No cameras. No public and no media. We can relax a little bit." Marli feels like she should feel a little offended at his remark like she is only good enough to be around if no one can slap them on the cover of a magazine. But then again he is touching her, he is leaning against her and his weight is comforting. If anyone were to glance over at them they would be forgiven for thinking they were a couple. So Marli is going to let herself pretend, even if it's for one night. A lot of people come up to talk with Austin and he never takes his hand off the small of her back she feels proud standing by his side even if she has to avoid the blatant deathly stares from some skanks, how do they even get into these places with their cheap heals and even cheaper morals?
Jonas steals one of the fancy gift bags and gives it to Marli as a peace offering, she takes it gingerly. She is scared to look inside as Jonas never seems to be able to hold back on his jokes, but when she takes a peek inside she sees jewelry, cosmetics, clothing, beauty and health products, gadgets, and a few gift certificates. Nice. After a while, Jonas has to practically pry Marli from Austin's hand as some of the magazines are starting to ask about the dress. They want photos of the dress. Marli has never done any type of photo shoot but the photographers don't seem to mind they just instruct their assistants to turn and twist her in the direction they want her. After an hour of that, she can re-enter the event. She sees a stench of skanks have descended on Austin, their claws literally digging into his beautiful blue suit. She doesn't have the energy, or the stick to beat them off so she stands to the side and watches the weird contortionist the event has hired for entertainment. If it was not for her the event would be boring. But then again it's for a really good cause. The funds raised are going down to build a few hearing-impaired schools in Mexico so Marli doesn't mind staying and mingling. After a while, she feels Austin's hand on the small of her back again. She can't help the feeling of pride when it feels like her back was molded to fit Austin's hand perfectly. She turns to look at him and he flicks his head to the exit. Home time then, it's past midnight so she is definitely ready.
~
She climbs into her bed and lets the evening replay over and over in her head. Such a beautiful hall, it had a Moroccan theme to it with beautiful intricate lanterns dotted around among rich-colored and beautifully patterned materials. She is in a twilight zone, that space between sleep and wake when her phone buzzes with a text. She sits up and sees it's from Noah. Oh no! She was supposed to meet him tonight. She really does not want to go so she shoots him back a text but then he becomes relentless going on and on about her promising to meet him she feels really bad and decides she will go for just one drink. She gets up and dressed. She goes to knock on Austin's door but then stops herself. What is she doing? Austin is not her father she does not need to ask him permission to meet up with a friend. She does not even need to let him know where she is going. Besides, she knows he will just stop her. So she leaves the house without telling anyone and catches the cab to the address Noah has sent her. It's literally one street over. She could have walked over from Austin's mansion. Noah is waiting for her on the curb and engulfs her in a big hug. She feels slightly uncomfortable with the way he is stroking her back and she is pretty sure he sniffed her hair. She shakes the feeling off. She has spent so much time looking after Austin that she sometimes forgets that she is only 19 years old and should be much more carefree than she is. Noah hands her a drink when they enter the house, she hesitates at first but then accepts it. There are only about 15 people at the house and again an uncomfortable feeling in her chest rattles but she shakes it off. He leads her to the backyard where there is a dirty-looking couch sitting in the grass and he ushers Marli to sit down in it.
Now that she is seated and looking around more she realizes this is not what a normal LA party looks like. It feels grotty and there is a nagging in the pit of her stomach. But she shakes her head, come on she can't be that much of a snob. A few people make their way to the couch and Marli feels almost claustrophobic with the number of people now squeezed around her. Some people start talking to her and she can see immediately that they are high. She takes another look around and sees that every single person is as high as a kite. They would not recognize the queen even if she was standing in front of them. She looks over at Noah and shit. He is high too, he is also looking at her in a creepy way that makes her skin crawl and the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up. "Noah, I think I should go," Marli says. Noah looks annoyed. "What? But, you just got here," he says leaning in on her and she feels even more uncomfortable. "This was a mistake, I am just going to go," she says trying to stand up but Noah pushes her back into the couch and shakes his head. "Oh no you don't," he spits out. Marli feels a little scared. The girl sitting next to her puts a book under Marli's nose, on the book are a few lines of cocaine. Noah picks up a rolled banknote and hands it to her. Marli is out of her depths here. She takes the note with a shaking hand. Noah then rests his hand on her thigh and leans his chest on her side. How the hell had she gone from a beautifully decorated ballroom and a magnificent ball gown to sitting on a dirty couch with a sleazy man leering over her? "Have some," he says, his mouth is close to her ear she can feel the droplets of spit splash from his lips onto her ear. Marli shakes her head, she is fighting off the tears.
"I will make you a deal, snort a line and I will let you up," he says, his lips still close to her ear. How had he gone from the sweetest guy to this nasty high creature before her? She shakes her head again. Noah leans back on the couch and it looks like he is trying to calm himself. She chances a look at the girl sitting next to her, she looks a bit scared too. Marli's phone is still in her hand so she swipes it open and hits speed dial 1, it's Austin's number. But before she can bring it up to her ear Noah grabs the phone and flings it away. He looks super mad now. He grabs the back of her neck suddenly and squeezes. He is hurting her and she is desperate to get him to stop so she starts pleading with him to stop, but her pleading only makes him squeeze harder. "Take a line and I will stop," his voice is nasty and callous. Marli is petrified but she is trying to hide it, she shakes her head again and then Noah raises his hand and gives her a backhanded slap. Her cheek is stinging and she has a metallic taste in her mouth from her blood. He then lifts his hand again. "OK! Ok! Just stop. I will do it," she squeaks out and he lets her go. She bends over the book, she has never done this before. How is she supposed to do this? The girl senses her hesitation. "Close your one nostril, hold the bankroll up to your other, and then do a big sniff. I will do it with you. Hold this please, Noah," she requests. Still leaning his weight on her Noah holds the book for them. They lean down, Marli readies herself as instructed and the girl counts to three then Marli takes a big sniff and the white powder zips into her nose.
At first, it burns her nose cavity and she smells something similar to gasoline then everything is numb, her throat, mouth, and her tongue. She suddenly has a burst of energy and then she is feeling pleasant like she is swirling in a space of euphoria. But she still doesn't want Noah leaning on her like he is it feels like he is getting heavier and heavier. Then suddenly Noah is flung into the air, Marli watches as he flies over her head landing a meter or so across the other side of the couch. Did she do that?
Then Austin's face comes into view. Oh wow, this drug is amazing. She could look at Austin's face all day, but something is wrong he looks very worried and she does not like that. Don't be worried. He has her face in his hands, he is saying something to her, but her brain is going a million miles an hour and she can't make out what he is saying. Then she sees Jonas' face. She is not mad at him anymore. Why was she mad at him? She really likes Jonas. She also really likes her dogs, she misses them. She knows she won't be able to sleep well without them. She wants to go home to Utah and see her dogs. She looks for Austin again and he is nodding. She thinks he says, "ok, I will take you home right now." Can he read her mind? And then she is being moved.
She wakes up on the plane cradled in Austin's arms. His arms are like steel bars but also so soft. Her skin feels itchy and she wriggles a bit. Austin pulls her in tight and the pressure is comforting so she relaxes a bit. He looks down at her. "I am sorry," he says then kisses her forehead, she closes her eyes at the sensation and can't open them again. But she can hear everything. "I don't think it was just cocaine in whatever she fucking snorted," Austin says. "I agree. I phoned the doctor and he will meet us on the plane when we land. Just to check her out. But I think they will take her to the hospital even if it's just for observation," Jonas says.
"I knew that guy was a rat. I should have killed him. Look at what he fucking did," Austin sounds angry and if he was not gently running his fingers through her hair she would be cowering at the tone of his voice. "I thought you had you insane dick. The way he went flying like that after you punched him. I called the police on them after we left and your lawyers too. They just phoned back to say everyone was so high including Noah that no one even knows what the hell happened, but they will bury this and Noah," Jonas says.
~
Marli wakes up to the beep, beep, beep sound of a heart monitor. Looking around she sees that she is in a hospital bed. She is also lying on top of a sleeping Austin. She shifts to sit up when a nurse walks in. She looks at Marli then puts her finger to her lips and then leans in close whispering, "he just fell asleep, he has been a tyrant and driving us all mad. We are appreciating the quiet. Please don't wake him just yet." Marli smirks at her and nods.
She watches the nurse check some stuff and gladly accepts two big water bottles from her. "We are busy flushing your system. He said you took what looked like cocaine but the way your body reacted we think it may have been laced with other stuff. You are fine now, but still drink as much fluid as you can," the nurse explains. Marli gives her a weak smile. "Thank you," she whispers. After the nurse leaves Austin opens one eye and says, "I was nothing of the sort. A tyrant?" He huffs. Marli turns to him and without warning tears well up in her eyes and she is flinging herself back down across his beautiful body. He soothes her, stroking her back like a child. After a while, she has calmed down some so she sits back up.
"How did you find me?"
"I have a tracker on your phone. I traced your call."
"Austin, you can't just put a tracker on my phone."
"It's a moot point now. Considering what happened, you are lucky I did."
Marli's blood is boiling. Arrogant ass. "Why did you do that? Leave the house and not tell anyone," he asks. Marli wipes some tears from her face. "I thought you would have stopped me," she says. Austin nods. "Well, you were right. I would have. It was dangerous and irresponsible," he says.
"You do it all the time! How can you judge me?"
"I am not playing that game with you, lil mama. I am not judging you. Don't be silly."
She is not silly. People have made worse decisions than she has. Namely this arrogant man lying in her hospital bed.
"I thought it would be ok. I mean he works for the Jaxton Brothers."
"What? Lil mama, that boy does not work for the Jaxton Brothers."
"Yes, he does. He told me he was their PA. He even introduced me to them."
Now that she thinks about it. That's not how it went. Noah had whispered in her ear before they got to the Jaxton Brothers that he worked for them. The Jaxton Brothers had been friendly and greeted them both. Oh, shit had he been just following them around LA?
"No. I know their PA, she is their sister. Noah lied to you. You can't be so gullible!"
Marli shakes her head in disbelief.
"I have a good mind to hire you a bodyguard just to babysit you."
"I don't want a bodyguard."
"You say that like you have a choice in the matter."
"Well, I do!! I do have a choice in the matter! You make my head spin, Austin Post! Why do I have to be so responsible? Yet you get to run amock with everything...including me!!"
"You are right. This is my fault. I introduced you to this," Austin's voice is quiet. No, he does not get to do this. Turn it around and make out that he is the bad guy here. She does not know why she does it, but she shifts up in the bed and she kisses him. He is hesitant at first and then he seems to lose a little control and surges into the kiss knocking the breath out of her. They kiss for a while and then he pushes her into his side insisting she sleeps. Marli thinks things will change now. She has scared him, she scared herself. It will all be ok now. Right?
Because she loves him.
Oh, that's a thing now.......
Marli is very very much in love with Austin Post.