51┃why are you defending him?

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[CW: violence, assault, description of injuries, trauma/PTSD]

3 DAYS AGO - 07:03

NORAH GOT OUT OF HER car and locked it, stifling a yawn as she blinked away the tears.

The sun slowly started rising, but the sky had not yet brightened. Layers of white clouds scattered around the orange sky.

It was quite a view, she must admit.

Her pager beeped again, and she silently cursed at it for ruining the morning mood. She stuffed her hand into the pocket of one of Mark's leather jackets and made her way towards the hospital's entrance, just like every other day.

Except that this day, she got greeted with a rough arm around her waist and what felt like a blade pressed onto her back.

"Hello, Honorah, it's been a while," the man whispered next to her ear, and she felt her body stiffening at once. "Now, this knife of mine is pressing on your L3, and I would not like you to be paraplegic, do you?" he threatened, "So, doll, we have a lot to catch up on. Call your boss and tell him you're sick. Now."

She did as told while she plucked out the batteries of her pager secretly inside her pocket. Her back was starting to get damp, with her sweat rolling down from her neck. She did not dare speak another word as she followed Jeffrey reluctantly back to his car.

The memories of what happened in New York were quick to flush back into her head.

It was as though the vault that she had kept sealed for three years now was trying to bash open, the memories threatening to pour out like a waterfall, except this one had hot sparks of flames instead of cold droplets of water.

Two words echoed in her head: Help me.

❦ ❦ ❦

3 DAYS AGO - 08:24

NORAH SAT BESIDE JEFFREY on a long bench in the park where they watched children hurrying to school and many people exercising.

She knew for a fact that he would not hurt her in front of this many people. But she did not feel relieved at all-because that meant he would be messing with her mentally.

"Ah, I missed us, doll," Jeffrey voiced as he leaned against the bench, his arm spread behind her.

"I don't," she replied curtly. "And stop calling me... that."

"Doll? Oh, come on, you used to love it," he smirked.

Used to. And, correction: I had never loved it.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned demandingly, "Why are you here? How did you know I'm here?"

"Geez, don't you have lots of questions? Well, I have some, too, in fact," he brought one leg up on the other's knee, turning her face to him. She flinched under his touch, not that he cared. "Why did you run away? Why did you leave me alone? What made you think you could escape me?"

What made me think I could escape you? Good question, indeed.

Norah remained silent as she stared at the couple across the park with their little girl on the swings. They looked happy, a warm family spending a morning together.

She never had that.

Jeffrey's hand snaked to the collar of her leather jacket, and she immediately smacked his hand away, but he was quick to grab hold of her forearm.

You Promised | Mark Sloan ✓Where stories live. Discover now