love bites » marcelee.

31: Go To Sleep

Chapter Thirty-One: Go To Sleep

Marceline's pulse was beating hard in her ears and head as she hid in the closet. Blood was dripping from her lip as she looked through the door shutters. She clamped a hand over her mouth in a feeble attempt to silence her panicked breaths. Warm tears rolled down her cheeks as she shut her eyes.

"You're only making it harder on yourself, Mar-Mar." he called out.

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and hugged her knees closer to her chest. She couldn't move; she was paralyzed with fear. She just wished that this nightmare would be over as soon as it had started.

"Why do you do this? You know I hate being the bad guy, so why do you have to make me be?" he asked sardonically in a softer but more ominous tone.

Marceline heard footfalls getting closer and her breathing hitched. A solid figure stopped in front of the doors, blocking the light. She looked up and couldn't stop her tears from streaming down her face. Suddenly, the door swung open and he crouched down, grabbing her ankles. His chartreuse eyes were burning into hers as his white hair lustered in the light.

"There you are."

She screamed as she was ripped out of the closet.

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Marceline woke up panting, on the brink of tears. She sat up and saw Marshall Lee sleeping soundly next to her. She sighed, getting her breathing back to normal. Another freaking nightmare about her ex-boyfriend that just wouldn't go away from her subconscious. She hated it. She hated how the memories were imprinted in her mind with no way of getting rid of them permanently. She hated it even more now that it's going to appear more often. It bothered her so much.

Slowly, she got up from the bed and went into the bathroom, switching on the light and looking at herself in the mirror with hands on either side of the sink. Glob, she looked like a zombie. Pale with dark-ringed eyes, and a little bruised. She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water onto her face a couple times before turning it off and drying her face with a towel.

"You okay?" Marshall asked, awake and standing in the doorway.

Marceline nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said as she switched off the light and walked around him to head to her closet. "Just go back to sleep."

"Where you goin'?" he asked, crossing his arms and following closely behind her.

"For a run." she replied as she took out a pair of sneakers from her closet.

But Marshall snatched them away from her hands and backed away from her.

"Hey, give it back." Marceline demanded, trying to grab for the sneakers which were raised high above his head.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong." he insisted.

"Seriously?"

He nodded. "Seriously."

"I just had a nightmare, that's all." Marceline claimed and Marshall moved the sneakers further away from her as she, yet again, tried to reach for them.

"About?"

She sighed at his persistent antics and walked back to sit on the bed in defeat. Perhaps the sooner she got it off her chest, the better it would be.

"About my ex-boyfriend Ash," Marceline admitted, running her hand through her long, black hair. Marshall calmed himself down to listen to what she had to say.

"He was a pretty nice guy when I got with him, but as time passed by, he showed his true colors."

He dropped the sneakers on the floor and proceeded to sit next to her on the bed, holding her hand in his. In a way, reassuring her and encouraging her to carry on.

Marceline continued. "He turned out to be really inconsiderate, arrogant, cruel, vain and selfish. He used me like some kind of maid. It got to the point where he even started abusing me. And that's when I've had enough."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "So I called the police. And he still holds a grudge against me for getting him arrested. That's why he...you know?" She stopped her little sob story there, thinking that that was all he needed to know.

Marshall let her lean her head against his shoulder and rubbed her arm comfortingly. "I'm sorry."

A soft chuckle left her lips and she looked up at him. "Why are you apologizing?"

"'Cause you had to go through that." he replied.

"I blame myself for being so stupid." she said.

"Hey, don't put yourself down because of that bastard. It's his fault he lost such an amazing person. I would never do that to you. I promise." Marshall consoled, and Marceline gave him what he saw as a ghost of a smile.

"Can I go run now?" she asked.

He smirked and shook his head. "Nope. You're stayin' here. I don't want you to overwork yourself at three in the morning."

"I'm not going to." she asserted, knowing that she had already been wont to physical activity in the wee hours of the morning.

"Then sleep."

Marceline sighed. "I can't."

"You haven't tried." Marshall said and placed her legs on the bed then quickly joined her. "You gotta try."

Eventually, after inferring that her boyfriend would not stop his tenacious suasion, she gave in. "Fine, I'll try for you."

"Good."

"Night, Mars." she said, closing her eyes.

"Night, Marcy."

Marshall kissed Marceline's forehead and his arms went around her body, bringing her closer to him. He simply stared at her as she attempted to fall into a deep slumber. He adored her so much, he would never hurt her. Emotionally, physically or mentally. She meant a lot to him. He would do anything to see that smile of hers. It never failed to light up his world.

"Go to sleep, Mars." she whispered with her eyes closed and he smiled in response to her wakefulness.

"Okay, okay." he said then closed his eyes, but only Glob knew he stayed awake the rest of the night just to watch her sleep, without any interruptions or nightmares.