99 Steps

Step 33: Be Free

Mark draped his hand over Jack's side, pushing up the front of his shirt gently. His finger tips danced lightly across the pale stomach of his sleeping boyfriend. Something wasn't quite right about it, and yet it was all the same. It took him a while, but finally he pinned it.

As Mark ran his fingers across Jack's, usually soft, skin, he encountered what felt similar to the scars on his thighs and wrists. He could practically see the long, light pink lines in his head as he traced them, wondering how he got them, and if they were self inflicted. Mark stopped moving his hand when he felt Jack shift, moving so he was leaning more against the other's chest.

He couldn't help but smile at him. Mark decided that the best thing to do was let Jack set the pace of their relationship, so his heart leapt our of his chest when Jack kissed him.

Mark placed his palm flesh against Jack's stomach, as if he was feeling for a baby that would never be there. That was when he noticed just how many scratches were going down to the waistband of his sweatpants. He moved, propping himself up on his elbow causing Jack to fall onto his back. Mark grabbed the Irishman's phone to use as a light, choking on his own spit when he saw what looked to be claw marks, though they were clearly from a person. Pushing Jack's shirt up a little more, he saw multiple little purple bruises that could only be one thing.

Mark was furious, Jack must have slept with someone else when he went to Kloee's party. He scolded himself for agreeing to leave him alone, wondering if he should wake Jack up or wait until morning. Going with the second option, he didn't bother to fix Jack's shirt or be quiet as he left and slammed the door.

He didn't bother trying to be quite once he got into his bedroom either, shoving things over and breaking a lamp in his fit of rage. He sat against the wall, holding his head in his hands and thought of what could have happened. The only thing he could come up with was that Jack must have gone over to Kloee's and got drunk, and the two of them must have slept together. At first he thought that he was just imagining Jack standing in the doorway with a confused look on his face. He realized that Jack, was in fact standing there, but also slightly shaking when he spoke his name.

"Mark... Mark, what's wrong?"

At first all he could do was narrow his eyes, shooting Jack a dirty look. Mark slowly pushed himself up, glaring into Jack's eyes.

"What's wrong? You're fucking asking me what's wrong? I should be asking you! Hell, you should just be telling me what's wrong between us! No, no. Why don't you just tell me what's so great about Kloee that you need to sleep with her?"

Jack shook his head slowly, "Mark, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play stupid! You know what you did and you need to fucking tell me, now!"

"I didn't do anything with Klo-," It all happened so fast that Jack didn't even know what happened. Mark didn't either, but now Jack was on the ground with a bloody nose and Mark's knuckles hurt. The realization hit him, and he did feel bad, but he didn't help Jack. After all, he was clearly lying.

"What is so great about Kloee that you need to sleep with her?"

Jack just blinked a few times and brought his hand to his nose. Slowly and shakily, he pushed himself up and propped himself up against the door frame.

"Are you going to stand up or are you going to sit there and act stupid like the little bitch you are?"

Jack was trying to figure out what hurt more, Mark's fist or his words. And then his ribs stung, and he was back on his side. 

"Fucking answer me!" 

"I told you, I don't know what you're talking about." Jack was sobbing in pain and confusion. The loose tee shirt he had on tightened around his neck and his back slammed against something solid; which he assumed was the wall.

"I'm not fucking dumb," Mark's mouth was right next to his ear, his words coming out in a soft whisper. "Did you think you could hide the scratches forever? What about the hickeys? Did you think that I would find out and be all happy go lucky for you? Shit, where you even thinking?"

Jack tried to speak to explain exactly what happened to him, but Mark's fingers where gripping tighter and tighter around his neck, making his vision go dark and fuzzy. 

"Now, I'm going to ask you one last time, why did you fuck Kloee?" His hand gripped even tighter, and Jack tried to shake his head but instead his whole body went limp.

Mark took a horrified step back and his eyes went wide. A million different things buzzed through his head at once, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Mark picked Jack up off the ground and carried him down to his bed before going back upstairs and trying to calm his nerves and get some sleep.

caw caw motherfuckers i didnt forget about you heres a chapter to deepen the plot kinda but also maybe just a filler???? also just so you know i dont hate mark at all i love the little bean so much and this is not what i had planned (i love tyler joshua from 26 airplanes treehouse is my favorite song) for the plot at all i swear it was a much more happy story in my head

also does anyone else have today off school bc i do but none of my siblings do???

also thinking abt adding songs to each chapter