Stranger Things Have Happened | Marcus Bontempelli

one-hundred & thirty-two.

+ contains mature themes

You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. The attention of everyone sitting at the long table turned to an enraged version of Marcus that none of us had ever witnessed. By the time my brain registered what was happening between my fiancé and the man who had once been a friend, nearly every single person had stood up from their chairs to either watch the drama unfold or intervene.

"Maybe if you had of actually looked after her when she needed you, none of this would've happened!" Josh spat, taking a small step forward and squaring up against Marcus who was only an inch shorter than him.

Marcus grabbed a fistful of Josh' hoodie and shoved him backwards, nearly taking out Aaron who had rushed around the table to break up the impending fight. There was a fury in Marcus' eyes that I'd never seen before as Josh reached up and grabbed his own handful of the flannel shirt Marcus was wearing - scrunching it up between his fingers and giving his own back.

"Are you serious?" Marcus snarled, grappling with Josh's arms as they started swinging, "You took advantage of her when she was at her lowest and don't try and spin it any other way, you fucking coward!"

Marcus fought back and landed a punch square on Josh's cheekbone, sending him flying backwards into Aaron who was trying his hardest to pull Josh away but he wasn't strong enough. Josh lunged forward and got his own back again, splitting open Marcus' eyebrow and causing blood to start streaming down the side of his face. Neither Aaron nor Tom could separate them as Josh collapsed to the ground and pulled Marcus with him, both of them ending up the sand as they continued to rip each other to shreds.

Liv was holding me back, trying to stop me from getting involved but I couldn't stand there and watch Marcus get his face busted up over something I had caused. He was already hurt enough physically and emotionally and he needed to be taken away before too much damage was done. Damage that not even a PR wizard like Liv could fix.

I brushed her hands off my arms and scurried around the table to help the boys break up the fight. Josh was kicking up at Marcus and pleading with him to stop but with every kick, he reacted with pummelling another punch into whatever part of Josh's body he could reach – never relenting until all of his anger had run dry.

"Marcus! Please stop!" I cried out as he gripped Josh's shirt again, pounding him down into the sand with a huff, "You've gotta stop..."

Marcus' shaky hands stilled and all I could hear was his rattling chest rising and falling while Josh tried to suck in a few deep breaths. Two sets of brown eyes peered up from the sand beneath my feet but all I cared about were the ones right in front of me that were slowly softening. The fiery flames were no longer bellowing like they were thirty seconds ago. I reached out and grasped the back of Marcus' shirt, pulling him up from the ground.

"It's not worth it," I whispered underneath all the murmuring that was happening around us – everyone understandably baffled by Marcus' sudden outburst.

"Get the fuck off me!" Josh grumbled and gave Marcus one last kick to the knee as he stood up, almost setting him off again but Tom had already stepped in between them.

Marcus aggressively pushed his chest into Tom's back attempting to get as close as he possibly could to Josh, "Don't speak to her ever again – you hear me? If you even so much as look at her, I will knock ya head off your fuckin' shoulders," He threatened before turning on his heel, wiping the blood from his face and gently grabbed my forearm.

"We're leaving," Marcus rasped as he pulled me away from our friends who were completely dazed by not only his actions but also his words – those had sent everyone into a frenzy.