Her palms were sweating, it was her first day at school as a transfer student and Marlena Evans was extremely nervous. She did not know anyone at her new school. She was struck by a tragedy when both her parents died in a fire and she had to move to a town called Salem and live with her aunt. She came from a small town in Colorado and moving to a new town, where she knew no one but her aunt, was nerve racking. Marlena was still driving to school; she was 17 years old, starting her junior year of high school. She was thinking about how everyone would be, if they would be nice to her, what she would do when she got there, who she would sit with at lunch. She was finally getting closer to the school, as she drove by it she felt her face sink into her body, it was a big school compared to her old school and there were so many people standing around outside talking to their friends. She pulled into an empty spot in the school parking lot. She sat there for a few minutes, trying to take it all in, forget about the past few months and her parents but most of all trying to forget the one she loved most, the one she wish she had never left behind, her boyfriend Jacob. They were in love, at least so they thought, but when he found out Marlena had to be moving, he dumped her. She was heart broken by this. She finally couldn’t take the anticipation though and got out of the car. When she was getting out of the car two brunettes in a corvette convertible pulled up beside her and starting talking to her. “So are you knew here?” the brunette with long hair asked. “Yah, how did you know?” Marlena replied. “Because you’re in her spot, so how about you move that ugly shack and move it to another spot.” answered he other brunette who had shoulder length curly hair.
Marlena did not answer but the look of sadness on her face said it all. She dreadfully went into her car and moved it as the brunettes stared at her with looks of disgust on their faces. She pulled out and drove her car into a spot much farther away. She got out of the car with a frown on her face, holding her books tightly to her body. She went into the school as everyone stared at her; she stood out of the crowd with her beautiful long blonde curly hair and bright blue eyes. Nobody like that she looked so pretty, they were jealous of her, and jealousy does not suit well with the students of Salem High. She tried to ignore them, though the pain in the pit of her stomach was growing. The bell rang and she quickly turned around and bumped roughly into a boy. “Oh, oh I’m so sorry; I didn’t see where I was going.” Marlena said to the boy. The boy had gorgeous blue eye like her, and smoothly cut brown hair. He was tall, dark, and handsome. They just stood into each other’s eyes for a few seconds until they were interrupted. “Come on John, help me carry my books!” replied the brunette with the long brown hair from the parking lot earlier. “Hold on one second Cindy” John told the girl, and then turned back to Marlena, “Sorry about that, I’m John, what’s your name” he asked her. “Mar-“ Marlena tried to say her name but Cindy interrupted them again. “Come on John, what are you yapping about with this bimbo anyway!” Cindy complained “I’m so sorry I have to go.” John said sincerely.
Marlena gave him a smirk and went to go find her class. The school was so enormous and she had trouble finding her first class. When she found it she sat in the back of the row hoping not to be noticed, but to her disappointment she was noticed while the teacher was trying to learn everyone’s name. “You, in the back of the row, what’s your name?” asked the teacher. “Mar—mar” Marlena said with a stutter. “Well, spit it out all ready!” said the teacher with impatience. “Marlena” she replied.
There were giggles on the other side of the class room as she could hear them whisper about what kind of name was Marlena.
“Well where are you from Marlena?” the teacher asked. “I’m from Colorado” Marlena replied while biting into her pencil. “Colorado where’s that, obviously from no mans land!” the brunette with the short hair from the parking lot replied. “Ha-ha, well Mindy this isn’t geography class but defiantly not close to us” the teacher said snickering.
Chapter 2
It was late the same night. Marlena was up in her room in the attic. It was dreary and dark in the attic. She was sprawled out across her bed doing homework. She was thinking about the events of the day while gnawing on her pencil. She was getting frustrated doing her math homework thinking about how mean her teacher was to her that day. She got upset and closed her book. She needed a break from this life. She got her sweater and put it on. She tied it up and started to walk down her attic stairs. She remembered her aunt was sleeping and Marlena didn’t want her to know she was going out. Her aunt was strict about Marlena obeying her rules. She began to tiptoe slowly down her stairs. When she passed her aunts room she made sure there was no light coming from underneath so she would know her aunt was asleep. Marlena finally made it downstairs and went out her back door. The street she lived on was eerie at night even with street lights on. She got shivers up her spine just from the sound of the wind blowing the leaves around. Even though it was two weeks till fall it was pretty cold out. She reached down in her pocket to find a few dollars. She looked at her watch which read 10:10. She hoped maybe a diner was open this late where she could grab some coffee or a milkshake. She began walking towards the center of town when she heard some rustling in the bushes. She didn’t want to look back so she began to pick up the pace. She was hoping it was just a squirrel but she started to whine with nervousness. When she turned around she saw a shadow in the distance. She was so scared. “Who’s there?” She asked with a stutter.
When no one replied she began to get even more frightened. She counted to three and quickly turned around and ran towards the direction of the center of town. She ran for a few minutes without looking back. She finally looked back when there were cars and people around but no one was there. She looked around for a minute making sure some one was watching her because she still had the feeling that some one was. When she couldn’t see anyone she turned around and walked into a nearby diner that was still open. Marlena sat down in an unoccupied booth. The dinner was quite crowded for this time of night. She recognized some people from school but tried to ignore them. “What ya want?” a waiter came over and asked. “Oh well I haven’t looked at the menu yet, what would you suggest?” Marlena asked. “How about this, I’ll come back in two minutes all right?” the waiter replied and walked away.
Marlena wonder why everyone seemed so edgy in this town. She was looking at the menu, thinking about what to get. She finally decided on what she wanted and tried to flag the waiter down with no luck. Marlena put her fist on her chin and put her elbow across the table waiting for the waiter. “So do you always go to diners at night alone?” a man asked from behind. Marlena turned around. “Oh, John” she said with a half smile on her face. He went and sat down across from her. “You know I never got your name earlier.” John told Marlena. “Oh, it’s Marlena.” Marlena said finally making that half smile a full smile. “So I’m guessing you’re new to this town. It takes time getting used to but you learn to love it.” John told Marlena. “Really, well I hope I do!” Marlena told him, looking down at the table. “Well, I can’t stay to chat, I’m meeting someone here but I’ll see you in school.” John said while giving Marlena a cute wink.
John got up and walked over to another table, standing by it. When the diner’s belle rang, Marlena turned around to see who it was. “Oh, no.” Marlena whispered to herself.
It was Cindy. She knew who she was here for; she was here to meet John, her boyfriend. She can’t stand it; the one person who talks to her is the person going out to the meanest girl to her. She got up to go leave but was stopped by Cindy. “What are YOU doing here?” Cindy blurted out to Marlena.
The whole diner filled with her classmates stopped and watched them. Marlena hated this, what was this girl’s problem. Marlena didn’t reply at first.
“What are you a mute, answer me.” Cindy demanded “I’m just here for the same reason everyone else is Cindy!” Marlena said with an attitude. “Oh, what you giving me attitude now?” Cindy said right up in Marlena’s face.
Marlena didn’t care to take it, she was better than that, so she just walked by her and left. Marlena could feel the tears swelling up in her eyes. She hated this, why were people so mean, why did people feel to pain her more. She’s had a rough year already with her parents dieing, and now she has no one to console in with her feelings. She walked around town for a while, she had no where to go, she felt like she could have just wandered forever with no end. She decided to go to the grave yard. Though her parents weren’t buried there, she felt close to them, to their souls. While walking there she felt that shiver up her spine again. This time she was certain that some one was watching her. She looked at her watch; it was 11:48, almost an hour and a half after leaving the diner. Could some one still be watching her now? She was beginning to feel really creped out. Then a car drove by, spotlighting the section where she thought she heard a rustle from. She saw the shadow of a man. It reminded her some one but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She decided to face her fears and step closer to the figure, trying to get a closer look but when she started to move towards it, it jogged backwards. She knew now that it was a man. She wanted him to know she wasn’t scared, so she tried to chase after him but he ran away. She stopped when she saw him run away, could it be some one she knew? She knew no one though, so she thought it must have been a stranger. She was too creped out to go into the cemetery now so she started to walk home. While walking home she was kicking through some falling leaves. She loved the essence of fall, it was her favorite season. She loved the thought of a new school year starting; at least she used to like the idea of it until this year. She didn’t want to have her favorite season ruined though, so she decided to try to make the best of it, not let people get the best of her. It was 12:23 on her watch when she walked in the door to her house. She held on the railing exhaustingly while she walked up the stairs. She walked into the room happy to be there but still felt sad. She missed her old room, her comfy bed. Her room now was cold and had a depressing feeling to it. She toke off her shirt and walked over to her dresser and toke out a pajama shirt and slipped into it. She then toke off her jeans and slipped into bed. She stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking about what could she be doing back in Colorado right now, she could be hanging out with her friends, and back with Jacob. She toke a big sigh in before she finally got comfortable and fell asleep
Chapter 3
Marlena woke up early the next morning to the sound of her alarm clock buzzing in her ear. She unwillingly reached to shut it off but it fell on the floor. She went to go reach for it but rolled off her bed with a thump. She still had her eye mask on while she was on the ground searching for the alarm clock with her hands. She found it and shut it off. She removed her eye mask and stood up. She walked over to the hamper and dumped the alarm clock in there. It was 6 in the morning, and Marlena didn’t fall asleep till about 1 the night before. She was exhausted but managed to make her way into the bathroom. She stripped down to her nude and turned on the hot water and went into the shower. It felt so good to take a hot shower, she felt as though she was relieving the stress of yesterday. After getting out of the shower and getting dressed she decided she was going to go into the day with a positive attitude, nothing could ruin her happiness. The ride to school seemed shorter than the day before. Marlena thought maybe it was because she wasn’t as nervous as the day before. She got out of the car and walked into school. To her disgust the first thing she saw was John behind Cindy, his hands on her shoulder and talking to his friends. She just tried to ignore it but she didn’t understand why it bothered her so much, she barely even knew this John but he was so jealous that he was with Cindy. She walked by them while looking at the floor and walked to her locker. She set her backpack down and tried to open it. She wrote in the right combination but it wasn’t opening. She tried for about 2 minutes but it still wouldn’t open. The bell rang and her locker still wouldn’t budge. Almost everyone was out of the halls by now and Marlena didn’t want to be late for class so she kept trying. “Here, let me help you.” A voice said from behind.
It was John’s voice, this made Marlena smile.
“Oh no it’s ok I think I got it.” Marlena replied.
John insisted on helping Marlena open the locker, they fought over the lock for a minute. She liked John helping her but she wanted to try to open it herself. Suddenly John yanked it really hard and it opened, right smack onto Marlena’s face. She fell to the ground.
“Oh Marlena I’m sorry. Marlena? Hello?” John said while shaking Marlena who was passed out on the floor. Marlena was unconscious and John was beginning to become worried. He didn’t want to leave her there and get her an ice patch so he gently picked her up and brought and started walking towards the office until he heard Marlena moan. “Marlena, can you hear me?” John asked her, looking down sweetly at her face. “Ughhh, what happened?” Marlena asked in pain. “I sort of—knocked you out trying to get your locker open but its ok, I’m going to take you to the office and get you some ice.” John replied sympathetically.
John led on with carrying Marlena to the office. He opened the door with his back and lied her down on the bed when the nurse came up from behind. “Oh my, what happened here?” asked the nurse. “We had a little accident and Marlena here got knocked out with her locker door.” John replied.
The nurse gave a giggle but John did not in anyway find this funny.
“I’m okay, really, I’m fine.” Marlena said. “Here just lay down I’ll go get you an ice patch.” The nurse told Marlena.
Marlena moaned and lay back down on the bed.
“You toke a pretty nasty hit there.” John said. “Yes, but I’ll be fine, I just need to put some ice on it.” Marlena replied.
The nurse came back and gave John the pack of ice to hold on Marlena’s head. While he was holding it there he was lightly caressing her cheek.
“Does that feel good; I’ll stop if you want?” John asked. “No, don’t stop, it feels good.” Marlena replied.
John was happy. Marlena couldn’t help but gaze into his eyes as he gazed into hers. They just stared at each other for a few minutes while John was still caressing Marlena’s cheek.
“You know, I’m sorry about last night.” John said sincerely. “Why should you be, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Marlena replied. “I know but I should have stopped Cindy from saying those things. Sometimes I wonder why I even go out with her; I mean anyone who’s mean to you must not have a heart.” John said. “How do you know that, you barely even know me?” Marlena asked. “I can see it in your eyes. You have beautiful eyes you know, they’re like the ocean.” John told her. “Well that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever told me you know.” Marlena replied to him.
John moved the ice patch off Marlena’s head.
“Well, I think you should be pretty good now, and once again I am extremely sorry about this.” John told her. “It’s ok, it was an accident. I guess I’ll see you later.” Marlena told John. “Yes, an accident but I hope you feel better, and I’ll see you later Marlena.” John said giving Marlena another one of his cute winks.
Marlena walked out of the door with a huge grin on her face. She was in heaven! John was such a sweet guy and he cared about her, she could see it in his eyes. She wondered if they would become good friends someday. She wanted him to dump Cindy and be with her but she couldn’t do that, she wasn’t that kind of person to make someone be without the person they are currently with. She walked to her next classes. Maybe it was because of her head but the classes seemed to breeze by. It was lunch time once again and Marlena did not feel hungry and had no desire to sit in a cafeteria with no one to talk to so she once again roamed the school. She wonders if John would be in the gym like he was the day before and went to go check there. She went to go open the door to the gymnasium until she heard a voice behind her. “Miss Evans, wandering the school without a hall pass are we?” The principal said sternly. “I was just—“Marlena tried to say but she was stopped short. “There are no excuses; I will be seeing you after school for a detention.” The principal said. “Okay.” Marlena sighed.
The principal then turned around and walked away. Marlena couldn’t believe it, a detention! She hated this, she hated this stupid school. She began to cry, for real this time, she couldn’t hold it back anymore. She ran in the gym and into the locker room. She sat on a bench and huddled herself up in a ball and began to cry. It was about the detention, she could care less about that, and it was about how everything went from perfect to the worse days of her life in a matter of a month. “Ah, Marlena, I’m sorry to interrupt but your err kind of – in the boys locker room.” She heard from behind.
She didn’t even need to look up to know it was John. She could tell his voice perfectly by now.
“Oh John, I’m, I’m sorry I didn’t realize where I was going.” Marlena replied. “It’s ok Marlena but what’s wrong?” John asked while rubbing his hand across her shoulder. “It’s this life John. Everything is wrong with it, I have no one, I have no friends, I have no loving family, and I have absolutely nothing.” Marlena told him, still sobbing. “That’s not true Marlena, I’m here.” John told her. “Why are you so nice to me?” Marlena asked him. “Well, I—I care about you Marlena, when I look into your eyes I feel something special, I don’t know what it is but its there.” When he told her this she looked up into his eyes.
She stopped right there, her crying stopped and all she could do was gaze into his eyes. John toke her chin with her hands and brought it closer to him. “John I—“Marlena tried to say but she was stopped but John.
John closed his eyes and gave her a short but passionate kiss. He let go of her. He opened his eyes and Marlena was in shock. She didn’t know what to say. “I knew that would make you stop crying.” John told Marlena as he smirked.
He got off the bench and slowly walked away from Marlena who was just sitting there, staring at the wall. She couldn’t believe it; she was so touched by him. She hasn’t even known this guy for 48 hours and she feels like she has already fallen in love with him. She grabbed her backpack back up and wiped away the rest of her tears and headed off to class. She was so lifted after that kiss but did it mean what she thought it meant. She was trying to analyze it thoroughly. Maybe he was just doing it to make her feel better but he has a girlfriend, so why would he even kiss her to begin in the first place she thought to herself. This was making her too stressed out. She thought about that kiss all day until it was time for her detention. She walked into the detention room to find John and Cindy both in there, along with a few other students. “Oh, well look if it isn’t miss perfect.” Cindy ranted at Marlena. “And what may I ask did you do to get yourself in here.” “Hey, Cindy, why don’t you mind your own business and leave her alone for once.” John said standing up for Marlena. “John its okay, I tend to ignore everything she says anyway.” She told him as she sat down.
She spent most of the study staring out the window but every time the principal left she could hear John and Cindy murmuring in the background. This agitated her very much but she ignored it till the end of detention.
Chapter 4
After getting out of detention Marlena walked to her car and got in. On the way she was thinking about the kiss John gave her until memories of him and Cindy talking interrupted her thoughts. She got upset and kept on driving. When Marlena arrived home she was awaited by her aunt. “Marlena, why are you so late.” Marlena’s aunt Sophia asked abruptly. “I had to stay after school.” Marlena replied walking pass her, not looking her in the eye. “Well, what did you have to stay after school for.” Her aunt asked her.
Marlena turned back around and looked her in the eye. “You know I’m —I’m thankful that I have some one who cares about me but you are not my mother and I’m 17 years old, I’m okay to do stuff on my own.”
Marlena turned back around, she did not want to wait for her aunt’s response, and she didn’t care so much what it was. She walked up the stairs and into her bedroom. She dropped her back pack on the floor and walked over to her window seat. She sat down on it and opened the curtains. She could see the whole street from her window as she watched people drive by, some from her school but most she didn’t know. Marlena reminisced about her old street where everyone who went by she knew. She hating thinking about the past though because she knew it would never come back. There was a knock at the door but Marlena knew it was her aunt and she didn’t feel like opening it but her aunt let herself in anyway. “Marlena, there’s something I want to show you.” Her aunt told her, walking over to her, carrying a shoe box. “What is it?” Marlena asked quietly. “Your parents have been making this since you were born. They ah—wanted to give it to you on your wedding day but I thought it would be appropriate to give it to you now.” Her aunt replied her handing her the box. “What’s inside of it?” Marlena asked with curiosity. “Well, I’ll leave you and let you open it.” Her aunt said as she got up and left the room.
Marlena toke the lid of the shoebox and inside was what looked to be like a time capsule. But as Marlena looked closer, it was more like a memory box of her life. There were pictures of her and her parents since she was a little girl. There were pictures of her and her friends. There were various items from Marlena’s past. Marlena’s eyes swelled up, but these were not tears of sadness but tears of happiness. The box made her so happy; it made her feel good about herself again. She went through the pictures and items of the box at least a 100 times before putting the lid on the box and putting it under her bed. It was time for dinner by now but Marlena was not very hungry and did not feel like going down to eat. Instead, she stayed in her room and finished her piles of homework she had to do. When Marlena finished her homework it was about ten o’clock. She laid back down on her bed but sat up abruptly when her stomach gave a big growl. She realized she hadn’t eaten all day and was extremely hungry. She went downstairs to get some leftovers to eat and managed to make a plate of chicken and mashed potatoes. There was no need to microwave it, she liked cold food and the last time she tried to microwave something she accidentally left an aluminum fork in there and almost set the house on fire. The chicken and potatoes tasted so good and she almost finished off all the leftovers. The food made her very sleepy and so she went back up to her room and got into her pajamas. She once again toke a while to fall asleep and the last time her sleepy eyes saw the clock it said 1:37. Marlena woke up at 3 to go to the bathroom and when she got back to her room she couldn’t fall back to sleep. She sat in her bed till 5, twisting and turning but still not falling asleep. Finally at 5 she realized she would never go back to sleep and got up and went down stairs. The sun was starting to rise and the kitchen had a dim light shining through it. Marlena sat at her kitchen table for a few minutes with her eyes wide open. She didn’t even feel tired but she knew it was going to catch up on her later. She went upstairs and toke a shower and got ready for the day, putting on a cute pair of jeans and a plain tight white t-shirt. She had nothing to do and it was only 6:30 so she decided to drive around in her car for a bit. She drove a little ways until she started having car trouble. She thought she could at least make it to school but she was wrong when her car stopped short and the engine started to smoke. She quickly got out of the car to see what happened. It looked as though her engine overheated. Marlena did not have a phone on her and could not call for help. She went and got her backpack out of the car and decided to just walk to school on foot. She walked about a mile until someone pulled up beside her and rolled down their window. “Need a lift?” The man asked.
Marlena turned and looked at him. He looked like a sketchy man and did not trust him. “No thank-you I am fine with walking.” She said politely and continued to walk but the car began to follow her.
Marlena became very frightened and started to walk at a faster pace as the car followed. Marlena didn’t know what to do, there wasn’t a safe short cut and she was afraid to cut through the woods fearing that the man would get out of his car and chase after her. She heard another car coming though and it pulled in front of the other car, stopping the first car that was following. Marlena stopped too and watched as the window rolled down. “Need a lift?” John asked her with a smile. “Oh, John! Thank you so much!” Marlena replied with joy while opening the door and getting into the car.
John drove away and looked out his rear view mirror making sure the other car was not following them.
“John thank you, I didn’t know what to do, and the man in the car was following.” Marlena told him with relief. “It’s no problem Marlena, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and I’m glad I was here.” John told her worryingly.
Marlena smirked at him as he smiled back at her. She felt so comfortable around him, like they have known each other forever.
“So, what are you doing up this early.” Marlena asked him, trying to strike up a conversation. “Well, do you want to know the truth?” John asked her. “Well, ya sure.” Marlena told him. “Okay, well you have to promise not to tell anyone, okay?” John asked of her. “Well, that’s pretty easy since I have no one to tell. Go on.” Marlena replied. “Well, you see, Cindy doesn’t get to school till almost 8—so I have time to get some work done and catch up with my friends before she gets there.” John told her willingly. “Oh I see—“ Marlena replied looking down at her fingers that she was fidgeting with. “Ah—John” Marlena asked. “Yes?” John asked while looking across at her. “Why do you go out with Cindy, I mean I know I shouldn’t really be asking this question and you don’t have to—“Marlena asked but was stopped short. “No, Marlena, it’s ok to ask. I don’t truly know why I go out with her. I mean we have been going out since last year. See she is the head cheerleader of the squad and I was the captain of the J.V. baseball team, and everyone thought that it would be cute if we went to the sophomore semi-formal together—and then when just started seeing each other more and eventually became a couple.” John replied. “Oh—I see” was Marlena’s response. “So, do you have anyone special back where you came from?” John asked her. “Well, I did but we broke up before I had to move here.” Marlena told him. “Oh. Marlena—“John said. “Yes?” Marlena replied. “Why DID you move here?” John asked her. “Well, it’s kind of a long story.” Marlena told him. “Well, we do have 5 minutes before we reach the school so shoot.” John replied. “Well—my parents died about a month and a half ago—and so I came here to live with my aunt.” She told him. “Oh, I’m sorry Marlena, maybe I shouldn’t have asked.” John replied with sympathy. “Its ok, I’ve gotten over their deaths, at least enough that I am not thinking about it everyday, it’s just the moving part I haven’t gotten over.” She told him. “Yah, it must be hard moving to a new place where you know no one. Especially Salem, it’s hard to make friends here.” John told. “Yes, so I have experienced.” Marlena told him looking back out the car window. “Well, Marlena you have one friend.” John told her. “Yah, who is that?” Marlena asked him. “Me, of course.” John told her. He grabbed Marlena’s hand and held it before letting go and putting it back on the driving wheel. When they got to school Marlena thanked John for the ride and they went their separate ways. The school day was once again long but Marlena had two classes with John, algebra and history, in which could stare at him all class and brighten her day. She made it through lunch seating with a few girls and small talking with them but she mostly was silent. She did not care so much about making friends; as long as she could get through the day small talking she was fine.
Chapter 5
It was almost 2 months since Marlena has moved and been going to Salem High. It has been getting better and she managed to make a few friends once she joined the track team. She and John were still close, out of school friends mostly though. Cindy wasn’t AS bad as she was in the beginning and Marlena was managing to ignore her when ever she got the chance. It was October 30th as Marlena was getting ready for the Halloween dance that night. The high school always has the Halloween dance the Friday before Halloween so that more will come to the dance. It was a casual costume dance and Marlena was going with a few of her friends from the track team, Tina and Arianna. Marlena didn’t feel like being to out there with her costume so she dressed up as 50’s girl with a pink poodle skirt and a white fleece cardigan. Marlena got to the dance with her friends about a half hour after it started and it was jam packed. Marlena wasn’t in the dancing mood but she managed to small talk with some seniors also on the track team. Marlena went to go get some punch. She went to reach for the spoon until someone behind her put his arms in front of her and poured a glass. “Hey!” Marlena said not knowing who it was. “Well, here you go.” John said to her, handing her the cup of punch he poured. John was dressed as a punk with his jeans ripped and hair spiked up. Marlena got a giggled out of John’s costume. “Oh, it’s you!” Marlena smirked and toke the cup from him. “Yes, it’s just me. So are you enjoying the dance?” He asked her. “Yah, its pretty fun.” Marlena told him and then sipped her punch. “So, who are you here with?” John asked her. “Oh, just Arianna and Tina. So, who are you here with?” She asked him back. “No one really just met a few of my friends here.” John replied. They walked over to a table and sat down facing each other. “So, you not here with Cindy?” she asked him taking another sip of her punch. “No, she’s at her grandparents for the weekend.” John replied. Marlena giggled at the tone of John’s voice. “What’s so funny?” John asked her. “Well, just the way you said that, it’s like you didn’t want her here.” Marlena told him but immediately felt awkward with her response. “Well, it’s nice to go to an event with her for a change.” John replied. There were a few moments of silence as Marlena finished her punch. “Hey, do you want to dance?” John asked her as a slow song came on. “Why, sure!” Marlena replied as John got up and toke Marlena’s hand. They moved to the center of the floor as John twirled Marlena around into his arms and they began to dance. Marlena was looking to the side trying not having eye contact with John but she couldn’t help but look at him while he was staring at her. She felt so safe in his arms. Every now and then during the song she would look at John and look a way with a smirk as John knew exactly what she was thinking. At the end of the song they stopped dancing but were still in each others arm, staring into each others eyes. As John leaned in for a kiss Marlena stopped him. “John, what about Cindy?” she asked him. “Yah John, what about Cindy!” a girl from the side asked.
They both looked to the side to see Cindy standing right there.
“Oh come on John, answer me!” Cindy demanded. “Cindy, wha—what are you doing here, I thought you were at your grandparents!?” John asked in shock. “I snuck out and toke the train home so I could be here at dance with you but I see you weren’t really missing me.” Cindy replied and stormed out of the gym with John following her.
Marlena followed them and hid behind a locker listening to Cindy yell at John. “How could you dance with that girl?” She immediately asked him. “What do you mean that girl, she’s my friend, and we were just dancing as friends.” John yelled back at Cindy.
Marlena couldn’t take it and so she walked out of the school. When she was walking through the parking lot she heard the door open behind her. “Marlena wait!” John yelled at her. But Marlena didn’t want to wait. She just wanted to get away from the dance. John began to follow her but he lost her though never gave up trying to find her. Marlena walked through the cemetery as it was the quickest way home as she heard a rustle in the bushes behind her. This time she knew someone was there. It was a man and he began to walk closer to her. “Wha—what do you want?” Marlena asked him nervously. “Why so nervous Marlena, why would you think I was going to hurt you.” The man asked. He was not a bad looking man; he was in shape and looked to be in his early 30s. “Just tell me why you are following me!” She yelled at him, trembling. “What’s your name?” He asked her. “That’s none of your business!” Marlena yelled at him, walking back slowly but not losing eye contact with him.
He didn’t like the way Marlena was acting towards him and he toke Marlena’s wrist and held them up towards her body. “Answer me, what is your name!” He yelled at her right up in her face. “Marlena.” She said, unwillingly. “That’s a pretty name Marlena. You are a very beautiful girl.” He told her while looking up and down her body. “What do you want from me?” She asked in disgust. “Listen to me; stop speaking, and its not going to make it any easier.” He told her as Marlena bit her lip, “Your going to listen to me or else your going to get hurt okay…OKAY!!??” He demanded from her, squeezing her wrists tighter. “Okay.” Marlena said, officially trembling. “Now lay down on the ground.” He told her. Marlena did so as the man began to kiss her as Marlena tried to resist but did not want to be harmed. The man began to tear Marlena’s clothes off and did so to himself. He then began to rape Marlena, holding her hands behind her head as Marlena had no control. She was screaming but the man didn’t seem to care thinking that no one would come through the cemetery. Just then some one did and grabbed the man off Marlena. It was John who began to beat up the man who gave him a good fight. “Marlena get out of here!” John yelled at her.
Marlena put on what was left of her ripped up clothes and started to run away but instead hid behind a tree and watched John beat up the man. “How dare you touch her?” John viciously yelled at the man while beating him to the ground. John beat him up for a good 3 minutes until John gave on hard bang into the tree. The man collapsed and began to bleed from his mouth as John just stared at him. Marlena moved up from behind John. “John did—did you kill him?” she asked him staring at the man’s body. “I don’t know Marlena but I don’t think we should stay and find out.” John said in awe of what he did. “John—“Marlena said crying. “Marlena don’t say anything, come here, I’ll walk you home.” John told her.
John grabbed her and held her close to his body as she began to sob from physical and mental pain. John saw that her body was hurting so he picked her up and held her across his arms as she dug her head into his chest. John’s eyes began to swell up in pain for Marlena. They didn’t talk the whole way as John carried her home. When they got onto Marlena’s front porch Marlena finally spoke. “John I—I don’t want you to go.” Marlena told him, she had stopped crying but look at his eyes with pain. “Shh—let me walk you in.” John told her.
They quietly walked up the stairs and into Marlena’s bedroom. She looked into his eyes as Marlena began to speak but he stopped her. “Marlena, you’ve been through a lot of pain tonight, go change, I won’t look.” John told her.
Marlena changed into a tank and pajama shorts as John toke off his clothes, stripping down to only his boxers. “John what are you doing?” She asked. “Shh—just get into bed and let me hold you.” He told her with tenderness.
Marlena walked towards her bed and went under the covers as John followed. Marlena put her head on John’s chest as he held her. Marlena began to cry again. “Marlena it’s alright, I’m here, just sleep.” He whispered to her.
She closed her eyes against his skin and fell asleep as he stroked her hair.
Chapter 6
Marlena woke up the next morning in the comfort of John’s arms. John was already awake and still holding Marlena close to him. “Good morning.” John whispered in Marlena’s ear. “Oh, good morning.” Marlena replied while beginning to get up. “You feel better?” He asked watching her as she got up and walked over to her bureau. “Eh, I guess so.” She replied while putting a robe on.
John walked over to her and turned her around to him. “Marlena, I just want to let you know I’m here for you, I mean what happened last night wasn’t something you just slip by and I really think you should go to the police.” John told her worryingly, “John, its ok, I mean it’s not like I was fully raped, and you were there before things go to heavy.” Marlena replied to him while reaching for the door but John stopped her. “Marlena it doesn’t matter how long it happened for, it happened, you can’t just let that go.” He told her while staring her heavily in the eye. “You know John I’m sorry but I just can’t okay, I can’t deal with this, I just have to let it go.” Marlena yelled at him and began to cry. “Marlena it’s ok.” John told her while grabbing her and holding her in his arms. “He raped me of my purity John, everything that mattered to me, he toke it all away.” Marlena began to sob while holding on to John. “Marlena look at me, everything is going to be okay, don’t worry.” John told her.
Marlena suddenly saw the care in John’s eyes and believed him that everything would be ok. He stoked her face before walking over and putting his pants on.
“Marlena, you should go take a shower, wash yesterday off.” John told her while reaching for his shirt and putting it on. “Yah, I will, what about you, aren’t your parents going to be worried that you didn’t’ come home last night?” She asked him. “I—don’t really have parents, I mean I’ve been in foster care my whole life and they don’t really care where I am.” John told her. “Oh, John I’m sorry.” Marlena replied feeling the pain of losing her parents. “It’s okay; I’ve dealt with it my whole life. Anyway go take that shower; I’ll wait downstairs for you.” John told her. “John, wait.” Marlena told him as John turned around and wonder what Marlena wanted. “Don’t go downstairs; my aunt will probably be down there. Want you leave, I’ll catch up with you later. “No Marlena I am not leaving you.” John said sternly. “Fine, then you can just wait here.” She told him and walked out of the room not waiting for his response.
Marlena stripped and got into the steamy shower. She began to forget about the pains of yesterday until she began thinking about John. She just began to realize what had happened. He slept in the same bed with her last night and held her till she fell asleep. As she began to think about John holding her she began to think of the pain of being raped. She turned off the water and got out of the shower into her towel. When she opened the door she screamed. It was the rapist standing right there. Marlena began to whine until she realized it was just John and she was having a bad vision. “Marlena its ok it’s just me.” John told her trying to calm her down. “Oh, John I’m sorry, I thought I saw the rapist.” Marlena said while holding her forehead. “It’s ok, I understand.” John replied.
Marlena and John walked back up to Marlena’s room while Marlena asked John to turn around while she got dressed. Marlena turned back around to John. “So—“she said. “So—how you feel after your shower.” John asked. “Eh—at least I feel clean.” She said while smiling and John smiled back at her. “Well, that’s good.” John replied. “John, I—“She began to say but John’s cell phone ring.
John looked down at his cell phone and answered it. “Hello?” John asked to the person on the phone. “Marlena can you excuse me for a minute.”
John walked out of the room while Marlena opened her curtains to a bright sunny day. She thought today would be a much better day than yesterday and she would make the best of it. Marlena sat down on her bed when John walked in. “Who was that?” Marlena asked looking up at him. “Oh, no one important.” John replied. “Oh—“Marlena said back to him. “Well, Marlena, I think I should go, unless you really want me to stay I need to go to work.” He told her. “Oh ok, I’ll be fine I need to clean the house anyway.” She told him. “Well, I guess I’ll talk to you later.” He replied. “Oh wait!” He stopped and turned around. “What is it?” Marlena asked.
He got out a pen and toke Marlena’s hand. He wrote a number on it. “What’s that?” She asked. “That’s my cell phone; call it if you need anything.” John replied
John gave her a wink and left the room. Marlena cleaned the house for a good half hour before she heard her aunt pull in the driveway. She went down the door to greet her but was stopped in her tracks. It was the man from the cemetery. Marlena thought it couldn’t be. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t in visioning him again but after Marlena couldn’t make the image go away she began to become frightened. “Hello Marlena.” The man said.
The man had scars all over his face and body from the night before when John beat him and to Marlena’s dismay he did not die from it. “What is it you’re not speaking?” He said with a conniving grin.
He moved closer to her as Marlena went back towards her kitchen table but was stopped when she couldn’t go any farther. “What do you want from me now?” Marlena said whiningly “I want to finish what I started, what else.” He said moving closer to her. “Oh, no you don’t!” Marlena said as she went to grab for a knife be he got there first. “What do you think you going to kill me huh?” He asked her holding the knife up to her face.
Marlena breathed heavily as he stared into her eyes. “Come with me!” He said while grabbing her arms.
He brought her into the living room and threw her on the couch. “This time no boyfriend of yours is going to stop me.” He yelled at her.
He forced Marlena to lie down on the couch and put his body over her, ripping off her clothes. She began to scream but he stopped her. “If you even think about screaming this time that knife I had will be up your throat.” He cautioned her.
This time he raped her fully as Marlena bit her lip in pain knowing that she could not scream. When it was all over Marlena was in pain in her lower body as the man just looked into her eyes. “If you tell anyone about this I will kill you!” He told her as he gathered his clothes and put them on.
He gave her a kiss which then she slapped him. He held his cheek and just walked away. Marlena fell to the ground crying when she heard the man shut the door. She couldn’t hold back as she held her whole body in a ball with her face in her hands. She got the strength to crawl over to the phone. She tried to read the number on her hand and dial it while her fingers were trembling. It toke her a few times to get the number right but she finally got it. It rang a few times before some one picked up the phone. “Helllooo??” A voice from the other end said. It was Cindy.
Marlena stayed on the phone for a minute and then hung up the phone in disappointment. She then heard an ambulance siren and pulled herself up and walked to the front door. When she opened it she stopped short and stared.
Chapter 7
Marlena stood on her front steps in shock. There was an accident and a car had it a man, it had hit her rapist. He was lying there with blood all over him as the ambulance stopped in front of him. Marlena ran into the street, not even noticing the pain she was in. “Mam, please stand back.” One of the policemen said to her as she tried to get a closer look. “I—I” Marlena began to say but she collapsed onto the street in shock.
Marlena woke up a few moments later to see a police man standing over her giving her oxygen. “Miss are you okay? You are bleeding.” The police man said.
Marlena pulled herself up and felt pain in her lower body. She was bleeding from the rape. A man from the ambulance came over. “What happened?” He asked her while examining her body. “I—I was raped.” Marlena said and then once again collapsed.
Marlena woke up this time in a hospital bed. It was a white room and at the time she woke up no one was in there. She was exhausted and moved herself up slowly, sitting on the bed. After Marlena looked around the room for a bit a doctor walked in. “How are we doing?” She asked. She was a young doctor with blond hair straight hair and glasses. “What happened?” Marlena asked. “You fainted in the middle of the street after you told a police officer you were raped.” She responded. “Ohhhh” She said in agony holding her forehead. “Marlena,” the nurse said walking closer to her “the police are going to have to come in when you feel up to it and question you about the rape.” “I don’t really want to answer questions right now.” Marlena responded. “I understand but when your ready let me know.” The nurse replied “Okay, thanks.” Marlena said. “Oh, there’s a man to see you, you didn’t have any identification on him and so we called the number on your hand.” The nurse told her. “John?” she asked. “Yes, would you like him to come in?” She asked. “Yes, please.” Marlena replied.
The nurse walked out and a minute later John walked in with a bouquet of lilies. “These are for you Marlena.” John told her while handing her the flowers. “Oh, John really you didn’t have to.” Marlena told him. “I know but I thought maybe it would make you feel better.” John told her. “Oh well then thanks.” Marlena told him while he put the lilies next to her hospital bed. “Marlena what happened? The nurse won’t tell me since I’m not family.” John asked. “He did it again John, he raped me again.” Marlena said while looking out the window. “What, when?” John asked her. “About an hour after you left this morning.” Marlena replied. “Oh, Marlena.” John said while walking over and sitting on Marlena’s bed. “Well, there’s more John.” She told him. “What do you mean more?” John asked raising an eyebrow. “Did you hear about the man who got hit by a car?” Marlena asked him. “Yah, it was on the news earlier, he died earlier this night.” John told her. “It was him John, it was him.” She told him. “That was him.” John asked her.
She shook her head as John toke her in his arms as she began to cry again. The nurse once again walked in. “Marlena, the police are here to question you now if you are up to it.” The nurse told her. “I am, bring them in.” Marlena told her as she walked out to get them. “Marlena are you sure, you’ve been through a lot you need your rest.” He asked her. “Yes, John I have to do this.” Marlena told him. “Do you want me to stay?” John asked her. “No, that’s okay I can do this.” She replied. “Okay, I will be in the lobby if you need me.” He said while giving her a wink.
He walked out the door as the 2 police men walked in. “Miss Evans, we have a few questions for you.” One of the police men asked.
They questioned Marlena for a good 20 minutes as she told them all about the rape the night before and him raping her in the morning. After it was all over John walked back in. “How did it go?” He asked her. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” Marlena told him. “Well, that’s good.” John replied grabbing a seat and pulling it up next to Marlena. “It’s just that, you know, the man died John, so he can’t even go to jail or anything.” Marlena told him “I know Marlena but at least he is out of your life forever now.” John told her. “Yes that’s true, I just wish it didn’t happen at all you know.” Marlena told him. “Marlena, listen to me okay, I told you before, I’m here for you whenever you need me, and I am only a phone call or a visit away.” John told her. “John I—“Marlena began to say but John stopped her. “Wait Marlena, let me finish, I want to talk to you about last night. I chose to stay with you because you were in a lot of emotional pain and I know you might think that was my only reason for staying but it wasn’t. Marlena, I really care for you, and being your friend is really important to me.” John told her. “Why John thank you, that means a lot to me.” She told him.
John reached and held Marlena’s hand and kissed it. “You are the most important thing in my life right now, thank you for just being in my life.” John told her as he smiled. “John?” Marlena said. “Yes?” John asked. “What about Cindy, I mean isn’t she important to you?” Marlena asked. “Marlena, I—I’m going to break up with Cindy.” John told her as Marlena looked at him with confusion. “Why?” Marlena asked him. “It’s not working out, I am not committed enough to the relationship and well other reasons too.” John replied. “What other reasons?” Marlena asked. “Well…” John began to say but the nurse walked in. “John its end of visiting hours, I need to ask you to leave so Marlena can get some sleep.” The nurse told him. “Okay,” John said then turned towards Marlena “Remember if you need anything, I’m here for you.”
John walked out as the nurse came over and checked over Marlena’s reports. She then left Marlena and shut off the light as Marlena closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Chapter 8
It was a little more than two weeks after Marlena was raped for a second time. She was released from the hospital a day afterwards and starting going back to school a week ago. Life was becoming hectic as school became more challenging and Marlena barely had any free time. Marlena went back to track practice today as the doctor wanted Marlena to sit it out for a couple of weeks after the incident. No one but John, Marlena’s aunt, and the police new about Marlena’s rape and that’s the way Marlena wanted things. It was early on Monday morning while Marlena was walking down the hallway of Salem high towards her locker. “Good morning sunshine” John popped over and said from behind her locker door. “Good morning John.” Marlena said with a big smile. “How was your weekend?” John asked her. “It was good, I spent most of it doing homework but for the most part it was nice.” Marlena replied and started walking to her first class with John. “That’s good, sorry I didn’t call you all weekend, I was really busy with work.” John told her. “Oh its okay John I don’t mind.” She told him. “John!” said a voice from behind them, of course it was Cindy. “Hey.” John said with little enthusiasm.
Cindy almost knocked Marlena out of the way when she grabbed John for a kiss. “Have you been ignoring me sweetie? I haven’t seen you in forever.” She told him. “I’ve just been busy.” John told her. “Too busy to call your girlfriend?” Cindy asked him in a snobbish voice.
The bell then rang as Marlena thanked goodness. “We’ll talk later.” Cindy told John as she walked off in the other direction. “Sorry about that Marlena.” John told her. “It’s okay John you know that.” She told him.
John smiled as he went off to his first class and Marlena went to hers. First class was calculus which Marlena tried to stay awake through but stared at the clock for the most part. Her second class history though was much better as it was one of the only classes she had with John. During the middle of class she saw Cindy hand John a note and leaned for a closer look as he opened it. She leaned so far over the aisle though that she fell off her chair as the whole class laughed. “Miss Evans is it that hard to stay in our seats?” The teacher asked. “Sorry.” She said with a laugh as John looked back and giggled at her.
Marlena still couldn’t see what the note that Cindy had handed John but after John read it he got up and threw it in the trash and looked back at Cindy nodding his head. At the end of class Marlena pretending to drop he pencil near the trash barrel and bent down and making sure no one was watching her, she picked up the note. She went outside the classroom and into the girl’s locker room to read it. She read this: John we really need to talk…meet me in the gym @ lunch time.
Marlena knew she had to catch this conversation, hoping this would be when John broke up with her. So when the lunch bell rang Marlena sprinted to the gym to see that John and Cindy were already in conversation as they moved into the locker room as Marlena followed them. She stood behind the row of lockers behind the one that John and Cindy were in. “Okay Cindy, what did you want to talk about?” John asked Cindy. “Why have you been ignoring me lately? What is up with you John?” Cindy asked. “Nothing is up Cindy; I have just had more important things on my mind.” John told her. “What could possibly be more important than me John?” She asked him. “That’s no of your business Cindy, I have to go.” John said. “Wait no, John, I know you don’t want to go.” Cindy told him, trying to seduce him. “Maybe you don’t know me at all Cindy.” John told her.
Marlena bit her nails at this. Would John break up with her now? “Oh come on John, do you really think I don’t know you, we’ve been going out for almost six months now, of course I know you.” She told him sweetly. “Oh Cindy please don’t.” John told her. “What John, what is wrong with you!” She said raising her voice. “This just isn’t working out anymore Cindy.” John told her. “Oh don’t you dare do this to me John.” Cindy said sternly to John. “I’m sorry Cindy but I just don’t have time for you, we need to break up.” John told her.
Cindy filled with rage as she stormed out of the locker room. John sat on the bench as Marlena listened to him. “I did the right thing, it was coming some time or later. Now what do I do.” John said to himself.
Marlena and John put their backs up to two back-to-back lockers at the same time as they stared into nothing thinking about each other. Marlena started to walk out of the locker room the same time John did. At the end of the row they stopped and their eyes met. “Marlena, what are you doing here?” John asked her curiously. “I was just ah—looking for my track coach, I needed to talk to him.” Marlena said as it was the first excuse that popped into her head. “In the boy’s locker room?” He asked her. “Well, yah.” Marlena said nervously. “Oh, well then.” John told her. “Ah Marlena there’s something I got to talk to you about.” “Yah John?” she said. “Ah lets go into the gymnasium.” John told her.
They walked out of the locker room and into the gymnasium. John toke her hand and walked her over with himself to the bleachers and sat down on the third row. “So John, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?” She asked him. “Well, I am not really sure actually.” John told her. “Ohh.” Marlena said. “I—ah—broke up with Cindy earlier.” He told her. “Really?” Marlena said to him trying to hide what she already knew. “Yup.” John said, not knowing really what to say to her. “Are you okay about it, I mean I know you told me a couple of weeks ago you were thinking about it?” Marlena asked him. “Yes I am. It just wasn’t where I wanted to be.” John told her. “Yah I guess your right, going out in high school isn’t always the best.” Marlena told him. “No it wasn’t that, it was just us, we weren’t destined for each other.” John told her. “God you must think I sound stupid saying this but I’ve always believe in soul mates and she just wasn’t my soul mate.” “No John, I don’t think you’re stupid, I believe in soul mates too. I believe that two people’s souls are destined to find each other, somehow, someway.” She told him.
They both smiled and gazed into each other’s eyes. “So John is that all you wanted to tell me.” Marlena asked him, hoping for more. “Marlena—I don’t know how to say this.” John told her nervously. “John, you can tell me anything you know that.” Marlena told him. “Let me just do this.” John said as he grabbed the back of Marlena’s head with his right hand and pulled her into a kiss.
The embrace of the kiss was passionate, passion neither has ever felt before. As John released Marlena from his lips Marlena was trembling. She was stared at the bleachers until John lifted her chin up to look into his eyes. “John I don’t know what to say.” She told him. “Don’t say anything Marlena, just let me look at you, touch you.” John said as he locked lips with Marlena once again.
At the moment the bell rang. Marlena went to go get up but John got up to stopping her from walking away. “Marlena wait don’t go to class.” He told her. “Oh John I don’t want to be late to class.” She told him. “Oh Marlena I just don’t want to leave you now, all I want now is you.” He told her. “John, I, I got to go, I’ll see you after school.” She said.
But as she walked away she turned back to John who was still standing where he was and staring at her. She paced back to him, kissing him one more time, heavily, until she released and walked away.
Chapter 9
The bell rang as Marlena sighed in relief. School was finally over for the day. She walked out of the classroom with a smile on her face hoping that John would walk down the hallway right into her. Marlena waited for a few minutes around the hallways but she couldn’t find John and it was getting late and she had to go to track practice. Marlena strolled over to the gym and got changed for track. She went outside and the team did their warm up laps around the field. Marlena felt good that she was back into her normal routine. Marlena went over to get some water from the bench. She sipped her water as she looked up in the crowd to see John watching her from the top bleacher seat. She smiled at has he stared at her and smiled back. She went back to do 50 yard dashes as she felt more enthused now that John was there. Everyone one the team did the first dash almost all in sequence as the coach seemed please. The rest of practice was a tough workout as the coach wanted everyone to be in perfect shape for their meet Friday. At the end of practice Marlena went to the locker room and toke a cold shower. She got dressed as her coach came up to her. “Hey Marlena I was very impressed by you today, keep up the good work.” The coached told her while giving her a pat on the back.
Marlena was happy; her life finally seemed to be getting back to normal again. She went out in the parking lot to see John there waiting for her. “Hey you.” He said to her. “Hey, thank you for coming to my practice today.” She told him. “You did awesome.” He commented on her. “Thanks, that means a lot.” She replied. “So, you want to go catch a burger or something?” He asked her. “Oh John I would love to but I have to do my homework and study for our history exam tomorrow.” She told him sadly. “We’ll go to the diner in town and we can study for the test together.” He told her. “Okay.” She told him, giving in to his persuasive voice. “Alright, we can take my car and I’ll bring you back here afterwards to pick up yours.” He told her as they walked into the parking lot. “Alright then.” Marlena said. “Here you go.” John said opening the door for Marlena. “Thank you.” Marlena said with a smirk.
They drove to the diner while chitchatting about the day. When they arrived John opened the door for Marlena. She got out and walked in front of him as John checked out her butt and smiled at the sight of it. “Okay, let’s go get a booth.” John said when they entered the diner.
They sat in a booth next to a window facing the parking lot. “Soo…” John said. “Soo…” Marlena said back. “You beginning to like Salem now?” he asked her trying to think of something to talk about. “Yah, it’s not as bad as it was when I first got here, you get used to it you know.” She told him. “Yes, it’s a nice place, I mean it has its ups and downs but it comes as a second nature.” He said. “So how long have you lived here.” She asked him. “For about 6 years now.” He told her. “Oh.” She said as the waitress walked up beside the table. “What will it be?” She asked. “I’ll have a cheeseburger with fries and a coke.” John said. “And I’ll have a cheeseburger with friends and a strawberry milkshake.” Marlena said. “Okay.” The waitress said while writing down their orders and then she walked away.
The waitress came back and brought them their drinks. “So when is your next track meet?” John asked Marlena. “Friday.” She replied taking a sip of her milkshake. “Oh, you think you’re ready for it, I mean since you haven’t been at practice for two weeks.” He asked. “Yah, of course.” She said. “Well, good, cause like I said before you looked great out there today.” He said. “Yah, for the first time in a long time I felt great.
John and Marlena chitchatted a little more before they got their food and ate it. “Oh John, we still have to study.” She told him. “Oh Marlena come on there is always time to study, let’s enjoy our time together.” He told her as he reached for her hand across the table and rubbed it against his.
This finished their drinks and John paid for their meals even though Marlena insisted that she could. They went out to the parking lot and got in John’s car. “Well, I best be getting you back to your car so you can drive home.” John said to Marlena. “Yah, my aunt is probably wondering where I am.”
The ride back to the school was kind of quiet as they were both enjoying the scenery. They got to the parking lot and as Marlena reached for the car door John stopped her. “Wait a second, let me do this before you leave.” John said as he moved close to Marlena sucked himself to her lips for almost 15 seconds. “Oh my.” Marlena said wiping her lips. “John I think we need to talk about this.” She said. “About what?” John asked. “About us John.” She told him. “Well, then let me speak. I have been attracted to you for a while Marlena and I would like a lot if we could go on another date say Thursday after school?” John asked. “Okay, but let’s talk about this then okay?” She told him. “Fine with me.” John said giving Marlena a light kiss on her lips.
Marlena left John’s car and got into hers. On the ride home all Marlena could think about was John. He wanted her like she wanted him, she couldn’t believe it. She wanted this to work so bad and hoped that it would.
Chapter 10
Thursday could not come sooner. As classes ended Marlena headed towards the parking lot to go meet John. She walked over to her car and waited for him. A few minutes passed when John came out of the building with a few of his friends smiling at Marlena. He walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Hello beautiful, you ready for our date?” He asked her sweetly. “Of course, let’s go.” Marlena said.
Marlena and John got in the car and John pulled out of the drive way. They were driving for a few minutes in silence when John put his right arm behind and moved her closer to him. “So where are we going.” Marlena asked. “You’ll see.” John said grinning. “Oh come on a little hint?” Marlena said. “Not even a hint.” John replied.
John and Marlena were enjoying being in each other’s arms. John would stroke Marlena’s hair as Marlena would move her head closer to his body. John kept driving for a while and drove onto a dirt road. “John we are in the middle of no where.” Marlena told him. “Marlena do you have any patience?” He asked her jokingly. “Okay, I’ll keep silent.” Marlena replied as they looked into each other’s eyes and put a big smile on their faces.
John drove his car to the edge of the dirt road and toke his off from around Marlena to stop the car. Marlena looked around but there was nothing but trees everywhere. “Okay, let’s go.” John said to Marlena while opening the car door.
John and Marlena got out as John went to the back of his pick-up truck to get a bag. “Okay John I’ve waited long enough, where are we?” Marlena asked looking at her watched realizing they left school 45 minutes ago. “Follow me.” John said grabbing the bag out of the back of the truck as Marlena curiously followed him. It was only 43 degrees out and Marlena was wearing a long beige coat with a black scarf and jeans and John was wearing a maroon knit turtleneck with his school baseball jacket. They walked through the leaves holding each other’s hands and trying to keep warm. They didn’t speak much on the way up as they were enjoying the scenery. John brought Marlena up to a steep hill that only had a few trees here and there. “We’re here.” John said. “Where is here?” Marlena asked. “This is my favorite spot. It’s so peaceful up here and come over here.” John said taking her hand and leading her towards the end of the cliff.
Marlena looked over the edge to see a beautiful view of the lake. You could see every part of the lake and the magnificent foliage of every tree. “John, this is an amazing view!” Marlena said in awe. “Yah, I know isn’t it?” John replied. “Thanks so much for bringing me up here.” Marlena replied. “It was my pleasure Marlena. You know I have never enjoyed this view with anyone else, I have never even told anyone about this place.” John told her.
Marlena was touched by John’s words. “Why haven’t you ever told anyone?” She asked. “No one has ever been this special to me that I wanted them to enjoy this with.” John replied.
Marlena and John gazed into each other’s eyes as there lips slowly moved closer to each other. They kissed as their bodies moved in to touch each other. John moved his hands around Marlena and moved them along her body as she put her hands up his back and around his shoulders. They both moved there lips off each other and never lost eye contact. John moved his hands off Marlena’s backside and moved them to touch her hands. “I have a surprise for you.” He replied. “Ohhh, what’s that?” She asked smirking. “Wait right here.” He told her.
John went to his bag and pulled out a blanket. He sprawled it across the ground as he got out another, thicker blanket and put it on top of the first one, still folded. “I’m liking this surprise.” Marlena said innocently.
She walked over and sat down on the blanket. John pulled out a container of hot coco and handed Marlena cup of it. “Oh thank you.” Marlena said take a sip.
She shivered with the warmth of the hot coco as John sat down next to her pouring himself a cup. “You like it?” John asked. “It’s great–this is great.” Marlena replied.
She looked away from him into the horizon. John watched her as he got the thick blanket and put it around their backsides. He moved in closer to her and put his arm around her body as she just looked and smiled at him. “So.” Marlena said. “So, you wanted to talk about us.” John said. “Well, yah, I a—“ Marlena said but she couldn’t find the words. “Marlena, at least tell me how you feel, I need to know.” He told her. “John I—I want this. I want to be with you, it just feels so right when I’m in your arms and I’m afraid that this won’t work out I mean we are only in high school.” Marlena replied. “We have both had relationships in high school, and what if this is one of those relationships you know.” “You mean one that won’t work out?” John said. “Yah.” Marlena replied.
John turned his body so he could face Marlena fully. “Marlena, I have never felt this way with anyone before, it’s a feeling I could never hold back, Marlena I’m—I’m falling in love with you.” John told her.
Marlena looked him in the eyes with shock. “What?” Marlena blurted out in a whisper. “I’m falling in love with you.” John told her again. “John I—“ Marlena began to say. “You don’t have to say anything Marlena, I understand.” He told her moving his body closer to her. “But John, I’m falling in love with you too.” Marlena said with shock in her own self. “Oh, Marlena.” John said rubbing his hand against her cheek as she smiled.
He moved back up next to her once again putting her in his arms as he gave her a longing kiss on the lips. She moved her body so her backside was on John’s chest as they both gazed into the sunset, sipping their hot coco.
Chapter 11
The sun had set and Marlena and John were still snuggled in each other’s bodies. “It’s getting late John.” Marlena said.
If it wasn’t dark out you could have seen her breathe flowing through the cold air. “Your right we should probably get back to our homes.” John replied. “Homes.” Marlena said sarcastically. “You don’t want to go home then? You can come back to my house.” John replied. “Ohh, I um don’t know.” Marlena replied.
She got off John’s body and stood up. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that, I mean it’s not like we haven’t “slept” together before, and I mean that’s all I was asking.” John replied now standing up. “It’s okay John, it’s just that I have a lot of homework to finish and I have a big track meet tomorrow and I just need to get some rest.” Marlena blurted out. “Oh, its okay, I understand.” John replied.
They gathered their things and went to the car. The ride home was almost dead silence and they both didn’t even look at each other. Marlena was thinking about why she didn’t agree to go with John to his house. She wanted to go; she wanted to spend the night with him. John was thinking about Marlena and why she didn’t want to be with him. John pulled up to Marlena’s house as he broke the silence. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.” John told her staring at her.
Marlena looked up at him and gazed into his hazel eyes. John slowly leaned over and kissed Marlena slightly across the lips. “Bye.” Marlena said gathering her backpack and getting out of the car.
Marlena walked into her house never looking back at John as John stared at her until she shut the door of her house. The next day Marlena awoke up with the feeling as if she had a hangover. She slowly made her way to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. She was staring at her reflection in the mirror when she got a huge cramp in her side and curled over grabbing her stomach. Marlena let out a painful gasp and quickly moved her body over to the toilet as she vomited. She slowly removed herself from the floor and splashed her face with cold water again. “Why do I feel so sick?” Marlena said to herself.
She looked at her watch and realized she was already an hour late for school. Surprising even herself she didn’t seem much to care as she walked back into her room and threw on some sweats. She grabbed her backpack and went off to school. She walked into her History class as everyone stared at her. She looked so pale and her hair was up in a messy bun. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” Cindy said from the front row of the room as everyone else laughed along with her.
Marlena just ignore her as she toke her seat. “What’s the reason for your tardiness Marlena?” The teacher asked her impatiently. “I just slept a little late.” Marlena replied. “Well, good for you, you can make up that time in detention then.” The teacher replied.
Marlena ignored his words as she could barely think. Her head was spinning and her palms were sweating. Marlena didn’t even notice that John was trying to get her attention. “Marlena.” John whispered across the seats to her.
Marlena just smiled at him and opened her book but the words all seemed blurry.
“Marlena.” John whispered again.
Marlena heard his words faintly. She suddenly blacked out in her seat and fell unconscious to the floor.
“MARLENA.” John yelled standing up. “Mr. Black sit down and nobody else move.” The teacher said walking over to Marlena.
“Ms. Evans.” The teacher said bending down to her.
John got up and moved towards her. “Mr. Black I told you to sit down.” He said sternly to John but John didn’t care, he wanted to make sure Marlena was okay. “Can’t you see she’s sick, call an ambulance?” John said. “Mr. Black, there’s not need for that but you can go get the nurse for me.” The teacher told him.
John ran out of the classroom to get the nurse. He ran into the nurse’s office and got her. She followed him back to the classroom. “What seems to be the matter here?” The nurse said walking into the room right behind John. “Ms. Evans seems to have collapsed in her seat. The teacher replied.
The nurse walked over to her as Marlena laid put, still unconscious. “Can you hear me?” The nurse said to Marlena but there was no reply.
The nurse felt Marlena’s head which was burning up. “John, can you go get me some water.” The nurse told him. John did and brought it back to her. The nurse toke it and splashed it on Marlena’s face as she awoke. “What happened?” Marlena said faintly.
The nurse and John both helped her up. “Marlena, you collapsed.” John told her. “Oh.” Marlena said. “Okay dear, why don’t you come with me.” The nurse said to her.
John wanted to follow them but the teacher forbade it. He sat through the rest of class worrying about Marlena. Marlena was now in the nurse’s office as she was questioning her. “Marlena, maybe you should go to the hospital to have some blood test run, you could have the flu.” The nurse told her. “You know what I’m feeling much better, and you even said I don’t have a fever.” Marlena told her. “Did you just throw up in the morning?” The nurse asked. “Well, yah.” Marlena replied. “Have you felt sick any other mornings or any other times of the day” She asked. “Well, I have been feeling a little sick in the mornings but nothing really extreme; I mean I barely even notice it.” Marlena replied. “Hmm.” The nurse said. “What is it?” Marlena asked curiously. “Well, I know about what happened a few weeks ago and I wonder if it has something to do with that.” The nurse replied. “You mean when I was raped.” Marlena asked her. “Oh my god, am I going to die from it?” Marlena asked in awe. “Oh no, nothing that serious.” The nurse replied. “Well then what is it.” Marlena asked nervously. “Well you could be pregnant.” The nurse replied. “WHAT!?” Marlena blurted out. “Well, it could be possible.” The nurse replied. “No, no way am I pregnant.” Marlena said furiously as she stormed out of the nurse’s office. “Marlena.” John yelled down the hallway.
Marlena ignored him and stormed into the girls bathroom crying. John came in after her though. “Marlena, what’s wrong.” John asked her. “John, what are you doing in here?” Marlena snapped at him. “I’m just making sure your okay.” John replied. “John,” Marlena said through her tears “the nurse thinks I might be pregnant.”
John didn’t say anything, he couldn’t think of any words. He moved her body into his as he held her as she cried in his chest. Tears rolled down John’s face as he felt the pain coming from Marlena. “John, please I have to go.” Marlena said wiping her tears.
She walked out of the girl’s bathroom without looking back at John. She finished the rest of her classes in silence. When school ended she went straight to her car, taking the warning from the nurse not to go to her track meet. She drove straight to the drug store. She searched through the aisles and went down the aisle with the pregnancy tests. “Which one do I get?” Marlena said to herself.
She roamed the shelf and finally picked out one that looked accurate and got to of them. She checked out of the store not looking at the cashier in embarrassment. When she walked out of the store she bumped into Cindy, scattering the contents of her bag on the floor. “What’s this?” Cindy said picking up one of the pregnancy tests. “None of your business.” Marlena said grabbing the pregnancy test from Cindy’s clutches and the other one on the ground. “Is Marlena Evans pregnant?” Cindy asked her.
Marlena didn’t respond, she just stormed off into her car and drove away.
Chapter 12
When Marlena got home she ran upstairs and into the bathroom. She pulled out the pregnancy test of the brown paper bag and slowly opened it. She toke the test and had to wait 3 minutes before there would be results. She paced steadily across the bathroom, staring at her watch practically every two seconds. When three minutes passed Marlena toke in a deep breathe. She was about to see it when the doorbell rang. “Shit.” Marlena blurted out surprising her self in her swearing. She walked out of the bathroom and ran down the stairs. “Hold on.” She yelled on her way down. She opened the door to see John there with a rose in his palm. “John.” Marlena said softly smiling. “This is for you darling.” He said handing her the rose. “Thank you,” Marlena said taking the rose and inhaling the scent of it. “So what are you doing here?” “I just thought I’d stop by and surprise you.” John replied. “Well, come in.” Marlena told him. John shut the door behind him and they walked up the stairs into Marlena’s bedroom. “So, are you feeling better?” John asked closing the bedroom door behind him. “Yah, I’m fine now.” Marlena replied. “That’s good, probably just a bug or something.” John said, walking over and sitting on Marlena’s bed. “Yah, probably.” Marlena replied. She then remember what she was doing before John came over; the pregnancy test was still lying in the bathroom. “John, can you excuse me for a second.” Marlena said. “Yah, of course.” He replied. Marlena left and John walked around Marlena’s room, looking at the pictures of her former friends, ex-boyfriend, and family. He grabbed one of Marlena and Jacob which looked to be taken probably only a month or two before Marlena moved to Salem. Her hair was almost down to her waist then, and her blonde curly locks glistened in the summer sunlight. She looked so happy then, and now the only time John saw Marlena happy was out of school, when she was with him. Marlena walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind her and picked up the pregnancy test. “Oh my god, it’s negative.” Marlena said in a sigh of relief. “Oh thank you god, thank you!” She rapped the stick in toilet paper and through it out. She put her hand over her stomach and smiled, her life wasn’t ruined but she still wanted to know why she was so sick then. She walked back into her bedroom, her smiling glowing. “Some one looks a little happy huh?” John asked walked over to Marlena. “Yah, I just got some good news.” Marlena told him. “Oh what’s that?” John asked. “Oh nothing, so um what do you want to do.” Marlena asked him, there was no need to tell him about the pregnancy test since she’s not pregnant. “You just want to hang out here?” John asked. “Yah, I’ll order some pizza, I have some movies over there if you want to watch one of them or we can just watch something on TV.” Marlena replied. “So what do you want on it.” “Well if its okay with you, just ask them to put everything on it.” John told her, his stomach growling. He was starving, hadn’t eaten since breakfast. “I’m hungry to, I’ll be right back.” Marlena told him, walking out of the bedroom and walking down to her kitchen to call the pizza place. John walked over to Marlena’s collection of movies. A lot of vintage ones like Casablanca, An Affair to Remember, and movies along that line. He didn’t know what to choose: a romantic movie so he could in vision it was him and Marlena or a scary movie so he could hold her tight when she got scared. “Pick something yet?” Marlena asked walking into the room. “Well what are you in the mood for?” He asked her. “Mmm, how about…” Marlena said moving her way to the stack movies. She didn’t want John to think she was a hopeless romantic, who she was, she loved those cheesy classics, but she assumed John wouldn’t want to watch them with her. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?” She asked him. The original mind you, Marlena didn’t really own a lot of up to date movies. She didn’t want to watch it either, and the only reason she owned it was because her and her friends back in Colorado decided to scare the shit out each other one night and watch it at a sleep over. “You sure you want to watch that?” John asked, he couldn’t believe Marlena would want to watch that, it was so gruesome. Of course he enjoyed it though; he always loved those kinds of movies, scary the shit out of himself made himself feel more like a man. “Yah why not?” Marlena asked him. Why not? Um why would she, one time was enough, but what are you going to do. “Okay, well let’s just wait for the pizza then and we can watch it.” John told her. “Sounds good to me, I’ll go get some drinks from the basement, what do you like?” She told him. “Do you have any beer?” John asked, Marlena, beer, now he felt awkward, he usually drank when he was hanging out with his friends but this was his girlfriend, would she think he was an alcoholic? “Yah, I think we got some, I’ll be right back.” Marlena replied. Phew, John thought to himself. Marlena used to have occasional beers too with her friends, just casually during sleep overs and hanging out, but never overboard. She walked down the stairs to and down another flight till she was in the dark, muggy basement of the house. She walked over to the fridge and got out 2 ice cold bud lights. She walked upstairs when the doorbell rang. She put the cans on the kitchen table and opened the door, it was the pizza man. “That will be 12.50” He said, man pizza was not cheap Marlena thought to herself. She pulled out the money from her pocket and gave it to the pizza guy. She grabbed the beers between the fingers of her right hand and held the pizza box with her left hand. She brought it up to the room and layed it on the bed. “Smells delicious.” John said, opening the box and taking the biggest slice out. “Here’s your beer.” Marlena said handing it to him. She walked over and put the movie in and sat back down on the bed. Next to John, who was stuffing his face with pizza, go figure, men are either hungry or horny. Marlena giggled at this. “What so funny?” John asked, with a mouth full of food. “Nothing.” She said taking a bite of her pizza that was overflowing with toppings. John enjoyed the movie, Marlena not so much, but hey she got to snuggle with John during the scary parts which were pretty much the whole movie. When the movie was over John got up and cleaned up the trash. Marlena shut off the movie and sat back down on the bed. “Well, I guess I should be going, its getting late.” John told her, picking up his jacket. “You know my aunt is away this weekend.” Marlena blurted out. “Oh.” John said thinking that was kind of random. “Well, that means that I have the house to myself, you know.” Marlena said, trying to edge John on to where she was getting at. She didn’t even know where she was edging at though. “Marlena, do you want me to stay?” He asked her. She just smiled back at him as he walked over to her and began to kiss her on the lips, their garlic-onion-sausage-peppers-pepperoni tasting breathe going into each other’s mouth but they didn’t even seem to care. John moved himself on top of Marlena as things began to intensify.
Chapter 13
John moved his hands under Marlena’s sweater and slid them under her, beginning to undo her bra when Marlena jumped up.
“Whats wrong?” John asked, pulling Marlena towards himself.
“It’s nothing John, I’m just ah-kind of nervous.” Marlena told him.
“Marlena we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, you know I love you, I would not want you to feel uncomfortable around me.” John told her, stroking her cheek.
“Oh no John, I don’t feel uncomfortable doing this, it’s just its kind of like my first time to me–I mean besides you know, being raped.” Marlena sighed.
“See, I don’t want to bring back bad memories Marlena–”
“Oh no John you never bring bad thoughts in my head.”
Marlena gazed into his eyes as John rubbed his nose against hers.
“John I want you to–” Marlena began to say but John stopped her with a compelling kiss.
“Shh–” John said moving his lips slightly off Marlena’s, “Don’t speak, let me just–love you” John said licking the tips of Marlena’s fingers
She looked as in erotic trance while John seduced her, slowly but lasciviously removing her sweater. John licked her stomach as he moved fully on top of her, as she removed his t-shirt to reveal his bare abs. She grasped her nails into his chest as he leaned in and began to suck on her neck and make his way back down to her belly button. He removed her jeans half way as she wiggled them out the rest of the way. She undid John’s belt and removed his jeans, making sure to capture every inch she unraveled. His thighs were muscle big, and his boxers accenting every curve of them. They rolled around the bed for 10 minutes, kissing each other’s body parts playfully before John reached his hand under Marlena’s bra, unsnapping it as she giggled while her bare breast harden with the cold breeze of her room. John caress her breast with his lips and warm tongue as she unreservedly moaned every time he reached her nipple. She turned herself on top of him as he slid her underwear off, grasping onto her perfectly slender soft legs, and she moved off his boxers while squirming her calves around.
“God Marlena, your so beautiful.” John said while grasping on her the side of her stomach’s curves.
She didn’t reply instead she lowered her torso on top of his bare chest and moved her cheeks against his as she moved in and put her tongue into his earlobe as he melted away with pleasure. She moved her lower body around his penis, painfully teasing him. She crawled backwards down towards his penis as she licked the tip of it giving him a quite pleasurable tingling sensation.
“Oh no you don’t.” John said grabbing her arms and pulling her lips up to his and moving into missionary position.
He moved his hand around the outer walls of Marlena’s vagina while she nibbled on his shoulder.
“Oh John.” Marlena gasped orgasmicly, grazing John’s penis viciously with her right hand.
John needn’t her say more, he thrusted his penis into her while she let out a tremendous sensation of moans. He silenced her moans, sticking his tongue along hers while sucking his lips in on hers. They rolled around in the fumes of ecstasy from one another for almost an hour until they were both completely worn out.
“Thank you John.” Marlena said while laying on top of his chest.
“For what, the greatest sex you’ll ever have?” John asked with a cute smirk on his face.
“Well that–and for just loving me for who I am.” Marlena smiled back.
“I will always love you, you know that, I never want to let you go.”
“And you will never have to–I love you too.”
The Jarlena Journal 