Charmed into Darkness

eight

NOT EDITED. Prepare yourself for incorrect grammars and weird wordings. TW: Mention of r*pe (just one word).

The group was on their way to the province of Hälsingland, passing through the Stockholm traffic in a rented minivan driven by Pelle. Cathy had called shotgun, making herself comfy in the passenger seat as Mark complained his way to sit with the bags at the back of the car. The others found it amusing how both of them childishly fought for the seat, despite both of them giving each other the silent treatment. Cathy couldn't help but smiled when she claimed victory, however it saddened when she remembered Mark and her relationship isn't the same anymore—not with him giving her the cold shoulder.

Cathy laid her head against the headrest as she watched the scenery of her boyfriend's home passing by. She had never seen a place so bright and sunny, the sky was so blue it was technicolor—even the trees are lush with the perfect shade of green. It was surreal. It felt like a dream where everything was perfect.

Apparently, Mark felt the same way as he exclaimed his appreciation for the group of women who they had just passed by. "What is it that makes them hotter?" Mark stared at the girls with his jaw dropped.

"You couldn't even pull them even if you tried. Face it Mark, beautiful girls are out of your league." Cathy grinned as she turned around to face him, who was struggling to find a comfortable spot in between the bags.

Mark frowned, her words felt like a brutal attack to his ego. Everyone knew that Cathy was only teasing because they have countlessly seen Mark leaving with gorgeous girls on his arms. He can definitely pull beautiful girls—but what irritated him was the underlying truth behind Cathy's words. It was an excruciating reminder that the one beautiful girl that mattered never fell for his charms. It was so long ago, and he was definitely over with his little crush on Cathy—but that didn't stop the painful annoyance of watching a guy they had just met for a few months whisking Cathy away from him like it was a stupid fucking fairytale.

Mark had barely see Cathy anymore, there were no longer spontaneity in their friendship—always planned group hangouts, never just them both. It was also a rare occurrence to see the wild girl Cathy had once been, Mark had only seen that side of her every once in a while and that was when she's flirting with fucking Pelle. Cathy doesn't even get high with Mark anymore, she does it secretly with Pelle instead. Mark was very indignant about how Pelle stole Cathy away from him, she was his crime partner and now she's just his friend that he catch up on every few days. Hearing that Cathy was officially in a relationship with Pelle instead of a temporary fling was his final straw.

Mark kept quiet as he looked away from Cathy, which created an awkward silence. Cathy pouted slightly, still wondering why Mark was so angry with her. She wasn't dense, it was obvious that Mark doesn't approve of her relationship with Pelle. But the question remains, why? She refused to believe that it was due to jealousy, Mark was her best friend, there was nothing romantic about their friendship. Glancing at Mark one last time, Cathy faced the road glumly. She really do miss their old friendship, it had been a while since they had spend some quality time together. Which was why Cathy intended to rekindle their friendship throughout this trip, but it's quite hard to do that when Mark had continued to ignore her.

Cathy slumped in her seat, her heart feeling heavy with how Mark treated her. She rolled down the window to take a deep breath, she'd rather die than allow the others to see how upset she was. Pelle noticed and held her hand on her lap, squeezing gently before lifting it up to his lips. Cathy squeezed back as she continued to inhale the fresh air before rolling the window back up. Once she was back in her seat, she smiled at her boyfriend appreciatively—her mood was definitely better than the last few minutes ago.