The Runaway Cheat

Chapter 10

  Luca's pov

Marilyn is acting strange.
     I have known her for almost a decade now and have witnessed how her world crumbles upon her head. I have seen how this woman stood up when every precious thing from her life was snatched apart. But maybe I was wrong. Wrong that everything that she cared about is long gone because this man who stood in front of us is holding a string of her heart that her mind is fighting so hard to abandon.

When every night she locked herself in the room and try so hard to cry silently we knew some of those tears were not for her family but rather for someone else. But one day she came out of that room wearing a black dress and the darkest shade of red lipstick. Since then we never saw Marilyn shed a single tear until...now.

She has locked herself again and is crying silently. I could hear her gasping for air and soft barely audible sobs. My continuous knock doesn't get past her cry and no matter how much I try the door does not open. Leaving no way out I rang the only person other than me who could talk Marilyn out of what is she feeling now.

"Hello?" she picked up at the fourth ring.

"You need to come to the office, it's Marilyn."

"Is everything alright?"

"Someone called her Mara today and I think it's him," Him. The person we've waiting to hear all this time but never did once Marilyn spoke of him.

"Okay....okay. I'll be there in 10" the worry coated Tabi's voice.

I asked security to get me the keys to the washroom but didn't open it because no matter how close of friends Marilyn and I are sometimes it's Tabi all she needs. It took exactly 10 minutes for Tabi to reach and all this time I didn't move a single step away from the door. The moment Tabi's eyes fell on me, "Where is she?"

Nodding towards the door I take the keys out to unlock it, and the moment the door opened my heart drops. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Tabi runs towards the unconscious body of Marilyn lying in the corner of the washroom. Her face was pale, lips were colourless like..like life left her body, "Marilyn?" Tabi shakes her head calling her name again and again but they are no response.
She was not responding.

"Marilyn you need to open your eyes, please don't scare us." Tabi cry out voice breaking with each word.

But she didn't open her eyes, and suddenly I was back in her room from six years ago staring at the lifeless body lying in the bathtub of her blood. I could almost hear my heartbeat and my mind stopped working. As if it got paused.

"Luca!" I snapped my head towards Tabi's face, "Get a fucking hold. Call dr. Stevan and ask him to come to Mari's home."

It took me a minute to process her words, "No. No tabi we need to take her to hospital. I am calling the ambulance."

"There is no need for the hospital, we just need to take her home." Tabi's stoic voice rang with me. How could she be so calm?

"She is not moving Tabi, for fuck sake. She is not opening her eyes. We need to take her to the hospital." I plead for her to understand that I cannot withstand the past scenario all over again.

"Luca?" Her words didn't stop me and I dial 911 when Tabi snatched the phone from me, "She is alright and she is fine. She just fainted, Luca. She is safe, it's alright. Just call Stevan, okay?"

Not believing her words I put two fingers in Marilyn's throat checking her pulse and when the beat hit me I released a sharp breath closing my eyes. "Okay."

............................................

When we reached Marilyn's apartment the doctor was already outside waiting for us. Taking her inside to the bedroom we let Stevan check on her while waiting outside. After what felt like almost 15 minutes he came out but before he could speak Tabi was at his face. "Is she alright? What happened to her? When will she wake up?" And when he didn't reply anything Tabi almost burst out, "Would you fucking say something?"