A/n: boring chapter sorry
"Well, that didn't work." You grumbled to your colleagues and your boss.
"Are you okay?" Jerome asked you as Bambi inspected your face for any injuries.
"Damn it, he didn't hit me. He's smart not to leave any evidence of abuse." You struck your desk with your hand in frustration.
"...well, at least you're okay." Bambi placed his hands on his hips.
"His car was kinda totalled, though."
"What happened?" Asey asked as she chews on a candy bar.
"He missed a red light and rammed into a car— well, it's more like a car rammed into his." You explained before taking a sip of your drink.
"No wonder a headlight looks busted when he dropped you off." (F/n) cuts in.
You brought your hands to your head and groaned in frustration, you wanted to get out of this so badly. But Marion just wouldn't take the bait.
"Nice shoes, by the way." Asey pointed at them with a pinkie finger.
"Thanks."
—
You ignored the incessant ringing on your phone. You're planning to skip lunch so you wouldn't have to face Marion.
You kept a straight face on as you tapped away.
"Yo, he's gonna gut you." Asey pointed at your noisy device.
"Tell him I'm takin' the biggest shit in my life. Can't join him today." You gave Asey a dismissive wave before turning your phone off.
You're so sick of Marion. You're planning to anger him enough to inflict some physical pain so that you could use the bruise or cut as evidence that he's trying to kill you. That is how desperate you now are, you knew that you're risking your life, but you just wanted to be free from him.
You told your friends that if you did not call them by seven P.M tonight, they should ring the police up.
You're tired of living in fear. You're tired of his mood swings, you're tired of your past and you're tired of Marion.
Sighing, you stood up and stretched your limbs. Time for a genuine bathroom break.
But before you could go very far...
"(Y/n)! Check it out!" (F/n) gestured you to come to her, a small crowd is gathering around this one particular spot. Your other co-workers are trying to get a good view of what's happening outside too.
"Huh?" You made a small jog to the hotspot. Squeezing your way through, you saw Marion's car in front of the building. Nothing new.
"What's up—" then, the brunette emerged into view with a closed-off body language. You flinched at the sight of him.
After that, you heard some yelling. Not exactly... yelling, but it was loud and aggressive. The voice did not belong to Marion, so who is possibly making that noise?
If a fight breaks out in front of your workplace because of Marion, you're done for. You're so going to get in trouble with HR.
You stomp your feet for a bit before bolting to the elevator, knowing that you're the only one that can disperse the fight.
"—cash ain't enough, dude! It was your fault, bro. You gotta apologize to my buddy Thor here!" The foreign voice reached your ears when the elevator door opened.
Oh.
You cringed, it must be the person who Marion crashed into. It's such an embarrassment to be Marion's girlfriend.
You rushed out of the main entrance to see Marion emotionally detached and quiet. He does not seem to be angry at all, it's more like he's bored of listening to the other man.
"They don't seem to be from here..." you thought to yourself as you scanned the two strangers from head to toe. The taller one looked like he surfs the waves a lot while the shorter one looks like he does not get enough sleep or showers.
"It's not hard, dude. Apologize to him!"
"We should let it go, I mean, he agreed to pay for the damages already." The shorter one tugged on his arm.
"No, man! It's not cool that he does that without saying a lil' sorry!"
"Hey, break it up, take it somewhere else. Don't start a damn fight in front of an office." You interjected. Marion's face lit up as soon as you entered his field of view.
"(Y/n)!" He whispered, wrapping his arms around you and planting numerous kisses all over your face. He cupped your cheek and pushed your head into his chest.
"Why didn't you answer any of my calls?" He murmured.
"Ahem, ahem. We didn't just disappear into thin air, dude." The tall one crossed his arms and shot Marion a glare.
Unfortunately for them, Marion continued to mollycoddle you as if they don't exist. Looks like you'll have to say something again.
You pushed the brunette away, this earns a pouty frown from the model as he awkwardly fiddles with his gloved fingers.
"Gentlemen, please take this somewhere else. This isn't the appropriate place to settle this." You spoke, controlling your tone.
"Chick, we just want him to apologize for being a road idiot. But his pride is like... way up his ass." The tall one spat. Marion gave them a side eye.
"I'll tell you this, once ya get an apology outta him, we're gonna get out of yer hair too. Cool?" He negotiates.
"Wait, how did you find this place?" You asked, a bit creeped out.
"After that crash last night, Thorky's car stopped working. We ain't from around here, chick. We can't get back home without his car." He explained.
"So we literally had to do some research on your boy's plate number, went to his house, only to see that no one's home, got chased by some dogs, got chased by some salesmen, got chased by some gangs, got chased by some wasps, got chased by some cops—" he rambled on.
"—through my 'Lizardly' luck, we found his car with the headlights still busted at a pharmacy. Dude, he literally drove away on us— we had to chase after him in the heat. By foot." The tall one wiped his sweat away. His friend looks incredibly sunburnt, his skin on his face and limbs are terribly red.
"Obviously we ain't gonna give up, we want a damn apology, man! And Some money too!" The shorter one tried to calm his companion's temper by resting a hand on his arm.
"What would you like to eat today? I heard that there is a 40% discount for couples in (microwaveean favourite restaurant) now." Marion continued ignoring the two furious men in front of the both of you.
"Marion, we have a situation here." You gestured towards them. He scowled, taking his wallet out.
"Here. Leave us alone." He handed them a thin stack of five hundred dollar bills. It must worth at least a few thousand dollars in his hand, you never knew Marion brought that much cash with him.
You're surprised that he actually made that much money. You thought modelling was a scam, guess not.
The shorter male's beady eyes gleamed at the amount of money presented to him.
"Apology accepted." He snatched it away from Marion's hand and ran in the opposite direction.
All three of you wordlessly watched him excitedly enter the bakery nearby.
"Thor! For ass's sake..." The other one cursed.
"Why are you still here?" Marion coldly asked.
"Cause I don't accept your 'apology'! Dude, just say 'I'm sorry I was an asshole, an idiot and a dumbass. I won't do it again and Lizard is the handsomest and greatest guy I've ever met.' Then, I'll get out of your hair for good." You squinted at the man who you assume his name to be 'Lizard'. What a narcissist.
"Weird name. But who am I to judge?" You thought to yourself.
"I don't have the patience for this." Marion gently and lovingly intertwined his fingers with yours, he was about to lead you away until you snatched your own hand back.
Lizard displayed surprise on his face as heartbreak and sadness appears on Marion's. Maybe if you could get a violent reaction out of the brunette, Lizard might testify against him in court. Increasing the chance of (legally!) ridding Marion from your life.
"(Y/n), don't be like that..." he whined, attempting to hold your hand once again.
"I have somewhere to be." You pursed your lips and turned on your heel.
"(Y/n)!" His voice cracked with desperation as his fingers dug into your arm. You winced in pain and jerk backward because of his powerful tug.
"Whoa! What's going on here, dudette!?" Lizard was ready to pull Marion off you until you gestured him not to.
The brunette realizes his presence and snarled at him. He displayed evident hostility in his brown eyes, giving Lizard a clear signal to mind his own business.
But Lizard being Lizard, he does not pick those signs up. Actually, he does, but he chooses to ignore the danger that lies past it.
"Bro... something's fishy here, dude. I don't like the vibes he's givin' out." He kept himself in a defensive stance, ready to protect you and himself as soon as Marion makes a dangerous move.
"You don't know us." Marion rudely spoke, venom was dripping down every word.
"Well damn, I'd like to know yall. The name's Lizard T-boy, I think your name is Mandy. Right?" He pointed at Marion.
You snorted. That was funny, you wonder if it's an insult or he genuinely thought Marion's name was Mandy.
"Let's go, (y/n)." Marion cooed, gently wrapping his arm around your waist. You twisted your head around and shoot Lizard an unsure look.
A look that screams for help.
Lizard picked up on that very well. He widened his eyes in alarm, you're in trouble!
"Yo! I wanna join too!" Lizard jogged up to the both of you.
Marion held you closer to him, his lips are on the crown of your head as he eyed Lizard carefully. You're amazed by how this man does not seem to care that Marion had a murderous aura around him.
Or maybe he's just socially inept. Whatever it is, you're grateful that you don't need to spend time with Marion alone.
"Please stay away from us or I will report you to the authorities." Marion warned.
Lizard halted and contemplated for a while. Is it worth doing this? He has too much on his name already, he doesn't want to spend more time in jail! Who will take care of his best friend, Thor!? He can't survive a day without him, especially with his luck!
You gave him a pleading look to not abandon you. Lizard felt his heart wrench at that, he wanted to help you so badly but he needs to consider other factors too.
Satisfied that he isn't following the both of you anymore, he continued leading you away from Lizard.
Your heart sunk, you had your hopes up. Hmm, oh well. You hope that he's bringing you to a restaurant and not somewhere questionable.
Lizard watched you and your toxic boyfriend enter his car. He shook his head and turned around to check if Thor is out of the bakery yet.
As if on cue, Thor came out drinking from a cold water bottle with a bag filled with hot, fresh pastries in his other hand.
"Can you believe that I got this much for only fifteen bucks?!" Thor happily showed his companion his 'haul'. It looks like it's enough to last the both of them for three days.
"With this much money, we can get my car fixed and stay here for a few more nights!" The shorter male took a soft bun filled with buttermilk and handed it to Lizard.
"What should we do?" He asked as he took a pastry out for himself.
Lizard rubbed his goatee before taking a chomp out of his baked good.
"...We go on another dumb adventure, dude."
Thor's smile fell.