Page 146 of Mark & Don't Tell

“My ex showed up. He’s their son.”

Marco glances at me, and his character makes a gurgling sound as a zombie takes him out. “Well, that’s complicated.”

“Yeah.” I take out the zombie who attacked him, only to be bitten by another. “Dammit! This game sucks,” I growl before hitting the respawn button.

“So, what happened?”

As Marco and I do our best to fight off the ever-growing horde, I give him a quick rundown of the drama, making sure I emphasize that I didn’t set out to hurt Ryan.

“Well, Ryan sounds like a douche, and this pack is great.”

“You don’t think I’m a horrible person?” I’ve tried hard to be a good role model for Marco.

He pulls a face. “Why would I? You can’t control who your scent matches are.”

“True.” When my character dies again, I growl. “Why do you even play this game?”

“Because it’s fun,” he says.

“How’s school? Any word from Mom?”

Marco shakes his head, trying and failing to keep his expression neutral.

I recognize the hurt on his face. “I wish I could tell you it gets better.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Marco,” I say, voice soft. “She’s your mom. It’s okay to be confused and hurt.”

His fingers mash into the controller buttons harder than before. “I don’t get how she can not care. Like, I’m her son, you know?”

“Unfortunately, I do.” Our eyes connect, and while I hate that we share this pain, it’s nice to know that he’s not alone.

“I used to dream that, one day, I’d come home from school, and she’d be there, excited to greet me, and we’d make cookies and play board games—you know, normal people stuff.”

I nod. I’ve been there. “We have board games here,” I offer. “And I’m pretty sure Kai knows how to make a mean cookie.”

Marco gives me a watery smile. “You want to do normal people stuff with me?”

“Of course, I do. You’re my brother. I hate that Mallory hurt you as much as she hurt me, but we can make our own family.”

“You already have one,” he points out, referring to Letti and my dads. Marco never knew his dad. Outside of Mom, I’m all he has.

“Well, you’re part of it, and it’s about time you start acting like it.” I sniff, blinking back tears as my character shouts in pain and dies again. “I’m really bad at this.”

“Yeah, you really are,” Marco says with a laugh, batting a stray tear off his cheek. “But we’ll figure out how to survive together.”

“As a family.”

He nods at the TV. “Families who fight zombies together, stay together.”

After dinner, we all retreat to the living room to find something to watch. A newscast comes on, and before Kai can change the channel, I grab his forearm. “Wait.”

He glances at me, but my eyes are set on the TV and the dirty scumbag who fucked with my bestie last year. Mr. Mosley is standing before the judge as his sentencing is read.

“Three years in prison?” I growl. “That’s bullshit!”

“Oh, I heard about this case.” Lincoln leans forward and reads the scrolling text. “Fraudster gets off easy.”

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