Bailamos? | Mark Owen [Take That]

Chapter 40

Mark’s POV

"Helen, we need to talk... I think we should see other people... No, no... I think we should take a break--- No, that's crap... Helen it's not you, it's me... Shit!" I said in a panicked tone as I paced up and down the room, trying to get the words right since all I wanted to do was to put an end to my commitment with Helen... Why make it last longer, I thought, if I was going to leave her eventually?

God, it felt so wrong to have those ideas but if I couldn't lie to myself, why would I lie to Helen then? Whatever I felt for Aimee was too strong and it felt so real to ignore it... She was in my mind 24/7 and every time I wasn't focusing my attention on something other than her, she was the only thing that invaded my mind. Aimee, with all her strenghts and weaknesses, made my heart pound faster than normal.

"Markie, you alright?" Gaz walked into the studio with lattes and handed one to me "You look worried..."

"Well---"

"Helen?" he raised an eyebrow and sipped his drink.

"Aimee" I shook my head.

"Ohhh... she is someone to be worried about, isn't she?"

"Yeah..." I sighed "Gaz... I---"

"God, Mark, where have you been? I went to Howard's and he said you left earlier because of something you had to do so I called you but your mobile was---" Helen rushed in the studio just then, interrupting our conversation.

"Heeeeeeelly...!" Gary smiled at her and I wondered how he could be that good at pretending he actually liked her when everybody knew they hated each other.

"How are my two favourite Take That members doing this morning?" she smiled fakely. Did she not notice she was not at home, that I was at work? How would she like it if I went over to her office and sat down talking to everybody while she was working? Good Lord, why was I being so mean to her?

"Fiiiiiiine, how could we not be...?" Gary said "We were just talking you know, about some stuff for the shows..."

"Ohhh, what is it? You know I'm Take That's number one fan---" she said.

"Actually, nobody can know--- apart from us, that is..." Gaz carried on with his lie.

"Mark? Gary doesn't want to tell me---"

"You can't know, Helen, didn't you hear him?" I snapped and gave her a cold look.

"Mark..." she babbled looking at me astonished "You haven't talked to me with that tone, have you?"

"What do you think...?" I retorted and walked out of the studio furiously, walking past Howard and Leanne "Shit!" I reached the door of  the studio and walked onto the pavement, frantically searching my pockets for a fag. "Shit!" I exclaimed and searched my pockets again in case I had missed a packet of cigarettes that was actually there. "Shit, shit, shit!!"

"You okay?" a woman asked and I turned round to see her.

Standing a few inches away from me, there was a brunette with captivating brown eyes. Although she was wearing a scarf which covered almost half her face, I could instantly tell that she was smiling.

"Hmmm... no--- actually was looking for a fag and---"

"Here..." she said and took out of her handbag a packet of Marlboro Lights.

"Thanks..."

"You got---"

"Light? No... left it with me fags---"

"No probs..." she said and quickly produced a silver Zippo out of what I now thought of a magical bag "I'm Erinn--- Erinn Adams..."

"Mark Owen..."