I tapped my foot impatiently, glancing down at my watch. 1:30 p.m. He should be home. I hoped to God that I didn't waste a plane ride here only for him not to be home. It took a few minutes, but then I heard shuffling behind the door and a few curses.
"Mark, open up! I know you're in there!" I was only a few seconds away from busting the door down when the door whipped open. "What the hell happened to you?" I questioned, taking in his disheveled look. His hair was ruffled around, he had no shirt on but a robe, and his sweatpants were hanging lowly from his hips.
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He cleared his throat, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I just woke up." He mumbled, faking a yawn that I saw right through.
"Really?" I raised a brow, glancing around his neat and clean apartment. "Sounded like someone else was in here," I stated, side-eyeing him.
"What? No!" He quickly objected. Realizing his mistake, he tried to relax and mask his expression. "It's just me. Just me, myself, and I."
"Hmmm..." I hummed, still eyeing him suspiciously.
Mark breathed heavily, avoiding my eyes. "So why are you here? Shouldn't you be in China promoting your clothing line?"
"We already did. The guys can handle the rest, they knew I needed to be here." I frowned, thinking about Gabi and whether I should even go see her. Would she even want to see me? "Didn't you get my text? I said I was stopping by to talk about some things."
"Right, text! I got it. I just completely forgot."
"That's unlike you." My finger trailed across the kitchen countertop. "The only way you would've forgotten is if you were preoccupied," I suggested and he went to go and shut it down, but the call of a familiar voice stops the both of us in our tracks. "Who was that?"
He gulped as the call came again. "Mark? Is everything okay?" The drowsy voice sounded closer, coming from his bedroom.
"Y-yeah, I'm f-fine. Everything's great!" His voice cracked as he called outback. He glanced nervously at me, before retreating to the bedroom quickly and shutting the door abruptly.
I stood in my spot trying to make sense of the situation, which didn't make sense whatsoever. Mark and I were close, and if he was with some girl, he would come right out and say it. It wouldn't make a difference, but what about this girl was he trying to hide.
I tried to recall the familiar voice, while I waited. My thoughts started to overcome me, louder than the muffled voices from the bedroom. That voice. Why did it sound familiar? Why did it- My eyes bulged out of my head as my grip tightened on the edge of the countertop.
No. Just no. No way. No way in hell.
My thoughts in denial were interrupted by Mark. He stopped walking once he noticed the realization that came over my face. "It's not...it's not what it looks like..."
