Marko did not come home until one in the morning. Allie had only huffed and turned away as he came through the door.

Allie thought, however, that he looked awful. He smelled strongly of weed, and his brand new white tank top was smudged with sand and god knows what else. Marko seemed to not notice Allie, however. Either that or he was ignoring her. He simply took off his shoes and jacket and went upstairs.

Allie sat at the kitchen table, fingering a grey mug of tea. It was now three in the afternoon, and not one peep had come from Marko's room. Allie felt guilt rise up in her like vomit. She got up from the table and slipped quietly up the stairs. She knocked on Marko's door, heard absolutely nothing, then opened it a crack. It was, as usual, a mess. But the lights were off, the blinds closed on the window, and Marko was sound asleep on his bed.

"Marko?" Allie whispered. One eye opened slowly and focused on her, but otherwise Marko did nothing.

"Um… Mom and Dad want us home for dinner. Dad's cooking, so you'll have that chicken you like…"

Allie's voice trailed off as she realized it was useless. Marko's eye had already closed again. Allie sighed and backtracked to the small kitchen.

"Marko's still sleeping?" her father asked as he pulled the chicken out of the fridge.

"Yeah," Allie said, "I think I'll go read."

"That's good," her dad said absentmindedly. "It's good to have a child with a brain."

Allie frowned at her father's remark, then went into the living room. She picked up Cujo and started to read.

It seemed like Allie had read a hundred books before the food was ready and Marko had finally come down the stairs.

"Well, well," Eddie said as the others looked around at Marko, "the vampire has blessed us with his presence."

"Ha Ha," Marko said, getting his plate. He sat down next to Allie and began to eat. Allie looked down at her plate, which was empty of chicken, and felt her hunger slide out of her. She could feel Marko's tension coming off of him in waves. He was clearly not comfortable sitting there, eating and watching his family.

"Are you feeling alright, Marko?" Saige asked, peering at her son. "You've got horrible shadows under your eyes."

"I'm fine," Marko said, his voice cold.

"How are your friends?" Eddie asked, pressing for more conversation. "James and Ty haven't been over in a while."

"James and Ty are fine," Marko said. "They're still together."

"And what about this boy? David, was his name?" Saige asked.

Marko shot a glance at Allie, who felt her cheeks burn. She had accidentally let his name slip while talking with her mom about the summer while they were catching up. Not that Allie enjoyed having girly conversations with her mom.

"He's fine," Marko said to his half empty plate.

"You know," Saige said, looking her son straight in the eye, "when you came home last night you smelled like weed. You wanna explain that?"

"Ty had a joint," Marko said, finishing his chicken. Allie saw that his hands were shaking slightly.

"I don't want you to be breathing that in," Saige said.

"It was one joint," Marko argued.

"And one joint can lead to more," Saige said. "He hasn't offered you any, has-"

"God!" Marko shouted, standing up. "Can't I eat without you pestering me about drugs? What does it take to have one night without arguing or a lecture? Can't we just have some fucking quiet?"

"Marko, don't talk to your mother like that," Eddie said, standing up as well.

"I'll talk however I damn please! The boardwalk's more peaceful than this house! I hate it! I hate it!"

"Marko," Saige said, quietly. "Calm down."

"I'm going to throw up," Marko said, pushing his chair away from the table and racing upstairs. Allie winced as she heard the bathroom door slam shut.

"Oh, my," Saige said, looking up at the ceiling.

They ate in complete sickened for the rest of her meal. Allie washed the dishes, and then climbed upstairs to get ready to go to bed. As she was brushing her hair, there was a knock at her door.

"Yeah?" Allie called. The door opened slowly, and there was Marko.

"Oh," Allie said.

"Can I come in?" Marko asked.

"Sure," Allie said, and Marko came in and sat on her bed.

"Y'know, Allie, I wanted to say...I'm sorry."

Allie looked over at her brother. He was looking down at his hands.

"I'm sorry for last night," Marko continued. "I think I was just embarrassed. That's why I yelled."

"Am I still a whore?" Allie asked, grinning. Marko smiled.

"I believe Ethan Diaz makes your grand total a-"

Marko stopped as he clutched his stomach. Allie stood up.

"You're not going to barf again, are you?" she asked. Marko held his stomach tighter, his fingers digging into this shirt. He let a choke of pain slip through his lips.

"You need me to get a trash can?" Allie asked, looking around her room. She grabbed her waste paper basket and thrust it in front of Marko.

"There," she said, "just… do your thing."

Marko raised his head, his face pale and beaded with sweat, but his eyes…

...they meant danger. Marko stood up slowly, his eyes locked in Allie.

"Marko?" she said, her voice quivering slightly.

Marko lunged forwards and grabbed Allie the waist, bringing them both crashing to the floor.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Allie cried, trying to squirm out of his grasp. Marko used his right hand to pin her to the floor, and his left to reach up to her chest.

No, her throat.

"Help!" Allie yelled, kicking her legs. "Help!"

She saw a glint on her dresser above her. Allie strained to reach, trying to pull the object down. She tried to kick at Marko, and jostled him just enough to grab the pair of small thread scissors and pull them down. With a yell, she plunged the blade into Marko's bare arm. Marko let out a genuine scream of pain and pulled the thread scissors out, but this allowed Allie to throw him off her and stand up. She grabbed for her softball bat and stood there, waiting for Marko's next move. He had stood up, too, but he was shivering, and his left hand was clasped over the wound Allie had made in his arm. Alike stiffened as she saw a small trickle of blood slide down his arm.

"Oh, god. Marko, I'm sorry. Please, Marko," Allie said, dropping the bat. Marko was still just standing there, shaking.

"Get away," he whispered.

"What?" Allie asked. Marko stepped forwards, lowering his hand, which was painted with blood.

"Get away from me," he said, his voice low and full of poison. "I don't want to be like them. I swear, I don't."