My Long, Lost Best Friend

¤Chapter 7¤

"This is your room," Mark said, leading me through the house. After I ate my sandwich, Mark had insisted for me to get 'comfortable', since I'll be staying for a while.

He opened the door and moved to the side so I could walk in the room. My jaw dropped at how huge and similar the room looked. It was spacious like Shawn's room with similar windows where you could see the backyard. I could feel the anger flowing through my body. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down.

"I can't...." I trailed off.

"You can't what? Accept this?" He asked. I shook my head no and opened my eyes. I turned around and started to pace the room.

"I can't believe Shawn!" I yelled. He stared at me in confusion and walked into the room with Sam running in. Sam jumped on the bed and laid down.

"Shawn?" He asked. I kept pacing.

"Yes. Shawn. That little...Ugh! I can't believe he lied to me all these years!" I yelled.

"Shawn Crawford?" He asked, causing me to stop pacing.

"How do you know him?" I asked.

"He owns Crawford Industries." He said quickly. I laughed humorously.

"Of course you knew that and not me. I was kept in the dark for six years!" I plopped down on the bed, face first, and screamed into the comforter.

"Hey." I felt the bed dip in. I turned my head to the side and saw Mark staring at me with concern and worry.

"What do you mean you've been left in the dark for six years?" He asked. I sighed. Might as well tell him now that it's in the air.

"Shawn is my stepfather. Well, at first I thought he was my father, but I found out he wasn't. He used to... beat me. 24/7 actually. I tried to fight him, but he was too strong." I breathed out. Mark nodded for me to continue.

"We were leaving to go to Philadelphia, but we had some... problems," I said, glancing down at my thigh. Mark did the same and I could see anger written all over his face.

"He did that to you?" He asked. I shook my head no.

"No. It was his wife, Olivia." I said. Mark shook his head and stood up, startling me.

"I need to go." He said. His voice was raspy and his body was shaking.

"What's wrong?" I sat up and got off the bed.

"They hurt you, Erin." He said. My eyebrows furred together.

"Yes. I know this. Now, what's wrong with you?" I asked again.

"Nothing. I just need to go for a run." He mumbled. Before I could reach out for him, he dashed out the door, closing it behind him. The room rattled as the door slammed shut.

I looked over at Sam and saw he was staring right back at me.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked. Sam tilted his head to the side.

"Oh yeah. You're a dog." I mumbled. I sighed and flopped back down on the bed. I looked over the room and saw two doors. I got back up and went to the door that was closed.

Opening the door, I saw that it was a closet. A walk-in closet. There weren't many clothes in it. Just a shirt or two. I closed the door and went to the other one that was a little further away from the bed. I opened it and saw it was a bathroom.

I walked in and saw it was much smaller. There was a shower, a toilet, and a sink. I walked in front of the mirror and winced when I saw how I looked.