Mack's (POV)

"Would anyone else like some tomato soup?" Lucy asks everyone, her eyes searching.

I make a face. "No thanks. I'm good." I look over at Alex, gagging to prove my point. I take another bite of my biscuit.

Who in the world would eat tomato soup for breakfast?....Oh wait. Don would.

"No one can appreciate a good old fashioned breakfast these days." Don says, and I roll my eyes at the fake hurt in his voice.

        And he thinks I'm the drama queen.

I feel a smirk grow on my face. "Well, some of us aren't "old" fashioned." I make quotation marks with my fingers, wiggling my eyebrows at him.

Don grumbles something incoherent, looking down at his bowl.

With a victorious smile on my face, I look over at Alex who's sitting in the chair across from me.

My smile immediately disappears as I see a tense Alex, staring wide-eyed over at the far side of the table.

Okay....What's happening?

I watch as he tenses up more than he already was, his chest starting to rise and fall faster.

Well whatever it is, it can't be good.

"Alex." I say, trying to get his attention.

He doesn't even acknowledge me.

But it gets Lucys' and Dons' attention. Their gazes move over towards Alex, both of them looking a little alarmed as they notice the same thing I just did.

"Alex, dear." Lucy tries, placing her fork down beside her plate.

Still nothing.

I feel an unease start to grow inside me. He's never done this before.

Well you know, in the six days I've known him.

I'm about to try his name again, but Don interrupts me. "Give him a moment." Don quietly suggests.

Suddenly Alex tears his eyes away from the corner - as if it physically pained him, shooting up to his feet so fast his chair falls to the ground with a loud bang.

His breathing comes out in short gasps, arms noticeably trembling.

With wide eyes, I call his name again. "Alex." He glances over at that spot in the corner, then with unfocused eyes, he finally looks over at us. Completely avoiding our gazes.

He takes in our surprised expressions. Then before anyone can say anything, he leans down, picking up his knocked over chair with a shaking hand.

Quickly, he walks - more like runs, out of the kitchen.

Lucy makes a move to get up, but Don stops her by placing a hand on her arm. "Why don't you leave him for a minute." Don says, a secret message passing between them.

Okay, that's it.

"What's wrong with him?" I ask, cause I know it's something....I just don't know what. And it's eating me up inside.

I mean you can't act the way Alex does sometimes, and not have something wrong.

I already asked him about being abused. But that's not it.

Both Don and Lucy look over at me, then back to each other again. Then Lucy faces me.

"It's not for us to say." She decides, sadness coating her words.

I feel a spark of anger.

"But he's part of this family, right?" Don looks at me, surprised I'd even ask. "Of course." He answers, not a doubt in his face.

"Well last I checked I was a part of this family also." I alternate my gaze between them. "So I should know." I finish.

Lucy sighs. "It's not that simple, Mack." She quietly says, her fingers nervously tearing her paper napkin apart in her lap.

I frown, pushing my plate away.

Glancing over at Alexs' plate, I notice his food doesn't even look touched.

"And why not?" I ask, determined not to leave until I get some answers.

She hesitates. "Well, we don't even know the whole story." Don takes another sip of his soup, his eyes downcast.

Wait....what? 

They're fostering someone, and they don't even know everything about him.....You know what, I'm not even going to bother with that part right now.

"Well you at least know something?" I look over at Lucy.

She stares at me for a second. "I think he should be the one to tell you." She decides.

I get up, grabbing my crutches before I attempt my awkward progress towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Lucy seems surprised at my sudden exit.

"To see if Alex wants to play Xbox." I tell her.

"Wait a moment." She gets up, rushing over to the refrigerator. Coming back towards me, she hands me a cold ice pack.

I give her a questioning look.

It's for Alexs' shoulder." She explains.

Ah yes, the injury I caused.

"Oh, and Mack." Don says, and I look over at him. "Have fun." He smiles.

Nodding, I head out towards where I'm about ninety-nine point nine percent sure he went.

And sure enough, I spot him under the oak tree, sitting in his usual position which I've noticed he does whenever he's distressed.

As I step behind him, I see he looks lost in thought. Reaching out, I touch his left shoulder.

He jumps, his head swinging around towards me.

I take in the wide eyes, his still slightly trembling arms, a few tear tracks running down his face.

  Well, he seems better.

I give him a small, confused look. "Are you alright?" I quietly ask.

He shrugs his left shoulder, avoiding eye contact.

I'll take that as a no.

I reach my hand out with the ice pack. "Here, Lucy said you needed this." He hesitantly takes it.

I suddenly feel strangely nervous about asking him. So I just stand there, shuffling my feat as I stare out over the fields.

Frowning at myself, I finally pull myself together. "You wanna go play some Xbox?" I ask.

Maybe it'll get his mind off whatever it is that's bothering him.

  Because it would be obvious to even a blind person, that that's what's wrong.

He raises an eyebrow, a thoughtful look on his face.

Guess he didn't know we had one.

"O-okay." He hiccups.

Looking highly annoyed with himself, he wipes his face off with slightly trembling hands.

He makes a move to stand up.

Without thinking, I reach my hand down towards him.

He just stares at it for a few seconds. Then finally, he accepts my hand, and I pull him up.

Smiling, I slowly make my way back to the house.

Once I'm in the living room, I awkwardly get down on one knee. Opening the cabinet that's underneath the TV, I shuffle some things around.

I frown.

One of the wires for the Xbox is missing. Great.

  Oh well, I guess we can just play the WiiU.

Connecting it to the TV, I get back up. Turning around, I see Alex has already taken a seat on the sofa.

Grabbing two of the controllers, I crutch myself over to the sofa.

I give one to Alex. "The Xbox won't work, so we'll play the Wii." I take a seat beside him.

"Have you played Super Smash Bros before?" I ask, already dreading the job of explaining everything.

         I'm a horrible explainer.

He shakes his head. "I'll figure it out." He quietly says, his eyes already examining the controller.

I smirk.

I'm sure he will.

Heck, half the games in the arcade he said he'd never played before. And yet, he ended up beating me in more than half of them.

Seems he's a fast learner.

Once I'm at the character selection, I pick out Samus....and hey, don't judge.

Alex picks Link.

And as usual, I start out winning.

But after about half of the first round is over, I notice Alex has only been observing my moves.....learning them.

  I glance over at him.

And sure enough, I see that look of pure concentration on his face. Just like when we were playing soccer, and even with the games at the arcade.

I pause. He actually looks kinda....normal right now.

He doesn't look like he's holding the weight of the world on his shoulders, a overbearing pressure. He looks....younger.

Well, I must've gotten his mind off whatever that was.

I win the first round.

During the second round, I realize I was right about him being a fast learner.

I can barely get a move in on Link now. Him always blocking right before I strike, then immediately countering it with one of his moves.

He basically knows what I'm going to do right before I actually do it, like he's reading my mind.

Is he bad at anything?

The only time I figured out I can win, is when I change my character to one I haven't been yet. But that only works for the one round.

Him seeming to learn everyone's moves.

After about two hours of playing Wii, I've gone through all the characters multiple times. And now I can't even beat him.

I smirk.

"Wanna try something harder?" I ask, flexing my hands to get the kinks out.

He looks over at me, humor lighting up his eyes. "What? You not good enough." His lips form a small smile.

I stare.

This is a completely different Alex....

Maybe we should do this more often.

Playing it cool, I place my hands behind my head, leaning back. "I just thought you might like to try something more....difficult?" I raise an eyebrow, daring him.

"Alright." He agrees, a small smirk growing on his mouth before he looks back over at the TV.

Feeling excited, I go back to the main screen, setting it on eight player.

You could say I don't have many friends....so I don't get to do things like this very often.

Picking my character, I set up four CPU's.

All on level eight - the highest level.

Alex picks Sheik as his character, apparently that one being his all time favorite one now.

  Sheik with all her hand to hand moves, and her cool - but annoying, throwing knives.

Now that I think about it, all that kinda matches him in a way.....

  Three minutes into the game and I kill the first CPU.....Only to die two minutes later.

I stretch my sore leg out across the sofa.

Setting the controller down next to me, I watch the rest of the game play out. I've noticed Alex tends to stay on the defensive side.

But when he's not, he's whipping around, hitting them when they're least expecting it. Executing perfect moves at just the right moment. Reading it all like he would a simple book.

After only three more minutes, Alex has the rest of them defeated.

He smiles. "You call that more difficult." He teases, motioning over towards the TV. I give him a mischievous smile in return.

"Alright, you asked for it." I tell him, setting the game up again.

Not including myself in this round, I set up the seven CPU's. All on level eight.

Let's see just how good he is.

Noticing I'm not playing, he gives me a teasing smirk. "Scared?"

I snort. "No. I just don't want to lose again."

It starts, and I'm left staring transfixed at the screen as he beats all seven of them in a record breaking time of six minutes.

And he only lost two out of four lives!

Okay, I'll admit it.

He's good.

Not able to control myself, I shoot up into a sitting position. "Alex! That was awesome!" I excitedly shout, staring wide eyed over at him. "How did you do that?" I have to ask.

He tenses, his good mood suddenly deflating. I watch as the shield goes back up, his normal hard features returning with some wariness.

What'd I do?

As an answer to my question, he simply shrugs his left shoulder, his attention seeming to be on something else now.

"What's wrong?" I asks, my face I'm sure a picture of confusion.

He avoids looking at me, shrugging his shoulder again. "Nothing." His voice comes out dull, completely void of emotion.

Yeah, and I like tomato soup.

I frown.

Glancing up at the clock on the wall, I see it's already 11:23 A.M.

Time really flew by.

My gaze swings back over towards Alex as I hear him take a sudden deep breath.

I feel my heart lurch.

What's wrong?

He looks over at me, eyes unreadable. "I have PTSD." He deadpans.

  Wait....What?

I know I wanted answers, but I was not expecting.....that of all things.

And why'd he just all of a sudden blurt it out?

I move my mouth, nothing coming out. "What?" I finally ask.

  His eyes slightly soften, and he looks away. "I know you're curious after....after everything...odd you've seen me do." He explains with a sigh.

"I guess I feel like I owe you an explanation." He elaborates, running a hand through his hair. My eyes follow his movements, stopping on the prominent scar that runs up along the side of his neck.

That really does explain some things.

Except it leaves more unanswered. Another bridge expanding with hundreds of possibilities.

Like how'd he get that strange mark in his wrist....that one you can see anytime you look at his neck?

I guess that one on his neck could've been an accident of some sort, like a bicycle wreck...? Only I don't think it's that simple.

Then there's everything else.

"So now you know." He says, slightly hanging his head down. "A little." He mumbles to himself.

         Huh?

I stay quiet for a moment, deciding on what to say.

"You don't owe me an explanation." I finally start, looking over at the TV. He looks up at me. "We're friends. You can tell me things when you feel like telling me." I look back over at him. "Not because you feel like you need to." I smile, honesty clearly on my face.

He looks slightly alarmed at my words - like he never expected anyone would ever say them.

But then he smiles, his face relaxing back into the one he had a couple minutes ago. "Thanks Mack." He says.

We go back to playing.

But my mind doesn't.

I feel bad for him. But I can tell he's not the type of person to except pity from just anyone.

But we're friends now.

         Another smile stretches across my face.

~*~

After another half an hour of serious playing, Lucy comes in carrying two plates of food and two glasses of water.

She places them down on the coffee table that's in front of us. Then she hands Alex his little cup of pills, and another ice pack before exiting back into the kitchen.

I pick up my plate after the game finishes.

Ham sandwiches. Delicious!

I take a bite, looking over at Alex who seems to only be nibbling on his.

So if he has PTSD, then what's with his stomach? Cause I'm pretty sure that doesn't have anything to do with it.

  Alex catches me watching him, raising his eyebrow up in question. I return his questioning gaze with one of my own, only directing mine down at his food.

He seems to understand my confusion. "No. It Doesn't have anything to do with having PTSD." He quietly explains, almost like he's ashamed about something.

      What-

There's a knock on the front door.

I catch the motion of Alex tensing before I turn my head towards the door. Mentally shrugging, I get up and head towards the door. Opening it, I see it's Ben.

"Hiya, Mack!" He cheerfully greats me.

"Hey Ben." I reply.

He notices Alex over on the sofa, giving him a wave in hello. He looks back at me. "Have you seen Don? He's not answering his phone." He asks.

Well it's lunch time, so he's probably in the kitchen.

Opening the door wider, I let him in. "You can check the kitchen." I tell him, heading back over to the sofa.

"Okay." He nods distractedly, walking towards the kitchen.

I frown.

He didn't seem like himself.

Sitting down, I work on finishing off my sandwich.

Alex has already eaten about half of his, the plate back on the table. He's now working on taking his pills, the ice pack on his shoulder.

My mind goes back to the game, a thought hitting me.

He can't be that good...unless maybe he has some firsthand knowledge on it.

I decide to voice my thoughts. "Hey Alex, do you possibly know how to...fight?" I ask.

His eyes immediately widen - like he can't believe I just asked that, he looks away, a sure sign that I'm right.

"You do, don't you?" I mumble.

He tenses, just like earlier.

Is this a sore subject?

I immediately wish I'd kept my big mouth shut.

"Sorry." I quickly say. "It just made since with how good you are at the game-" I ramble off.

Sighing again, he interrupts me. "Yes."

That shuts me up.

He eyes me, like he's waiting for me to do something.

And I do.

"That's awesome!!" I accidentally shout.

Whoops.

Wishing I didn't just scream like an excited little girl, I glance over to see Alexs' reaction.

He gives me a small, sad smile, his eyes distant like he's reliving something. "I wouldn't exactly call it awesome." He replies, snapping out of whatever that was.

I lean back against the sofa. "So...what style do you know?" I cautiously ask, afraid I might take it too far.

He turns away from me. "Karate." He mumbles out, repositioning the ice pack on his shoulder with a wince.

Woah.

"What belt are you?" I have to ask.

He shrugs his shoulder - like it's no big deal. "Black." He mumbles again, still fidgeting with the ice pack.

Yeah, no big deal.

"Your a....black belt!?" I say mostly to myself, excitement still in my voice.

He gives me a half annoying, half amused glance.

"I'll shut up now." I make the motion of zipping my lips up.

He looks at me curiously. "You know, your a lot different than what I originally thought." He slowly says, gauging my reaction.

Yeah, I was being a jerk.

That wasn't really me.....This is me.

"About that." I say. "I was jealous and I apologize."

But speaking of being different than what was originally expected.

What's with him talking so much all of a sudden?

I voice my thoughts."Well, what's with you talking so much all of a sudden?" I really need to learn to shut up.

He shrugs again, wincing as he does it a little too hard. "I'm honestly not really sure myself." He says, sounding uncertain.

I smile. "Well you should do it more often." I pause. "It makes you seem more....friendly." I find the right word.

He gives me a small smile. "Maybe." His voice fades off, that distant look crossing his face again.

He makes a move to say something else, immediately stopping when Ben suddenly walks back into the living room.

Seeing us, his eyes light up. "Hey again." He stops by the sofa.

"So what did you need Don for?" I ask him, my gaze now focused on the game as it starts up again.

"I was telling him I dropped off the ATV." He plops down beside me.

"Can I play?" He asks in a play whiny voice.

I smirk. "As long as you don't start crying when you lose." He sniffles. "Fine." He crosses his arms.

I laugh. "Your such a drama queen." I tell him.

He sits up straighter. "I think you mean king, my good sir." He says in a deep voice, holding his right arm up to his chest.

I look over at Alex as I lose....again.

He's staring intently at the screen, his attention solely fixated on it. Though I'm positive he's been listening the whole time.

I sigh to myself.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy hanging out with Ben and all, but I liked actually talking with Alex. And it's obvious he's not going to be doing much more of that with Ben around.

As Alex wins....yet again, Ben grabs a controller. Sitting back down, he adds himself to the game.

"Maybe you'll have better luck at beating Alex." I look over at Ben. "I've lost almost every game so far." I widen my eyes. "He's like unbeatable!"

For a second, a weird look passes across Bens' face. But as fast as it was there, it disappears.

He does his normal smirk. "We'll see about that."

After I'm out, it's just Ben and Alex left in the game.

I watch in stark fascination as the best match I've ever seen plays out in front of my eyes.

Ben is using Bowser. Alex with Sheik.

They're both down to their last life. Ben with 90% damage, Alex with 100%.

I've played with Ben before, and he was never this good. It's almost as if he's trying to...prove something....?

I watch as they both seem evenly matched. Both dodging each other perfectly, almost as if their brains were hardwired together.

Finally, Alex gets a good hit in, sending Bowser flying out of the screen in defeat.

I look over at Ben, a smirk on my face as I prepare to tease him for losing. I stop as I find that strange look cross his face again. And this time, I recognized it.

Anger.

But that doesn't make since. Ben has never, and I mean never lost his temper over anything. Especially a video game.

So why?

I quickly glance over at Alex. He's staring at the screen, a puzzled look on his face - As if he can't believe something.

This is a strange day.

"Welp, you lost. Time to play some more." I say, trying to break the thickness that's taken over the room.

So that's how we spent most of our day. Playing video games.

As if we were one, completely normal family.

Only we're anything but that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N

Hello my friends!!!!!

So I'm sorry if this chapter sucks, and that it's so late in the day for an update. I've been extra busy today, schoolwork, stuff outside.....and I might've played Call Of Duty with my little brother (he's 12) on his Xbox for awhile. (And I totally beat him) 😎😜😁

Questions......

1. Has anyone ever played Super Smash Bros???

2. Who likes the having fun, (beating Mack) playing games Alex??

3. What do you think is up with Ben???

4. And the next update is about them going to the Fair. Have any ideas of what might happen?? (Let me just say....It doesn't end well.)

Anyways, thanks everyone!!!!!

Next update: Saturday or Sunday.

Special thanks to: SouthernGal01!!!, ravenousmelon!!!! And MyLittleRosie!!! Thanks guys!!!!👍🏻😃

And PLEASE!! before you go....Vote!!! Also don't forget to COMMENT!!!!!

Thanks again my lovelies!! (Okey, that just sounds creepy.....) 😜😇😃

Maggy

Edited: 6/13/17