He reached back, capturing her fingers in his and pulling her around to sit on his lap. She cuddled closer to him, and for a while, they were content to watch the waves crash against the shore. In the distance, she could see people on the sand enjoying the warm day, but strangely enough, it still seemed as if they were in their own private world. “Feeling better, Angel?” he finally asked against her ear, causing her to shiver.
“Yeah, I’m good.” She smiled. “Nothing an hour in the DeStudo bed couldn’t take care of.”
He snorted, squeezing her lightly before relaxing his grip. Then he began speaking and by the end of what he had to say, she realized that she’d never really known what true fear was until that moment. “My parents weren’t that different from the ones that my friends had growing up. They weren’t like the ones on television shows, but they were all I knew, so I adjusted to their quirks pretty early on in life. Then I started spending a lot of time with Denny, and things were different at his house. He had a mother who did all of her own cooking and cleaning. Plus, she actually enjoyed having us around. His father was quiet and worked long hours at the auto shop he owned, but he was never too tired to toss around a baseball or spend time teasing us about some girl we liked. The funny thing, as we got older, I liked staying at Denny’s because his parents cared, even though it came with rules, and he liked staying at my house because mine didn’t give a damn where we went or how late we stayed out. I could have a party most anytime I wanted to because they either weren’t around or didn’t care if we used the pool house.”
“So each of you wanted what the other had?” Crystal asked when Mark paused to gather his thoughts.
“Yes, for a while, that was exactly it. Then, as my father started to drink more and more and the arguments between him and I ramped up, Denny gained a new appreciation for what he had at home. By the time we were eighteen, he avoided my house about as much as I did. That saying that you need to be a drunk to live with one is very true. Other than my mother, no one wanted to be around my dad when he was intoxicated. I’ve even blamed her through the years, thinking if she’d just get fed up enough to force him to get help, maybe he would change—or at least want to. But she’s always been right there, his enabler. I guess I should admire her unconditional love, but who is that helping? It’s certainly not good for him, and I can’t see how it can be for her either.”
“She seemed as if she wasn’t happy about it earlier,” Crystal pointed out. “She forced him to leave when he clearly wasn’t ready to.”
Mark nodded. “That was unusual. It did prove what I’ve long believed. She could so easily bend him to her will if only she would try. But I dare not hope that today was anything more than a momentary lapse in patience on her part. Celine has always been a permanent fixture in Team Marcus’s camp, and I don’t see that changing.”
“I’m sorry, honey,” Crystal stated honestly. Her heart broke for him. She, better than anyone, understood the kind of pain dealing with a foul parent could bring, and the fact that his father was also an alcoholic brought a whole different element to the equation for him. It made her shudder to think of how bad her own mother might be if she were drinking as well. The term hell on wheels would certainly apply.
He fitted his hand to hers before weaving their fingers together. He watched the act as if fascinated by it. “My father has been angry with me for years because my grandfather left his company in my hands. It wasn’t because he loved me more, it was simply because he didn’t want to see the family fortune or reputation go down the toilet because my father couldn’t stay away from booze. Since then, my father goes to the main headquarters every so often and makes an ass out of himself until he has my attention. It makes him feel powerful to jerk my chain because he knows I’ll come to save my employees from dealing with him. It’s been the same for so long that it’s almost part of my regular routine now. I’ll go to Charleston, pretend we’re one big happy family, and then I’ll have a short reprieve before we do it all over again. It’s my life, Angel, just as your mother’s behavior is in yours.”
“I know,” she agreed. “And you’re right; it does become somewhat routine after a while. It doesn’t mean that it’s any easier to deal with, though, does it?”
“No, baby, it doesn’t,” he sighed. “Which is why I can’t do this to you anymore. I saw what it did to you last night to have your mother say those things to you. Then you had but a few hours to recover before my parents were in your face saying even worse. I would have had to be blind this morning not to have noticed how much that hurt you. I may be able to shrug off the ugliness and go on, but I can’t ask or expect you to do the same.”