Knockout

Chapter 11

~Marshall's P.O.V~

I didn't sleep at all last night. It seems like only a few minutes went by. My eyes burn as I blink, I can't believe this happened. Fuck you Dani. Why would she come to me? I haven't seen her in eight years, and if I remember correctly our parting wasn't a good one. I ended it with her because she was fucking our English teacher. I regret every second I spent on her. I resent her for finding me, she's ruined everything with Rachel and I just got her back.
Shit, how can I fix this with her? She let me see her last night but she only did that so I would leave. She listens but she doesn't hear what I'm saying. I roll over and grab my phone off the nightstand. I have to call the one person who can help me fix this, the one person who was there when Dani and I were together. Coincidentally, she's pretty damn close with Rachel.

"Marshall?"

I sigh a sigh of relief and thank God Ren picked up.

"Ren." I say, exhaling.

"Do you need something?" She laughs, sounding surprised that I called.

"I take it Rachel hasn't told you anything." I say, laying back down on the bed.

"Told me what?" She's intrigued, her voice heightening.

"Do you remember Dani Dempsy?" I ask her, even her name tastes sour on my tongue.

"From high school?" Even Ren sounds shocked. "She's the one that got expelled for sleeping with one of our teachers right?"

"Yeah, that's her." I say, internally groaning at the memory. How could I ever have been with her?

"Didn't you date her?" Ren asks and I hear the teasing in her voice.

"Let's not talk about it." I say, I need her to focus on the current problem at hand. "She came to see me last night."

"What?" The confusion in her voice isn't promising. "I didn't know you still talk to her."

"I don't!" I snap, and then immediately dismiss the hostility in my voice. "I don't, it's just that she came out of nowhere she was asking to stay with me."

"What the hell?" Ren asks, and I hear her sit down on the other line. "You said no right?"

"Of course I said no." I tell her. "But Rachel came last night too, I didn't know she was gonna be there. She saw Dani and freaked out."

"Freaked out?" She says. "Why'd she freak out if you weren't doing anything?"

"Dani had only been there for a minute or two before Rachel, and you know how she is, and you know how Rachel is." The sick feeling I had when I saw Rachel's face returns. I never want her to look at me like that again.

"Oh yeah I know, Dani couldn't go five seconds without pushing her boobs on something." She laughs and then it clicks for her. "Oh no..."

"I tried to explain it to Rachel but she wouldn't listen to me." I tell her, the pain from it all coming back. "She told me it was over. I talked to her a little last night but I don't think she was really hearing me, you know?"

"Yeah I get it, where's Dani now?" She asks.

"I don't know I told her to leave when I went after Rachel." I explain. "Ren you have to talk to her for me, she thinks I'm cheating on her."

"Are you?" She asks in all seriousness, and the question throws me off.

"What? No, don't be stupid." I tell her, a little offended.

"I believe you, sometimes I just need to check." She says in her regular voice now.

"What do I do? I'm going talk to her today." I shut my eyes for a second and take a breath. "I don't know what to do Ren, I don't know what to say. I can't lose her again."