Bound To You: Marcus Volturi

Chapter 59: More? More Shopping?

I step quietly out of Liam's room as he starts to doze in Priest's arms, leaving him to sleep.
As I head around the corner, I hear the faint tinkling of a piano, and I know instantly it's Marcus.

I push open the double doors that lead to the music room to find him sitting on the piano stool, completely engrossed in the music. So much that he doesn't even look up at my entrance. He takes his time, playing the piece slowly, all the way to the end, his delicate fingers pressing the keys.

When the song does finish, I glide to him and hug him from behind, and he leans into my chest. "Good morning my love." He acknowledges.

"Thank you for being so quiet, I have a dreadful hangover." I groan as I slouch into his body as he pulls in me.
"You're such an alcoholic." He teases, turning me to face him.

"You'll never guess who I found in bed with Liam this morning!" I announce. He frowns and shakes his head. "An old friend from college?" He asks.
I sigh at his ridiculous lack of imagination. "Priest." 

Marcus looks blank and bored as usual, turning away to his piano. "That's nice, dear." He says softly, polishing the array of keys with a rag that appears from nowhere. "Nice? Say something more enthusastic! This is news of the century!" I jump up and down around him, hoping for him to at least crack a smile but he stays blank.

"God!" I huff. "You're so uninterested!" I sigh. "If it exhausts you so much, you should have married Demetri." He snarks suddenly. Fuck.
I lean into him once more, pulling him into an embrace. "I chose you, Marcus. I'm not going to change my mind." I promise, kissing the back of his head.

"Forever." I state, slipping my hand in his. He remains still for a second before sitting up straight and locking eyes with me. "Forever." He agrees.
"And also, Liam and Priest's relationship is wonderful news." He smiles up at me, before pulling me onto his lap.

"You've finally shown interest." I smirk. "Only for you." He chides.
"Anyway!" He stands up, knocking me off his lap as I fall onto the floor. "Bitch!" I slap him from the floor and he tuts at me. "Come along, there's no time for dawdling. We have New Year's shopping to do."

"More? More shopping?" I moan in emotional pain, wincing at the idea of traipsing round shops all day with Sulpicia playing tag along. The idea of her carryimg designer bags and armfuls of expensive clothes. Marcus practically reads my mind. "Sulpicia isn't invited." He assures quickly.

I finally exhale then I frown. "New Year's shopping?" I follow him to the door where he's already donned his cloak in record time. "Yes. What's more, the fresh air will help your hangover." He smiles to himself, as if replaying the memory of last night's party.

He gives another small smile to himself and his eyes close briefly. "Am I missing something?" I snap, noticing his happy face all of a sudden. He turns to me. "Alcohol. It must have erased some of your memories from last night." He states.
"I remember dancing with Aro. That was enough for me to remember." I shudder. I should have had a shower to remove the feel of his hands.

Marcus smiles at me. "I went to bed with you last night." He announces. "I made love to you." He adds. Oh. "Aw, Marcus, I'm sorry, I don't remember anything. I...I'm sure it was great." I reassure. I turn back to him. "Was it great?" I check.

"No. You were drunk, you were a mess. That's why I'm smiling. It's quite funny to remember." He announces, throwing my jacket at me. I pull it on. "Why didn't you stay with me in my bed?" I ask.
He smiles and we head to the garage. "You become aggressive when you're drunk; you kept kicking me out of the bed. You said I was taking up too much room." He raises his eyebrows at me and opens the door to the garage.

I slide into the passenger seat of the car. "Yeah...sounds like me." I switch on the radio and shrug apologetically. "Why are we going New Year's shopping?" I pipe up, glancing at the several shut up shops. "Hardly any are open." I announce.

"Some are. Sulpicia says there'll be....bargains...because of the after Christmas sales." He says.
"You love a good bargain, do you?" I smirk, and his suddenly his eyes shine. "Hmm."
"What are you thinking about?" I ask, as he turns into the shopping centre.

He stays silent.

"Marcus?" I nudge his arm as he cuts the engine with a sharp twist of the keys. He turns to me and smiles. "I have an idea." He opens his door and ducks out. "Stay here." He adds. Then he slams the door and he's gone.

Well two can play at this game, Marcus.

Fuck what he said. I'm getting out too. And then I'll ransack a shop and buy some 'new year's bargains'.

I wait until the coast is clear before sliding my card into my pocket and rushing out into the open. The carpark is multi storey and badly lit with aging yellow lights so it's easy to keep concealed. The bad thing is, I've no idea which direction Marcus went.

I walk along until I enter the better lit shopping centre, which is quiet and soothing to my sore head. I decide to try to find a Starbucks and any other place that sells good coffee. Maybe then I'll look out for a pharmacy in the hope of some painkillers. Strong ones.

After a fifteen minute stroll, I almost fall weak to my knees at the sight of a Starbucks, silently thanking whoever may be up there in the sky.

I rush in, thankful for the no queues, and order. I enter my pin and in an awful urge to demolish my drink, I practically snatch the cup from the poor cashier's hand, leaving him confused and blinking. I offer a half sorry smile and stalk out, slurping madly. When I next spot a Boots store, I feel it's suddenly my lucky day.

(A/N, for those of you that don't know, 'Boots' is a British pharmacy.)

I grab the most reliable looking painkillers and slap them down onto the counter, catching the attention of the lady behind the till. She gives me a judgemental stare and shakes her head. She hands them over without a word, frowning at me over the tops of her glasses, so I return her stare with a mocking smile.

I then rush to Waterstones, the book store, and head straight to the British Literature department, scanning the shelves for Shakespeare or any other classic author Marcus would be interested in. Brönte, Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy. After minutes of flicking through and heading back and forth to each book, I give up on choosing and decide to buy one book each of Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy, and one of the Brönte sisters.

After having them scanned and paid for, I head back to the car, keeping my eyes peeled for any signs of Marcus. If he doesn't look deeply appreciated when I give these books to him, I'm turning around and starting the whole scene again, I don't care how long it takes.

I mean, he's had christmas presents and now these books. But maybe wives are meant to be generous and like buying more gifts for their husbands?
Shit, I have a lot to learn.

I sprint back to the car with the books under my arm, and sure enough, I knew it would happen, but still, shit. Marcus is standing, leaning back against the closed car door. He glares when he sees me and my blood runs cold. Suddenly, he appears in front of me and clasps me up in my arms.
His nose in my hair inhaling deeply, his arms grip me tightly, pinning me to him. I lock my legs around his waist. "Stupid girl," He groans. "I thought someone had taken you. Like Vladimir." He sighs with relief. I gasp, lip trembling. "Sorry, baby. I was getting you some presents." I retrieve the bag from underneath my arm and thrust it at him.

He waits until we're belted in the car before delving into the bag and peering at the books. "Well well. I didn't realise you knew what authors I liked." He gives me a look. "Other than the Brönte sisters of course." He smiles to himself.

He drives off and then suddenly hands me a box, thick and heavy.  I retrieve a pair of scissors and run the blade along the neat strips of sellotape. It takes me a few minutes before the black, shiny machine comes into my hands.

I glance at Marcus confused and wondering. "It's a MacBook Pro." He explains. "That's great. But why do I need it?" I check.

He breathes out slowly, closes his eyes for a second and sighs deeply. "You're nineteen, darling." He says softly.

"Okaaay?" I blink.

"Forgive me, Lee. You're going to University."