Status: All finished! :)

One More Night

Chapter 22

The remainder of the week passed by so slowly, Marc didn’t know if he would survive. He’d holed up in his home – not wanting to see his parents again and raise more questions. It had been bad enough running into them right after he’d got off the plane. They’d continued to follow his team; he knew they would. They weren’t really on great speaking terms at the moment but he knew they wouldn’t cut him out of their life; they were his parents after all. But he knew that they’d worried about why he was back in Thunder Bay when he should be in New York, and playing a game that night. Marc had created a fib about needing to separate some of his things from Robyn’s back at the house, that the coach had given him the leave because Marc’s head hadn’t been in the game lately. They’d sort of believed him, but he knew that everything he said would be taken with a grain of doubt for a long time. He’d brought it upon himself, but it still hurt to know his parents couldn’t trust him.

So he’d stayed at his home, packing up and separating his things from Robyn’s as he awaited any form of contact from Bree. He knew already from her brother that she’d be reluctant to have much to do with him. Marc hated that she’d done her research – she understood how crazy and frightening life with a hockey player could be. Not because she knew, Marc was glad of that, but because she’d be biased, hearing the worst of the worst. There was no way he’d be able to make her see the light of the positives, if there was even a chance of convincing her to be with him in the first place.

She called him late Thursday night, and Marc’s heart had jumped up into his throat when he saw her number lighting up the call display on his cell phone. He tried to keep his emotions and voice neutral, because he didn’t know whether she would want anything more to do with him or not, but he couldn’t help but hope for the best. Even after all that had happened, he was hoping for the best.

“Hey, Bree; how are you feeling?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant. He could tell from the slight giggle that he’d failed miserably, but her laughter was more than enough to make up for it.

“All right I guess; I wasn’t sick this morning,” she allowed. “You?”

“All right. Sorting shit out at my house,” he told her.

“So, um…”

“Yeah,” there was a brief pause before they both laughed, Marc feeling the same familiarity that Bree’s voice or presence always seemed to offer him. He felt safe enough to be himself, and even though it was only over the phone Marc began to relax.

“Did you want to meet up, before I go? I mean, we still need to talk about…” he trailed off, not sure if he was overstepping his boundaries or not. There was silence for a while, and after a while he could hear her shifting around.

“Yeah, yeah we probably should. Look, Marc, I just want to make this clear; I don’t want anything from you. There was a reason I didn’t tell you after I found out who you were,” she mumbled, and it was like cold ice gripped his heart.

“I, I didn’t think that’s what you wanted Bree; I’d never think that… I just want to be part of my baby’s life… But I don’t want to upset you, you know? You mean a lot to me and I care a lot about you; I want to take care of you,”

“Marc, you don’t have to do any of this. I get it; you had feelings for me over the summer. That doesn’t mean we should be trying to force this now just because there’s a baby involved,” she answered, and Marc felt sick to his stomach immediately.

“That’s not what it is. I didn’t just have feelings for you over the summer Bree; I still do. Strong feelings, and I want to try something because you’re all I’ve been able to think about ever since we met and since I left for New York. It’s because I care about you and because I think we’re incredible together. That and because I want to be in my baby’s life and I want to make sure that I can give both of you the life you deserve. You won’t have to go through this alone, Bree. I get it if you’re mad and don’t want to be involved with me because of everything that I’ve done, but please, at least give me the chance to be part of my baby’s life,” he begged, and heard her start to sniff on the other end of the line.

“I’m coming over – I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, okay?” he asked, and got a strangled yes in reply. After a rushed goodbye he was out the door and in his truck, speeding the entire way. When he reached her apartment he knocked, before finding the door was unlocked. Marc hesitated for a moment, before letting himself in; glad he did when he saw Bree on her couch with tears streaming down her face.

“Shh, Bree it’s okay, it’ll be okay,” he tried to comfort her, but the tears came faster.

“It’s… I… you still have feelings for me?” she whispered, and he nodded, resting his chin on top of her head.

“You’re all I’ve been able to think about Bree,” he softly admitted, rubbing her back as she began to cry in honest. He couldn’t begin to imagine the torment he’d put her through, so he had no way to comprehend how she was feeling now. In the matter of a summer he’d somehow managed to turn her entire world upside down and inside out.

“B-but…”

“It’s okay – we’ll figure it out, all right?” Bree finally nodded, and Marc let out a long breath as she finally allowed herself to relax into his embrace, her sobs easing off until it was just a few sniffles. The way her body fit into his felt so comfortable, so… right, that Marc knew he’d fight as hard as he possibly could to make sure he didn’t have to let her go.

“Marc…” Bree’s voice was rough, and he merely nodded, understanding that she couldn’t find the words to get everything she was feeling out.

“All I want is a chance Bree – I know that after everything I’ve done to you I don’t deserve it, but I’m asking anyway,” her familiar eyes turned up to him, and through all the confusion and the hurt, Marc still detected a hint of the emotion they’d shared over the summer, and that was all the hope he needed.
♠ ♠ ♠
Sorry this one is a little short! But anyways, there isn't much left and I hope you guys like where the story is going! :) Please let me know what you think!