Endless Fights-3

Surviving

Reminder there are some trigger warnings.

Gen's POV

"Ow!" I wince in pain as Mark wraps my hand.

"That was a badass of you to punch that douche but let's protect your hands better for next time." I give my husband a look.

"There will be no next time."

"Ha!" Mark laughs as he finishes wrapping my hand.

"I mean it. I will not be punching anyone."

"Unless they are a dick and you are angry." Mark argues.

"I don't go around punching people."

"But you throw knives, hit with an I.V. pole..."

"I get your point." Mark climbs into bed with me and kisses me tenderly on the lips.

"I love you when you're hot and bothered." Mark states as I lay my head on his chest.

"When I realized who he was, all I could see was Lottie with a broken eye socket, nose, bruises on her neck and...I could hear her crying in my arms as I held her, afraid that I could break her."

"You were there for your sister just like you've been there for Jo." Mark assures me.

"I should have been there for Jo more. I should have offered her more resources, but...I learned from Lottie that survivors don't always like to ask for help or even admit what they've been through. Jo refused Alex's initial engagement because she was afraid to tell him about still being married. Hell, she was terrified to get divorced because the asshole would know where she is and..." Mark holds me tighter as I get more worked up. "He found her, and now she's living in fear that he will harm her again."

"She will get a good lawyer. We will help her get a restraining order and..."

"Lottie lives in fear every day of her life. She's afraid that she will get that call that her abuser is set free and that he will kill her." I share with him. "I was too busy with my first year of medical school that I thought my mom constantly calling me about if I had spoken to Lottie was just her being annoying."

"It's not your fault."

"I should have seen the signs. I...Lottie, she called everyone at least once a week. She could talk for hours about nothing and even get me lost in conversation about the difference between a Cocker Spaniel and a King Charles Cavalier. I was too self-absorbed in myself that I never noticed that those calls decreased, and when I did talk to her, I didn't notice that she had no joy left in her voice."

"What happened to Lottie is not your fault."

"I know. It's just I blame myself for not seeing the signs earlier. He was able to alienate Lottie from all of us. He even got her to marry him in a Vegas drive-through chapel. She stopped coming around for Sunday dinner, and when she was around, she was distant. I saw a change in my sister, and I didn't say anything."

"You didn't know what was happening to her." Mark tries to make me feel better.

"I clashed so much with Colette because our personalities have never meshed. I avoided her to the point that I never took into consideration that her marriage was crumbling. I have a fake relationship with Lottie because she's terrified to be herself, and Maddie..." Tears flow down my cheek. "I can't even save Maddie."

"You are an amazing person." Mark makes me look at him now. "But you do not have to solve everyone's problems. You do not have to make life great for everyone."

"I should do more good than what I'm doing now."

"You do. Every day. With the pro-Bono work you do for your patients. How you're always there for your people and family. Just because things aren't perfect doesn't mean it's your fault or your problem to solve." I smile at my husband.