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had actually intended on going all of the way to the funeral
home, but now they had no choice. This whole deal sucked.
As the sun crept behind a distant hill, the light slowly
began to fade, and Eric himself began to get a little jumpy.
The time passed in slow motion, and what seemed like two or
three hours had only been fifteen minutes. The others had been
gone way too long, and he couldn't wait any longer. Darkness
had almost totally taken over the woods as Eric got up from the
ground, and started to go after Pete and Harold. A twig
snapped behind him, and he turned jerkily around.
"Is that you, Pete...Harold?"
But there was no answer, and the sudden stillness sent
him running towards the front of the woods not caring if he
looked cool anymore.
The BMW made it home all right for Marcus, and it was a
good thing that it did. If they were going to talk, his bad
mood would send them into an argument faster than anything
else. They needed this talk, or he knew they were in for
harder times than they had ever seen. Divorce was an ugly word
that had always turned his stomach. They weren't going to end
up as another statistic, no matter what the circumstances were.
Unless of course she had been sleeping with Matt Erickson and
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that would prove to be another story. If that ever happened,
Marcus knew he would end up in prison on a double murder
charge. Loving Nikki was one thing, but love had to be a two
way street, or there was no sense in even caring at all. He
wasn't wrapped around her finger like he used to be, and if she
abused him; he didn't really give a shit what happened to her.
A flare of anger briefly came with the smell of hotdogs and
popcorn, but the smells faded quickly as he asked Nikki, "Well,
do you want to eat before we start into this?"
As they walked to the back door and went into the house,
Nikki responded, "I think we had better. I've got some chili
on the stove, and we can have sandwiches if you want."
His stomach growled at the thought of chili, and the
hotdog and popcorn smells faded further away.
"That sounds pretty good. I've been hungry for chili
all week."
"I know. You told me about ten times already. I wish
that you liked more of the things that I do so it would be
easier on me."
"You know that you don't have to fix anything special
for me, I'll eat anything that you fix."
"I'm not complaining. I just thought that you'd like
one of your favorites so that you'd be in a better mood to
talk. That's why I made the chili, and I made enough for you
to put in the freezer to eat when you want."
"Thanks, Nik, but you didn't have to do that."
Neither one of them said a word as they sat down to eat.
Both were trying to figure out how to say what they needed to
say and neither one was ready or willing to open up yet. They
drew out the meal as long as they could, and then, after an
hour, cleared the table and went to the living room.
"You know, Nikki. I think we really need this talk. We
might say things that upset each other, but we have to accept
that and realize that it's for the best."
"I'm glad you see it that way, too, Marcus." Nikki
quietly said.
"No, I'm serious, Nikki. I haven't really thought about
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this before, but every time you say something that I don't
like, I get up and walk away from it. I don't even stop to
think about what you've said, and a lot of the time you're
probably right."
What had been obvious to Nikki throughout there entire
relationship was clearly a major revelation to Marcus. Feeling
hopeful, she said quickly, "I never have understood why you
take off in your car. Don't you realize that driving when
you're upset is dangerous? And not just for you, but for
everyone else on the road, too."
"Yeah, I know, he started, but there's something in me
that makes me do it. Ever since I first got my driver s
license, I've taken off in my car to calm myself down. I think
it would be hard to change such an ingrown habit."
Briefly looking into his eyes, she said, "The thing is,
Marcus, you're going to have to change if you want to stay
alive. I need you to stop doing that because sometime,
something bad is going to happen to you. Our lives will be
ruined, Marcus. You have to think of the future."
Thinking about the string of seizures he had been
assaulted with recently, the plate in his head, and the fact
that he had almost died, guilt pulled Marcus down several
notches.
"I'm really sorry about that, Nikki. I'll try to keep
from doing it anymore. I guess that I just haven't given it
much thought before, and I didn't realize that it bothered you
so much."
As a momentary pause came to the conversation, and just
as he was about to bring up the seizures, they both heard
frantic pounding at the back door. With the sounds
reverberating through the house, Nikki jumped up and ran to the
kitchen.
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