What the hell? WHAT THE HELL? I storm down the road, heading towards my truck. How in the fuck did Mark know where she is? That lying piece of crap. I march up to the front door of her house and bang my fist against it, hurting my hand but not caring enough to stop. I keep banging and not easing on intensity.
The front door opens, and Mark's eyes widen when he sees me. I can already see the wheels turning in his head as he tries to formulate a lie. "How the hell did you know where she lives?" I ask him. Mark scoffs at me. "What are you talking about? You told me, John." That's bullshit, complete and utter bullshit. I told nobody where Christy lived, and especially not Mark. Before I can even comprehend what's happening, I'm on top of him pounding my fists into his face. Someone pulls on my shoulders to pull me off him, and I shove them back. I hear them fall onto the ground. I turn my body to resume punching Mark into the next country. "Asshole!" I hear a familiar voice say. It stops me immediately. I turn around and it's Christy. So, that's who I just pushed onto the floor.
I get up off of Mark, and notice Lizzy still standing in the doorway, with a... smirk on her face? Stephen is standing behind her, just staring at Mark laying on the ground. "Well, I'm glad I never pissed you off," the big man says with a chuckle. What a great time to make a joke. I storm off into the kitchen.
The water stings as it runs across my cut knuckles. I was working so well on my anger management, I really was. But Mark? That was low, so goddamn low. He probably started chasing her after the divorce, and he's probably been bothering her since. What, are they fucking now?
I try to shake the thoughts out of my head, but I just can't. Mark has always been such a nice neighbor. Now I'm starting to really wonder why. Shit, was this why Christy was unhappy? Because she moved on with Mark?
"I'm going to go help Mark." The sentence breaks my thoughts, and Christy gets up from the kitchen chair. She crosses the kitchen, then stops at the doorway. She turns around. "If you ever pull a stunt like that again," she says, sternly, "I don't care if you need help or not. You guys are out of here."
I nod quietly. I wouldn't doubt her for a second. Christy isn't one of those people who just makes empty threats. After washing my knuckles some more, I wrap some paper towels around my hand and head into the living room where everyone is awaiting a new comment from somebody.
Mark's sitting on the far end of the couch. Jesus, I really messed him up. The right side of his face looks worse than the left, but it all seems bruised and bloodied nonetheless. If Christy and him are together, that's their business. It doesn't bother me at all, or at least that's what I keep telling myself. I'm just mad that he took off with my truck and thought he could get away with it. Lizzy's sitting in the recliner, and Steven... well, I don't know where Steven is, but he can fend for himself anyway. He's big enough to fight off an adult grizzly bear if he had to, which scares me out of my wits.
"You're a real piece of shit, you know that?" I look down and realize Mark is now looking and talking to me. I don't speak back, knowing that if I hear the truth it will probably just anger me further. Christy walks into the living room from the hallway and sits down beside Mark.
After a long silence, she turns to me and Lizzy. "How long are you guys planning on staying?" After all this crap, I don't know. I was hoping originally that Christy was just going to be here alone, and we were going to figure out a plan together. But I guess over time things change, and so do people. "A few weeks?" I ask. Christy has that look I know well on her face, and then she decides. "Okay, two weeks, just to help you guys get a plan figured out."
"Awesome." Lizzy says with little enthusiasm, and exits the room into the hallway. I head back into the kitchen, and start rinsing my knuckles again.