Chapter Thirteen: The Bastard

I could barely contain my laughter as I walked away from Leia and Haylie. Their faces had just been too comical. If I was going to be completely honest, I wish I had played the nice character a little bit earlier.

Of course, Leia was too smart to believe that I had been sincere about it. But then again, I hadn't even tried to make her think that I had been.

I walked over to Marcus, and the tension rose, thickening to a point where it was nearly unbearable and completely impossible for either of us to ignore. "Hey."

He looked over at me and gave me a tight, closed-mouthed smile. "Hey."

The awkward silence that followed the small word exchange was so palpable that I felt like it could've choked the life out of the both of us. And there was really only one way to ease the tension.

"Look, man, I'm sorry," I said, turning to look at Marcus. "I shouldn't have blown up like that."

He looked at me and gave me one of those awkward half-smiles. "No, it's alright." He looked back