Marie's Path

Chapter 18

All Marie could do was pace the room, occasionally stopping at the living room window. She chewed her thumbnail as she peered down the street. There was nothing left to do, house was ready and she was a nervous wreck.

"Hey, you shouldn't be down here," Marie told Chase when she noticed him curled up next to the recliner. "It's not a good idea for her to see you yet."

Chase followed her up to her bedroom. "You need to stay here, just for awhile." She watched as Chase went over to his dog bed that Marc had bought him. He did a couple circles before flopping down with a contented groan.

His coat was so shiny and soft, it was hard to believe he was the same dog. Once he gained some weight, she knew he'd be a beautiful. She smiled thinking back on how Axel gave her a crash course on dog care as he helped her finish Chase's bath. Who knew he was such a dog person. It surprised her when she realised that behind that intimidating exterior, he had a whole other side. He could be patient and kind. She wasn't positive, but she thought maybe he was even a little bit of a softy at heart.

And his smile, that was really something, it literally transformed him. He didn't know she noticed, but at one point when he gave the dog a genuine smile it made his eyes light up and his normally stoic face softened. It was the first time Marie had seen him smile, and to her it made him seem more approachable. But it was fleeting, the moment he became aware, he put up his wall.

Walking back down the stairs, she thought how nice it would be if one day, she could be the recipient of one of those smiles.

"There you are!" Sang stood at the bottom of the stairs looking relieved.

"What are you doing here?" Marie said rushing the rest of the way down the steps. "Sang, you can't be here! She'll be coming any minute!"

"I know. I won't stay. But I had to make sure you were ok."

Marie crossed her arms over her chest staring at Sang. "Other than feeling like I could puke at any time? Yeah, I'm just peachy."

Sang tilted her head as she took in Marie's outfit. "Well, you look nice anyway."

Marie looked down at herself. She had on a pale yellow blouse tucked into pleated shorts with a woven belt. She had taken time with her hair and added just a touch of mascara to her eyes. "Yeah, well. I guess want her to see I'm not the same girl that I was. I don't want to hide myself from the world anymore. I can't let her bully me."

Sang followed Marie back into the living room, and watched as she took her position at the window again. "It's going to be better this time, Marie. We're not alone anymore."

Marie looked at Sang over her shoulder. "After Marc came back last night, he and Axel talked to me about how they didn't think it was necessary to keep a lot of things from me. So they told me about their team, what they do, and why they're here. They also told me a little bit about you and the Blackbourne team and some about the Academy." Marie shook her head and chuckled, "I always knew there had to be more to it than just a private school."

Sang cracked a small smile at Marie. "You can trust them, Marie. I know it's hard to get use to since we never had anyone to rely on growing up."

"Oh they talked a lot about trust, alright." Marie confirmed. "I think they did it just to show me that if they can trust me, I should trust them. I want to, but it's just not as easy for me." She waved her hand around the room. "Did you know there's camera's set up around the house and my phone is wired?"

Sang inclined her head and nodded, her voice cracked when she answered. "After she tied me up in the shower they took precautions to keep me safe."