Chapter 9: The Meeting

Months went by without any problems. We weren't talking to his parents much, but on the other hand, we never really had. For some reason Lorenzo preferred to keep a distance to them. I had my own theory about that - that he just wasn't able to say no or stand up to them. But I didn't really want to meddle. Anyway, Lorenzo and I were as much in love than ever and we really enjoyed living together!



We had now been together for 1½ years and it was May. My final exams were consuming most of my time. I studied hard to get good grades. I had decided to get an office education, and had made a few applications to some local offices as well as some more upscale companies.

But I still had my work in the fast food restaurant, and I liked it there. It was hard yet fulfilling, and I was a little sad that I’d have to leave it when I found a job in an office.



I had also made a very good friend there, Claus Dam. I was aware that he had a bit of a crush on me, as he had been very open about it. He had promised me that he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize our friendship though, and he didn’t want to break up Lorenzo and me either. So we remained friends and always had a great deal of fun together at work.



One day we had a new junior manager. We all knew that in advance, the whole staff had been talking about it and how he would be like. We only knew him as Mr. Pedersen and that he was 24 years old, nothing more. We didn’t even see him arrive that morning, since he had arrived earlier than any of us. He called every employee into his office one by one for a little talk, and everyone talked about how nice and charming he was. Well, it couldn’t be better, could it?



Then it was my turn to go talk to him, and was I in for a surprise?





It was… none other… than… Martin!






As I saw him I immediately gasped for air, and my heart began pounding hard with fear. He stood up, also looking kind of baffled. Then he composed himself, cleared his throat, and said “Hi, Michelle. How are you?” “How… how… do you remember what you did to me? You nearly ruined my life, you bast*rd!” I yelled at him.



Apparently I had held a grudge against him for quite some time now. “Come, now, relax a bit, honey. It wasn’t that big a deal. I was drunk, that’s all. I’m sure you enjoyed it anyways, right, honey?” he winked at me and showed me that filthy smile of his. “Well, that’s no excuse! And you weren’t drunk the next morning, where you told me to shut up about it! By the way, do NOT call me honey!!”



He sighed and looked at me like I was some young schoolgirl he didn’t want to deal with. He even stifled a yawn. “Well, you better shut up about it if you know what’s good for you, girl”, he told me. “Are you threatening me?” I asked in disbelief. “Nah, I’d never do that… but just so you know, I still have that knife, you know. And if you tell anyone you’ll most certainly lose your job, and I can easily convince everyone that you’ve been stealing from the register. That wouldn’t look good on your permanent record, right? And come on, what are you really gonna do, huh? You can’t do sh*t, girl.”



I just stood there. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I opened my mouth and shut it again. Then I backed slowly out of his office, bumbling into the door, smacked it behind me, and walked calmly out among the others. “So, isn’t he great, huh?” Mette asked me. “It sure beats that old grumpy guy we had before!” “Yeah, he… eh… oh, I gotta go to the bathroom. Can you cover for me, Mette?”



When I got to the bathroom I sat down on the floor and began sobbing. This wasn’t fair!



I excused myself with a migraine and went home for the day. It was Monday and only noon, so Lorenzo wasn’t home yet. I took a sixpack with me and curled up on the couch, where I fell asleep after drinking all 6 beers.



When Lorenzo came home at 5 pm I was pretty drunk, and my eyes were swollen from crying. Of course he was very worried, but I didn’t want to tell him what happened.



He would just make me quit my job or even go there and pick a fight with Martin, perhaps getting hurt in the process. Besides, it couldn’t be so hard avoiding Martin at work. After all, he would be in his office all the time. I told Lorenzo that a costumer had been especially rude to me and tried to get me fired, and this was why I was so sad. He believed it and took me in his arms and comforted me. He calmed me down, but I had a nagging fear in the back of my mind…

QUIT! ASAP! This is NOT worth the mental anguish or the hassle of always trying to avoid him. It just isn't. There simply must be other stores in that area that can hire her, even part time. Or perhaps Michelle and Lorenzo can just scrimp and save for a while until she completes her studies. She doesn't have to lie to him why she quit ... simply tell him there are conflicts between her and the manager, and she thought it best to quietly resign. Scrubbing floors is better than this.

Yes quit! Good update

Yikes! I didn't see that coming at all, great update! The first two pictures of Martin look great, they really bring out the element of surprise!

Tell Lorenzo!!! Dont keep secrets. It will tear you apart!!!! Gah I know she can hear me but I cant help it

Oh, she can't hear you, but I'll tell her you said it.

But it won't help, cause the next chapter is already written. :D

nice updates!

Whoa that was unexpected but somehow i knew that martin wud be bak to destroy her life. :rant: Stupid martin he derserves this :smash: :taekwondo :vikingb: :dumbfunny :matrix: :fencing::muffy: :frying: :sniper: :num: :ninja: and now he is busted :busted:
its a good thing that i am a kung fu master so i can carry out all this killing. i hope a mob will come to get the ogre:mob
so i think i have officially jumped down his throat :flame:
but on a good note... u r a good, sorry brilliant story writer.

Wow, this is great!

Thank you!!

So, Sweet_alice... I'm kinda getting the feeling you're not too fond of Martin?

Hey, Vinnie, I've just discovered your story, but I've read it all. You did a very good job on it! But I'm really concerned about Lorenzo's parents and Martin. I'm afraid that, if he ever finds out, he will think that Michelle hadn't been raped that she actually wanted to woohoo the scumbag... Please update soon! :D

NOTE: This chapter contains violence

Chapter 10: Showdown, Part I

The next few days I dreaded going to work, but did it anyway. Martin had distracted my mind from my studying, but I managed alright anyway. Fortunately I was able to steer clear of Martin at work, and hadn’t even seen him more than once or twice when we made it to the end of the week.



Friday evening though, he called me into his office. It was late, only five minutes till closing time, and we were only a few employees left. I swallowed something but knew that I couldn’t say no. He was my boss, and that was it. I went in there and sat down. He remained standing up, probably so that he could feel superior.



“Well, Michelle… I think we need to talk about your work performance. Things aren’t going so well, are they?” he asked me in a cold, relaxed manner. “What? I’m doing alright" I stood up and defended myself. And, not to be disrespectful, but what do you know about it? You’re always in here” I complained.



“Oh, I have my sources, girl” he sneered at me, his voice changing to the one I remembered with pain from that awful morning. I sat down again, mildly worried of his sudden tone. He started walking around the room.



“You know, this office is virtually soundproof, honey” he began, moving closer towards the door. Then he locked it. My alarm system was all of a sudden set to red alert. I had to get out of there! I got up from my chair, turned around towards the door, but my road was blocked.



Martin stood just an inch away from me. I stepped a large step backwards. “You, you don’t want to do this… I’ll report it this time… I will!” I hoped my voice sounded believable and not shaking with fear as I was on the inside.



“Oh, but I don’t think you will, honey.” He stepped closer, grabbing my wrists in a hard grip. With one hand he got something out of his pocket. A knife! “I told you I still had it, girl”, he smiled. I screamed, but apparently he was right – his office WAS soundproof. And all the other employees had gone home for the night now…

I started panicking, but this just seemed to encourage him. “Fight all you want, girl. You won’t escape”. He tried pulling down my pants, and I made an attempt at kicking him, unsuccessfully.



He bent me over the table, where he opened his pants. Fear rushed to my head and I bit him hard in the arm. “OW! You stupid cow, what the he11 are you doing?” He slapped me hard across my face so that I fell to the floor.



I got up as fast as I could, ran towards the door, barely avoiding his strong arms. He ran after me holding his knife in a hard grip, waving it in my direction.



My hands were shivering, which made it difficult to unlock the door, but I managed to do it before he reached me. “Stay here! I’m not done with you! Oooh, you are SO fired, girl! EVERYONE is gonna hear about what a slut you are!” he yelled at me.



I ran out of there and all the way home, crying.



...

Vinhou, I just stumpled over your story.. And it's AMAZING... I really like it..
It's nice to read a story with danish names for a change..

Well.. Martin is a real scumbag, he really deserves to get his a** kicked..

NOTE: This chapter (also) contains violence

Chapter 10: Showdown, Part II

When I got home I told Lorenzo everything. He jumped up from the couch and walked with determined steps towards the door. “No! He has a knife!” I shouted after him. He just waved his hand at me and continued walking down the stairs.



I ran after him down the stairs, hoping to be able to stop him, but he was already pulling out of the driveway.



When I got there he was already confronting Martin. I stood outside, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Lorenzo was mad, that’s for sure. I didn’t know he could be this mad.



He shoved Martin into the wall so he dropped his knife.



Then he hit him with a closed fist right on the cheek, which made Martin fall to the floor. Martin touched his face. It looked like it hurt a lot.



Lorenzo kicked him fiercely several times in the stomach – I was afraid he was really going to kill Martin (even though it wouldn't be the biggest loss…)! His emotions seemed out of control.



Then Lorenzo backed a few steps and let Martin be for a few seconds. Martin got up very slowly and looked at Lorenzo with hate in his eyes.





Lorenzo hit him again, this time in the stomach. Martin gasped for air and fell to the floor again, where he rolled over to his back and remained still.





Lorenzo spat on him, went back outside and followed me home.



“You should have told me, Michelle” he said to me with a cold voice. “I know… I… I’m sorry. I thought I could handle it.” “That’s okay. As long as you are alright”. He turned around to face me, and then he caressed my face. “Remember, I will always be there for you. I will always protect you. I love you”.



He gave me a long hug. I was incredibly happy that he stood up for me, but I was also a little concerned. I had no idea that Lorenzo had that kind of temper buried underneath the surface. I just hoped I’d never have to see it again…

Yeah Lorenzo !!!
But i understand why Michelle is a little bit worried... He has some temper !

He sure does.

Yay, Lorenzo kicked Martin's butt.. He really deserved it... That scumbag...

Hehe, yes, he is a real scumbag-dirtbag-son-of-a-bitc*. :P

"Så ka' han bare lære det!" :D

Yay, Lorenzo! You rock!

Awesnme chapter! Martin deserved every bit of it :sniper:

wow....yeah.....wonderful updates....i'm glad she got away from martin....he's a scumbag.....yeah to lorezo for kicking martin's behind....

Phew I was worried history would repeat itself. Thank goodness for Lorenzo

Even though Lorenzo is the good guy, he's kinda scary when he's mad. He just showed Michelle what he's capable of... oh, the drama! :D

YAY for Lorenzo all say aye for Lorenzo, all boo martin :yas:

Alright, I'll admit that this isn't the most exciting chapter... but it is necessary nonetheless, so bear with it.


Chapter 11: Disappointment

I didn’t go back to work after that. But surprisingly we didn’t get any reaction from Martin. A part of me had expected that he would have reported Lorenzo to the police, but that didn’t happen. He was probably scared for his job – bad publicity and all. Whatever the reason was, I was glad. I think Lorenzo was too… but he didn’t talk about it. Actually, he didn’t mention the episode with a single word. I didn’t understand why, but on the other hand, Lorenzo had never been much of a talker.



I was unemployed for a few months, but luckily I had saved up some money, and with Lorenzo’s salary we had no problems paying the bills. I was on welfare, and even though I didn’t get that much money, it was alright. However, I didn’t feel good about not doing anything. I spent all of my days cleaning, doing the laundry, doing the dishes, and cleaning some more.



Eventually I got a positive reaction to one of my applications. I got a job as a trainee at a local office, where they sold computers and stuff like that. I was really happy and looked very much forward to starting on my new job in September. Lorenzo, too, was very happy for me.



In the mean time, Lorenzo’s 21st birthday was approaching, and I was all hooked on having a big party to celebrate him! Lorenzo didn’t feel the same way though. He wasn’t very outgoing, so he didn’t have many friends. He told me that if I wanted to have a party, I should just do it – but not to celebrate him. He just wasn’t into that sort of things.



So I did have a party. Just a small one with my closest friends, Anne and Vivian. Of course Lorenzo, too. And I also invited my brother, just so that Lorenzo wasn’t the only guy there. I wanted to invite Claus too, but unfortunately he had to work. We had a lot of fun that evening, with moderate amounts of alcohol.



Not for Lorenzo of course – he hardly ever drank anything other than water or soda. Well, occasionally a single beer if it was a hot summer day, but I’d never ever seen him drink any kind of strong liquor, let alone being drunk. That just wasn’t his style, he always claimed.

Later on we put on a DVD and just chilled in front of the TV. I was getting a little cold, so I went into the bedroom to get my sweater – where I found Anne and my brother making out right there on the bed.



Didn’t see that coming! And I also thought Anne was still with René. I tiptoed back out the door so that they wouldn’t notice me, a little confused, but happy. They’d fit well together as a couple.



The next day I had a chat with her about it, and she admitted that it probably hadn’t been one of her best decisions. She was in fact still with René, and it didn’t sound like that was about to change. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She cheated on René – with MY brother – and at the same time toying with Jan’s emotions. Jan was probably psyched about the possibility of being with Anne, and then she just led him on like that…? I never knew she was the kind of person who’d do something like that. I was very disappointed in her.



The next few weeks Jan called me every day, sometimes several times a day, to ask me if I’d heard from Anne. He was confused about the whole thing. She had seemed so sincere and really into him, he told me, and then she just blew him off like that. He even admitted that they had in fact WooHooed on the night of the party. Of course it wasn’t his first time, but it had been a long time since he’d had a girlfriend, and he was definitely not (nor had he ever been) a ‘player’; so of course he thought he had found something real here.



A part of me hated talking to him on the phone, because I could so easily hear the hurt he was feeling. This whole ordeal made me so angry at Anne!



I called her after 3 weeks of listening to my brother going on and on about her and how wonderful she was. I had tried to cover for her, making up excuses as to why she hadn’t called him, but after a week or two I had given up. Now I needed to confront her about this.



René answered the phone. For a moment there I actually thought about spilling the beans to him, but then I thought to myself that this was something between René and Anne. Anne came to the phone, and I came clean about how I felt, and how Jan was suffering. She sounded a little surprised, but not overly compassionate about it.



“Look, Michelle, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt him at all. He’s sweet… but… well, me and René, our relationship has developed into an extreme state of boring, so I just needed some excitement, that’s all. I know you don’t understand; you and Lorenzo are still all lovey-dovey… but I just needed this. Honestly, I didn’t mean to hurt him, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. It’s too late.”



Now I was really mad. “I don’t care how bored you were; you just don’t go and do something like that! He’s so sad and confused about this. You have to call him and explain this to him. I’m not gonna be the bad guy here. Either you do this or our friendship is over!”

Then I slammed on the phone. I didn’t want to end my friendship with Anne, I don’t know why I had said that to her. I was just mad I guess. Now I just hoped that she would actually call Jan. Lorenzo stated that he believed I got worked up over nothing. “Let them figure it out by themselves, sweetie. It’ll all work out. Don’t worry.” Lorenzo was always so calm about everything. It confused me a little that he wasn’t mad at Anne on the behalf of René. After all, they used to be best friends. But maybe he was mad on the inside? I didn’t get it.



Three days later Jan called me. He said that he had talked to Anne who had told him that she thought, they lived too far away from each other to start a relationship. Well, it wasn’t exactly the truth… or perhaps it was; what did I know? Maybe she really felt that way. But the important thing was that Anne had called him like I’d encouraged her to. And she had (perhaps?) made up a story just to spare Jan’s feelings. I still didn’t feel right about what she had done to Jan, but we all make mistakes, right…?