09 – SIBLINGS
So there were three of them. There always had been too, well, for at least as long as Mark can remember. Brad, Randy and Mark. The Jock, the Brain and the Freak. And he's fine with that…really.
So when Jill started implying the possibility of another baby, it was only natural that he'd get a little nervous. They'd all known, even oblivious Tim, that Jill had always wanted a little bundle of x chromosomes to share her pain with, so they really shouldn't be surprised.
Just Mark's turning 15 this year, and he doesn't want anyone to intrude, to change their familiar dynamics. After all, that's what a baby girl would do, he's certain. She'd steal whatever fringe benefits he received for being the youngest right from under his nose, take away what little attention his family gave him. She'd be something for his Dad to protect, his Mum to cherish, his brothers to put on a pedestal. A baby would distance him from his already distant family.
Besides, the jock, the brain, the freak and the daughter? It didn't have that ring to it really.
No. A baby just wouldn't do.
Next up: 10 - Loyalty
