Hi everyone, this is my first submission to Literotica, not sure if I'll do more or a follow up but I felt this story needed to be written. It was inspired from real life experiences and all the characters depicted are 18+ even during flashbacks.
Trigger Warning
There is references to abuse, both the mental and physical variety, but overall the story is meant to be about the main characters overcoming those obstacles.
Otherwise, please enjoy the story.
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"Jenny, I know you're mad but-" Mark was quickly interrupted by the angered ramblings of his best friend.
"Yes, yes I am." Jenny interrupted, "I'm furious. You punched my fiancé. At my party. In front of everyone. There was no need for you to step in."
It was no secret that Jenny and her fiancé, Chris, had been arguing at her party, in fact, they had been screaming at each other right in the middle of the dance floor in a privately rented venue full of Jenny's friends and family. Chris wanted to leave and go out with friends, but it being Jenny's 30th birthday, she wanted him to stay.
When Chris went out with his friends, she wouldn't hear from him for the rest of the night and sometimes he wouldn't come back until late evening the next day, so it was understandable that she was upset at this notion.
As with all their arguments, it spiraled out of control, people started to get involved, trying to calm them down and others just trying to gossip about what was actually going on.
That was when Mark had noticed something in Chris' eyes that seemingly no one else had the insight into their relationship to prevent, so when he realized there was no stopping what was about to happen, Mark punched Chris square in the face.
"I had to do it," Mark retorted. "It was either I hit him, or, god forbid, he hit you."
"I don't need your protection Mark, he wasn't going to hit me, Chris would never-" It was Mark's turn to interrupt her.
"Oh please, I know this wouldn't have been the first time." Mark kind of shocked himself at his tone, he was being stern, he had never been stern with Jenny. He took a deep breath and continued. "You used to love sleeveless tops and short dresses so you could get a nice tan. This is the first time I've seen you in nine months and you're completely covered up, and before you say it's cold, I'll remind you that we're in one of the most humid states in America, and it's June."
Jenny and Mark had been friends since middle school, for a while they were inseparable and many people had thought of them as a couple, they insisted they were more like siblings. Although, they hadn't seen much of each other in the past 3 years due to their respective relationships and the pandemic.
"Who are you to judge? You really think we all like that bitch girlfriend of yours? Why do you think she wasn't invited tonight?" Jenny stopped.
Mark was taken aback. He knew Jenny didn't like Claire, but wasn't aware of the rest of his friends having issues with her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I think I'm still a little drunk." Jenny apologized. "It's just, she seems to have stopped me seeing you a lot as of late and I guess I resent her for that."
"Ok, let's stop for a minute." Mark took a deep breath. He patted the couch next to him. "Come sit down. I brought you here so things could calm down between you and Chris, not so we could fight."
"We wouldn't be fighting if you hadn't punched him." She trailed off, mumbling most of the sentence and Mark pretended not to hear it. Jenny took a breath, accepted Marks offer and sat down next to him.
There was a lingering silence. With how close the two of them had been over the years, there were never any awkward silences between them but this one was different, you could cut the tension with a knife.
Mark stood up and walked to the kitchen. His two bedroom apartment was mostly open plan in the living room and kitchen area so he wasn't cutting off the conversation. He poured a drink for himself and got Jenny some water and some painkillers. After doing so, Mark sat back down next to Jenny.
"I know how you get a headache when you're mad, drink up." He instructed.
"Thank you." At this point Jenny was sitting cuddled into her own legs, taking the water and painkillers from him.
"So, you don't like Claire." Mark took a sip from his own drink. "And I don't like Chris."
"It seems that way." Jenny mumbled. "Wait, doesn't she live with you?"
She took a look around and noticed a lack of a feminine touch that had previously been around the apartment.
"She's visiting her parents for a while so took some of the more sentimental stuff."
"Looks like a lot of stuff, how long is a while?" Jenny quizzed further.
"Well she said it might be for a few weeks so as of today it'll be..." He feigned a calculation. "Indefinitely."
"Wait, so you split up?!" There was excitement in her voice, realising her tone she continued more calmly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so happy about that."
Mark let out an awkward laugh. "I, er, I guess you could say that. We'd been arguing a lot, she still didn't fully trust me to go out without her and then when I told her I was coming to your party..." He shrugged. "I guess that was the last straw."
"I don't want to be as excited as I am about that news, and I'm sorry that I am." Jenny hugged Mark tight and continued into his shoulder. "But I finally get my best friend back."
They held that hug for a few minutes. This time, the silence was not so tense. Mark took another deep breath, realising how much he had missed her and smiling at her choice of words in that last sentence.
"I know it's fresh, but I want you to listen to me the next time I tell you someone is no good for you, Mark." The soft tones to Jenny's voice continued with a hint of care that you would only expect to hear from a family member. "There was so much emotional blackmail coming from her, it was difficult to watch. In fact, in hindsight, as much as I've missed you, I'm kind of glad I hadn't seen things at their worst. I think I would have actually killed her." The awkward laugh at the end of that sentence told Mark that the reality had just hit her.
"The same way I couldn't see Chris lay a hand on you tonight." Mark took another sip of his drink.
The room went quiet once more, Mark's last comment echoing in Jenny's head for a good few minutes before she decided to speak up again.
"Tell me, how, on my 30th birthday, I get into an argument with my fiancé and I get dragged back to my best friend's apartment before... " Jenny checked her phone for the time, "10pm, and the only drink you have offered me is water."
"You're right, birthday girl, I'm sorry." Mark laughed. "What'll it be? Amaretto and Coke?"
"Is there anything else I'd ask for?" She replied with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Mark walked back into the kitchen to make her request and returned a few minutes later with exactly that, on ice and a cherry as garnish as well as a bowl of chips and two jars of dips.
"Always with the garnish," Jenny mocked. "You're so formal."
"If you're gonna make a drink, you've got-"
"You've got to make it right," Jenny interrupted again, this time in a more playful tone than when they first arrived. Again, mocking Mark's choice of words, and tone. "Remember when that got you into trouble in a bar? I thought you would have learned from that mistake!"
"First of all, this isn't a bar," Mark started, watching Jenny roll her eyes. "Secondly, that man couldn't have made a drink like the one in your hand if it bit him in the ass."
"This one is pretty good," She admitted. Mark used to be a mixologist for a few years after college and it showed. While it was a basic drink, he would never put too much or too little alcohol into it, he was a perfectionist.
They both laughed at the memory of Mark getting in trouble when there was a knock at the door. Mark took a look through the peephole and was greeted by the view of Claire.
"Just a minute!" He yelled toward the door, putting his finger to his lips, gesturing to Jenny to keep it down.
Opening the door, Claire stood with her bags at the door, starting to carry them in. Mark attempted to stop her but failed miserably.
"Hey, I just thought that little fight was stupid and," Claire's speech cut off prematurely when she saw Jenny on the couch. "Oh, hi Jenny." She paused again, this time her temper flaring. "So this is how it is? I go away to my parents after a fight and you bring Jenny round here the minute I'm gone?!"
"Claire, it's Jenny's birthday and -" this time Mark was cut off by Claire and that always drove him crazy, he never got a chance to speak during an argument because she would always shout over him. It was cute when Jenny did it, and when Jenny was mad she'd have this cute crinkle over her nose. Claire, however, would just explode.
"Oh it's her birthday?! So it's ok for her to come over and steal my boyfriend?!" At this point Claire walked over to the glass in the table holding Jenny's water and threw it at the wall, shattering it. "And where is your fiancé? Does he know you're hooking up with my man?!"
Just as Mark was about to defend her, Jenny stood up, grabbed Claire by her arm, twisted it up her back and pinned her against the wall.
"That's enough." Jenny had a calm tone to her voice that Mark had only heard a few times before, and it was terrifying.
"Get your hands off me, I'll call the police!" Claire tried to get the words out but was interrupted by Jenny again.
"I suggest you shut up or I really will give you a reason to call the cops." Jenny twisted Claire's arm further up her back. Claire winced. Mark stood back in complete awe.
