“It used to,” I admitted. “For a long time I thought if I just did well enough, at something, anything, he’d notice and come back for real. Tonight kind of cured me of that.”
Marcus rubbed a hand over his face, the way he did when something hit harder than he wanted to show.
“I’m sorry he did that to you,” Marcus said. “Tonight, and every other night before it.”
“I’m not,” I said. “Not anymore. He handed me a car to make a point about blood. I think I just made a better one.”
We sat in that garage for another twenty minutes, not saying much, the kind of silence that doesn’t need filling.
“Can I ask you something?” I said eventually. “About Jonah and Lily’s mom. You never really talk about it.”
Marcus was quiet for a moment, turning a wrench over in his hands without actually using it for anything.
