Chapter 13

"Sho'?" Marcus looked surprised, opening the door for her. "It's like... twenty past midnight... what's up?"

"I... Can I come in?" she whispered, and he hurriedly stepped aside, seeing as the light spilt onto her cheeks that she'd been crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked, quietly, closing the door and gesturing towards the seats. Tony appeared, briefly, in the passageway that led to his room.

"Hey, Sho', you OK?" She started at the new voice, staring at him for a moment.

"Yeah... fine... just... you know... I... I broke up... today."

"Shit, sorry... I didn't realise you were seeing anyone." He offered his condolences, then headed for bed, leaving Marcus to it. Marcus came back with a cup of tea for her, which she took after his second attempt to urge her to it, and then he sat down.

"Sho'... this isn't a break-up." He told her, quietly. "I've seen you through a few of those, this is... this is something else. What's going on?"

"I... could... I need a shower, Marcus, would that be a problem?"

"Um... no, I suppose not..." he looked confused. "Do... um... I'll get you a towel." She huddled on the couch, looking small and pale and he came back quickly with a towel and a clean flannel.

"It's... well, I suppose you know where it is." He pointed and she got up, blankly, taking him by the hand.

"What... Sho'?"

"Come talk to me, I need someone to talk to..."

"In the shower?"

"You won't look, I trust you. I can always trust you, Marcus." That just felt like another kick, but he followed along hesitantly, wondering what was happening. In the bathroom he locked the door, and hurriedly turned away and sat on the laundry hamper facing the sink as he heard the rustle of clothing begin and the water run.

"Are you crying?" he asked, finally recognising the sound over the splashing and had to listen hard for the whispered reply.

"Yes... oh Marcus..." He started to turn, before remembering where he was, and caught sight of the pile of clothes she'd left on the floor — the inside of her jeans was tainted with blood.

"Sho' you're bleeding..." he muttered.

"I know... I wasn't ready... he couldn't know that, I'm always ready... who knows what I'm normally ready for..."

"Princess... you're scaring me now." He admitted, trying to make sense of the rambling. "What's happening?"

"I... he... " He turned as he heard footsteps and as suddenly as that she was hugging into his chest, tears and shower water soaking through his t-shirt as he awkwardly tried to comfort her without touching any of the naked skin.

"Talk to me, Sho'." He begged, trying not to tense up, knowing there was more happening than he could understand.

"I... I've been stupid, and... I... I went to a party tonight..." slowly, haltingly, pressed up against him she related the story in bits and pieces, just a mechanical recount of the events as he gently wrapped the towel around her and patted her back and hair dry. He even had the presence of mind to push the bloodied clothes behind the hamper, and then tucked the towel in — eyes squeezed shut — to keep it in place.

"I'll go get you something to wear." He whispered, hurrying away as she shuffled towards the sofa. It took him longer than she expected to come back with the long t-shirt, a pair of heavy cotton trousers and some softer shorts.

"You can... you can get dressed in my room." He pointed it to her as she reached for the towel, staring off into the distance. "Sorry I took so long... I was tidying it up, changing the bed." He thought of the dozens of sheets of paper hastily stuffed into his bottom drawer along with his carvings.

"Changing the bed?" He heard the catch in her voice, didn't recognise it. The look in her eyes told him what it was; fear.

"I... it's late for you to be heading home." He explained. "And... you should have a bed for the night, you need it." He held up a blanket. "I'll sleep here..."

"No!" she clutched at his arm, pulling him against the thin material of the towel. "Please... don't leave me alone... I... I need someone to talk to."

"O... Ok..." he assured her, and led her to the door. "You get changed, I'll be right here." He stood still, closing the door and leaning his back against it, tears in his eyes as he contemplated the ceiling, knowing that on top of whatever had been done to her, his dreams had just irrevocably dismissed.

"Dave?" Elspeth looked up as she entered the dorm block, seeing the familiar figure walking the other way. "Sorry... it's not Dave, is it... Ian?"

"It's Connor, actually." He offered, with an oddly lop-sided smile that made her a little uneasy. "You must be Shawna's room-mate, right?"

"Yes, I'm looking for her, actually, have you seen her?"

"No... I was looking for her too... she still has my wallet, apparently."

"Well, if she's not here, she's probably at Marcus' place. It's a bit early for her to be up, but..."

"Where's this? I'll head over there, see if I can catch her."

"It's OK, I'm heading there, I'll show you."

It wasn't a long walk, but Elspeth felt decidedly uncomfortable by the time they arrived at the flat, with his rather obvious stares at her.

"Tony," she smiled, forcing her way in quickly, putting some distance between them. "This is Connor, he was looking for Shawna, have you seen her?"

"Yeah, she was here late last night... hang on." He turned towards Marcus' room. "MARCUS!" Marcus emerged a few seconds later, just as Briana was tumbling up to the door looking excited.

"Oh, Connor." She managed, and Marcus' already dark eyes went almost black.

"Connor?"

"Yeah, Connor MacNamara, he's the centre-forward for the 1st eleven." She pointed out. "Top of the league this year." Despite the glowing report she sounded anything other than impressed.

"And one of our second rows." Tony pointed out, a little more warmly, but not much.

"I just came around to see if Shawna still had my wallet, actually." He explained, and Marcus disappeared back into his room for a moment. "If she's not here, I'll check somewhere else."

"She's here." Marcus pointed out, returning to the hall and closing the door quietly. He spun the wallet viciously through the air, winging the side of Connor's head with it before it slammed heavily into the door. "There's your wallet, now go."

"Hey, sorry." He held up his hands, trying to calm the situation. "I didn't know she was seeing someone, OK, she never said."

"Fuck off!" Marcus stepped forward, past Connor, opening the door. "Get out, and never, ever come here again."

"Hey, don't take that tone with me, you little turd. I've not done any..." Marcus cut him off, snaking an arm out and grasping the collar of his shirt, doing something to his shoulder that made him stop talking and twist his neck over.

"I know exactly what you've done. If I hear you've so much as looked at Shawna again I will come find you. I'm good at anatomy, I can find any of the bones in your body to break them."

"You keep this up I'm gonna have you arrested, fuckwit." Connor's slightly constricted voice came back.

Marcus' voice came out in a strangled hiss, the veins in his neck standing out like hoses. "I'm already mental, I've got a Doctor's note and everything. A few extra medications and I'm back out again, but I can make sure that you wake up in pain every day for the rest of your miserable life. Now fuck off and don't come back." He pitched the taller figure down the steps with no real effort at all, slamming the door shut behind him, and then resting his forehead on the cold wood.

"Marcus?" Elspeth said, quietly, knowing better than to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder.