Origins

“Marky? Are you okay?” I ask touching his arm lightly. At my touch he starts and gives me a confused look, “Marky what’s wrong?”

“Nothing Frances, I’m just tired,” Mark tells me flatly.

“Mark tell me what’s wrong,” I hug him and he rests his head on my chest.

“I’m so tired lately, I don’t sleep and I haven’t been feeling okay and my appetite has gone,” Mark admits to me.

“Baby you and I are going to have a nice dinner tonight and you will sleep with me in my bed tonight. I want you in there with me, I love you brother and I don’t want you to be hurting,” I tell him and rub his back as I speak. He looks at me and softly kisses my cheek.

“Thank-you Frances, you have no idea what it means to me to know that you are there for me,” He whispers and smiles sadly. I drink my water and Mark and I continue talking for a while longer until the subject of Ash begins, “So when you telling Izack?”

“I was going to tomorrow some time,” I tell him.

“Yeah well let’s just hope he doesn’t find out on his own, not like he doesn’t already have some idea, he knows you as well as Scott and I do Frances,” Mark grins at me and my phone starts sounding Ash’s caller ID tone, “Speak of the devil.”

“Shut up Marky,” I say as I flip open my phone, “Hello?”

“Frankee!” Ash’s voice sounds happily from the speaker at my ear.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” I ask him and smile forgetting he can’t see it.

“I just got tickets to Nitro Circus for in a few months,” Ash says happily.

“That’s brilliant, you must be so happy,” My voice matches his happiness seeing he had been trying to get the tickets for weeks now.

“Yeah it is…what you doing tomorrow?” Ash changes the subject.

“Izack is here for the weekend remember?” I tell him.

“Ohhhhhhh, do I get to meet him?” Ash asks.

“Umm not sure, wait I’ll ask him what he wants to do tomorrow and see what he’s got in mind,” I tell Ash as I walk into the lounge room, I place my hand over the mouth piece and look at Izack, “Zacky what you wanna do tomorrow?”

“Hang with you guys at home if that’s okay, why you want that new boyfriend of yours over to meet your cousin?” Izack asks with a grin.

“How did…oh forget it yeah is that okay?” I ask.

“Yep I wanna meet the fella and tell you if he’s good enough for you or not,” Izack grins manically and I sigh, I walk back out to the kitchen and take my hand from the mouthpiece and Izack calls out, “Oi Frances, does he know I’m gonna kick his arse if I don’t like him?”

“He does now you moron,” I call back and sigh before talking into the phone, “Sorry Ash.”

“That’s okay Frankee, he sounds like I would be for any of my cousins,” Ash tells me and I look at Mark sadly.

“Yeah that’s Izack for you,” I sigh and then change my tone to a happier one, “You can come over tomorrow if you want, we aren’t doing anything special.”

“Okay, what time you want me over?” Ash asks.

“I don’t mind, I’ll be up early to f…never mind I’ll be up at like 6 anyway so show up whenever you want,” I almost tell him I’ll be up to feed Bronte.

“Well I’ll come by when I get up, might even be before 6 you never know,” Ash jokes.

“Fair enough then, come around before 6 if you want to,” I tell him.

“I’ll talk to you later Frankee, I like you,” Ash uses our version of love you.

“Like you too Ash,” I smile into the phone forgetting again that he can’t see it and then we hang up.

I look at Mark and he reads my thoughts, he pulls me onto his lap and hugs me. I rest my head on his chest and close my eyes.

“It’ll be alright Frankee,” Mark whispers in my ear.

“I think I might just tell him about Bronte being my baby,” I tell Mark.

“Won’t that piss him off that you hadn’t told him earlier?” Mark asks.

“Ash will understand, he knows me so well already and he’s a good guy, he’ll understand, he already knows I’m not pure,” I tell Mark.

“Well that’s not a very good way of putting it, but won’t he get a little jealous that the father of your child is sleeping across the hall from you?” Mark asks.

“Nope that’s why when he arrives tomorrow morning he’ll see you in bed with me,” I tell him.

“Won’t that annoy him?” Mark asks.

“No Ash knows about my nightmares, he knows that you sometimes end up in my bed in the morning when the beanbag gets to uncomfortable and you get cold, he’s okay with it, he knows the two of us are just really close friends,” I tell Mark and he grins at me.