“All that I’m after is a life full of laughter, as long as I’m laughing with you. I’m thinkin’ that all that still matters is love ever after, after the life we’ve been through…”


“Call me if you need anything,” Marco insisted, leaning over the center console to kiss Marie’s lips quickly.

“I’ll be fine,” she reassured, pushing the car door open. When she looked at him again, she could tell he was worried about her going in alone. “It’s just the apartment,”

“Yeah and if your dad’s in there, you run like hell and call me,”

Marie stepped out of the car, “please don’t worry. You’ll get wrinkles and ruin that pretty face of yours.” Just as he was about to respond, she interrupted, “I love you,” and then shut the door and ran off towards the building’s gates.

It was odd to be back after having spent so much time at Marco’s. The place didn’t even really feel like hers anyways. She slid her key into the door and nudged it open, bracing herself to see her once furnished studio apartment completely barren.

What she couldn’t have imagined was that her unfurnished space would not be her first priority. Instead the person sitting on her mattress, which was now on the floor, captured her attention. Her heart nearly stopped because she never would’ve imagined that this could be real.

“What in the hell,” Marie clutched at her heart.

“Hey little sister.”

Marie shut the door and dropped her bag to the floor, partially stunned to see her sister. “What are you doing here, Lizzie?”

“I heard about your run in with dad… Thought I’d come by,” Lizzie stood up and smoothed out her sweater. She looked more put together than ever. But then again, she’d always been the one to be that way. She was following in their father’s footsteps; becoming a doctor and such. And at twenty-three and just starting medical school, she looked to be on the right path.

“Is that what we’re calling it now?”

“C’mon Marie. You know he’s always had a short fuse. What’d you expect to happen?”

“Well I never could’ve guessed he’d beat his own daughter.” She took a deep breath in and pointed towards the front door. “You wanna get coffee or something and talk? There’s a little place down the street,”

Lizzie shrugged and shouldered her purse. Marie led her out of the apartment, and for a moment they walked in silence. Neither one wanted to be the first to crack, but considering her sister’s mysterious appearance, Marie figured she’d have to be the one to break.

“You really think I’d give up a comfortable lifestyle if the dude wasn’t worth it?” Marie glanced sideways at her sister. She envied the way she so effortlessly carried herself.

“We’re drastically different people. By the time you were starting college and seeing the divorce, I was already a functional adult. I can’t pretend to know how that affected you. All I know is that you’ve enjoyed male company the past few years, and let’s face it mom and dad never took those guys seriously. So for you to uproot your life for this guy… I mean how are they supposed to feel?”

“So you’re defending him?” Marie looked up at the sky and groaned. “You’re taking the side of a man who handcuffed his daughter in a bathroom and left her there to rot. Guess you haven’t gotten to bedside manner in med school yet,”

As Marie pulled open the glass door to the coffee shop, Lizzie rushed to stay right on her heels. And for the moment, their conversation was put on pause as they both ordered their drinks. Even while they waited, Marie stared at her sister like she was a loon. It took everything in her to keep from wringing Lizzie’s scrawny, little neck. And only when they sat at a table with their drinks did Lizzie suck in a breath to defend her position.

“It’s not about taking sides. You should’ve been calling the police the moment you had the chance…”

“What chance,” Marie interrupted. She kept her voice hushed to avoid nosy strangers. “The moment I was conscious enough to understand what was going on, dad barged into the apartment and threatened Marco and I. And I haven’t been able to spend a night alone because Marco’s afraid of what’ll happen if dad makes another surprise visit.”

“You know you’re lying to yourself, just admit it. The only reason you haven’t called the police is because your afraid of the resources dad has. You’re afraid he’ll get on the phone with the cops and say awful things, and because money talks, your name is the one that’ll get dragged in the mud.” Lizzie curled her fingers around the paper cup, “until you learn to stop fearing his money, he’s going to control you.”

“How’d you do it?”

“I decided to go after a career that’ll give me enough money to get away from him. You have to fight fire with fire, and I’m hoping he won’t be able to light it if I don’t give him the matches.”

“Does he know you’re here?” Marie asked, physically frightened to know the answer.

Lizzie shook her head, “I haven’t talked to him in weeks. He’s holding a grudge because I broke up with Brandon Carney.”

Marie feigned disgust, “how dare you break up with the heir of an international insurance firm; you heretic.”

“Yeah… He called Brandon’s father and told him that I was undergoing intense psychiatric examination. According to dad I have a social anxiety disorder,”

“How very One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest of you. I promise not to rat on you, Chief.”

“Sign me up for electroshock therapy and a lobotomy,”

They both tried to giggle in an attempt to lighten the mood, but it was quite evident their dad had a stronger grip on their lives than either of them liked. And all this time Marie thought Lizzie had escaped the suffocating hold.

Lizzie ran her fingers over the lip of her cup, “dad doesn’t need to know about this; or even mom for that matter. Divorce or not, he’s still got a hold on her and I’m afraid what he’ll do to her if he finds out she’s trying to lie for us. Best just leave her out of it,”

“Sounds like a plan. How long are you in Minnesota for?”

“Just a day or two. I have to get back to New York to study for midterms.”

“Wish I had more of a place to let you stay,” Marie started, taking a longer sip of her coffee as it had cooled down. “Dad’s basically got me locked out so I’m just moving all my stuff to Marco’s.”

“That’s fine, I got a hotel in Minneapolis; something off the grid so Wild Bill Thatcher won’t find out I’m here.”

Marie rolled her eyes and chuckled. It was purely astonishing they had to go to such great lengths to keep their father at bay. “Listen, Marco and I are ordering Chinese takeout tonight. You should swing by his place and join us. It’d be nice for you to get to meet him and for us to be able to hang out more,”

“I don’t want to intrude on your time with him…”

She dismissed her sister with a wave of her hand, “it’s not an intrusion. We order enough for six people anyway. Think of it as you saving me from having to eat leftovers for the next four days.”

---

Marco walked to his front door in nothing but a pair of light gray joggers. He had just spent the last few minutes arguing with Marie about his current state of disarray. And now Lizzie was knocking on his door and he still hadn’t put on a shirt.

“Has she never seen a shirtless man?” Marco retorted. “If not, then I feel like I’m de-virginizing a doctor, and that’s something I just can’t pass up on.”

He pulled open the front door just as Marie shot up to argue again. But she found herself going numb as Marco stood in front of her sister, and Lizzie just stared at him. Her eyes drifted from his face all the way down his body, before returning to their starting point.

“Elizabeth Thatcher, I’m…”

“Lizzie!” Marie corrected as if she had committed a sin by referring to herself as her proper name.

Marco smiled that perfect smile of his with his warm and welcoming eyes, and stepped to the side. “Yeah, come on in. The food just got here,”

“You’ve got a really great place,” she mentioned, and Marie felt like she was going to vomit.

“Oh thanks. It’ll be even greater once all of Marie’s stuff is settled in. It’s kind of hard to move around and everything with all the boxes.” He smiled and scratched his chest subconsciously as he walked into the kitchen, only to return holding three bottles of beer.

He handed one to Lizzie and Marie couldn’t help but stare at the coy way her sister took the bottle and held it to her lips like she had someone to impress. Marco seemed unphased by it all and offered one to Marie.

“That’ll be two kisses,” he grinned, bending down and pursing his lips.

“It’s getting expensive,” Marie smiled, pushing Marco’s hair up out of his face.

“Well it’s a Stella… It ain’t Bud Light.”

Marie cupped her hand around Marco’s chin and pecked his lips twice. Only then did he let go of her bottle. They all filed towards the table in the center of the living room and sat down on the carpeted floor. Marie sat on one side of Marco, and Lizzie sat at the head of the small table on the other side of him.

“So Marie tells me you’re in medical school,” he said as a conversation starter. Marie noticed how her sister seemed to light up at Marco’s question.

“Yeah, pediatrics. I’ve always loved kids. I’m four years older than Marie, so I was six or seven by the time she was just starting to run around. And she used to do this thing where she’d run around the house naked looking for food or a toy…”

“She still does that,” he mentioned offhand, earning a playful slap on the shoulder from Marie.

“I like seeing happy kids, so I thought what a better job than to heal the sick ones and make them happy again.”

“I think that’s great,” Marco commented, scooping as much rice as he could onto his fork. “It’s always nice when the work you do helps other people,”

Marie felt like the odd man out in this conversation. Her sister had barely met Marco twenty minutes ago and they were rattling off stories like they’d been friends for years. She feared this was the case for all the girls he talked to. If they were closer to his age, surely they’d have more to talk about.

“So you looking to start a family?” Lizzie’s question came out of nowhere, and both Marco and Marie choked on their food. As they coughed simultaneously, Lizzie stared at them earnestly, just waiting for Marco’s answer.

“No,” he coughed and pounded his fist against his chest. “It’s not even been a thought in my mind right now. I’m still pretty young and moving around so much. It’s not the right time,”

“When will be the right time?”

Marie let out a frustrated sigh and pushed her food away from her. Marco looked down at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, shaking her comfortingly. She was getting pretty fed up with her sister’s questions. They all seemed directed towards Marco hinted at the fact that she wished he was with her instead of her younger sister.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure I’ll know it when I see it,”

She was starting to feel like Lizzie was beginning to overstay her welcome. Their conversation had been good and heartfelt earlier in the day, but now she couldn’t wait for her sister to leave the apartment and Minnesota as a whole.

Marco, being the good host like always, made sure that he wasn’t acting in a way that would make it seem like he was forcing or urging Lizzie out. He wanted her to feel welcomed and comfortable, but with the way it was making Marie feel, he knew it’d be better if she left soon. She didn’t really get it though, because nearly an hour later she mentioned how she was getting tired and should probably get a good night’s sleep before her flight back to New York in the morning.

Marie finally felt some relief as Marco showed her sister out. When he sauntered back into the living room, Marie was sprawled out on the couch, face down. He chuckled and tiptoed over to her, bending down to kiss the back of her neck as he straddled her.

“Your sister’s trying to lock down a husband,” he smiled and scratched his whiskers against her skin. Beneath him, Marie began to squirm, tickled.

“Unfortunately, she tried to lock you down.”

He giggled and sat up, collapsing back onto the couch. “There’s only one Thatcher woman for me, and her name’s not Elizabeth,”

Marie pushed herself off the couch and crawled up onto Marco, lying on top of his body. “And when you said you hadn’t thought about having kids…”

“I have. Fatherhood doesn’t scare me. What scares me is I’ve thought about it with you,”

She felt her breath catch in her throat, and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. She was still only a child herself and the thought of having to take care of another life was overwhelming. Out of everything Marie wanted to do in life, become a mother was pretty far down on the list. Yes, she wanted it. Eventually.

Notes

"Life After You" by Daughtry.

This is my last week of school, so you can expect updates more regularly.

I'm also releasing the first chapter of the sequel to my story "Seeing Stars".

Enjoy, everyone!