Paying for pizza-1

Marley was hungry.

She hung up the phone with her dad, her head swimming. She was a small girl and couldn’t tell if her head felt light because she’d skipped lunch, or because she felt so overwhelmed with all the things her father expected of her. Her step-b*****r Joey poked his head into the den. He was eight years old with thin brown hair that hung in the most adorable blue eyes.

“Marley,” he said. His voice always sounded so hesitant, so meek. “The man in the backyard says we can’t play out there because he’s working.”

Marley perked up, roused to action by the need in her little b*****r’s voice. He’d come with her father’s new wife and Marley loved him dearly. Something throbbed in her chest each time she looked into his face, with those pale eyes and that small upturned nose.

He was the little b*****r she’d always wanted.

“Come on,” Marley said.

She mussed Joey’s hair, set her chin and marched toward the backyard. She had the toned body of an athlete and could be fierce when she needed to. Joey and his few friends followed Marley into the backyard.