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Post by Marcus Sisneros on Dec 28, 2010 13:48:24 GMT -5
When he saw Jacob stop, all Marcus could do was stand there and focus on his back, a wicked smirk on his mouth. He'd ticked the guy off, gotten him bothered. Excellent, Marcus wanted him to be mad, but when Jacob just kept walking away, Marcus felt even better. Ha. However, he didn't know Jacob like Charlie did. He didn't think the guy would come back. Marcus just breathed deeply through his nose. Now it was time to think.
He didn't even try to laugh with Charlie, nor did he do so much as smile at her. Marcus actually kept his face quite stony; he wasn't going to take this lightly. "Freaked out" was an understatement when describing the way he now saw Charlie. All he could do as he replaced Jacob's place beside her bed was look at her. Neither of them spoke for what felt like forever.
How the hell had Jacob gotten there? What had he done to her in the hour or so that he and Charlie were in the room, alone? Was she going to be okay? A dozen questions like this swam through Marcus's head, but he didn't dare ask them until she had relaxed and regained her composure. She started to speak again, but it sounded more like blabbering in his ears. The comment about the knife didn't really register with Marcus, it just went through one ear and out of the other.
Alright, he had to shut her up now. "Charlie, listen to me," Marcus said slowly, seriously. He gently placed one of his hands on the side of her face, turning her head towards him so he could fix his eyes on hers. "I'm not going to let him hurt you again," he raised his hand slightly to see the red mark still burning across her cheek. Arm dropping back to it's previous position, his fingers returning to their fervent tapping routine, he opened his mouth once more.
"Trust me."
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Post by Charlotte Rose. on Dec 28, 2010 14:25:26 GMT -5
Charlie was at a loss at how all of these happened in a mere few minutes. Wasn't last night enough drama for the week? From being brought in the building to admitting to Marcus what was going on, it seemed like neither of them were winning. Everything had gone downright awful so fast, they hadn't even had a chance to have a real conversation without involving all the drama. Charlie felt guilty, to say the least. If Marcus hadn't got involved he wouldn't have to deal with this. Her problem. Not his. Hers. He didnd't need to deal with it, and yet, Marcus was still there by her side.
You know, having the ability to be able to read someones mind would have been useful right about now. What the hell was Marcus thinking? She had her guesses, from the obvious "what the hell happened" and "what did he do to her", but all the other questions? Not a clue. It made Charlie even more anxious just to wait for him to talk.
Charlie was still rambling on and on with her hands shaking, glancing around the room every few seconds - not quite making eye contact with Marcus. "But..." She gasped, feeling her face being gently turned to look Marcus in the eyes. Shit.
"I am listening to you." Charlie muttered stubbornly, inhaling deeply in attempt to calm down. Thankfully it was starting to work. They had time now, Jacob wouldn't be back that fast - if he did decide to come back and do something. His next words struck a cord with her. Trust him? That thought along scared the hell out of her, but...
"I trust you."
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Post by Marcus Sisneros on Dec 28, 2010 15:14:56 GMT -5
Everything had turned for the worst, yes, but that didn't mean that Marcus thought he was just wasting his time by standing next to her. Was it a lot of unnecessary drama added to his life, yes, it was, but one of his downfalls was that he felt a need to fix anything that was broken. That seemed like a characteristic all doctors had, the longing just to be the good guy and help people. Marcus knew that's why he became a surgeon, and consequently he was saving people's lives everyday. No matter how many times he told people it was no big deal, that he was just doing his job by keeping people away from death, he couldn't deny the fact that he felt like a hero.
Marcus knew that she knew he had questions waiting to burst, he could tell she was looking forward to them. "What the fuck just happened?" he inquired, his voice sounding slightly frantic. He examined her, taking note to her shaking hands and frequent glances around the room. She was still terrified, that much he was sure of, and she wouldn't look at him. This irked Marcus slightly; he wasn't afraid of looking people in the eye, he actually wanted it when he was talking to somebody. Still, he had to understand the position Charlie was in and he just let it go.
When she finally started relaxing - and making sense - Marcus grinned to himself. She was coming back to reality, the stubborn Charlie he had talked to last night was beginning to show through again. They were getting somewhere. His legs were feeling tired, since he'd been on his feet all day, but this was really the first time he'd noticed it. Reaching over to grab the chair he'd used last night and pulling it closer to the bed, he sat down, bringing himself to eye level with Charlie.
So she said she trusted him, which sounded to Marcus like another step forward. He nodded to her and sighed. "Okay," he breathed quietly, now that things seemed slightly more composed. "Are you alright?"
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Post by Charlotte Rose. on Dec 28, 2010 15:34:57 GMT -5
Once things calmed down so they weren't completely on edge, a sigh of relief escaped the girls lips. After spending an hour with that asshole and pretending everything was great it was good to finally be able to relax and know that Marcus was there now, and that Jacob couldn't hurt her any more for the moment being. But how long would it be like this? The questions were still racing through her mind a million miles a minute; trying her best just to focus on one thing: talking to Marcus about what had happened in those sixty minutes. It was easier said than done.
Words were failing her. Her mind was still trying to process exactly what had happened in the first place, and trying to figure out a way to say it wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. "I...I don't know, really." Charlie turned her attention to him - finally being able to look Marcus in the eyes once relaxed. She trusted him. That very sentence swirled around her mind. He was the only one she trusted.
"He just came in here out of nowhere. No phone call, nothing." Charlie breathed in, shutting her eyes for a moment before going on with the story. "I asked him what he was doing here, and then all of a sudden he just slapped me." Charlie motioned to her bright red cheek, snickering. Of course he had smacked her. "Threatened that if I ever told anyone what really happened, he'd kill me." Charlie shook her head. If only he knew about Marcus when he told her that, they wouldn't have been talking to each other right there and then.
"I'm fine." Charlie muttered, raising her hand to her cheek. It wasn't anything new to her. She looked back up, biting her lip. "What are we supposed to do?"
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Post by Marcus Sisneros on Dec 28, 2010 16:13:48 GMT -5
Marcus could see her thinking, trying to grasp the appropriate words to describe what he hadn't seen. He just kept his mouth shut and let her sort it out as he leaned forward to lay his head in his arms which were now folded together on the bed. It was barely noon, and he already felt like he'd had the longest day straight from hell. Jacob went to the back of his mind, he just concentrated on the girl in front of him. That ass could probably come in the room right now, and for some reason Marcus didn't feel like he would even care.
When she began speaking, he just looked up at her and listen intently. Charlie told him about Jacob slapping and threatening her, and Marcus's fingers curled into his hands, his knuckles turned bone white. That was just sick, and not in the good way, like kids used the word these days. His temper slowly started rising again.
She was just telling him all of this stuff like it was no big deal, like she was used to it, which she probably was. Still, it didn't change the fact that Marcus couldn't see why she should be. A horrible thought crossed his mind: what if Jacob found out Marcus knew about everything - if he hadn't figured it out already - and then went to take up his threat on Charlie, all because Marcus had merely been nosy and dug the answers out of her? He swallowed and cast his eyes down.
Fine? Charlie was actually okay with it? Again, it was so messed up to Marcus, how a man just came in and struck her across the face, and she seemed totally un-moved. "Before I go back down to work I'll talk to security and tell them not to let him in again," he began. Doctors gave the guards requests like that often, not wanting distressed family members or simply anyone who might make a patient feel threatened around to disturb the healing process. As stated before, they didn't ask questions.
"And then..." Marcus continued, lost as to what to do after that. "When you get out of here we can find you a hotel or something, anything. Maybe we can make up a story so you can stay here longer. I just don't want you going anywhere near that son of a bitch, okay?" It wasn't like they needed to figure out those details right at that very moment anyways, they had time for that later.
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Post by Charlotte Rose. on Dec 28, 2010 16:37:50 GMT -5
Her whole life was falling apart right before her very own eyes. Everything she knew in her life was based on keeping a lie going, trapped in her own apartment while Jacob would go out and party with his friends, resulting in him coming home drunk. Just like the night before. She had never dated when she was younger, her parents had set her up with Jacob in the first place. She couldn't keep a job, always ending up hurt or not allowed out of the apartment (so he said), and was completely and utterly helpless thanks to him. If Charlie did have a chance to actually do all those things when she was younger, maybe this all wouldn't have happened. It was to late now. There were no second chances in life, only new beginnings. And god, did she hope there would be a new beginning after all of this drama was done with. She could only hope.
Charlie was snapped out of her thoughts as her eyes turned from Marcus's and onto his pale as snow knuckles, sighing heavily. Of course Marcus was mad. But what else could you do but live with it? Charlie had felt just like he did in the beginning, but you learned to deal with it and keep your mouth shut when you got angry. It was for the best.
"Calm down." Charlie brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, snickering at the thought. Was she the one seriously telling him to calm down? The tables had definetely turned. Security. That seemed like a good idea for short term, but Marcus still had to leave the room - therefore leaving her alone in the room by herself. Not good. "Do you think they can stand outside the door?" Charlie questioned, nose scrunching. Typical.
Sigh. They were running low on options here. Charlie nodded, not knowing what else to say. "I don't plan on going near him, trust me." She muttered, resting her head back. "As long as he doesn't come near me."
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Post by Marcus Sisneros on Dec 28, 2010 17:23:18 GMT -5
"We'll get this all worked out," Marcus told her with a sigh, noticing she was lost in her thoughts once again. He just kept his eyes on her, watching her continue to mentally evaluate whatever was going on in her mind. His toe tapped quietly on the floor, still on edge, especially without any nicotine in his system. He wouldn't even think about leaving though, not yet. Though he did consider it for a second, Marcus just shook his head at the thought and forgot about it.
"Calm down?" he raised his eye brows. Their roles definately seemed to be switching. At first, he just kept being tense, almost defiantly. He wasn't going to calm down, and he didn't know why she was sitting here and snickering. His eye brows furrowed, he was on the verge of saying something very lippy, but Marcus stopped himself. Relaxing slightly, he took a breath, though his hands were still shaped into loose fists.
Now that he had collected himself, he couldn't help but laugh slightly at Charlie's request. "I can ask, but I doubt they will," he replied. "I'll come and check on you whenever I can." This time, though, Marcus thought, he would find the time to, so they could avoid anymore incedents, even if he doubted Jacob was going to be back.
"He'd better not," Marcus said, suprised at himself that his words had come out so calmly. "If he does, I'm tracking him down." Smiling weakly at Charlie, he took a long breath through his nostrils.
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Post by Charlotte Rose. on Dec 28, 2010 17:45:40 GMT -5
"I really hope so." Charlie sighed as well, putting her hands over her face for a quick moment before brushing them back down, blinking a few times. The lack of sleep from the night before was starting to get to her. She wasn't even able to think properly with all the racing thoughts, and now she had to worry about whether or not Jacob would come back while being sleep deprived. They were both irritated, that much Charlie could tell with Marcus's obvious body language. Why was he acting so ansty? Ugh. All of this would be so much easier when you actually had sleep.
Her body tensed up as she saw Marcus furrow his eyebrows, not wanting to make him even more upset than he already was. That was the last thing she wanted at the moment. "I'm sorry." Charlie whispered, glancing down at the bed to see his clenched fists - returning her attention back to his eyes once she was done. "Are you okay?"
A feeling of relief washed over Charlie's body at the sound of laughter filling the room. It was only for a few seconds, but it was a nice change that she welcomed. "No need to ask then." She nodded, glad that things had calmed down somewhat. "You won't track him down." Charlie laughed softly, tilting her head to the side. "You never ate lunch, did you?"
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Post by Marcus Sisneros on Dec 28, 2010 18:05:09 GMT -5
As he watched her, Marcus took note to Charlie's exhausted expressions and body language. "You're tired." he said, it wasn't a question, but a statement. She hadn't gotten much rest the night before, that was obvious. "Why didn't you sleep last night?" Now he was just curious. Was it that she simply couldn't sleep, because of pain or the annoyance of stitches from surgery, or had she stayed up on purpose? He didn't know, he wanted to find out.
He didn't say anything back when she apologized, just kept that dark expression on his face, but by the time she asked if he was alright he'd softened up. "Don't be sorry," Marcus snorted. "I'm just grumpy." Taking yet another deep breath, he spoke again. "I'll be fine, though."
Laughing with her for a second, he lifted his head to scratch his chin. "I'm too pissed off to eat anything right now." Marcus answered her with a smug look, although it was the truth. Whatever appatite he had before he came in the room had vanished a long time ago. "I'm on call tonight, so I'll be staying here." he commented, out of the blue when he thought about it. "You won't need security guards outside your door."
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Post by Charlotte Rose. on Dec 28, 2010 18:30:29 GMT -5
Of course, being the stubborn person she was from day one, Charlie shook her head in denial. She wasn't about to admit she was tired without a fight. "I'm not tired." Charlie stated. Lie - and an obvious one at that. One thing she would admit though was that she didn't sleep last night - though that didn't neccasarily mean she was tired. "I just don't like sleeping." Charlie commented. If he knew why, Marcus would be even more pissed off at the guy than he already was. She knew it was coming anyway. Why? Charlie sat up ever so slightly, shrugging her shoulders. "I have these bad nightmares at night, where I wake up and think it's real. Almost like a panic attack where I start screaming, kicking, thrashing around...you name it."
Her hand reached up to rub the back of her neck out of nervousness; wanting to change the subject. Thankfully his words gave her something to go on. "Why are you grumpy?" Charlie questioned, nose scrunching once more. There had to be a reason. Did he not get enough sleep last night as well? A chuckle rose from her throat. Everything had changed so dramatically again.
"You really should eat something though. At least just a bite of something. You can't go all day without eating." Charlie rolled her eyes playfully, not being able to hide a small smile that appeared on her lips when Marcus mentioned he'd be there tonight. "It's a date then." Charlie replied sarcastically, laughing.
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Post by Marcus Sisneros on Dec 28, 2010 19:08:20 GMT -5
Marcus had to laugh at her efforts. She was so damn stubborn, but then again, he had no room to talk. "Sure you aren't." he said incredulously when she denied being tired. The fun was about to begin, time to get the answers he wanted out of her once again. He took a breath, about to start interogating, when to his suprise she actually told him what was up without any effort on Marcus's part. He was impressed.
Her reason for why she didn't like sleeping didn't make him too happy. Perhaps that was why she didn't want to tell him. Marcus didn't lose it entirely though, instead, he just clenched his jaw with an audible snap of his teeth and imagined Jacob in alot of pain, not speaking for a few moments. He was afraid that if he started talking to Charlie too soon, he would completely lash out on her.
More than glad when the subject shifted, Marcus answered her question automatically. "I smoke," he started, shrugging before he put his head back down on his arms. "And I haven't had a cigarette since this morning. All this drama isn't exactly helping the cause." Closing his eyes for a few seconds, he too chuckled quietly to himself. It was ridiculous how dependent people became on certain things.
"I had breakfast," he said matter of factly, as if that made it any more acceptable, lifting his eyelids to look at her. "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself." Marcus had to look pleased when she made that short little date comment, he couldn't help it. "Awesome. I'll be in my scrubs, you'll be in a hospital gown sitting in a bed. Should I bring flowers?"
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Post by Charlotte Rose. on Dec 28, 2010 19:32:14 GMT -5
Charlie huffed and crossed her arms when Marcus didn't believe her about not being tired. It was true, that had been a lie, but she wasn't going to admit that so easily. With the dark circles under sunken blue eyes. "I am not tired." The girl couldn't help but have a smug smirk on her lips with her arms still crossed, seeing that Marcus was just about to ask about why she didn't like sleeping. Ha; she had beat him to the point. She always was good with reading people. Not to mention after spending all that time with him in the room, it would be shocking if she hadn't.
Yet another sigh rose up from her throat at the sight of Marcus's body language. Again, he was starting to get pissed off because of what she had said. That seemed to be happening quite a lot. Now if only Charlie could say something that wouldn't cause Marcus to get pissed off, that would be great. Thankfully no response came from him on the subject.
"A doctor? Smoking? I would have never guessed." Charlie said with a slight over dramatic gasp, placing her hand over her mouth to add to the effect. Charlie would never personally smoke, due to her asthma, but she wouldn't judge him for smoking. He was human after all. It was his own life. No need to barge into it and give him a lecture. "Go ahead and have one then."
Charlie huffed one last time, uncrossing her arms. "You still need to eat." She mumbled stubbornly, the grin reappearing as he mentioned the flowers. "I prefer chocolates, thank you very much." She teased right back, rolling her eyes.
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Post by Marcus Sisneros on Dec 29, 2010 21:26:42 GMT -5
"You are absolutely unbeleivable," Marcus said with a laugh when Charlie still refused to admit that she was tired, even though it was completely obvious. To him, she looked as if she were dead on her feet - or off, for that matter, since she was stuck in her bed. He smirked back at her, then leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms just as she was. Lightly mocking her, really. "Tell me again that you're not tired," He challenged her, curious to see if she could keep the lie going without making it even more evident.
Hearing her sigh, he knew right then it had been provoked by his actions. Trying to once again forget all about Jacob for the time being, Marcus took a breath and relaxed himself. Here they were, trying to have a conversation without much drama or tension occupying the space around them, and he was sitting here ruining it with his short temper. "I'm sorry," he told Charlie when he realized this. "I don't really have the longest fuse." Apologizing, he seemed to be doing alot of that in the past twenty-four hours. Not that it was pointless that he did it, it was actually quite needed, with the way he'd been acting lately.
"It's a really awkward situation when you go outside to have a cigarette, and one of your patients is right there having one too. And it doesn't help when you even told them they should quit," Marcus laughed at himself. He never realized how pitiful that situation was until he actually told somebody about it. "Then you're standing there, looking like a complete hipocrite, and it's just not good."
Did she really just say that? It sure was tempting, Marcus had to keep himself from jumping from his chair and sprinting outside, but he managed to stop himself. He wouldn't leave until he had to, which judging by the time on the clock would have to be sooner than later anyways. Honestly, though, he really did want to stay and talk with Charlie for as long as he could, and judging by the sounds of it, she was hesitant to see him leave.
"I'll stop by the vending machines on my way back to work. Better?" He asked when she kept insisting that he needed to eat something. Marcus hadn't been playing when he said he wasn't hungry, but he just needed to pacify her. Knowing him, he wouldn't even stop like he said he would. "Well, lucky for you, I think I've seen a few boxes in the gift shop." He played right back with Charlie at her chocolates comment.
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Post by Charlotte Rose. on Dec 30, 2010 0:38:04 GMT -5
A laugh escaped her lips as she listened to Marcus talking. She was tired - more like exhausted - yes, but that didn't mean she was going to admit it even though it was obvious. He had tried to get her to take something to sleep last night. And with her admitting that she didn't sleep at all, well, there was definetely a good chance Marcus was going to try and get her to go to sleep now; whether Charlie liked it or not. "If you say so." Charlie smirked. "I'm not tired. Happy? You wanted me to say it again." She mocked, huffing at the sight of Marcus mocking her by crossing his arms. So he wanted to play like that, huh? Two could play at that game.
Immediately after hearing Marcus apologize for what seemed like the hundreth time since they met, Charlie shook her head. "There's no need to be sorry." She reminded with a small smile. Him getting mad was a completely perfect and natural response to him her telling him all of this. If he didn't get mad, she would have been worried. "I just don't like seeing you mad is all."
Wait. What did he just say? Charlie burst out into laughter at his story, trying her hardest to keep it under control - failing miserably at that attempt. "I can't believe that actually happened to you. I mean, really?" She inhaled deeply, grinning. "I bet that person never quit now and hates you. Wonder what they thought when they saw you." Charlie smirked, raising an eyebrow.
"Mhm. Much better." Charlie unfolded her arms, glad that Marcus finally agreed to eat something. Whether or not he actually did it was a whole different story. "Oh please. Chocolates on the first date? Someones desperate." Charlie stuck her tongue out, laughing. "I'm only kidding anyway."
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Post by Marcus Sisneros on Dec 30, 2010 14:37:27 GMT -5
The way Marcus saw it, there were two ways to go with this. Either convince - or force - Charlie to go to sleep, which would give her some well needed rest, or let her stay awake. It was a lose-lose situation, and he was torn. If she slept, there was the fact that she would have another nightmare, but she would get a nap, but if she stayed up, she wouldn't have any dreams, but would remain exhausted. "You really should get some sleep." he suggested, his expression sobering up slightly. He would leave it up to her, that sounded like the only solution.
"Yeah, there is." He argued smoothly when she told him there was no reason for him to apologize. Smiling slightly back, he thought maybe she had expected him to get angry, but it still didn't make it more appropriate even if that was the case. She didn't like seeing him like that, based on what Charlie had just said. Who would? Not alot of people liked to hang around somebody who was bitter and irritated. "You know I'm not mad at you though, right?" Of course she did, but he felt like he should make it known that he wasn't anyways.
Marcus laughed with her, greater than happy to see the conversation had once again changed to a lighter note. Hopefully it would stay that way. "That sad thing is, it's happened more than once." He admitted, recounting the other times in his mind. If it had been pitiful before... well, now it sounded just down right pathetic. "I don't think I wanna know what they thought, I doubt it was anything nice." How would he feel if he landed in the hospital and a doctor told him he should quit, and then see the same person outside smoking?
Good, he'd finally satisfied her by telling Charlie he would eat something. For some reason, he thought maybe she didn't care that much if he said that, but treated it more like a small victory that he'd given in. That might have not been the case, although even if it was Marcus would still find it funny. "I think I know too much about you for it to be considered a first date," he pointed out. "We're way past that."
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