A Diamond with Scars

Cold Hearted

Lori. Her jet black hair was flat ironed to her shoulders and her brown eyes were dusted perfectly with her favorite purple eyeshadow. The woman was never out of place in her looks. A little high maintenance but she was a business woman and never faltered in the man driven world of law. They had met when Lori was running a case that Mark had been the arresting officer. Love at first sight. She was everything he looked for in a woman. Strong, independent, and dynamite in bed. She had been very subtle with her flirting and their first date had led them back to his place. A war for dominance was pure fire. Mark loved it.

"Lori, baby..." Mark said with a sigh of relief. But something clouded her brown eyes and her face was flat. "You have no idea..." he breathed, "how badly I needed to see you..." This was a weak moment for him. He was lost, he was depressed. Mark held his arms out to her to encourage her to come to him. Her warmth was the only thing he needed right now to feel somewhat whole again.

She hesitated a moment; something Lori never did. Grinding her teeth she finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity, but she didn't move from her spot in the doorway. "Is it true? Did they take your leg...?" There was little emotion in her voice. Her eyes went from the bandaging on his arm to the form of the blankets where his legs were. The cloudiness came back in her eyes as she took notice.

Mark's brows furrowed and his arms dropped back to his side. Didn't the doctor talk to her? A sharp pang naggled in his chest. Something was off. Glancing down, Mark nodded. "From my knee down..." pausing he looked back up at her, "The bullet splintered and severed most of the muscle and the artery. They said there was no other option..." Why wasn't she coming to him? Perhaps she was just in disbelief as much as he was. They never really faced anything trying like this before, so he didn't really know what she was like if she was worried. Lori never worried. She was too confident. This had to be her worry. He gave a crooked smile, "I'm okay, baby. It could have been worse. I could be dead." He laughed bitterly. "We might have to postpone the wedding a couple months but-"

"I can't marry you." Lori said without batting an eyelash.

It was that moment, if it had a sound effect it would have been the sound of a car crash. A big one. "What?" Mark uttered in pure, visible confusion.

She stood there in the doorway, steel backbone. "I cannot be married to half a man. To have people look at us with such...pity..." She showed no remorse, like he was someone she was persecuting in the courtroom. Adjusting her purse she took a step forward. "It's hard enough being a woman in my field. I cannot look weak. Especially taking the partnership in New York. You would not be healed by the time the move comes."

Cue more car crashes. "You're kidding, right?" Mark gave a disbelief laugh. What the Hell kind of joke was this?! "Lori...now is not the time for jokes like this...I just lost my fucking leg. I could have died!" Mark growled. A deep part of him knew this wasn't a joke. Lori didn't joke. "What the fuck, Lori?"

Still no change in her emotion as she stepped closer to him, removing her engagement ring. "Don't worry, I will call everything off and take care of cancelling the reservations. It will cost to cancel this late, but I will take care of it." No one could be this heartless. No one. Or so he thought. 6 years in the force, Mark saw a lot of heartless shit, but the last 3 days had shown him a whole new level of cruelty. "Your parents are also on their way. I told them what happened."

"LORI!" Mark threw the blankets off and made a failed attempt to try and get up, almost forgetting the most important thing. Monitors went haywire and a second wave of nausea swept over him "You're leaving me?!" He yelled, "I love you! What kind of heartless bitch just leaves someone after an accident?! What happened to the vows we were going to take?! What the fuck would you have done if this happened after the wedding?!" His heart rate increased as he screamed at her.

"This was an unanticipated obstacle, an error on my part, given your dangerous field." She stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Her voice never raised, but cut through a room like it was a blade.Taking a single step closer, she handed him her engagement ring. A carat and a half pure diamond with two slightly smaller accent stones. It had cost Mark a fortune, but he would have given her the moon on a ring if he could have. She was his everything. Or so he thought. Sure she was rough around the edges, but Mark thought he saw something in her that was different. Looks like he was wrong. "I'm sure you will find someone else who won't mind." She said in the softest voice she could muster...which wasn't much.

The ring laid in Mark's hand and he stared down at it as she took a long look at him. He sat there, in a hospital gown, 5 o'clock shadow dusted his normally clean shaven face. His hair was oily from not having a proper shower and now the bandages around his arm and his stump were beginning to redden. "Lori...I love you..." he whispered.

She said nothing.

Did she even love him back? Or did she just say it to him as a habit or a response.

Mark looked up at her, confused. Seeing her in a new light. "Did you even love me back?"

Still she remained silent, almost like she couldn't respond to him. For the first time since he met her, she was speechless.

"LORI!" Mark raised his voice.