“And?” she demanded. “And?”

Marcus opened his eyes, and looked at the floor, and said the thing that turned the entire night inside out.

“He isn’t mine.”

Chapter 13 — Whose Is He

The little boy did not understand the words, but children understand weather, and he could feel the pressure dropping in the room, the way you feel a storm coming.

His small face had begun to crumple with confusion and fear.