The Taste Of Rebound Love

Part 10

Mark stared at the calendar hanging in his recording room.  December was only a month away... but it might as well have been a year!  He really hoped Jack would find out that Felix had taken his phone.  He knew Felix had done it!  During the times he was seeing Felix on and off, he'd find his phone had gone missing.  Even when he managed to get it back, Felix had erased any calls and texts from girls he was seeing.  Mark's heart sunk to the pit of his stomach.  Even if Jack managed to get his phone back, Felix will have done the same thing.  Jack would never see how hard he had been trying to get ahold of him.  Mark covered his eyes with his palm, rubbing his temples with his thumb and finger.  He couldn't blame Felix.  This was undeniably his fault.  He couldn't take it all back.  Frustrated Mark, punched the padded wall and slumped to his knees.  If Felix hadn't pressured him to 'coming out', they wouldn't have fought about it all night.  He wouldn't have started drinking and gotten swept away with women that wanted to heal him.  It wouldn't have lead to fights about his missing phone and missing numbers and messages... which lead to him drinking himself into the hospital!  Felix was even still so mad at him that he didn't even show up at the hospital.  There had been a time when Mark thought about making up with Felix... but their break up had changed him.

Then just as a good thing was starting up with Jack.  Karma had to come back around.  Pressured by fans and Jack's actions at Pax had backed him into a corner.  If he had seen the signs that he was pushing Jack away, he would have tried to get Jack to understand.  Old habits die hard though.  He was better at handling his emotions alone.  If people tried to help it only ended up with him saying things he didn't mean... or shouldn't have said.  Mark heard Chica start barking and racing across the kitchen tile as the door opened.  Amy was home.  Dropping his elbows to the rug, Mark set his forehead on his arms.  She couldn't have had worse timing.  He could hear bags rustling in the kitchen and thought about pretending to in an important call with Tyler... but when he reached for his phone, it was missing.  Cursing loudly to himself, he quickly jumped to his feet and casually made his way to the kitchen.  He had left the damn thing on the table after Felix had hung up on him.  STUPID!  The trick was not to race in and alert her that it was there.  He just had to act natural and make his way to it.  Coming around the corner, Mark stopped short and propped himself up against the wall for support.  Watching as Amy scrolled through his phone slowly.  Part of him felt relieved that she was looking... but the other part of him wanted to blend into the wall.

He stood still, just waiting for her to find the answers she wanted.  When she set his phone back onto the table, she covered her mouth and sniffled quickly.  Mark didn't bother trying to prepare for her words... he wanted to feel the pain.  There was nothing to defend from that wasn't true.  He had hurt Felix... He had hurt Jack... He was hurting Amy... Why shouldn't they hurt him?  Amy spotted him out of the corner of her teary eye, and she turned to face him trying to fight back tears, when she asked him.  "How long have you been secretly seeing them"?  Mark's voice was barely loud enough to reach her ears.  "Felix was before you. Jack and I never were together. That's the truth".  Amy dropped into one of the seats at the table, before asking hesitantly.  "When we were together... were you thinking about me or them"?  Mark couldn't stop the answer from blaring out of his mouth defensively.  "You! Why would I be thinking about them"?  Amy launched out of her seat, yelling back.  "Oh, I don't know! Maybe it's because you've slept with them and I'm afraid I'm suffering by comparison"!  Mark dropped his volume to calmly answer.  "I wouldn't do that".  Chica crept up beside him, rubbing her head nervously against his hand.  Rubbing Chicas head, he kept his focus on Amy.  She was now starting to pace the kitchen, muttering bitterly.  "It all makes so much sense now. The late night hours on the phone and the long 'games' you play together at Pax".

Mark honestly told her softly.  "The late hours, your right... but you've seen the videos from us playing games at Pax. I haven't been with them at all since us".  Amy whirled on him, pointing a finger and screaming back.  "JUST STOP! All this time you've been yelling at me that nothing has been going on, and now this? How am I suppose to take this? You're not even cheating on me with some bimbo! You're cheating on me with multiple men"!  Mark was going to reply, when Chica's loud growl caught his attention.  Amy's hostility toward him had Chica ready to defend him.  Grabbing Chica's collar, Amy shouted at him.  "Put your damn dog out! I'm not finished with you"!  Mark had to pick Chica up because she refused to move from her spot.  Setting her down outside, Mark patted her head comfortingly before closing the glass door.  The second he turned around, Amy was there.  She slapped him hard across the cheek.  Chica lunged at the glass door behind him barking savagely.  The slap didn't really hurt, but he put a hand to his red cheek and kept his eyes on the floor.  After a moment of just standing there listening to Chica whine and bark, Amy whispered to him as tears ran down her face.  "What scares me... is I still love you".  Before he could answer, she stormed away from him.  He forced himself to follow, telling her as sincere as he could.  "Amy, please listen to me. I didn't want this to happen".  Amy reached the upstairs bedroom and just before slamming the door on his face, she pleaded out in tears.  "Just go away"!  Mark slid his hand down the closed door, his heart shattering in his chest.  Backing away from the door, he slid down the opposite wall and just sat listening to her cry.  He was going to make himself listen.  He was tired of trying to ignore the pain he caused.  To Be Continued...