Stark's Daughter

Chapter 38

My eyes scan my palms. What I hold in my hands is our future. Mine and Marc's. A change that's happening, all too quickly. Getting rid of the evidence, I wrap the item up in toilet paper and throw it into the trash.

Now to hide the truth behind my eyes. To hide the secret. To hide my excitement. Only until later, when it's in the right moment.

I look myself over in the mirror, then swiftly exit the bathroom. It's about midday, as I make my way through the house. Marc is outside, I assume getting more firewood. Going about in the house, I glare around for anything to do. Although, the house is sparkling clean.

At the bottom of the staircase, I walk into the living room. The gloominess of the day lingers into the house, causing everything to be darkened and colder. I grab a blanket hanging on the back of the couch and wrap myself in it, laying down.

Just need a little shut eye, that's all. I'll go to sleep for a few minutes.

~~dream~~

I turn my head, only to see Marc. I watch the fear in his eyes sink into mine. My heart beats, quickly. Glaring down, I find my hand clutching to Marc's. We're.... We're in a plane.

~~end of dream~~

I wake with my heart pounding and my body leaned up. Marc comes running to my side, worriedly.

"Steph, are you okay?" He asks.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Great." I say, gaining my breath back.

"It was just a dream, no worries." Marcus smiled up at me, then sat beside me.

The fire in front of us is the only light glowing in the room. My eyes roam to the windows. Rain descends from the sky, heavily. Thunder rumbles in the distance. Every once in a while, a flash of lightening brightens the room. I turn my head back to Marc, who stares into the fire.

"You okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, but there's something I need to tell you." He says, placing his hand behind his neck, nervously.

"Anything." I reply.

"Sooner or later, there will be a time when we have to get jobs." Marc said.

I nodded in response, not knowing why he looks nervous to say something.

"My dream is to be in the military..and well..." He hesitated.

"Follow your dreams." I smile.

"I'm getting deployed in a week." He blurts out.

"What?" I ask.

"I know. I know. Short notice, I'm sorry." Marc says.

A few moments passed, and I didn't know what to say. Is there anything to say? Of course, shoot for the stars. Go for your dreams. I'm proud of him. I'm happy for him. Lately, though, I'm starting to think....we...us...aren't going to work.... That'll break his heart as much as it will mine.

"Demarcus, I'm truly happy for you." I smile, leaning in to hug him.

"Thanks." He replied.

"Now that you've said your good news, let me tell you mine." I say, leaning back where I was.

"Go on." Marc gestured.

"Before you had told me that, I was going to ask you to join me...on a trip... I got into a college in California." I say.

"Wow... Stephanie, that's... That's fantastic!" He says, pausing for a moment.

"What's wrong?" I question.

"That's.. That's halfway across the country... Actually, all the way across the country. You've never drove that far, let alone, out of the state. Will you be okay?" Marc looked at me worried.

"Of course, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I'll be more worried about you." I sigh.

He'll be somewhere completely different from where I am. How will I be able to function that far away from him. Could we make it work? Long distance?

"The only problem is... You'll be in one place, and I'll be somewhere else. You think it could work?" I ask.

"If what could work?" Marc asked.

At that moment, I could see the fury in his eyes. The anger building up inside of him.

"U...us..." I lean back.

Instinct pitched in, as I leaned back, ready for him to hit me. These were the exact words that made Junior hit me when Marc was gone. My eyes squinted, ready for something to happen, but nothing did. Marc isn't Junior, he isn't close, either. He won't hit me.

"You're not saying what I think you're saying...are you?" Marc said, his voice cracking.

"It...it's exactly what I'm saying..." I frown.

Marc stood up and began up the stairs. I stumbled to stand, then followed him. He grabbed his suitcase and started furiously stuffing clothes and other items in there.

"Demarcus! What are you doing?!" I demand.

I feel myself already slipping away from reality. If he leaves me, I don't know how I'll live. I said the thing I was afraid of most. I can't lose Marc. Not now. Not again.

"I'm leaving early." He huffed.

Closing his suitcase, he glared at me.

"You can send me the ring back while I'm in boot camp." Marc jerked the case off the bed and sped downstairs.

I couldn't find the words to say "stop". I couldn't find any words, in fact. My heart is beating so fast and my mind is talking a mile a minute.

Marc kept going, still heading to the door.

"You...you can't leave!" I yell.

"Why can't I?!" He yelled over his shoulder.

His head snapped back to the door, just about to grab ahold of the door handle.

"Because..I'm pregnant." I sigh.

I watch as his hand fails to open the door. He's hesitating. Although, it wasn't enough to stop him. He grabbed the door handle and closed the door behind him. I kept watching the door, hoping he'd come back.

Not a minute later, I walked to the door and leaned against the metal. I slid down the cold door, covering my face with my hands. He's gone. I took a deep breath and felt all the pain, I once felt, surge back to me in a title wave.