Chapter4 Previous chapter (3): Mark is at the site of a billboard that was messed up. Bob, the advertisement manager/engineer of the project, is taking the heat for it… Mark sees Rachel driving on the freeway.


Rachel’s POV:I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Mark was on site at the billboard. Mark.“What am I supposed to do now?” I grumbled to myself as I regained control of my actions. Cars on the freeway behind me were honking and trying to maneuver around our mini-van. I realized I’d been at a stand still on the freeway, causing more attention to be directed towards me than I cared to think about.“Mommy GO!!” Annie said from the backseat, twisting around in her seat, trying to get a better view of what was going on around us.“Please don’t look over here, please don’t look over here, please, for the love of God, don’t look over here,” I chanted to myself as I moved forward in traffic.No such luck. Escape plan: EPIC Fail.The shrill ringing of my cell phone brought my new found hope to a crushing halt. Damn technology. Stupid piece of crap.Why couldn’t I have one thing in my life go the way I wanted. Why? What had I done in a previous life to deserve this treatment.I reached for my phone. With shaking fingers I flipped it open, pressed Send, and waited.
Four Years, Ten Months, and two days ago…“And do you Mark take this woman, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death do you part?” the priest asked Mark as Mark gazed into Rachel’s eyes.“I do.” Mark said with finality.“You may kiss your bride.” The priest smiled as Mark lifted Rachel’s veil and kissed her lightly.Rachel had just barely started to show. The wedding had been planned and thrown together in less time than she would have thought possible, but it wasn’t soon enough because gossip had already spread around town. The ceremony wasn’t grand; just a small group of family and friends who weren’t too embarrassed to be seen at the wedding of teenagers expecting a baby in just a few short months.“Seven months pregnant, barely sixteen, married and about to be a mother.” Rachel thought as she and Mark walked back down the aisle. What a mess her life had turned into.At their wedding reception her father stood and gave a speech. He had thanked everyone for supporting Rachel and Mark in their “unique and slightly inappropriate situation”.“Hello?!” she’d wanted to scream. “Nothing about this situation is appropriate!” Of course she and Mark wouldn’t be in this “unique” situation as her dad had put it, if Mark hadn’t raped Rachel, a fact Rachel tried to push to the back of her mind.No one knew that it had been a rape. Rachel didn’t even like to think of it like that. She kept making excuses for Mark. He’d had too much to drink, he hadn’t understood Rachel’s pleas to stop; he was too caught up in the moment… Why? Because somewhere in her head she still loved him, after all it had only happened once and he even agreed to marry her.She kept the facts hidden about that night in a vain attempt of persuasion to herself. If she kept this secret then Mark would love her again she told herself. He’d love her and the baby if she worked hard enough to make him happy….