A Movie Marathon.

"Vanessa, he would never che—"

"I thought that too. But I learnt the truth… the hard way," she interrupted. "I never thought that Nicholas would betray me like that. If he didn't want to be with me anymore, he could have just said so instead of…" She was unable to force any more words out of her mouth.

"I'm so sorry, Vanessa. You didn't deserve to go through it. You deserve so much better than him," Mark gave her hand a comforting squeeze and tipped her chin with his other hand's index finger so that he could meet her eyes. "Why didn't you tell him anything?"

"I tried but… I didn't get a chance. I tried to speak with him but he wouldn't pick up any of my calls, and she…" and the tears took over her voice once again. She dropped her gaze down to the coffee mug resting on the table in front of her.

"Who was she?" Anger was evident in his voice.

"Kaylee. Nicholas kissed her in front of me," she wiped her face with the soft fabric of her sweatshirt's sleeves. Her face was bright red, her hair tied in a messy bun, and her gaze cast down. She fidgeted with her fingers, not knowing what else to do as Mark spent the silence processing what took place.

"I was studying in the library. I told Nicholas that I would be late but I finished my studies earlier and wanted to surprise him with a pizza and movie date night. I was going to his dorm with a pizza in my hand and when I reached the campus grounds, he was right there, kissing Kaylee. I couldn't bear the disappointment and the humiliation"—she shook her head and continued—"he didn't need me anymore and I didn't want to stay."

"It has been ten years, Vanessa. Where did you go?" he questioned.

"I applied to a High School in Henrietta, got accepted, and after graduation stayed there and studied at Rochester Institute. Later, I went back to my grandma. I helped her in that eatery she ran but after she passed away, the eatery got shut down and I came here, applied for a job, and landed in the mess I thought I got away from."

"I am sorry for your loss. When did that happen?"

"Two months ago," she stood up from her seat with the half-empty cup in her hand and headed back to the kitchen. Mark took one last sip from his cup of coffee and followed her. She took the cup from his hand and emptied its contents into the sink before placing it in the dishwasher. She closed the lid and leaned back against the countertop, facing Mark. She placed both hands on either side of her on the top and looked at him.

He took both of her hands in his own and looked in her eyes. They seemed to have a conversation without words when the blue orbs connected with hazel ones. Mark seemed to be livid at Nicholas but the guy hadn't even looked at another girl for ten years, there must be something else that might have slipped past Vanessa.

"Mark, I am so glad you came. I really needed to vent it all out," she said and removed her hands from his grip before placing her head on his chest and hugging him tightly.

"You can call me anytime, Vanessa. I am always here for you," he said as he stroked her hair and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"I don't know what to do," she said in a whisper.

"You need to sort it out. I will not let you suffer or let him get away with cheating on you." Mark was never the one to ignore injustice. He was determined to get to the root of the problem and had to convince Vanessa to confront him.

"It's too hard, I can't face him again," she said as her hands caught the back of his shirt and formed a fist involuntarily.

"It sometimes seems easier to let go of things when you have gone through a lot. But the closure is worth it, Vanessa. Trust me, it will be worth it to get this out of your system and know the truth directly from the horse's mouth." He parted a bit and cupped the left side of her face with his right hand while his left one remained wrapped on her back.

"I wanted to hear him say the truth about that night so I went to his dorm a few days later," she said and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. She seemed to melt into Mark's touch, his hand on her cheek seemed to be a source of energy for her.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it yet," he said and tucked behind her ear the strand of hair that was dancing in front of her face.

"I want to get it off my chest," she whispered and opened her eyes. "I went there before breakfast. I thought that maybe if it cleared up then we could have breakfast together, I knocked on his door but Kaylee opened it. She was wearing his shirt that was my favorite and I used to wear it whenever I crashed at his dorm. She stepped out and closed the door. She said that Nicholas never loved me. It has always been her, they were together for four months and I was just a toy that Nicholas wanted to play with for some time."

"I wish I could do something to help you. If you had just told me about this before leaving, we would have figured something out, Vanessa."

"I was blindfolded by anger and indignity," she said.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked.

"Better. But I guess it's because I'm used to this over the years."

"I feel like you need a break from reality. How about we watch a movie and order a pizza for lunch?" he asked. Mark always knew how to cheer her up.

She smiled through the tears and nodded hurriedly. They both left the kitchen and entered the living room. They sat on the couch and Vanessa left some space between herself and Mark for the pizza box while Mark dialed the number to a nearby pizzeria.

Vanessa was deep in her thoughts and was startled when Mark grabbed her forearm and pulled her near himself. She let out a shaky laugh and was quick to snuggle against him. She handed him the television remote and he scrolled through the recommendations on Netflix.

They spent twenty minutes trying to settle on a movie and delayed starting it until the pizza arrived shortly after. They spent the afternoon reminiscing about the fun they used to have during highschool. The pranks they would pull off on students and teachers, how they would spend the weekends having movie marathons with their little friend group, how they would tease each other and won't miss a chance of getting on the other person's nerves.

After watching the entire series consisting of four movies back to back, they decided to go for a walk in the nearby park. The weather was chilly so they wrapped themselves up in coats and mufflers along with gloves. Vanessa was not a winter person so she had put on a beanie with ear flaps which, according to Mark, made her look extremely cute. And the redness that covered her face due to the cold zephyr was a cherry on top.

It was dinner time by the time they left the park. They had dinner at the little eatery near her building before Mark walked her to her building.

"I guess it's late now. I should probably leave," he said, sounding unsure, as he entered the lobby with her.

"Can I get your phone number?" she asked, pulling out her phone from the coat's pocket. She handed it over to Mark after unlocking it. He created a contact under his name and sent a text to his number so that he would have her contact information as well.

"Bye, Vanessa. Take care," he said as he placed a friendly kiss on her cheek and pressed the button to summon the elevator.

"Goodbye, Mark," she replied with a smile and stepped inside the elevator. She waved at him before and he too waved before the elevator door closed.

Mark left the building and entered his car parked in the driveway. He looked at the Arbora Court apartments one last time before giving the car key a twist and speeding down the dark road.