This morning, as expected, my face shows my lack of sleep. Like a really bad hangover, my head is throbbing. I drag myself to work, star style, wearing sunglasses because my eyes couldn't stand the sunlight. On my arrival I wasn't surprised to see Mark wasn't there yet. He probably had more trouble than me getting up. Two hours later, still no sign of Mark. As time ticks on I begin to wonder if he even heard his clock go off this morning. I hear someone behind me and turn to see Dean coming into my cubicle.
"Hello Dean."
"Hello Ana. Have you seen Mark this morning?"
"No, he had some family problems that spilled over into this morning. He won't be here until after lunch."
"Oh, I hope it wasn't serious."
"Me too, I hope everything is okay."
We are interrupted by Colten. Dean excuses himself to assist with some design crisis.
"Where is he?" Colten asks.
"His brother was in a race and had an accident last night." I answer.
"He talked to you about that?" Colten asks sitting in Mark's chair.
"Yeah, I was with him at the hospital last night. He called me and asked for me to help him."
"He texted me last night and told me about it in the middle of the night. He told me his brother was okay."
"Yeah Matt had an injury to his back. They kept him over night. I still haven't heard from either of them and I'm beginning to worry."
"Don't worry Ana, I am sure everything is fine. Mark is just taking care of his brother's mess as usual."
"As usual?"
"Yeah, Matt always is getting himself into trouble that Mark has to sort out. Between them there is a merry fucking mess."
"Can you try to call Mark and find out what's going on."
"I'll try but I can't promise anything." Colten leaves with a worried look on his face.
At least one good thing came out of Matt's accident. This was the first semi- normal conversation I've ever had with Colten.
I send Mark a message. "Where are you? Dean is looking for you."
Three P.M. and still no sign of Mark. Suddenly I hear heavy footsteps I've been waiting to hear all day. He rounds the corner.
"Hey angel!"
"Mark."
I stand up and eagerly give him a hug. I'm relieved he is finally here.
He gets settled in his chair tucking his motorcycle helmet under the desk. He looks exhausted.
"Are you ok? How's Matt? I was so worried about both of you."
"I'm frustrated, it was complicated getting him out of the hospital. I finally convinced them to let him out. He's in pain but he'll live. I had an argument with Matt, but I don't want to talk about it."
I let Mark settle and get comfortable. He needs a moment to catch his breath. If Mark doesn't want to elaborate that's fine. Judging by the way he looks it was a really bad morning.
"Didn't you have your phone?"
"No, I was really out of it this morning. I forgot to grab it. Did you try to call?"
"Yes, I was worried."
"Your too sweet angel." He says looking at me tenderly. He comes toward me laying his lips against my forehead.
"You should talk to Colten, I think I worried him earlier."
"I went to see him before I came up."
"Oh, so he comes before me?"
"No, I just like to save the best for last." Mark smiles.
"Yes well, in that case you need to go see Dean before we finish this conversation. He was looking for you."
Mark sighs. I watch him walk innocently to Dean's office. While he is gone I take the opportunity to text Matt again. "Happy your home, feel better. Call if you need to. Ana."
Mark is gone for 15 minutes. He comes back and sits at his desk. We didn't talk about Matt for the rest of the day. But we did make plans to go to the gym since we skipped it the night before. I finished and left Mark to go grab my gear. I took Reno for a quick walk and went to meet Mark at the gym.
"Ana!" Mark says as he runs up behind me walking inside the building. I jump not seeing him there. He laughs realizing that he startled me.
"You're going to pay for that." I threaten.
"Yeah we'll see."
"You know guys that show off don't scare me."
"Oh, you think I show off?"
I smile and nod at him.
I quickly go change and meet Mark in the ring.
"Ready for pain angel?" Mark says.
"You don't scare me." I say pushing him playfully. "You're the one who is going to suffer. You can still call it a day weakling." I tease.
"Hey girl, you barely even measure up to my shoulder."
"Stop gabbing and come fight."
We do a gentle warm up and I think back to last night between kicks.
"Have you heard from Matt since you took him home?" I ask. "I've sent him several messages and he hasn't responded."
"I'm sure he's fine."
"You're sure? So, you haven't spoken to him since you took him home?"
"I'm not his mother and neither are you I might add." He snaps at me.
I don't say anything. I don't know why he gets so angry every time we talk about his brother. He gets so defensive.
Mark attacks without warning. I avoid it just barely. I retaliate with a kick to the shin. Mark is thrown off. He falls to one knee but quickly gets back up with fire in his eyes. His expression tells me we aren't playing anymore. We are settling the score and fighting it out.
"Is it really necessary to text him, I mean you're not really friends? How did you even get his number?"
Mark doesn't give me time to respond. He gives me a blow to the stomach that leaves me gasping for air. I double over for a minute. He is going to pay for that with kicks and punches. I straighten up in the short time frame he gives me. I look at him with hurt and anger in my eyes.
"I will text him if I feel like it, you don't own me!" I charge and throw him an uppercut. "For the record we are friends. I met him before I knew you were brothers."
I watch Mark's eyes contract. He looks infuriated. Suddenly he spins around so quickly that in a fraction of a second I'm standing with my back to him. He knocks me down and comes over me pinning me to the floor. His whole body shakes with rage. He holds my arms with his hands, his shins pinning my thighs, so I can't move it all. His face is only a few centimeters from mine. I can feel his warm breath on my face. Beads of sweat forming on his. His eyes are fixed on mine. Our chests rise and fall together touching at times. The tension is so palpable it could be cut with a knife. We are starting to draw attention from onlookers.
I struggle for a moment trying to get free, Mark's tense body weighs on mine. It's no use, I'm totally blocked.
"There is nothing good in my brother!" He says sternly. "There is nothing good in my brother." He utters, this time without hostility. His voice croaky and his eyes change in intensity. He hasn't taken his eyes off my lips. My heart is beating fast. Not from physical effort but because of the silent promise he is now making me. I stretch my neck up slightly to quickly steal a kiss. Our lips are locked together. I don't care that we are in a boxing ring in public. He loosens his grip and I pull my hand free placing it on the back of his head drawing him in for more and climbing to my knees. We kneel in front of each other with our lips locked together. Our embrace is interrupted by a guy whistling from the back of the room.
"Get a room!" He shouts smiling.
"Shut up, Dalton." Mark shouts back.
The guy laughs obnoxiously, leering at us before going back to what he was doing. Mark helps me up. A lump begins to form in my throat.
"I... I'm going to go."
"Ana, wait."
I don't look back at him. I rush out of the ring to get my things and go home. I avoid Mark as I go outside where it's pouring. It's as if the weather is tuned in to my life. I wonder why Mark was so aggressive. It's not like the Mark that I know. I sigh. Nothing makes since anymore. My eyes become misty the more I think about it. I don't like the way I left him.
I send Matt one last message. After several minutes there's still no answer. I feel abandoned.
"Fuck!" I yell at the sky, cursing the two of them. I'm done dealing with my life right now. Maybe it's time to call my brother and cry on his shoulder.