Chapter 23: Marcus and Polly

Propped up against his pillows, Marcus pondered the question Noah had just cast his way.

“Why do you think something is going on?” he asked innocently. He dreaded the thought of Noah finding out the truth and then just disappearing in a mist of shock and delusion.

Noah was not only his nurse, but also his best friend. In the four years Noah had cared for him, they’d grown quite close and although Marcus hated the idea of lying to him, he consoled himself with the thought that it was all for Noah’s safety.

“ Because it’s disconcerting,” Noah replied. “The way you,your dad and Beth have been acting. Like there’s some big secret. If you need to talk Marcus, you know I’m here for you.”

“It’s just the adjustment,” Marcus lied. He surprised himself with the effortless ease with which he could do it. “For so long it wa