Chapter 9: Acquiesce (teaser)

When I arrived, Marcus was on the second floor, filling a copious amount of lawn bags with garbage that lay cluttering the cemented floors.  I chuckled at his incoherent mutterings. “Bad morning?”

He laughed as he dropped the bag he held between his gloved hands. “You could say that.” He looked around, exhaling a sonorous breath in annoyance. “I knew this would be a lot of work, but no sooner do I get one portion finished, kids come through here vandalizing or partying, and I have a whole new mess to clean.”

“Marcus, I-”

“That wasn’t a jab at you, Bella,” he interrupted, his tone compassionate. “So please don’t take it that way.”

I nodded, cleared my throat, then gestured toward my tote bag. “I brought you lunch. Should I set it on your bench in the boiler room?”

“Bella,” he shook his head, sighing. “You have to stop doing that.”

“Why?” I asked. “I just…I’m sorry if I offended you.”

A small smile played at the corner of his lips. “You didn’t offend me, I’m just not used to someone doing something nice for me, let alone wanting to. I’ve never been high on anyone’s priority list. I guess what goes around comes around, right?”

“I don’t believe that,” I told him. “And it’s never too late to let people see the real you, because I happen to see someone who’s very unselfish.”

“You’re wrong, Bella. Taking care of one boy doesn’t make up for years of being self-absorbed.”

“I think it does. People change, Marcus. You’re proof of that.”

“If I’ve changed, it’s all because of that boy.”