Willow in the Woods: Guarding the Willow

Chapter 21

Marcus

Marcus drove another nail into the wall. It was the last one. The living room was done and the bedroom was done. It wasn't perfect, but it would hold heat. He would still need to stain it, and put in furniture.

Marcus stumbled a bit getting off the stool. "Hey! How about you go and get some sleep." Dorian said as he entered the door. He had a ham sandwich and a bottle of water.

"No thanks." Marcus said as he gathered up his tools. "I still need to get my bed put up." Marcus nudged his head towards the box.

Dorian shook his head. "I can put the damn thing up, now sit down and at least eat." Dorian shoved the sandwich and water into his face.

Marcus glared up at him with dark hooded eyes but he took it. For now, he knew it was a fight he couldn't win. After calming things down with the family he had sat in his house for a while waiting for her to come home. He had done what he thought was best. He felt that Eric had made a very good point. He didn't have to like it to agree with it. In fact, he had hated it. But what he hated even more than that, was the look in Willow's eyes the brief second before she pushed him into the pond. And then once again when she told him to fuck off. It wasn't the ice cold of the water that had taken his breath away. It was Willow. It was the anger and the hatred that had seethed its way out of her. And most of all, it had been the pain. A deep pain that he had placed behind those beautiful blue green eyes.

The second he felt the release of all of her pain last night, it had been like a shockwave to his system. He had already cried in the emptiness of his cold house but now it was overwhelming. He could feel the torment, feel the rage and feel something else. It felt as though some of her emotions were directed inward. That was worse. She hated herself too. Marcus had planted that self doubt and hatred there. He wanted to read her thoughts to make sure she was at least safe until he arrived....but he promised he wouldn't. He tried at least talking to her. "Darlin, please. Talk to me." He only asked the once and then disconnected. There hadn't been a response.

When Marcus got to the parking lot he could see Willow in the arms of Drew.

Anger, rage and jealousy soared through him like a searing, hot bullet to the chest. He was holding her the way Marcus had in her dreams. He was soothing her the way Marcus should have been. That should have been Marcus sitting in that car! Not Drew!

His anger almost got the better of him as he felt the heat of his change approaching swiftly. And then his phone chimed. It took him a moment to answer. And an even longer moment to rationalize his thoughts and respond.

When Drew finally pulled away. Marcus considered just going home. But he couldn't. He knew, as he sat in his Hummer that he, himself, was sitting on a crossroads.

If he went home, right then, he was initially siding with Eric. He was giving her the space she needed to grow, with....or without him. He was letting her down and he wouldn't have fully fixed what he had done. He would stick to his guns, and tried to smooth things over the best he could when he saw her again. Marcus also considered that he had never chased after any of his other relationships once they had ended. He let them go. Let everything fall into place as it should.

If he followed them, it meant he was admitting to being wrong. That he wouldn't stay away. It would mean a harder path for him, as it would be no easy task to win back the trust or the heart he had broken. She loved him....or at least she had. It wasn't just a whim or a first time crush. That kind of pain she had felt mimicked his own. So it was about damn time he admitted to himself that he loved her too. Impossible as it may seem. It was there.