by Tia Wylder
“You didn’t sound right on the phone. I thought that maybe something had happened.”
“Like what?” Jane asked. She had situated herself right between them, somewhat of a guard, though Mark knew she was just being nosy. “Like she was going through a breakup or something? You came ready to swoop in, didn’t you?”
“Jane…” Jen started.
Mark only laughed. He took a seat. “Jane, what are you even doing here?”
“Can’t a girl visit her sister?”
“Well, then, can’t a guy visit his best friend?”
Jane put on an exaggerated suspicious face but said nothing.
Jen sighed. “Come on guys, it’s way too early in the morning for your arguing and I have to get ready for work soon, so you guys better leave.”
Mark and Jane looked at her, then looked at each other, then laughed.
Jen sighed again. “You two are going to be the death of me. And you, Mark, stopping rush down here whenever you have a feeling something’s off. I was just reacting to exciting news Jane told me, that’s all. It was nothing to worry about.”
“What sort of exciting news?”
Jen looked at her sister. “Why don’t you tell him?”
Mark didn’t know how she did it but Jane suddenly had an apple in her hand. He hadn’t even heard her move. It was her best talent, honestly. She bit into it and said, “I’m about to be signed by a publishing house.”
“You what? Jane, that’s awesome!”
“I know,” she said nonchalantly though a smile was creeping over her face. “I’m awesome so I guess it only makes sense.”
“She’s going to drive them insane,” Jen predicted and Mark nodded. It took a special breed of strength to deal with Jane Wilson.
Jane shrugged. “If they can’t handle me then it’s their loss. I have a meeting with them tomorrow so let’s see how things go.”
“I’m proud of you, sis,” Jen said.
“Yes, yes. You’ve said this like ten times already. But thank you.”
Jen finished off drying the last of the plates and put the towel away. She walked over to her sister and rustled her hair like she would when they were younger. Mark had watched Jane grow from annoyed by the pestering action to immune to it. “You’re welcome,” Jen said. “Now, if you two will excuse me, I’m going to go take a shower and get ready for work. Mark, stop showing up at my apartment at such an ungodly hour.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, though he had no intention of listening. Jen knew that too. She shook her head and walked away, leaving Mark and Jane all alone.
Usually, he didn’t mind being alone with Jen’s sister. She was funny and cool and could always fill awkward silences without making it look like she was trying too hard. This time however, she was just staring at him and each crunchy bite of her apple sounded way louder than it should be.
Finally, he asked, “What?”
“Are you seeing someone?”
“Why do you ask? Finally ready to admit that you’ve been in love with me all these years?”
“Over your dead body. I just want to know if you’re single right now.”
“Again, why do you ask?”
“I know something is going on between you and Crystal.”
Mark didn’t react outwardly to that. For a moment there, he forgot Crystal and Jane were friends. Crystal was such a lone wolf, she didn’t seem like the type to mingle with others for long. He didn’t bother to deny it either. “And what about it?”
“If you hurt her, you know I’m coming for you.” She leaned closer to him. “You know that right?”
“Crystal and I aren’t in anything exclusive,” he told her.
“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Crystal might act tough but she’s softer than she thinks she is so I don’t want you playing with her heart. You got that?”
“Jane—”
“Did you get that?”
The seriousness of her question made him sober up a bit. “I don’t want to hurt her.” That much he would say. That much, he could admit easily to himself.
Jane was satisfied with that. She straightened. “Alright, good. As long as we’re clear on that point then we should be good. I like you, Mark. Don’t give me a reason to dislike you.”
Mark had no doubt in his mind that Jane would be the first one banging down his door holding a pitchfork in one hand and a torch in the other, ready to dole out her brand of justice if he so much as made Crystal cry. But Crystal was tough. She wasn’t a crier and she certainly wasn’t someone whose heart could be broken so easily. She knew what this was. Something casual, easy, comfortable. He didn’t have to worry about her. It was himself he was concerned about. Because there was one woman he had rushed over to at the slightest indication that something was wrong, and another who was waiting for him when he got back. The confusion that surrounded the two was something he couldn’t even fathom right now.
**
Mark strolled back into the penthouse to find Crystal standing by the elevator doors. Her hands were behind her back, her chin jutted outwards and her eyes staring out at nothing. She was so still, barely even blinking when he came to stand beside her that he wondered if she realized he was here.
“Crystal?” he called softly.
She turned her head to look at him. “Yes?” Her tone was flat and dry. It somehow flooded the room with a slight chill.
“What’s wrong?”
“I should be asking you that.” She turned to him fully, her hands still behind her. “Is Jen okay?”
“It was a false alarm,” he said. “I overreacted.”
“Hmm.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked again.
“Nothing is wrong. Does something seem off here?”
“Yes,” he said, frowning. Her tone, her stance, the coldness he felt radiating off her. A lot of things felt off right now. But he couldn’t say that so instead he asked, “Why were you just standing by the elevator doors?”
“I was waiting for you to get back.”
“I’ve been gone for at least two hours, though. You were standing here the whole time?”
“Well,” she started, not even looking at him at this point. “When you tell your bodyguard that you’re heading out and tell them not to come, it only makes sense to prepare for the possibility of you stumbling in through those doors a bloody mess because you couldn’t handle your own.”
He frowned at the twinge of hostility he heard in her tone. Where was all this coming from? “You’ve taught me a lot,” was what he said. “I think I could handle someone trying to attack me on my own.”
“Then what am I still doing here?” She looked him in the eye. “It sounds like you don’t need a bodyguard anymore.”
“Crystal, is something wrong? You sound … mad.”
“Mad?” Her dry tone could have caused a fire. It was, actually. A small ember of unease had been ignited in him and he was growing agitated not knowing what to do. “I have no reason to be mad. Please, however, tell me if you still need a bodyguard, or if I’m wasting my time.”
“You know I want you here.”
“As your bodyguard?”
“You’re more than that now.”
“Hmm.”
The confusion and agitation set in even further. Mark frowned at her. Something was wrong but he couldn’t figure out what it was.
“Crystal—”
“I’m sure you have work to do,” she cut in icily. “You have spy to catch, remember?”
Mark took the very obvious hint. She didn’t want to talk yet? Okay. He knew women could be like this, holding in their anger until they were ready to let it all loose. Crystal, though she was unlike any woman he’s ever known, could be just like that.
“Alright, to my office, then.” She followed silently behind and though she kept quiet throughout the rest of the morning, it felt like she had said a whole host of things to him he just didn’t understand.
Chapter 8
A few days passed and they barely said a word to each other. Mark was going out of his mind. She was his constant shadow, following him around the house, to meetings, to appointments and whatever it was he had to do. But, like a guard dog, she only watched but said nothing. It was nearly eerie how easily she could maintain silence around him while he was going out of his mind.
But at night, she was a bit different. The cold indifference would fade and she would say a few words to him. She wouldn’t smile anymore, but there was no denying the unmistakable lust in her eyes when she looked at him. Mark wanted to say no to her. He wanted to sort through whatever had happened between them to have broken their growing connection. He wanted to see if it could be repaired, if he could go back to what they were before. But there was no resisting her. She didn’t have to do much. Sometimes, she was subtle. Standing a little closer to him, brushing his arm with her hand, running her hungry gaze down the length of him. He wouldn’t be able to resist her after that, desperate any sort of physical connection in the hopes that it might mend their emotional one. Other times, she was bolder, kissing him out of nowhere or telling him just what she wanted him to do to her. Mark had no hope of resistance in those moments.
Because of this, there was one thing he knew for sure. She still wanted him, despite whatever it was that was making her like this. And it bred hope in him. It made him talk more within the silences, jabbering on and on hoping that he might get her to crack and say something back. He took to offering her food, dinner dates, another trip to the amusement park. Once, he found himself browsing an online shopping store and he nearly turned the computer screen to her to ask if she liked the bag he was thinking of getting her, before he came to his senses. In time, as the days wore on, Mark’s every thought was centered on getting the Crystal he had grown attached to back. Or at the very least, an answer. He wanted an explanation.
It made work difficult and he forgot all about Jen. It wasn’t until he saw a text nearly a week after he stopped by her house did he realize that he hadn’t given Jen a single thought since he came home to find the closed off version of Crystal. He was preoccupied with her, spending his days trying to understand what went wrong and his nights lost in her soft, scented flesh.
And as the days wore on, his patience wore thin. His desperation grew, but he didn’t want to focus on that. He focused instead on the annoyance that soon morphed into anger. At this point, it was simply ridiculous. There was no need, he believed, for her to drag it on for so long.
So finally, after tip-toeing around it and trying to find other more methodical ways of figuring out what was wrong, Mark approached her head on. He had lasted until evening fell, after an hour of silence had gone by with only the sound of his fingers flying over the keyboard. Suddenly, he turned to her. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Her eyes flickered down to him. “Excuse me?”
“You know what I’m talking about. You’re different. You’re treating me like a stranger.”
Then they flickered away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You do know that the hell I’m talking about, Crystal.” Wired now, he shot of his chair. Crystal followed him with her eyes. “You’ve been doing this weird silent treatment thing with me as if we’re five year olds. If you have a problem with me, just say it now and let’s work it out like adults.”
“I have no problem with you, boss.”
It was the ‘boss’ that flew him over the edge. He whirled on her, grabbing her by the arms. Crystal calmly looked him in the eye. “You’re driving me insane,” he said angrily. “Tell me what the hell it is you’re so upset about so I can fix it. This goddamn thing can’t go on for any longer, you hear me? I’m sick of it.”
For a brief second, he saw something in her eyes he recognized all too well. Yearning. It was a different type of yearning though, one lined with the usual thirst for his body but deepened by a longing for something else. Before he could decipher what it was, she was brushing his hands away and stepping out of his grasp.
“For the last time, Mark,” she said. “I have nothing to say to you.”
“Yeah?” He stepped away, anger rushing through his every vein. He knew she could see it but he couldn’t tell if she was affected by it. He couldn’t tell anything about her anymore. “Alright,” he said. They both could tell it was anything but alright. “If you say so.”
The silence wore on for the rest of the night, the air charged. Mark didn’t look at her, didn’t even acknowledge her presence for the rest of the night. He was so angry, so confused and frustrated that he didn’t know what to do. He wanted to grab her and shake her, get the truth out before this went on any longer but he was all out of options. Cracking Crystal Fey open was a bigger task than he could handle.
**
He slipped away from her. Crystal realized this a much too late and by that time, he could be anywhere. Mark left his phone his office and so she did as well. She hurried around the flat, making sure he wasn’t just hiding out somewhere else but no. He was good and gone.
The one time she had elected to stay in the office. After he demanded that he tell her what was wrong and failing, Crystal was too angry to care about doing her job anymore. His questions only reminded her of how much of a fool she had been, thinking he had grown feelings for her when all this time he was still in love with Jen. She didn’t know how she didn’t pick up on that before. He still loved her, no matter what he said. Everything they did, everything she thought they were becoming was just her own foolish imaginations taking hold in reality. Mark didn’t have feelings for her and all this time, she had been falling in love.
That was what she hated the most about this. It was one thing to think they were headed somewhere and finding out they weren’t. It was another thing to realize that when you’ve already fallen in love. It made it harder to let go of the anger. Most of it was directed at herself. All of it she couldn’t help but take out on Mark and despite days of him trying to get on her good side again, Crystal forced herself not to fall for it. She wouldn’t allow herself to be broken by him.
But she had allowed herself to be hired by him and right now, she had her work cut out for her. She had been lounging in the office — finally sitting for once — when she realized he had left the office nearly thirty minutes ago and was yet to come back. Her search for him yielded nothing.
Crystal didn’t panic. She calmly dialed the one person she knew would know where he might be.
“Hello?”
“Jen, it’s Crystal.”
“Oh, Crystal, hi. What’s up?”
“I’m trying to find Mark. Is he with you?”
Crystal held her breath. “No, he isn’t. I haven’t seen him all day.” She let it go.
“Do you have any idea where he might be?”
“Aren’t you his bodyguard?”
“He slipped away from me. I don’t think he wants me to know where he went.”
“Ugh, that guy. Well, he could be at his parent’s house or at a club he likes to go frequently. I think you might have better luck with the club, though.”
“What’s the name?”
“Top Secret.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Hey, Crystal?” Jen called before she had the chance to hang up. Crystal nearly groaned.
“Yeah?”
“Is everything okay? With Mark?”
Did she know? Crystal wondered to herself. Was she aware that her best friend still had feelings for her? “Everything is fine, Jen.”
“Alright, but can you tell me when it isn’t.”
She had no intention of doing such a thing but she said, “Sure” anyway before hanging up, not giving Jen a chance to say anything else.
It was already well into the night, the prime hours for club goers to start filing onto the streets. Crystal punched in the name of the club in her GPS and set off in the direction it pointed her to. She expected to be annoyed at the fact that he left her, but instead she wa
s worried. For days, they hadn’t heard anything from the spy so she had no idea what might happen tonight with Crystal not by his side. She didn’t know what move he might make.
She tried to shake the worry as she pulled up to the club, already booming with music. The bouncer looked like the typical burly man but unlike other bouncers, he recognized Crystal instantly. Not personally but he saw the look of a woman who wouldn’t be deterred, striding towards the entrance with all intentions of cutting down whoever dared to come in her way. He stepped aside, allowing Crystal to cut in front of the blond woman who was reapplying her lipstick. She made a shout of protest but Crystal was already pushing through the doors. She supposed it helped that she wasn’t bad to look at.
At first, she couldn’t see anything. It was unexpectedly dark, a few strobe lights passing by and glaring into her badly adjusting eyes. She sequestered herself in a corner, eyes scanning every face in the vicinity for any sign of Mark. When she didn’t see him, she made her way along the walls, still searching before she dove into the dancing crowd when she didn’t see him.
It took nearly twenty minutes of searching. Crystal walked around the club around ten times, taking to peering into the face of every male she saw. Finally, she found him, carving a path towards the bar on the other end of the room. She went after him. She had already prepared a barrage of things to say to him, her worry now transforming into anger but the relief upon seeing him safe and sound, although clearly a lot drunk, had those thoughts melting away.
Someone else reached him before her. At first, Crystal thought it was a friend or someone he met while her. But then the man leaned over to him and Crystal caught a glimpse of Mark’s face. Surprise, then fear, then anger. He whirled on the man, frowning, trying to force his drunken brain to say what he needed to but the man was already walking away, melting into the crowd.
He passed right by Crystal. She grabbed him by the arm, forcing it behind his back. It threw him off, giving her the time to say, “Who are you with?”