You Fell Into The Back Of My Mind - 3. Shadows

Chapter Three: Shadows

Tyler couldn’t stare at Mark any longer; those eyes were too blue and too cute. He would end up molesting him, he knew it. That wouldn’t happen, he was straight and they were roommates and friends, if things got icky – not that he’d ever let it get to a stage where it could get icky – it would ruin everything.

Mark was one of a small group of people he knew – not counting family – that he tolerated, maybe even liked. He was not about to fuck it up. Nope not happening.

After making sure Mark hadn’t slipped the twenty back into his pocket – he wouldn’t put it past him – he told Mark he’d be back for lunch and headed to the door. No he most definitely wasn’t fleeing. He was still a little weird when he opened the door but no amount of caffeine deprivation would make him imagine two kids standing in his doorway.

No box of cookies or chocolate in sight, so they weren’t trying to sell him something, “Um hello?”

The girl looked at him with an almost offended expression, “You’re not Mark Sanchez.”

Tyler blinked slowly, “No I’m his roommate can I help you?”

He felt himself start to sweat; he wasn’t good with kids he taught college students not brats and it didn’t help that he was also an only child.

“I’m Sara and this is Kyle we’re Mark’s children.”

…

Whoa, back track! She didn’t just say kids did she? As in Mark was a father? That couldn’t be true Mark was twenty – four for goodness sake, this girl looked twelve maybe thirteen that would have made Mark ten to eleven. He may not major in science but he was pretty sure that just wasn’t possible. Besides that Mark wasn’t a ladies man, he was shy as it was he could only imagine him as an eleven year old. He probably didn’t know what sex was at that age he probably didn’t know what girls were at that age.

Tyler caught sight of the little boy then and his stomach dropped to his toes. That little boy looked angelic and terrified and everything Tyler had imagined Mark would have looked like and those eyes.

Two small virgin oceans, untouched and pure.

Fuck.

“Mark, get your ass over here now!”

The disapproving look in the girl’s eyes nearly had him apologizing. Children, right, no cursing.

“Coming!”

Mark sounded nervous, good. Tyler was fucking sweating gallons over here he had better feel nervous!

Mark zoomed out of the kitchen – still in boxers no less – and froze like he had just hit an invisible wall.

“So Mark can you explain to me what your kids are doing here!?” Tyler ground out; better yet try explaining the whole kid part!

Mark went from outer space to Earth in two seconds flat, he stumbled over his next question, “Kids?”

Sara then took this opportune moment to introduce her-self again, “I’m Sara and this is Kyle, we’re your kids.”

Mark became the cutest fish Tyler had ever seen, those plumb lips plopping open and then closing only to open again… damn he had some nice lips the kind you could imagine wrapped around a…

“Wait,” Tyler nearly jumped acting like a kid with his hand in a cookie jar, not obvious at all, “Wait a second. That’s not possible.”

Mark gestured nearly desperately to Sara, “I’m pretty damn sure that you’re not my kid.”

Sara looked indignant, the only expression that a teenage girl could pull off perfectly, “Well duh, what are you an idiot?”

Tyler almost laughed at the look on Mark’s face, like he had been smacked with a fish but then Sara laid her eyes on him and he lost any humor he had felt… ever. She reminded him of his grandmother those eyes could freeze the sun and make every erection in a five meter radius fall flat.

Mark crossed his arms, “Well you should stop giving false impressions then, you said ‘we’re your kids’ not he’s your kid, if I were older or you were younger I would have believed you!”

Sara snorted, “Only an idiot takes things at face value, my mom taught me that.”

Tyler took this time to interrupt, Mark may be lazy but when he got into an argument… well Tyler would like to avoid that, “Where is your mom?”

Sara stared at him and for a second he saw a scared little girl and not a brat.

“She’s dead,” Her whisper efficiently silenced the room.

Mark’s arms fell to his side, “How did Scarlet die?”

Tyler felt a selfish wave of jealousy hit him, Mark knew who the ‘mystery woman’ was without having to ask and by the sound of pain in his voice he had cared for her. Tyler though had never heard of her. Tyler mentally slapped himself, the woman was dead a mother of two children was dead. His petty issues would have to wait.

Sara clutched Kyle hand and looked at her feet, “Murder, she was shot.”

Tyler watched Mark’s face lose color as he was sure his own face was doing the same, murder?

Mark seemed to be shaking; Tyler took hold of Mark’s arm and gently led him toward the living room after beckoning Sara and Kyle to follow.

Tyler helped Mark sit down on his favorite armchair after beckoning the children to follow; they sat on the sofa across from them, unnaturally quiet.

It was quiet.

Unnaturally, maddeningly, quiet. A sober air danced around them, tilting the world in hues of black.

Tyler felt a horrible sense of wrongness surround him. In his house, here with Mark it wasn’t ever like this. Mark was the sun who took away the everlasting night that had haunted him since it happened. Mark was always happy, always smiling. He had to bring the light back to the sun or he would go insane, surely.

But before he could utter a word Kyle spoke for the first time, “What does dead mean Sari? Where’s mommy? When will she come back? Sari?”

The girl sobbed and held him tight, the innocent eyes filled in confusion, “Sari? Why are you crying Sari?”

Mark stood and walked to the children like a zombie, kneeling beside them he took them into his arms, “I’m sorry, “He sobbed, “I’m sorry.”

Tyler watched them feeling vile and dirty an intruder that didn’t belong. He stood there watching lost in the shadows that were overwhelming them.