Darkness. Well not some much as darkness in her eyes, as much more in her head. She kept looking at the ceiling, at times she closed her eyes but somehow it made it much worse. She could feel every touch, hear every growling breath he took, she was frozen. Closing her eyes was the one thing she could have done to keep everything away, it’s just that when he spoke to her, Marlena instantly imagined all that is happening and then it was like keeping her eyes open. The ceiling was dimly lit, something about this view gave her comfort of some sort, or maybe it was the wine kicking in. Then she felt it, he parted her legs wider, holding on her inner thighs with his big disgusting hands. She wanted to resist, to snap on her feet, kick him right in the face, so hard, that he would surely pass out. She didn’t. She couldn’t. Her mind drifted to John, oh, John, her poor John was in pain, so much pain, then again, so was she. We are quite a pair, she thought.

She could feel his stubby fingers on her opening and it shuddered her, he held his hands on her inner thighs, keeping them apart and sank his probing tongue into her most intimate area. He lapped and sucked her like a starved man.

She writhed an on the bed, merely from disgust, pulling on her own sleeve, she bit it hard, muffling the sound of her anguish cry.. “STOP!” Screaming,  she woke up. Quickly sitting in their bed, her body’s trembling, tears in her eyes and it seems like every fiber in her was shaking.

“Heyyyyy Doc, are you all right?” Still sleepy, Roman woke up, his hands reached for her but she flinched, moving her shoulders from hands reach. Before he knew it, she was already up on her feet. “Doc” this time he whispered, still under his cozy blanket.

“ fine.. I’m fine… I’ll be all right, just..just give me a minute” she said with a dismiss hand gesture, still not facing him.

He stood up.

She could hear him doing so and she didn’t want to be touched right now, she needed to calm down, to stand in front of the big window and breathe in the night air.

“Doc, talk to me ,ay? Were you dreaming of...HIM?” not wanting to utter the name. She simply nodded, hissing the air out of her lungs.  

“ would talk about it could help you? You never did.. maybe you should let it out” he offered.

Her back was still to him. He could see her expression by the mirror’s reflection. She looked terrified. These nightmares occurred quite often after they came back from New Orleans, but then things got better and it stopped, just like that, like something inside of her started to heal itself.

She never spoke a word of what happened there. He remembered what he has heard at her office today, she wasn’t making any sense. Was this the right time to talk about it? Probably not, though he promised himself that he eventually would.

She turned to face him, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her index finger “I can’t.. I know it’s good to talk about things, to let it all out but you have to understand.. I still can’t.. just.. please drop it” Marlena pushed his hand the minute he brought it up to stroke her cheek and closed herself inside their bathroom.

 

Stefano sat at his big leather chair. It was almost morning but he couldn’t sleep. He had to watch it again. Like a man possessed he couldn’t take his eyes away from her. Everything about that night was so right and so wrong, all at once.

Now, when he finally could watch it and analyze it, he could see her tears, her miserable expression.

He went too far, of that he knew, but he had no regrets. He has craved her for so long, he had to have her knowing this could only be a one-time thing...or is it?

He licked his lips, closing his eyes for a second, breathing heavily. He wanted to feel her again, he needed to alienate the man in her life.

 

The phone ringing woke him from his dream.

He was dreaming of her, of his beloved wife. He had missed her so much. Her laughter, the way her eyes sparkle when she does..her warm body, pressed against his manly form.

Looking at her, he was happy to see that she’s still asleep. The ringing didn’t wake her up. When his eyes got used to the dim sunlight that came through the curtains, he saw a small medicine bottle on her nightstand. She took a sleeping pill. Again.

“Hello? Who is this?” His voice was quiet, not wanting to wake her up despite her drugged state.

“ if you want answers, come to the pier in 30 minutes. Alone” the voice was low and distorted. He couldn’t make anything out of it, puzzled he opened his mouth to speak but the line went dead.

 

The pier was foggy. The sun was up but it was still fairly early. The sound of the water and the boats created a soothing atmosphere. Everything around his was quiet, calming in a way. It was cold and Roman shoved his hands into his coat pockets.  

What the hell is going on here, he thought. He knew better than to go there alone but then again, he was a cop, a proud one in fact and he just had to figure this one out on his own.

35 minutes had passed since the call woke him up and no one was there, he started to think about Marlena again and his mind drifted to a simpler time when he could just hold her and make everything better.

For a second he thought he has seen something, a shade in the ray of light, he got closer to the place but no one was there. Lowering his eyes to the floor was when he saw the item.

Upon a small crate, he saw a videotape. It had his name on it. Roman.

 

She woke up in an empty bed. There was a note on his pillow “Good morning beautiful, I went to grab us some bagels. I’ll see you soon, Roman”

Leaving the note where she found it, she laid back down. Those sleeping pills always gave her a minor headache when she woke up, she needed some water. Finding her robe, she wrapped herself in it and while standing up her glance has caught her reflection in the big mirror. Her mind went back to last night, to what John did to her on that bed, their bed. Closing her eyes, she delighted in the memory of their lovemaking. That gave her comfort. It was always John. Always.

The noises downstairs brought her mind back to the present and she headed to the living room.

Roman wasn’t there, a small brown bad of aromatic bagels in was on the table but the smell enveloped her only for a second. The sound she was hearing sounded familiar but where was it coming from? Suddenly, she stopped at her tracks. She recognized the sound. It was him. The sound sent a shiver down her spine and she had to hold on to the wall beside her in order to stay on her two feet. She kept following the revolting sound of Stefano when what she saw, nearly killed her right there and then.

There was Roman. Sitting on the couch, the remote in his hand, looking at the TV set. It played her rape. She took a deep breath in, holding her right hand to her mouth, she gasped loudly, trying to grab onto the back of the couch, or she would just faint. He turned around when he heard her, tears in his eyes

“ For him? You let this creature R-A-P-E YOU FOR H-I-M?!!!!???”