Post by Mimi on Aug 18, 2006 10:24:00 GMT -5
Sixteen long weeks had passed on the island. 112 days. 6,720 minutes. 403,200 seconds. John spent most of his time talking to Roman or patrolling the grounds, making sure that Alex North was nowhere near. John kept in constant contact with ISA, almost on an hourly basis. He needed something to do to take his mind off of Marlena; keeping her safe seemed to work. Alex had tracked them down to the Mediterranean Ocean, but had yet to pinpoint their location. John wasn’t sure how much longer they would be able to stay there before they were forced to move. Marlena was turning out to be the unknown variable in the equation, not Alex. Alex was somewhat predictable. John knew what Alex wanted, just not why. Marlena was a whole other matter. Her emotions and actions were all over the place. One minute she would be loving and kind, the next hateful and rude. One minute she would try seduce him and then in the middle of her seduction change her mind and become scared of John. John was beginning to rethink his whole plan of bringing her to the island and forcing her to deal with her past. Marlena seemed to be getting worse. Had John and Roman unlocked a hidden demon inside of Marlena? Unless they got her some help soon, it may be too late to save her.
John watched Marlena from the balcony of his suite. He could see her laying out on the chaise lounge chair next to the pool, her toned body tanned a golden brown. The black one-piece suit she wore was tasteful and covered her well. John wished that he could go down and talk to her, but she had made it very clear during the last four months that she wanted very little to do with him. The night she had asked for a divorce was the turning point. He had been optimistic that she would get her memory back and things would be the same between them. Things quickly escalated from tolerable to bad to worse. Each passing day she picked fights with him over insignificant things. When there was nothing left that she could argue with him about she stopped eating meals with him and Roman, and finally stopped talking to him. For the past two months John had seen little of Marlena. She seemed to be getting her needed companionship from Roman. Thankfully, each night Roman would fill him in on what was going on with Marlena. If Marlena wouldn’t talk to him, at least Roman was able to. John was jealous as hell, but there was nothing he could really do about it.
John was still stunned and puzzled by her demand for a divorce. He felt that he had no choice but to comply with her wishes and had Mickey Horton file the papers in absentia. John knew that as the days passed, the date of the divorce drew nearer. As he sat watching her he wondered how he could undo what had been done. Would telling her about our past and forcing her to remember help her? Would she be even more pissed at me? He needed to get through to her. Was it possible to undo the past, when he didn’t really even know the real reason she wanted a divorce. He decided that he needed to try to talk to her and see if this could be stopped.
~~~~~
“Marlena, can we talk?” John asked as he approached her slowly, not wanting to scare her. She quickly sat up and pulled her towel protectively around herself.
“I don’t see that there is anything left for us to talk about,” Marlena said coldly. She picked up the book she had been reading and looked down at it, hoping that John would get the hint and go away.
“Marlena please…. Look, I’m sorry if I offended you in some way… I can’t keep going on like this… Tell me what I can do to fix this…whatever it is, I’ll do…You can’t ignore me forever.” John sat down on the chair next to her.
“John, I don’t want to be rude and hurt your feelings, I really don’t… This isn’t something you can fix, I’m not someone you can fix.”
“I can’t believe that Doc… I can’t accept that… Just tell me what I need to do to make us right again and I’ll do it… I don’t want to lose you Doc,” John begged, tears forming in his eyes.
“It’s too late… This is over… We are over…Accept it John…Nothing you can do or say is going to make me change my mind… I can’t get out of this marriage fast enough and I wish that you’d stop having delusions about us reuniting… It’s not going to happen. Accept it… I do not want you… Deal with it and get the hell out of my life.” Her voice was cold and devoid of emotion.
John was stunned that Marlena actually thought that. He had a sense that Marlena was not well, but he didn’t think that she would ever stoop so low as to say such an insensitive and hurtful thing to him. “You know, I’ve tried, I really have. For the past four months you’ve been nothing but a bitch to me. I’ve put up with it because I love you and you’re my wife…No more… In ten days the divorce will be final and once the divorce is final, you’re free to go. If you want to go back to Salem, fine. But until that happens, you’re legally my responsibility…”
“I can’t wait,” Marlena interrupted, as she looked up at him, her face expressionless.
“When did you become such a bitch?” John asked, fed up with her and her nonchalant attitude. She stared at him. He saw his reflection in her mirrored sun glasses. “I love you Marlena, I always will... But I can’t live like this anymore. You won’t talk to the therapist that I flew in, you won’t talk to me…You’re hell bent on destroying our relationship and yourself for whatever reason…I can’t sit by and watch the woman that I love do that…I just can’t.” John walked away, not noticing the tears that slipped down underneath the lenses of her sunglasses. “You are the only one that has the power to hurt me and I can’t let you do that…I’m so sorry for doing this to you John,” she whispered. “I love you more than you’ll ever know...I’ll always love you… But I can’t be with you now, not until I settle some things…I hope in time you learn to forgive me for what I have done and am about to do.”
~~~~~
“Where’s Marlena?” Roman asked as he sat down at the oversized dining room table for dinner.
“Avoiding me once again…I assume,” John replied as he gestured for the servant to start serving the meal. “Soon this will be all over and we can go home…Thank god.”
“What about North? Won’t he still be a threat?” Roman asked as he picked up his fork.
“I’m sure he will be but there’s not a damn thing that I can do,” John said as he cut into his steak. “In ten days Doc will be my ex-wife…I’ll be there for her if she needs me, but that’s it…the ball is in her court now… If she wants to stop acting like this and treat me like a human being, she knows where to find me…I’m sick and tired of trying to reach her…no more.”
“I can’t believe you’re giving up…That’s not the John Black that I know. You both love each other, its plain to see. Why are you both pursuing this divorce, when I don’t think its what either of you wants.”
“Good question, my friend… Sometimes love isn’t enough…This is what Doc wants and supposedly needs. It’s futile to fight her on this. She’s made it clear that she can’t wait to get me out of her life and move on…I’m tired of fighting with her.”
“Have you told Belle yet?” Roman asked.
“No, and I’m not going to. Marlena is the one that wants the divorce, she can tell our daughter and friends. Belle’s going to be devastated and the hell if I’m going to be the one that breaks her heart.”
“Marlena is not herself John.”
“I know Roman, but I’m at a loss here as to how to make things rights…Everything I do or say seems to make it much worse.”
“You have to talk to her again John…If you don’t and you go through with this divorce, you’re going to regret it…Look at me as an example, I walked out on the best thing that ever happened to me…All because of my stupid pride… I was a given a second chance at happiness with Doc and I threw it away John… I fucking threw it away and for what? Man, if that divorce goes through its over and any chance you might have had with her is gone… I know how her mind works… She’ll compartmentalize you as an ex of hers and move on… Ask me, ask Don… Once she’s gone, she’s gone.”
“You’re right Roman…I’m going to talk to her.”
John watched Marlena from the balcony of his suite. He could see her laying out on the chaise lounge chair next to the pool, her toned body tanned a golden brown. The black one-piece suit she wore was tasteful and covered her well. John wished that he could go down and talk to her, but she had made it very clear during the last four months that she wanted very little to do with him. The night she had asked for a divorce was the turning point. He had been optimistic that she would get her memory back and things would be the same between them. Things quickly escalated from tolerable to bad to worse. Each passing day she picked fights with him over insignificant things. When there was nothing left that she could argue with him about she stopped eating meals with him and Roman, and finally stopped talking to him. For the past two months John had seen little of Marlena. She seemed to be getting her needed companionship from Roman. Thankfully, each night Roman would fill him in on what was going on with Marlena. If Marlena wouldn’t talk to him, at least Roman was able to. John was jealous as hell, but there was nothing he could really do about it.
John was still stunned and puzzled by her demand for a divorce. He felt that he had no choice but to comply with her wishes and had Mickey Horton file the papers in absentia. John knew that as the days passed, the date of the divorce drew nearer. As he sat watching her he wondered how he could undo what had been done. Would telling her about our past and forcing her to remember help her? Would she be even more pissed at me? He needed to get through to her. Was it possible to undo the past, when he didn’t really even know the real reason she wanted a divorce. He decided that he needed to try to talk to her and see if this could be stopped.
~~~~~
“Marlena, can we talk?” John asked as he approached her slowly, not wanting to scare her. She quickly sat up and pulled her towel protectively around herself.
“I don’t see that there is anything left for us to talk about,” Marlena said coldly. She picked up the book she had been reading and looked down at it, hoping that John would get the hint and go away.
“Marlena please…. Look, I’m sorry if I offended you in some way… I can’t keep going on like this… Tell me what I can do to fix this…whatever it is, I’ll do…You can’t ignore me forever.” John sat down on the chair next to her.
“John, I don’t want to be rude and hurt your feelings, I really don’t… This isn’t something you can fix, I’m not someone you can fix.”
“I can’t believe that Doc… I can’t accept that… Just tell me what I need to do to make us right again and I’ll do it… I don’t want to lose you Doc,” John begged, tears forming in his eyes.
“It’s too late… This is over… We are over…Accept it John…Nothing you can do or say is going to make me change my mind… I can’t get out of this marriage fast enough and I wish that you’d stop having delusions about us reuniting… It’s not going to happen. Accept it… I do not want you… Deal with it and get the hell out of my life.” Her voice was cold and devoid of emotion.
John was stunned that Marlena actually thought that. He had a sense that Marlena was not well, but he didn’t think that she would ever stoop so low as to say such an insensitive and hurtful thing to him. “You know, I’ve tried, I really have. For the past four months you’ve been nothing but a bitch to me. I’ve put up with it because I love you and you’re my wife…No more… In ten days the divorce will be final and once the divorce is final, you’re free to go. If you want to go back to Salem, fine. But until that happens, you’re legally my responsibility…”
“I can’t wait,” Marlena interrupted, as she looked up at him, her face expressionless.
“When did you become such a bitch?” John asked, fed up with her and her nonchalant attitude. She stared at him. He saw his reflection in her mirrored sun glasses. “I love you Marlena, I always will... But I can’t live like this anymore. You won’t talk to the therapist that I flew in, you won’t talk to me…You’re hell bent on destroying our relationship and yourself for whatever reason…I can’t sit by and watch the woman that I love do that…I just can’t.” John walked away, not noticing the tears that slipped down underneath the lenses of her sunglasses. “You are the only one that has the power to hurt me and I can’t let you do that…I’m so sorry for doing this to you John,” she whispered. “I love you more than you’ll ever know...I’ll always love you… But I can’t be with you now, not until I settle some things…I hope in time you learn to forgive me for what I have done and am about to do.”
~~~~~
“Where’s Marlena?” Roman asked as he sat down at the oversized dining room table for dinner.
“Avoiding me once again…I assume,” John replied as he gestured for the servant to start serving the meal. “Soon this will be all over and we can go home…Thank god.”
“What about North? Won’t he still be a threat?” Roman asked as he picked up his fork.
“I’m sure he will be but there’s not a damn thing that I can do,” John said as he cut into his steak. “In ten days Doc will be my ex-wife…I’ll be there for her if she needs me, but that’s it…the ball is in her court now… If she wants to stop acting like this and treat me like a human being, she knows where to find me…I’m sick and tired of trying to reach her…no more.”
“I can’t believe you’re giving up…That’s not the John Black that I know. You both love each other, its plain to see. Why are you both pursuing this divorce, when I don’t think its what either of you wants.”
“Good question, my friend… Sometimes love isn’t enough…This is what Doc wants and supposedly needs. It’s futile to fight her on this. She’s made it clear that she can’t wait to get me out of her life and move on…I’m tired of fighting with her.”
“Have you told Belle yet?” Roman asked.
“No, and I’m not going to. Marlena is the one that wants the divorce, she can tell our daughter and friends. Belle’s going to be devastated and the hell if I’m going to be the one that breaks her heart.”
“Marlena is not herself John.”
“I know Roman, but I’m at a loss here as to how to make things rights…Everything I do or say seems to make it much worse.”
“You have to talk to her again John…If you don’t and you go through with this divorce, you’re going to regret it…Look at me as an example, I walked out on the best thing that ever happened to me…All because of my stupid pride… I was a given a second chance at happiness with Doc and I threw it away John… I fucking threw it away and for what? Man, if that divorce goes through its over and any chance you might have had with her is gone… I know how her mind works… She’ll compartmentalize you as an ex of hers and move on… Ask me, ask Don… Once she’s gone, she’s gone.”
“You’re right Roman…I’m going to talk to her.”
