Page 62 of Acceptance
Pushing him backwards, Venom slams him against the wall. “She did!”
“No, she fucking didn’t!”
“Yeah, she did. You went off with your girlfriend you seem to have completely forgotten about,” he says. “The one none of us has seen since that night.”
He points over Venom’s shoulder at Marnie. “You should have come here immediately!”
“Back the fuck off,” Lex warns, stepping in as a secondary barrier between them. His attitude and aggressiveness has officially pissed her off.
“Nina tried to get help because she knew something was off about the guy she was with. The one who did this to her!” Undertaker shouts. “And we’re too late to save her!”
“She wasn’t even looking for you,” Brock says as he and Colt join them. “Did you say she was asking for Frances?”
Marnie clings to Lex’s arm in fear, hiding behind her as Undertaker shouts, “BecauseI’mFrances!”
Leaning back in surprise, Lex snorts. “Wait, seriously?”
“It was my name before it was changed in the service. Nina was trying to get me to help her.”
“She didn’t know your road name,” Marnie says and peeks around Lex. “Or, I guess, your new name. She was dirty and a bit disheveled when I saw her. Who would’ve thought I actually knew something?”
“How long ago was this?” she asks Marnie.
She swallows and refuses to look at Undertaker. “Um, almost four weeks ago, I think. Give or take.”
“Okay, Brock, can we get video from the hotel restaurant from that time? See if we can find her and the guy she was with?”
He nods. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Oh shit,” Marnie gasps. “Jamie.”
“What about Jamie?” Undertaker asks, and it makes Lex want to reach out and throat punch him for, once again, forgetting his fucking girlfriend.
“She’s at my place. What if they go there to get me?”
Moving towards them faster than Venom can stop him, Undertaker leans over Lex. “What the fuck is she doing at your apartment?”
“Back the fuck off, Frances. Why don’t you know she’s there?” Lex asks, pushing against him. When he doesn’t budge, she kicks him in the knee while Venom and Colt try to pull him backwards. He falls to the ground, and she leans over. “Come at her like that again, and I’m taking out an eye.”
Marnie swallows. “She came to stay with me about a week ago. Said you didn’t love her anymore, and she had nowhere else to go.”
“What?” Lex asks, relieved somewhat at the confusion on Undertaker’s face.
“She heard him tell someone she wasn’t important, and she packed up her stuff. When she came into the bar, she said she was going to have to get a room until she figured out where to go, and I offered to let her stay with me.”
“Where’s your apartment?”
“The building off of second about a block from the hotel. Apartment 2B on the second floor.”
Undertaker takes off, and Lex rolls her eyes. “I wish I would’ve taken out an eye,” she mutters.
“Are you okay?” Venom asks, his eyes locked on Marnie. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”
Swallowing, she shakes her head and won’t meet his eyes. “No, I’m okay. I think. Guess going home is out of the question, huh? I get a discount at the hotel—”
“You’ll stay with me,” he interrupts. “That motherfucker won’t be able to get close enough to spit on you.”
Lex tilts her head as Colt moves over to her and removes some of the glass from her hair. “Why would he spit on her?”
