Sick Child - MarkoxOC

Part 23: something blue

"Matthew."

She sounds like her mother. He sighs and walks over to the barstool, climbing onto it. He takes a big swig of whiskey and lets out a shaky breath. Sofie's stomach twists nervously as a thousand possibilities run through her head at the same time.

"Kevin's dead," he says simply. "His body was torched along with three other guys. His mom called me tonight to tell me."

Sofie almost snickers, but remembers she's not in the company of her brothers. She does her best to feign a horrified expression, but the most she can do is mildly shocked. He doesn't deserve her pity, even if it's fake.

"I know you two didn't really talk after you broke up," Matt mumbles.

"Uh, no," she says, sliding onto the barstool beside him. "I can tell you why."

Matt looks confused. She takes a deep breath. She always knew she'd have to do this someday. For once, she's thankful she doesn't have a heartbeat hammering in her ears. One less distraction as she focuses on trying not to throw up while telling her best friend her other deepest, darkest secret.

"He hit me, Matty. A lot. That's why I left."

Matt looks like his heart is going to rip in half at her confession. His eyes well up with tears.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just wanted to move on," she says softly. "I knew you were friends, I didn't want to deal with the fallout. He was so... angry. I was afraid of some kind of retribution."

Matt puts his arm around her and kisses her cheek.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "You didn't deserve that."

"I know. I know that now."

They sit in silence for a long time. Matt lights a cigarette and offers her one. Sofie accepts and inhales deeply.

"Thank you," she says.

"What for?"

"Just for being you."

+++

"So, why can't Laddie be here?" Sofie asks.

"The less people know about Max, the more pleasant Max is to deal with," David says simply.

Sofie has an inkling that the real answer is the fact that David hasn't told Max about Laddie and wants to avoid confrontation.

"Is he going to be okay by himself?" She asks.

"He's fed. He should be fine."

They open Max's front gate and a big white dog trots out. He's beautiful. Tail wagging, ears perked up. Sofie gasps and crouches down, reaching her hands out.

"Who is this?!" She practically squeals.

Marko chuckles.

"That's Thorn."

"Hi Thorn!"

She scratches him behind the ears. He licks her face. David groans. Sofie turns to him and frowns.

"What's your problem?"

"Thorn doesn't like him," Marko teases.

"He's an asshole."

Thorn growls at David, who glares and snarls back.

"David's not a dog person," Paul quips, slinging his arm over David's shoulder.

"Or a people person," Dwayne offers.

"Or a person," Marko says, grinning.

David rips Paul's arm away from his shoulder and barrels past Thorn and the others. He hops the gate with ease and walks down the long path to Max's house.