Page 36 of Ghost Ribbon

“You have to come again when Marco’s father and brother are home too. They would love to meet you. Luca especially. He’s always so curious about Marco’s friends.”

I smiled, tilting my head slightly. “Of course. I’d be happy to. And I apologize for showing up uninvited like this. I know it’s a bit sudden, but since Marco hasn’t been to—”

A kick landed against my shin under the table.

I didn’t flinch. I simply glanced sideways at Marco. His face was pale now, eyes wide with pure terror. He had kicked me hard enough that it actually stung. Interesting. So his mother didn’t know he had been skipping for two weeks. That explained the panic.

I recovered smoothly, not missing a beat.

“—I just missed him,” I finished, turning my full attention back to his mother with an easy smile. “I really had to come see him today. I hope you don’t mind. Next time, I’ll make sure we plan it properly. I’d love to meet the rest of the family.”

His mother beamed.

I stayed longer than I had originally planned.

After dinner, Marco’s mother kept me at the table with question after question. She smiled the entire time, clearly relieved that her son had someone watching over him.

Eventually she stood and began clearing the plates.

“Marco,” she said warmly, “walk your boyfriend out, okay? It’s getting late.”

I nodded before he could protest. “Thank you for dinner. It was lovely.”

She beamed. “Come again soon.”

I followed Marco outside into the cool night. The moment we were far enough from the house that his mother couldn’t hear us, he stopped near my car and turned to face me. His voice was strained.

“What are you doing?” he asked, looking up at me with tired eyes. “What was that about in there? You can’t just show up at my house like this. You can’t lie to my mom and pretend we are… that we are together.”

My fake smile disappeared the second we were alone. The cold, bored expression I usually wore settled back onto my face.

“I can,” I said calmly. “And I did.”

Marco stared at me, clearly unsettled by the sudden shift in my tone.

“Why haven’t you been to the academy?” I asked.

He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s none of your business.”

“It’s exactly my business,” I replied, taking a step closer. “You belong to me.”

He let out a breath, shoulders sagging with exhaustion.

“Really? How long do I have to play this with you? I know what you like to do. You like to get inside people’s heads, to… to twist things until they break a little. That’s fine. I can handle it. But my family doesn’t deserve to be part of it. They’re good people. They don’t know anything about you or about what happened. Can you just… leave them alone? Please.”

I tilted my head, watching him. He had spoken more words to me tonight than in all the weeks before. And every word had been to shield the people inside that house. The protectiveness was interesting. It made the carving of him feel more precise.

Most prey thrashed for themselves. Marco thrashed for others.

“You’ve never spoken so many words to me at once,” I observed, voice flat. “Come to school.”

“I can’t,” he answered. “Not yet.”

“Why?”

“I just can’t right now.” He shifted, curls falling across his forehead. He didn’t elaborate. He didn’t give me the opening he knew I wanted. “It’s personal. I need to handle things here for a little while longer.”

I studied the way he held himself, shoulders squared in that unassuming way. He was hiding something. Not lying outright, but keeping the truth folded small and safe behind his ribs. I could press. I would press.