Leaving a Life Behind. || Mark Thomas

Trust

"I'm just glad you guys made up," said Cameron, walking into Mark's room. "I would have hated to have to have taken a side. Because I love you both."

"Aweee," I said, smiling. "who knew my boys could be so passionate about a friendship?"

"I diddddddd," laughed Mark.

"It was a rhetorical question."

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too," I said as Mark wrapped his arms around me as we stood up.

"I love you more!" Cameron laughed.

"My bro, step off."

"Oh lord, Mark," Cameron said jokingly. "So you guys want me to leave or stay?"

"I don't care, whatever you wanna do, buddy," Mark stated.

"Well I'm kinda wet and cold, so I think I'm gonna go home. Y'all have fun. But not too much fun. I will not be a godfather."

"We won't, chill out," I said as I chased Cam out of the house with a pillow.

I shut the door and ran back up to Mark's room. Not my favorite birthday, but definitely not the worst.

Last year, my ex boyfriend, Zach, took me to see my dad. Turns out he was strung out on drugs and didn't want me. So I got physically abused and I was on crutches because of he broke my ankle.

"You're the best boyfriend, you know that?" I asked Mark, tearing up.

"Babeeeeee, don't make me emotional. I don't like to see you cry."

"I'm sorry," I explained. "I just thank God that you're nothing like Zach. You actually care about me."

I pulled him into a hug.

"Of course I care about you, baby girl. You're my world."

I began to sob into his shoulder. He had never seen me this broken. I knew that I could trust him with anything though. So I let it all out.

"He hated me," I mumbled.

Mark pulled me out of the hug.

"He might have. He might have not. We'll never know. But you're with me now. And I love you with my everything. Olivia Ainsley Bricard, you have given me so much. You've shown me that it's possible to love somebody with every inch of my body. And for that, I am forever grateful."

"It still just hurts so much. I don't know why. I hate him. I really do. And I hate my dad, too. I don't know why I can't let it go."

He put his hands on my shoulders. His eyes were doing the gleaming thing again. I hated that. It meant he was about to cry. I tried to be strong for him but I just couldn't.

"Bad experiences demand to be remembered. I'm going to give you good ones that make you forget about what happened. Live in the moment. Come on, lay with me."

We snuggled up on the bed and he wrapped his arms around me. The warmth of his body was my home. His strong arms and the way his veins pierced through them. I adored it.

"Sing to me?" I asked, trying to catch my breathe.

"If I lay here.
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Forget what we're told before we get too old.
Show me a garden that's bursting into life."

I dozed off wrapped up in his arms, listening to his soothing voice and the rhythm of his heartbeat. Everything I wanted, right next to me.