Pretty Boy: The Lost Chapters

Deleted: Paul Saves Marshall from an Attempted Assault

Trigger Warning: attempted sexual assault, implied dissociation, vomiting, intrusive thoughts brought on by a PTSD attack

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Note: You know, the more I write these chapters and look back at old notes, the more I realize how much angst Marshall was supposed to go through in the original drafts 😭.

I had considered keeping this chapter in the final draft because it was supposed to act as a major event to impact Marshall's overall character development. It was supposed to be a lesson on how, while traumatic events really can change a person's life for a long, long time, it's important to realize that they're more than the pain they've been through. This would've been a chapter that taught Marshall how, even though he had demons to face, it was okay to reach out for help and to be reminded to not let setbacks erase all of the progress he was able to make in terms of trying to move on.

You guys know by now that I don't like being graphic about scenes concerning S.A. for the sake of not triggering people. Still, even though there won't be anything super explicit, viewer discretion is advised.

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Marshall and Paul didn't get into serious arguments often.

But when they did, they were brutal.

One moment, the couple were sitting down together on the couch, the television alternating between food reality shows. Then, in the middle of trading opinions on a certain dish, Marshall received a text from Rosalie asking about how life was going. Although the older vampire was still keeping himself at a reasonable distance for the sake of having boundaries, he was tempted to text back out of preconditioned habit. Paul openly disagreed with the sentiment, stating how the Cullens, Rose especially, were only capable of causing problems.

And...things just blew up from there.

Marshall couldn't remember too much of what happened since his mind blanked as soon as intense anger took over. He was only aware that, while he agreed with Paul, the older sibling in Marshall physically wouldn't stop trying to protect his younger sister. The act of shielding the Cullens, no matter how much they really didn't deserve it, was ingrained in him.

Their sharp hooks were stuck, snagged deep within his flesh—controlling his movements and thoughts without warning.

There was a memory of Paul yelling in anger about how Marshall was worth more than a shitty family who didn't truly love or support him.

And it was that factoid being thrown in his face which led Marshall to begin screaming at his mate.

He hadn't meant to.

All of his rage and hostility...it was unwarranted. It was unnecessary and ill placed. Because, thinking back on everything, it was the hurtful realization of Paul's bluntness being completely truthful which made Marshall explode.

He knew his anger was really toward the Cullens, but it didn't come out that way.

Now, with tears in his eyes and a fierce aching in his heart, Marshall was sitting at Bobby's bar.

Alone.

His hand was wrapped around the dripping base of a half-consumed beer. Slender fingers were trembling from a rather harsh grip. Only the desire to not cause a scene kept Marshall from squeezing until his beverage's container shattered.

God, he felt like such a fucking idiot.

The Cullens were only good for causing problems for everyone else.