Vendetta by Jennifer Moulton

locking it behind him. It was about a ten minute walk to Nick and Julies. He welcomed the crisp cool air on his face and the crunching of dead leaves under his boots as he walked down the sidewalk. It was definitely autumn, Allies favorite season. All though she would say it was “fall”, because, the leaves “fall from the trees, Daddy”, a then seven year old Allie had explained. Thinking back now… maybe raking the leaves wasn’t the worst chore after all. As long as he had Allie there to jump in them and mess up his neatly raked piles, he would gladly do it every day.
         His chest tightened up as he drew in a cold, ragged breath; his head began to pound. He felt sick to his stomach. Mark had hardly slept, and didn’t have an appetite. Maybe he would drink some coffee, but that would be about it. He had no desire for any sustenance at all.
         The stress he was under was starting to take a physical toll on him. It served as a reminder that his body was still alive and trying to function normally, even if his mind wasn’t.
         Marks dilemma was that he couldn’t bear to think of his daughter as being dead, it would debilitate him. He almost couldn’t believe that she wasn’t here with him, now. It just wasn‘t real to him sometimes, but despite his rejection, it was painfully obvious that she really was gone.
         It was getting easier for him to block the idea from his mind whenever it became devastatingly apparent that this was, in fact, his reality.
         Mark stayed focused on keeping his body moving. Step after step, breathing in and out, and keeping his eyes open and alert. He didn’t know how to pretend that he wasn’t anything other than a hollowed man with nothing left to lose. But he would try to act sociable tonight, for Julie. She needed this, and if it would make her happy, than he would be there.
         Mark also struggled with the decision on whether to tell Nick and Julie about everything. He decided that despite Nick’s odd behavior lately, he trusted them enough to tell them about his past. They were two of his only friends and they would understand. After all, they had lost her too. Everyone needed to hear the truth.
                                         ~ 
         Mark sat full and satisfied, admiring the large oak table where the three of them now sat. Bright red drapes served as the back drop behind Nick and Julie. The color matched the table cloth that he ran his hands over.
         “Well-made table,” he commented aloud, “Good size too.”
         Mark could smell the apple pie that now cooled in the other room. He felt a small pang of guilt. It was amazing that he ate dinner, let alone contemplated eating a slice of pie.  Allie couldn’t have any apple pie… not anymore. She would have had hers with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. “Allie-mode,” she always said.
         “Hey man, are you all right?” Nick was looking at him, wide eyed and concerned.
         Mark stopped day dreaming and looked up at them. Julie was staring at him in utter disbelief. She was speechless and hadn’t said a word the entire time. Mark had drifted off in thought for a moment, and had briefly forgotten that he had just told them his entire life story.
         “Oh my gosh, Mark,” Julie finally said. She put her hands on her forehead and rubbed her temple. “You have been through so much. And poor Allie… she had no idea, did she?” Julie wiped her teary eyes.
         “She remembered Aunt Alice… but not a whole lot more. If she did, she never let on. We didn’t talk about it at all. We just moved on and started living a different life… until now,” Mark stated.
         “So, is that why you hired that detective from the other night?” Nick asked. “You think this Leo guy had something to do with it?”
         Marks gaze switched from Julie to Nick. He suspiciously glared at Nick through