Eclipse

That they agreed.

The country pub was a pretty typical old two storied timber affair with verandas, ripe for development into a character bed and breakfast. At this time few stayed in the accommodation and it mostly catered for the drinking habits of the locals.

It just so happened that when Christina and Jason arrived at the appointed time, Mark was inside having a beer. By coincidence he was with a couple of scrub cutters who worked on the family farm from time to time.

Now these two were patched members of the Mongrel Mob. They were staunch gangsters with a tough criminal history. Mark and his family were certainly not mates but they gave them respect by employing them, scrub cutting. It did not pay in the country to make enemies and the respect got the family some measure of protection from unfortunate events.

Respect included the occasional beer.

Mark was leaning on the bar with them. He told them why he was there, that is he was waiting to have it out with his Missus because she had been cheating on him. One of them commented; "Hey Bro, like my old man use to say 'Never lend out your chainsaw, your mower or your missus to anyone, 'cos you know they'll be fucked when you get 'em back.' " This was followed by some nasal snickers. You don't get tea and sympathy with the Mongrel Mob.

Christina arrived through the double doors of the bar. Unfortunately Christina who was a bit frightened of coming into the pub alone had brought Jason in with her.

Mark saw them first and motioned to the mobsters; "Ah, there's Christina."

"Is that the fucker with her Bro?"

"I do believe it is."

"Do you know who he is, Bro?"

"Jason someone."

"He's been doing time for taking out one of the Dogs down south. He must be on parole."

The two mobsters then lurched toward Jason.

At this point neither Jason nor Christina had seen them. Jason was the first to spot them and made a headlong dash out the swing door they had arrived in, leaving Christina alone. Christina looked up to see Mark desperately holding back the two mobsters who were trying to get to Jason, both barking like dogs in the peculiar way the mob did to intimidate their foe.

These guys were big. They were fully patched and had full face tattoos, filthy jeans and big work boots. They terrified Christina who screamed and followed Jason.

Mark held the Mobsters back and convinced them to stay put and rushed outside catching Christina and Jason as they were trying to start Jason's filthy old black battered Subaru.

Mark motioned to Christina to wind down the window. Jason had a terrified look on his face and was shaking.

Mark was hyped up on adrenalin, "Listen Christina, boyfriend here has a price on his head. I will be blunt. He will have a short life. I suggest I meet you back home and not with lover boy here. I will call you." Mark was cut off as Jason accelerated away in a cloud of dust.

Mark returned to the bar. The two mobsters raised their glasses to him.

"This time that fuckin' cunt was lucky, Bro. Next time the Dogs will be feeding that cunt to the pigs and y'missus will only get his finger nails to bury."

With that they gave each other their mob salute and began barking.

That prompted the manager to stick his head in from the lounge bar.

"Hey, fuckin' cut that out fellahs, you're scaring the customers."

It was some two weeks later that Mark was back in town. He was staying with Gaynor and Johnny. They were going out so Mark arranged that Christina would come around by herself.

She arrived about seven pm. answering the door, Marks first impression was that Christina's dress sense had become a little casual, her hair not so pristine.

Mark offered her a drink and she chose beer; again, a change for a wine drinker. Mark made a point and chose wine for himself.

Mark got straight to the point

"Why Jason?"

"Jason, helped me with my problems with my mother..."

Mark could not help himself. "Your mother hated him. I understand he fundamentally killed her."

Christina screamed at Mark. "Don't say that. If that's the way you are going to talk there's no use discussing it."

She got up to leave. Mark grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "I am sorry, you must understand why this makes me angry, I love you." Marks voice was quavering.

"Why, if you love me, wouldn't you want the best for me?"

Mark was agog with the stupidity of the answer.

"There are a number of reasons why Jason will not be the best for you. I am sorry. Let's just sit down and discuss it reasonably."

They sat down on the sofa together facing one another.

"I take it you love Jason?"

"I have always loved Jason. He is the man made for me."

"How did I fit in?"

"I thought I loved you, but obviously I was wrong."

With that Mark hurt. He hurt badly in fact it was difficult for him to carry on. Christina continued.

"Jason needs me. When we first went out I failed him. Now he is in so much trouble. I could have helped him then and he could have made something of himself."

"Are you telling me you are there to turn him around?"

"I can, I know I can."

"How?"

"I love him and he loves me. He will do anything for me."

Mark was thinking blind love; absolutely blind fucking love. He knew then, there was no going back. Fate had to take its course. Mark also knew the traumas that Christina had gone through. She needed help but the only way was by getting Jason out the way. He knew the mobsters would get to him one way or another but Mark was not a murderer and he could not bring himself to be complicit in Jason's demise. Marks fear was that Christina would be collateral damage.

The Christina carried on. "You do not need me like Jason does. You are so intelligent and self-assured."

Mark cut her off "of course I fucking need you. I am only this way because I thought you had my back. I need a reason to live. You were that reason. We were going to have babies, a home."

Mark began to breakdown and sob, his head in his hands. Christina was taken aback. She had never seen Mark like this but where Jason might invoke the mothering instinct in her, what she saw in Mark was weakness. Inwardly she was disgusted; he was not behaving to her expectations.

Finally Mark settled. "Listen you had better go, there is no future in this, but I have to tell you, as you leave. I am not going to divorce you. You need professional help. I will remain here for you. When you realize you need help I'll be here for you. There will be no shame or recriminations. I say goodbye but I expect to see you again in some better future."

Christina left with that ringing in her ears as she walked down the short concrete path to the picket gate. She was eventually to think about those words but on this night she was bullet proof.

Time went on with no communication between Christina and Mark.

Occasionally she might see Gaynor, Eloise and even Carol who passed on news to Mark. Mark shared his time between town and country. He still had his old Landcruiser which made him a little conspicuous in town. He socialized regularly with their old friends but Christina did not. In fact nobody ever knew what Christina was actually doing.

Jason was living with her for a while in Her Mother's house until one day He decided he was going to move back into his old flat with a couple of mates. Jason never told Christina much about his dealings and she thought he may be cheating on her. She kept going around his flat and they took to arguing.

Jason beat her couple of times but not too seriously. He told her to go away but she began a pattern of stalking him. She would hang around at night, in the dark, watching the house. It came to a head one night when Jason's flat mates caught her.

Jason had reasons to end the relationship and decided to do something once and for all. The flat mates brought her in. Again, he tried to tell her that he did not love her but she would not listen. It was a warm night and Jason decided that they could take a walk and talk it through. To Christina this was progress as Jason had not done this before.

They walked down to the hospital. The hospital was under redevelopment. They went to where the laundry was but it was now partially demolished.

They reminisced about their time there. It was very dark but the old boiler house was still there and working. An eerie orange light emanated from the curtain glass walls. The eeriness was compounded by the shadows of the boilers and pipework through the glass and a low monotonous repetitive moan of the ash conveyor. Christina became a little frightened stumbling over rubble in the long grass.

Behind the boiler, next to where the laundry was, there was a small plant room which held some valves. It was here that Jason had taken Christina's virginity so many years ago.

"Why don't we go in there and have a fuck for old times," said Jason.

He reached in and found the light switch and a grubby bulkhead lamp flickered into light. "Well something still works" says he, "Stay here a moment."

Jason went back outside and called on his cell phone. Christina couldn't hear what was being said but Jason was soon back. "Pull you jeans down, lets fuck."

Christina dutifully lowers her jeans and leans face against the wall jutting her naked arse out for Jason to fuck. Jason's prick is straining at the leash as he undoes his own belt and it springs out like a jackknife as he unzips and pulls down on his boxers. It is the usual Jason fuck; He is not interested in much except pumping. He leans against the wall rather than fingering her tits. It was business as usual until his two flat mates arrived, Harry and Jacob. "Hey," says Jacob, "I hear we have been invited to a gangy."

"Sure have," says Jason.

"First dibs on the arse," says Jacob.

Harry pipes up, "hey I want a tit fuck; I've never had one of those."

At this stage Christina was still being pounded doggy fashion and could only slightly twist in horror.

Jason pulled out and got harry to take off his coat. "Need something to fuck on," says Jason.

"Shit Jason, it's going to get covered in Jizz and shit."

"You can get it dry cleaned."

"Yeah, right."

He pushed Harry down on his back.

"Get your cunt on him bitch." Jacob roughly man handles Christina into position.

Despite the roughness Christina does not resist. In a court of law it would not be rape as she was consenting. Why? She would do anything for Jason if she thought she might find some way of helping him.

Straddling, she lowered her cunt on Harrys standing pole. Jason pushed her down so that her face was beside Harrys and her arsehole was exposed. Harry meanwhile was ineffectively trying to pump her vagina. Jason ordered Jacob to get into her arse.

"Grab some juice out of her cunt there is always plenty there. Stuff it in her hole. She's had plenty in there before now, it won't be hard."

Jason then maneuvered around for a blow job. The gang bang continued for about an hour. Each fulfilling any fantasy they thought of. At the end of it and for no particular reason Jason beat her round the head with his fist. Then came Jason's big announcement. "You and me ends here bitch, don't you ever come round our flat again or you will get worse than this. Go back to your fancy world. You just do not belong." He emphasized the 'do not'.

In Jason's twisted world, he was being kind. He knew Christina was obsessed with him and it would be fucking hard to get rid of her. Some would call it tough love. Others would call it what it was abuse and cruelty.

They left her naked and crying on the floor. To add to her misery they took her clothes. Fortunately her mother's house was not too far away and she crept back in her despair, found her key where she had stashed it in the garden and let herself in.

There she remained alone for three days. In this time she began to reason again that Jason did love her and he just did not want to really hurt her. She knew his life was in danger, she reasoned he was scaring her away to spare her from the mobsters.

The other thing she knew was that she was pregnant. He thought that if she got to Jason and he knew she was having his baby he would come around. She thought she may be able to convince him to escape to Australia somehow.

She took to stalking him again but keeping well out of sight. On two nights in a row she actually slept in the cold in an old filthy derelict wooden shed behind the flat.

About this time she ran into Eloise in town. Eloise noted that Christina was disheveled and seemed quite agitated. Eloise realized she needed help urgently. She calmed Christina a little and sat her down at a sunny table at a nearby café and bought her a cup of coffee. Christina eventually calmed but wanted to talk about Jason. Eloise realized the extent of Christina's obsession and she brought up the need for some kind of help for her. Seeing a doctor for starters, Eloise suggested.

Christina thought that Eloise was judging her and was not going to be cooperative in that way so Eloise took another track. She decided to take the initiative and suggested that she and Gaynor should come around and spend time with her. Eloise realized she had to get Christina's confidence then she could get her some help.

She determined that although Christina had not been working she did have some money and was eating.

Knowing that Mark had not divorced her and knowing that he still wished to stand by her; Eloise also saw a long term chance. Eloise had deduced that the issue was not one of love; it was obsession and mental health.

Eloise and Gaynor lived up to the promise and began to call on Christina regularly however unbeknown to them Christina was still stalking Jason's flat. There came a time that Christina would see the flat mates regularly but Jason had disappeared.

Eloise knew nothing of this but did notice that Christina had been talking less of Jason but had now suddenly started discussing him again. Eloise was sure something was up.

It was Carol who found out what was happening. Jason had somehow broken the terms of his parole and was back in prison.

She called Mark. Mark did not know the detail of what Eloise was up to but did know she had been seeing Christina. He rang her to ask if Christina knew that Jason was back inside and so Eloise passed it on to Christina. When Christina heard this she went quiet and refused to talk about Jason.

This was a setback for Eloise because she just about had Christina going to a doctor.

Christina secretly decided to visit Jason in prison. She caught the bus to the prison and lined up with others at the entrance gate on visiting day. She felt very awkward. She had never been in a prison before and began to chat with three other rather rough women she was waiting in line with. They asked her who she was going to visit.

"Jason Hunter," Christina said with a little pride, "We are going to get married."

"Like fuck you are!" was the direct reply, "Do you know who I am?"

"No." Christina quivered

"I'm his missus," She was now staring at Christina's stomach. You had better fuck off right now or I'm gonna shred you, cunt."

This was said with so much venom that Christina fled without a word. It took some time for Christina to get home, the bus was not due to leave and she finally had to get an Uber.

On the way she rang Eloise. Eloise and Gaynor met her when she arrived back at the house. Christina was sobbing hysterically. "Jason lied to me, he's married." This seemed to Eloise to be a watershed moment. They now could get the help she needed.

They settled Christina down with some hot sweet tea. Gaynor suggested that she make some dinner they could share. Gaynor rang Johnny and told him what had happened and they would stay over with Christina.

Johnny rang Mark. Mark was concerned; but not as a lover, but more from his natural empathy. He did not want to rush around as he thought he would only worsen her condition.

It was when Eloise and Gaynor were in the back garden. They were ostensibly picking herbs for dinner but were using the opportunity for some strategizing.

There was some pounding on the front door. Christina had gone to answer it when she was confronted by Jason's missus and her two friends. Jason's missus was brandishing a picket she had torn off the fence. She had obviously got the address off Jason and had arrived to do some damage. Her first action was to drive the picket savagely between Christina's legs.

"Here's for the bitch that gets herself pregnant to my man." She then aims a swing against Christina's baby bulge. Christina tries to protect her baby, the picket deflects off her arm and whacks across her breasts. All this time Christina was buckling up and she was whacked across the side of her head.

Hearing the commotion Eloise and Gaynor came running in. Gaynor called emergency, Jason's missus, not wanting an all-out brawl and very aware of the emergency call, fled to their car.

It was all that Eloise was able to get the license plate as they drive off. Christina was then taken to hospital in an ambulance where she was treated in the emergency department then admitted to the mental health unit where after all this time she finally received the psychiatric help she needed.

Jason's missus and with her friends were arrested. This was no particular relief to Christina. Her friends gathered around but she was not comfortable with them. Mark came to see her. He wanted her to know that he was prepared to help with her baby. Mark assumed the baby was Jason's but since he and Christina had been together at about the right time there was a possibility of the baby being his.

On Christina's part she had wanted and convinced herself the baby be Jason's. She was now ashamed of it and she refused to talk about it. Mark and Christina were still married and Mark being Mark had a deep sense of loyalty and responsibility.

Despite all, he wanted to be part of her life. He even tried to express his love and that they could try some way of getting back together. Christina refuses to talk to him. She just shook her head furiously. Mark felt doubly rejected over his attempt and became quite gun shy about approaching Christina again.

Mark was also coming to terms with Christina's condition. Previously he had thought this was an issue of love. In his self-pity and self-absorption he had seen her as a cheater, somebody who had willfully rejected his affection for another lover. Now he realized that it was mental health. Was she psychotic or was it some obsessive disorder? He felt guilty knowing how difficult it was for her in Fiji and that he had failed her. He had not recognized the signs whatever they might have been.

He also was suffering a dilemma. To him she had been perfection now she was flawed. He did not understand and was afraid of mental health. Would her condition be heredity? Suddenly she was not to be his perfect mate.

There was still love for her, there was still duty to do the right thing but for the first time he was conflicted. He did not know how to help her and he was desperately ashamed. With better advice he should have sought his own counselling but as the self-reliant practical man he thought he was above all that. He would have to harden up. If she needed him she would come to him. His assumption was that she knew or could know her own mind without his lead.

Once she was discharged she only really tolerated Eloise and Gaynor but otherwise became something of a recluse. She began in time asking about Mark. She even started stalking him a little. Eloise encouraged her and figured that this way she might actually link up socially.

With this in mind Eloise mentioned a few of them were meeting up for a lunch. She suggested that Christina could join them knowing that she wouldn't but might come and observe unobtrusively. The plan was to keep an eye out for Christina and get her to join them... perhaps.